"You?" I'd arranged his position at Henson Sterling myself. His salary wasn't exactly generous. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars was no small number for him.

He disappeared into the bedroom and came back with a card, which he flung straight at my face. "There. Satisfied now?"

The moment I saw that card, I froze.

It was the card my father had given him as a wedding gift. At the time, Brendan had said it was a gesture of goodwill from Dad and that he'd never touch the money on it.

But after I'd put my body through countless rounds of IVF for him, he felt he owed me. He started depositing money into it regularly.

Back then, his eyes had been full of plans for our future. "You cover most of the daily expenses for now, fine. But once you're pregnant, you have to let me step up as a father. This card is going to be the nest egg for our little family!"

Now that same card had become his bankroll for throwing money at Cindy Pruitt.

I bent down and picked it up. "Fine."

Cindy kicked the card out of my hand, her lip curling with contempt. "God, you're pathetic. Nickel-and-diming your own husband."

"She gave you the money. Now get lost."

The suffocating weight in my chest grew heavier. Not because of Cindy's barbs. Because Brendan stood right there, watching her humiliate me, and didn't say a single word in my defense.

It took me days to pull myself together. Eventually, I slipped back into the unfeeling machine I became at work.

I had a decent relationship with most of my staff. During lunch break, a few of them wandered over to gossip.

"Ms. Henson, do you know who Manager Sanchez's wife is? The one he supposedly adores?"

I blinked. Brendan had always insisted on keeping our marriage a secret to avoid any negative attention at the company. Why would he start telling people now, right when we were about to divorce?

"He and I are about to have nothing to do with each—"

"It's Cindy Pruitt!" The girl's face lit up with excitement. "She's a new intern. I've never seen Mr. Sanchez be that gentle with anyone. And after all these years, this is the first time he's ever pulled strings at work, just to get her transferred in as his secretary!"

"It's so obvious he's crazy about her!"

"Honestly, they're adorable together!"

The younger girls kept gushing, one after another.

After lunch, I was heading to a meeting with a group of colleagues when Cindy stepped into our path and blocked the way.