No money changed hands. Instead, he used a temp agency to set her up with a job handing out flyers that paid ten thousand dollars a day.

I studied the timeline carefully.

During that same period, Nathan had been "working overtime" constantly, ignoring my messages. The auspicious date I'd had a fortune teller pick for our marriage registration kept getting pushed back, again and again.

The moment I so much as mentioned getting married, Nathan would snap.

"Are you that desperate to tie the knot? You waited seven years. You can't wait five more months?"

So I swallowed my tears and had the designer alter my wedding dress measurements over and over.

By the time we finally registered our marriage, I never got to wear that dress. Because Nathan told me he'd gone bankrupt and couldn't afford a wedding.

Then the private investigator sent me a recording.

"To marry Bianca, I've got no choice but to get the marriage certificate with Tilda first."

"There's no other way. A woman like Tilda, if I don't keep her pacified, she'll use the pregnancy to force my hand. And Bianca has too strong a sense of justice. She'd cut me off completely."

"Get the certificate first. Forget about a wedding. When the time comes, I'll just tell Tilda I went bankrupt. That way I can move in next door to Bianca and take care of her."

"As for the kid in her belly, we'll deal with that later. If Bianca doesn't want it around, I'll just hire a few people to... If Tilda finds out, she finds out. Honestly, I'd love it if she filed for divorce herself."

By the time the recording ended, I was already standing outside Bianca's door.

Two voices laughed and flirted inside.

Ten minutes ago, Nathan had told me he'd picked up several designated-driver gigs and wouldn't be coming home tonight.

Lies like that rolled off his tongue without effort now.

I'd almost forgotten there was a time when he used to blush just asking, "Want to grab dinner together tonight?"

The sounds from the room grew louder.

I opened the camera on my phone, raised it, and pounded on the door.

The noise inside died instantly.

"Who is it?" Bianca called out.

I said nothing. I held the phone up with one hand and hammered on the door with the other.

The door swung open, revealing Bianca in a skimpy negligee from the waist up. Red marks trailed down her neck. One glance past her shoulder was all it took to spot the used condom wrappers scattered across the floor.

The second she saw the phone in my hand, her expression shifted.

"Tilda, what are you doing?"

I pushed my way in.

"I heard my husband's voice, so I came to check."

Bianca tried to shove me back. The persona she wore in public was always the same: blunt, outspoken, the kind of girl who'd rather break than bend.

"Your husband isn't here! Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean the whole world has to tiptoe around you!"

My loud knocking had already drawn a few neighbors to their doorways. The moment they heard that, their eyes lit up.

I looked at Bianca and pointed at the used condoms on the floor.

"Whether my husband's here or not, I'll know once I step inside. What's the matter? Were you blowing those up like balloons by yourself?"

Bianca's face turned crimson. Several neighbors covered their mouths, stifling laughter.

"Come on, just let her look," they chimed in. "She's pregnant. Don't pick a fight with a pregnant woman."

"If you ask me, you brought this on yourself. Always hanging around someone else's husband. We neighbors have seen it more than a few times."

"Stop making things up!" Bianca bit her lip, eyes glistening with tears on cue.

I shoved her aside.

"Move!"

Caught off guard, Bianca stumbled backward and fell right into Nathan's arms.

He was already dressed, though his collar was a disheveled mess and his face was dark as thunder.

"Bianca's pipes burst. I was just helping her fix them. What the hell is wrong with you?"

A knot of fury lodged in my chest.

"Fixing her pipes with a condom? Nathan, do you think I'm stupid?"

"You—!"

Nathan raised his hand at me. It froze in midair.

He dragged me into the bathroom.

Sure enough, a pipe had burst, and water covered the floor. A few neighbors who'd followed us in took one look and started murmuring.

"So he really was fixing a pipe. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding?"

"Of course it was a misunderstanding!" Bianca rushed over, eyes rimmed red. "Tilda, I know you trapped Nathan into marrying you by using your pregnancy as leverage, but not every woman is like you!"

"I'm independent. I don't need a man to survive. I'm nothing like you. I didn't spread my legs for some guy before I even had a marriage certificate!"

The crowd erupted.

Every pair of eyes turned toward me, glinting with mockery and amusement.

"No wonder she's so paranoid about other women. Look at what she did herself."

"I knew it. The day she moved in, I could smell that kind of woman a mile away."

Bianca saw that everyone had taken her side. Triumph flickered across her face.

"I already called the police. Breaking into someone's home is a crime!"

I stared at that face of hers, and a surge of fury roared through me. Before I could think, my hand shot out and cracked across her cheek.

The sharp sound hung in the air. Then I saw Nathan's expression. His eyes were bloodshot, his jaw clenched so tight the muscles twitched.

He shoved me hard, and his palm came down across my face with full force.

Right then, several officers in uniform arrived at the door.

I fell back onto the bathroom tiles, the lower half of my body soaked through with cold water. I was shaking uncontrollably.

"Nathan Ellison, you hit me?"

Nathan seemed dazed for a moment after the slap. But Bianca leaned into his arms, and just like that, the clarity returned to his eyes.

"You were being completely unreasonable. Why wouldn't I hit you?"

"Officers, take my wife away. I think she could use some time reflecting on her behavior."

Then he actually asked them to put me in handcuffs.

My cheek burned with searing pain. My body, still weak from the procedure, could barely hold itself upright. The agony swallowed every word I tried to say. I was led to the car in silence.

Because I was soaked from head to toe, a female officer handed me a towel to wrap around myself. But I couldn't stop trembling.

Bianca called the station directly.

"I'm not going to forgive her. Let her sit in there for a full day!"

Nathan said he'd go along with whatever Bianca wanted.

My clothes slowly dried against my skin from body heat alone. I really was held at the station the entire night.

Nathan didn't come to see me. Not once.

I just sat there, staring blankly out the window at the fireworks blooming across the sky. The officers on the night shift were chatting among themselves.

"The Ellison family has that kind of money? Those fireworks have been going for three hours straight and they're still not done?"

"You haven't checked social media? His little girlfriend got upset, so he's setting off fireworks to cheer her up. He's even making up some excuse that someone else is behind it."

"Didn't people say a while back that Ellison Group had some kind of financial trouble?"

"Come on, you actually believed that? That was just a stunt."

I curled up in a corner all night. The next morning, I walked out of the station in a daze.

I barely made it around the corner before a burlap sack was yanked over my head and I was dragged into an alley.

The sack was ripped away. Several pairs of hands slapped me across the face, hard and fast. Two, three strikes, and both cheeks had already swollen grotesquely.

I spat out a mouthful of blood and tried to make out the faces in front of me.

Another slap answered that effort.

"Don't even look at us. You messed with the wrong person, and this is what you get!"

"That man belongs to the boss lady. Who do you think you are, trying to take a bite?"

They kicked me a few more times. When I was curled up in a puddle on the ground, they finally sneered and walked away.

The buzzing of my phone dragged me back to consciousness.

I answered it on instinct.

Nathan's voice was light, breezy, as if nothing unpleasant had happened at all.

"Tilda, I'm really swamped today. No time to come pick you up, so just walk home on your own. It's only about ten miles anyway."

"And don't go misunderstanding my Bianca again. She's got a proud streak. She blows up when people accuse her of things she didn't do."

"But she's not like you. She doesn't hold grudges. She even said she wants to invite you to her birthday party tomorrow. You'd better show up and give her a proper apology."

"Hello? Hello?"

I slowly pushed myself up to a sitting position.

A Maybach sat parked in front of me, silent as a shadow.

Someone stepped out of the car and extended a hand toward me.

I spoke into the phone.

"Sure. I'll bring her a gift tomorrow. Consider it my apology."

Nathan heard this and pulled Bianca close. The two exchanged a knowing smile.

He kissed her deeply before answering.

"Fine. Don't buy anything too expensive. Bianca isn't the materialistic type."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, followed by the soft rustle of fabric. Then a single word.

"Okay."

The call ended. Bianca's eyes glittered with calculation.

"Tilda is so greedy. The second she sees you go bankrupt, she stirs up drama and tries to force a divorce."

"I'm not like that. I genuinely don't care about money or status."

Nathan, thoroughly convinced his broke act was flawless, smiled.

"Don't worry. Once Tilda can't take it anymore and asks for a divorce, I'll marry you."

"What about the baby she's carrying?"

At that, Nathan shifted uncomfortably.

"We'll figure out the kid later."

In his mind, as long as the baby existed, Tilda would never cut ties with him completely, divorce or not. Seven years together. He wasn't ready to let that thread go.

Nathan pretended to borrow money but actually bought Bianca a luxury villa to host her birthday party. He invited everyone in Bianca's circle, sparing no expense to make her feel like royalty.

One of Bianca's friends teased them.

"So when are you two getting married?"

Bianca blushed and looked at Nathan.

But he instinctively glanced away, checking his phone every few seconds.

He hadn't gone home last night either, using some excuse. Tilda hadn't questioned it.

"Let me check where Tilda is. She said yesterday she'd bring a gift to make up for everything."

He didn't mention the unease gnawing at him. Tilda had never been the type to roll over and apologize.

Just then, Nathan's assistant came rushing in, out of breath.

"Mr. Ellison, th-this is bad!"

Nathan frowned.

"What's with the panic? Slow down and spit it out."

The assistant pressed a hand to his chest, gasping, eyes already brimming with tears.

"You need to get back to the office for an emergency meeting. Ellison Group is going under!"

Nathan sucked in a sharp breath.

"Explain. Now."

The assistant wiped his face. The next words out of his mouth nearly knocked Nathan unconscious.