When Zack Davis went bankrupt, I used all my savings of 20 thousand dollars to buy him.

“You’re willing to buy me even if I don’t love you?” he asked indifferently.

My heart raced as I replied quietly, “Yes.”

After that, we got married, paid back his debts, and founded another company. It only took Zack three years for his company to become a new star in the Asterfield. Everything seemed to have gone smoothly.

He also only belonged to me.

However, what I didn’t know was that he hated me. He hated me for destroying all his pride and for buying him with only 20 thousand dollars.

When I decided to let go and divorce Zack, he went crazy.

He knelt down in front of me with pleading eyes. “Anna, you still love me, right?”

1

After staying up all night working on the project, I felt a bit groggy when I knocked on Zack Davis' office door.

A deep male voice came from the inside. "Come in."

I opened the door to find Zack sitting at his desk, with his secretary Sherry Coleman standing behind him.

Sherry was a very attractive woman who had been with Zack since the company was founded.

Wherever Zack was, Sherry was sure to be there.

There were even rumors that Sherry was a canary in his gilded cage, while I was just a malicious woman, who was wanting Zack to repay me gratefully.

Even though Zack once claimed that I was his only Mrs. Davis.

"Zack, I've completed the cooperation proposal with Mr. Jameson. Take a look." I handed him the printed proposal.

But Zack didn't even look at it.

"Anna, you are Mrs. Davis, let Sherry handle these matters." He smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

After that, he handed the proposal I worked on all night to Sherry.

Sherry looked at me provocatively before smoothly tossing the proposal into the bin.

This was not the first time this had happened, to the point where I couldn't even feel a hint of anger anymore.

Zack disliked me interfering in company affairs. He said that I only needed to play the role of Mrs. Davis well since most of the company's business had been developed by me.

I held myself up and looked at him stubbornly. "Zack, aren't you going to take a look? I worked on it for two nights."

Zack stood up, slightly frowning. "Anna, I don't want to waste time on useless things."

Useless things. Was he talking about the proposal or about me?

But in the end, Zack never gave me the chance to speak.

He pulled me into his arms, resting his chin on the top of my head.

His voice came from above, soft and emotionless. "Alright, I'll celebrate your birthday with you tonight."

He was always like this.

I felt like I was drowning. Just when I was about to give up the struggle, Zack would pull me back. But once he was sure I was safe, he would let go of my hand without hesitation and watch indifferently as I sank deeper and deeper.

Yet I craved the warmth of his body, whether eight years ago or now.

In the end, I buried my face in his chest and said softly, "Okay."

2

I wore a ruby necklace and arrived at the restaurant an hour early.

This necklace was something Zack insisted on buying for me when he secured his first deal.

Even though the company was just starting and there was little funding, he stubbornly wanted to put the necklace around my neck.

Even after the financial crisis hit and he suffered a lot, he never once considered selling the necklace.

Therefore, I always felt that Zack had feelings for me.

Unknowingly, the clock struck seven.

People came and went at the entrance, but there was no familiar figure.

I kept on waiting, until half past ten, and finally made the first call of the night.

The phone rang for over a minute, and a familiar female voice came through. "The number you dialed is busy, please try again later..."

I couldn't help but wonder what could he be busy with, was he discussing a new project with Mr. Shaw, or dealing with company matters? Or perhaps it was because of Sherry?

He always had so many things to deal with, and it seemed that everything could take precedence over me.

I didn’t know how long had passed, but I fell asleep.

At first, it was a bit cold, but as I slept, my body gradually warmed up.

When I opened my eyes again, everything was pitch black, with a flickering light in the night.

I smelled a strong scent of cigarettes.

"11:53, it's not too late."

Zack extinguished his cigarette, his voice filled with warmth echoed in the darkness.

Then the lights turned on, and the man in the white shirt tightened the coat draped over my shoulders, I looked up at him, still half-asleep, and asked, "What took you so long?"

Zack paused. "Sherry was a victim of a scam on her way home from work."

He couldn't even be bothered to make an excuse.

Feeling somewhat numb, I asked, "So you went to handle it for her?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah."

The pent-up grievances burst forth, and tears rolled down my cheeks.

I looked at the face I had loved for eight years and asked him, "What about me? Zack, do you think everything related to me is unimportant?"

The man, rarely at a loss for words, cupped my face and kept kissing away the fallen tears.

In the end, he said awkwardly, "Don't cry, Anna."

Well, he didn’t know how to comfort people.

After all, every time we argued, I would silently process my emotions and then present my mature side to him.

He never needed to comfort me.

3.

Zack moved a bear-shaped cake in front of me, along with a bunch of roses.

He then said hoarsely, "Your favorite bear, and roses."

But I didn’t like roses.

Zack would always forget.

I took a piece of the bear cake and stuffed half of its creamy head into my mouth.

It tasted a little bitter.

Just like the relationship between me and Zack, it had become increasingly bitter over time.

When we first got married, he wasn't like this. Even though he didn't love me, he took good care of me.

But later, there were too many important things, and I was always the one being overlooked, always coming second to everything else.

After my mood settled a bit, I looked at him seriously and said, "Zack, you should keep your distance from Sherry. No employer would handle a scam for an employee."

He frowned. "She's been working for me for three years."

I lowered my gaze and said softly, "Maybe it would be more appropriate for her boyfriend to handle it."

"She doesn't have a boyfriend, Anna. Don't be unreasonable."

I took a deep breath. "Zack, don’t you know about the rumors? They say that Sherry is your true love, and that I've used all means to force you to marry me."

After a pause, I continued, "Aren't you afraid... that one day I might leave you?"

He replied quickly and confidently, "But you can't leave me."

What Zack didn't know was that disappointment could breed the courage for me to leave him.

Seeing that I was about to say something, he changed the topic, "Anna, why don't you take a look at what’s in the cake?"

I cut it in half, unsure of what to expect.

Inside the soft cake, a ruby bracelet was revealed, perfectly matching the one around my neck.

Zack cocked his brows, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Didn't you say you didn't have a bracelet to go with this necklace?"

I stared at him in shock.

Eight years ago, when I was dragged into the office and falsely accused of stealing money, Zack had the same expression.

To him, it seemed like the sky could fall and it wouldn't matter.

He took the punishment for me, paid back the money, and then comforted me with a smile.

Even though it was our first meeting, he stood up for me without asking for details.

The seventeen-year-old boy fumbled around, repeatedly using his school uniform to wipe my tears, saying, "Please don't cry, I can't stand seeing others cry."

I closed my eyes for a moment.

‘Zack, the seventeen-year-old you, convinced me to forgive the current you one more time.’

4.

A week later, I found myself once again outside Zack's office, planning to discuss the company's third anniversary celebration with him.

Sherry blocked my way at the door.

With a smirk that nearly overflowed with pride, she said, "Ms. Wood, Mr. Davis is in a meeting and can't see anyone. By the way, how was your birthday last week?"

I settled onto the sofa and replied leisurely, "Miss Coleman, since you work for my company, you should be calling me Mrs. Davis. As for last week... come here."

Sherry rolled her eyes but obediently walked over, continuing her provocation, "Do you know why Mr. Davis didn't go home last week? It's because he was with me—"

A sharp slap interrupted her.

I didn't believe a word she said. No one knew Zack better than I did.

Sherry covered her face in disbelief. "You crazy woman, how dare you hit me?!"

I stood up, smiling at her. "Not only do I dare to hit you, but I can also fire you."

"I'm Mr. Davis's secretary! How dare you fire me?" she spat, her expression filled with resentment.

"Because I own half of this company."

As soon as I finished speaking, Zack walked out. He stood expressionless beside Sherry, yet didn't ask a thing.

Sherry immediately transformed into a pitiful figure, covering her face and feigning innocence. "I'm fine, Mr. Davis. Ms. Wood just hit me out of anger."

"Anna, this is not a place for your nonsense," said Zack, his eyes holding a warning.

Even though I had anticipated he would side with Sherry, seeing his indifferent gaze still made my heart sink.

What was I expecting?

"Don't you want to ask me why I reacted that way?" I looked into his eyes.

"No matter what happened, you shouldn't have done this."

"So what?"

"Anna, apologize."

I averted my gaze. "Zack, I came to see you today to plan the celebration..."

He frowned and interrupted me. "I've already assigned this task to Sherry. Anna, the person who made a mistake should apologize."

I was taken aback.

Since the company was established, the anniversary celebrations had always been planned by me and Zack. We had never entrusted this task to anyone else

The reason for this was because the company was like our child and the anniversary celebrations were like its birthdays.