"Mr. Sanchez, don't tell me you feel sorry for her. You promised you'd help me get my dignity back today."

"I'm just trying to teach your wife how to be a proper, clean homemaker. All she knows how to do is spend your money and throw jealous fits. How's a woman like that supposed to take care of you?"

"If you think I'm wrong, then just fire me. I'll leave and never come back, so I won't bother either of you ever again!"

Neil's expression melted instantly. He cupped her face and wiped her tears, then turned to me with a deep frown.

"Kathryn, a skin allergy isn't going to kill you. Just take some extra medicine."

"Shirley's right. You need to learn some manners. Other men's wives don't act the way you do. Some husbands keep a whole string of mistresses and their wives don't say a word."

"Be good. Stop upsetting Shirley, and I promise I'll keep my word about what I said earlier."

My heart went completely cold.

When Neil's first business venture fell through, he'd been scammed out of everything. Not only was he penniless, he was half a million dollars in debt.

I couldn't bear to watch him spiral into depression, lying awake night after night.

But I didn't want him to feel like I was handing him charity either, so I deliberately hid who I really was.

I told him I'd sold the apartment my parents left me as a wedding gift, used that money to pay off his debts, gave him the startup capital, and encouraged him to try again.

Then I asked one of my grandfather's most accomplished protégés to pose as a business mentor, tutoring Neil one-on-one in corporate management and how to survive in the business world.

After that, I quietly leveraged my family's network to pull in investors and partnerships behind the scenes, helping him claw his way back and break into Capital City's upper class.

And now, before he'd even fully secured his footing, he was already plotting to bite the hand that fed him and enjoy the company of another woman.

But in this world, people who betray someone's genuine devotion never come to a good end.

Shirley gleefully upended an entire bottle of liquor over my head.

The alcohol burned my eyes like acid, forcing out involuntary tears. My hair clung to my face in wet, reeking strands.

She poured five bottles in a row, making sure every inch of me was drenched before she finally stopped.