"Ruby, regardless of everything, Liam is your husband. It's not right for him to apologize to me. I've forgiven him already, so let's drop it," Wilson chimed in with a hurt tone before I could even speak.

He sounded like he was defending me, but I knew he was just trying to rile her up.

Ruby just scoffed.

"So what if he's my boyfriend? I'm always fair and don't play favorites. I'm worried that someone might hide behind the 'boyfriend' title to cause trouble.

"Liam, I'll ask you one more time, do you admit you were wrong?"

I almost laughed. "Yeah, I know I messed up."

I had messed up by not seeing who she really was sooner and not breaking things off with her to let Wilson have her. That's what I was truly thinking.

However, before I could say it out loud, Ruby snorted with satisfaction. "As long as you understand your mistake, that's enough. Considering you've just gotten out of jail and might be a bit out of it, Wilson and I will let it slide.

"You really should apologize to Wilson for all the help he gave you when you got out. It's the least you can do."

"There’s no need for formalities, Ruby. I was just doing what I should," Wilson said, pretending to be modest.

"You're too kind-hearted. However, I've made up my mind, so don't argue about it."

"......"

Ruby and Wilson were in perfect agreement on the phone, leaving me no chance to say anything before she hung up.

Soon enough, I figured out what Ruby had done. She had gone behind my back and transferred 30 thousand dollars from my card to Wilson.

When Ruby said yes to marrying me, I gave her my bank card PIN to prove how much I trusted her. She started using my card, and I allowed her to because I thought that we were family, and as the man, I should be the one to give more.

At first, she just bought things we needed for the house. However, when she saw I didn't make a fuss, she began treating herself to fancy clothes, expensive bags, and makeup that cost a pretty penny.

I made 4,500 dollars a month, but by the time the middle of the month rolled around, my bank account would be almost empty, and there wouldn’t even be enough to buy a meal. I brought it up with her a couple of times and Ruby got mad, saying I was criticizing her for spending too much. She said she didn't want to rely on me anymore and wanted to be her own boss.

She did cut back on her wild spending after that, but I noticed she still had a steady expense of three thousand dollars every month. I recently found out that it was for gifts for Wilson.

Ruby told me to pinch pennies, so much so that I couldn't even buy underwear that was ten dollars for three pairs, but she didn't think twice about buying Wilson socks that cost three hundred dollars. She talked about being thrifty while I wore the same patched-up shoes for two years, but she gave Wilson two pairs of fancy sneakers worth more than a thousand dollars in just one month. She said we needed to budget, counting every gram of food we cooked, but she spent a fortune on a birthday dinner with Wilson.

……

The more I thought about it, the sillier I felt. However, I knew that large money transfers had to be confirmed in person.

Ruby quickly sent me a text like she always did: [Verification code.]

I looked back at our old chats and couldn't remember when her messages to me had shrunk down to just those words.

She used to grumble about how annoying those codes were and asked me to get her a card linked to mine, but for some reason, I, who always did what she wanted, said no.

Looking back, I guess I was already trying to break free.

I laughed to myself and didn't bother replying. After I left work, I wrote up the divorce papers and, with the house deed in hand, headed to the nearest real estate office.

The house was a gift from my parents when we got married, picked out in Ruby's favorite neighborhood.

To make her happy, my parents had me put her name on the deed too. However, whenever they wanted to visit, Ruby would complain, and I would have to tell them I was too busy with work.

Now, I realized that I hadn't been a good son.

The real estate agent said I needed Ruby's signature to sell the house.

I showed them proof that my parents paid for it all, but the agent said, "That's good for the court, but you both need to sign if you want to do this the regular way."

I got it.

I couldn't just cut ties with Ruby yet. I had to make things clear with her before any of the court stuff.

After saying thanks to the agent, I grabbed a power of attorney form and went home.

I thought Ruby would be out until late, but there she was on the couch, looking stormy.

She glanced at me calmly when I walked in.

She got up, went to the bedroom, and slammed the door so loud it echoed.

That was her way of telling me to say sorry and sweet-talk her, just like after every other fight we had.

Even though I didn't want to, I looked at the agreement in my hand, sighed, and walked to the door.

I had made up with her so many times before, so what was one more?

Plus, saying sorry this time could get me the whole house back.

With that thought, I opened the bedroom door. Before I could even step inside, her eyebrow razor came flying at me. I dodged, but it still nicked my face, stinging my cheek.

Ruby froze for a second when she saw she had actually hurt me, her eyes seemingly filled with mixed feelings, but then she was back to normal.

I expected her to make me say sorry first, like always, or to ask me to send her some money to calm her down.

However, this time, she was seriously concerned.

"Liam," she said, "I know you're still upset about the wedding thing, but I told you yesterday, Wilson is young and reckless. He could have really gotten into trouble.

"I went to find him for you, too. If something had happened to him, would you really be okay for the rest of your life?"

I stifled a laugh. "Why not?"

Ruby was frustrated, like she was trying to shape iron into steel. "Ignoring that he's a person, he's also our colleague. We've worked together for years. How could you just watch him be put in danger?

"And he helped a lot with getting you out of jail. Without his help, would you have gotten out so quickly?"

I thought it was funny, like a fairy tale.

Why didn't she see that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been in jail at all?

My lawyer said that normally, I wouldn't have been locked up for more than three months. Whether Wilson was really helping or not, who knows?

I kept this to myself. Ruby wouldn't believe me anyway.

When I didn't say anything, Ruby thought she had convinced me and smiled.

"I swiped your card this time to do you a favor. Maybe you got locked up because you've been too tight with your money. Even the sky couldn't be seen anymore, so it made you spend big just once.

"Do you think I'm excited about your tiny gifts?" Ruby said that with a sneer, then she saw the papers in my hand. "What's that you've got?"

"I'm going to sell the house."

"Sell the house?" Ruby's eyebrow went up.

I was trying to think of a good excuse to convince her when Ruby giggled behind her hand. "Are you finally going to listen to me and sell this place for a bigger one?

"I've been telling you that this house has lots of issues. The new neighborhood next door is really nice, I've checked it out before..." Ruby kept talking.

I remembered that before I went to jail, Ruby had been pushing me to sell this house and buy one in the new development next door.

She said all kinds of things to make me agree, but I knew she just wanted to be close to Wilson, who was planning to buy a house there.

I didn't correct her. I just nodded. "You're right, I'll handle the paperwork tomorrow."

In the past, I always took care of the complicated paperwork, so Ruby didn't think twice about it, quickly signing the proxy agreement.

After she signed, I flipped to the last page of the divorce papers.

"Why does this look different from the other ones?" Ruby felt something was up and was about to check the front page.

Just then, her phone rang. She glanced at it and started smiling, losing all interest in the papers as she signed her name quickly.

"Okay, you can leave now. I've got stuff to do," Ruby said, waving me off.

She didn't have to tell me. I knew that call was from Wilson.

They talked on the phone for almost half an hour every night before bed.

I had no clue what Ruby was up to, but she was out all day for the next two days.

This time, I didn't bother checking on her like I used to, as she would just snap at me for being nosy.

Instead, I took care of my own stuff.

The following day, I dropped off the paperwork at the real estate agency.

I wanted to sell the house fast, so I priced it super low. Before I knew it, a buyer checked it out and bought it on the spot.

On day three, my lawyer said that the important evidence was fixed and the court was looking at the case.

Everything was locked in.

Now, I just had to wait for the trial to start and I would get back double for all the trouble I had been through.

When I got home to pack up, I found my stuff dumped by the stairs like garbage.

My favorite mug with a picture of Ruby and me, once a treasure, was in pieces. The two of us, once inseparable, were tossed aside.

I barely glanced at it and went inside.

There were Ruby and Wilson, hand in hand, acting like lovebirds, chatting about the house.

"Ruby, you're giving me this house for my game room. What if Liam's not cool with it?" Wilson asked.

"Don't sweat it. I own half this place. If I say yes, that's all that matters," Ruby replied.

As I walked in, Ruby was gazing at Wilson all soft and sweet.

"Huh, Liam? What are you doing here?" Wilson spotted me first, gave a sly grin, and hugged Ruby even tighter. "Aren’t these work hours? Why are you here?"

I stayed quiet, just looking at Ruby, who seemed a bit freaked out.

She tried to push Wilson away, but it was like she knew it was too late, so she just gave up and gave me an icy stare: "Liam, who said you could leave work early?

"You don't follow the rules at all. I'm telling you, get back to the company now. I could just dock half a day's pay as a warning, or I could follow the company's rules and fine you three times as much!"

She made me laugh, but I knew she meant business.

She usually overlooked others coming in late or leaving early, but with me, she was strict and didn't let anything slide.

I had worked so hard to support her rise to that position, but she was using every trick in the book against me.

Wilson chuckled, "Ruby, take it easy. Liam's probably just not used to being out of jail yet. Give him a little more time to adjust."

His words cooled Ruby's temper.

Ruby's face relaxed a bit, and when she looked at me, her eyes showed she was really disappointed.

"Liam, try to be more like Wilson. He's young but he gets it. He's successful in everything because he's not stuck in his ways like you are, and you're not exactly young anymore.

"Okay, I'll let it go this time. Since you're here, there's something I want to talk to you about…”