Had they all forgotten what I'd done for this family?

Marina and I were college classmates.

One afternoon, a downpour hit campus. I slipped on my way back to the dorms and twisted my ankle so badly it swelled up like a balloon. The pain was blinding.

That's when Marina appeared, umbrella in hand, and helped me to my feet.

By the time we reached the hospital, I noticed one whole side of her was soaked through.

"Thanks for that, Marina. Really."

"We're classmates. It's what we do."

She flashed me a smile, bright and unguarded, the kind that belonged to someone who still believed the world was good. That smile burned itself into my memory.

After that, I pursued her.

It didn't take long before we were together.

Near graduation, her family's company ran into serious financial trouble.

She threw her arms around me, sobbing, and told me that to save the family, she'd have to obey her parents and marry some man in his fifties. She'd be his fourth wife. Her job would be to bear him five or six children.

She looked utterly helpless. The light in her eyes had gone out.

My heart broke for her. I promised I'd do everything I could.

So I sold my shares in the startup I'd co-founded with a few classmates. We'd only been running it a year, but it had just started turning a profit. I handed over millions of dollars to keep her family's business afloat.

She held me tight, tears streaming down her face. "I'll spend the rest of my life making this up to you. I swear it."

But money alone wasn't enough.

I joined Pruitt Corp. Armed with my expertise and a willingness to drink myself under the table at every client dinner it took, I dragged her family's company back from the brink of bankruptcy. More than that, I turned it into something thriving.

We got married after that. Our son came not long after.

I thought we'd be happy together for the rest of our lives.

Then, while Marina was in the final weeks of her pregnancy, Tristan Lawrence joined the company as her assistant, fresh out of college.

That's when I noticed she started to change.

Her office door was always closed.

Some nights she didn't come home at all.

She found excuses to travel for business constantly.

When she was home, she'd lock herself in the bathroom, whispering into her phone and laughing softly.

One time, I found her office door locked. I used my key to open it.

She was sitting on the couch with her little assistant wrapped in her arms.

She scrambled to explain. "Honey, Tristan lost his balance and fell on me. Don't get the wrong idea."

And I believed her.

Later, I caught them walking hand in hand through the mall.

Marina explained that some creep had been following her, so she and Tristan held hands and pretended to be a couple to scare the guy off.

Everything she said, I believed. Every single word.

Because I trusted her completely. The thought that she could betray me simply didn't exist in my mind.

But the person I loved most was the one who cut me deepest.

"If you want a divorce, I'll fire you on the spot. And the company won't pay you a cent in dividends."

Marina's voice was cold, threatening. "Without me, you can't survive in this industry. You'll be nothing. You'll end up sweeping streets."

She'd forgotten. I was the one who pulled her family back from bankruptcy.

I was the reason she didn't have to marry some man in his fifties.

When she said those words, I saw raw fear flash through my parents' eyes.

Derek spoke up. "Come on, bro, don't do anything stupid..."

"She just made a little mistake. You should forgive her."

Nathan piped up in his tiny voice. "Daddy, I want you and Mommy to stay together!"

Under the weight of my family's pressure, I fell silent for a long moment.

Then I looked at Marina.

"Fine. No divorce. But you have to agree to three things."

"Get rid of the baby."

"Fire Tristan Lawrence. Cut all contact."

"Give me the fifty percent stake in the company that's rightfully mine."

Back when I'd poured millions into her family's business, she'd promised to convert my investment into half the company's shares.

But because we were together, and I still had dividends from the company, I never asked for it back.

"Godfrey, do you really have to be this cruel to me?"

"Every single one of those three conditions is cruel to me."

"So what if it's Tristan's child? You could still raise it as your own!"

"And you can't fire Tristan. He's been bringing in contracts left and right lately. You're not even half the asset he is!"

I wasn't half the asset he was?

I laughed until tears streamed down my face. "Then what's left to say?"

I turned and walked out.

Behind me, my son's crying echoed through the room, tangled with my family's voices calling me ungrateful and unfilial.

I went home, packed my bags, and left.

I headed to a hotel to get a room.

When I finished checking in, the woman at the front desk gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, sir. Your card was declined."

I tried Apple Pay, every payment app I had. Nothing went through.

That was when a text from Marina came in.

"Honey, having trouble paying for things?"

"As long as you drop the divorce and stop trying to get Tristan fired, you can buy whatever you want."

She'd insisted early in our marriage that I hand over my paycheck. I'd used her supplementary card and her linked payment accounts ever since. At the time, I hadn't thought twice about it. I figured it was just something couples did to build trust.

Turned out it was a leash.

With no way to pay, I walked out of the hotel.

The streets were packed with people, but there wasn't a single place in the world for me.

I dragged my suitcase to the park.

"Hey, Godfrey. Ms. Pruitt sent me to bring you home."

I'd barely sat down when Tristan pulled up to the park entrance in the brand-new Rolls-Royce coupe Marina had just bought. He strolled in with his hands in his pockets.

I gave him one cold look and said nothing.

Tristan glanced around, confirmed no one else was nearby, and grinned.

"You know why she got pregnant?"

"That day, she and I went to meet a client. In the car, I tried to kiss her."

"She was going to let me, too."

"But then you called."

"She picked up, started talking to you, and pushed me away."

"That pissed me off. So that night, I had some coworkers get her drunk on purpose. Then I took her to a hotel, same as I always did."

"In bed, I held her. She thought I was you. Kept calling your name."

"I played along. I whispered, 'Let me take care of you tonight.'"

"I undressed her while she was still calling for you. And then I had my way with her."

Tristan doubled over laughing.

"Here's the best part. The whole time she was enjoying it, she kept moaning your name."

"Isn't that hilarious? Sleeping with another man, but crying out for her husband."

"And for me? God, that made it even better."

My fist connected with his face.

Blood spilled from the corner of Tristan's mouth as he hit the ground.

"Godfrey Simmons! He came here out of the goodness of his heart to bring you back, and you hit him?!"

"Daddy, Uncle Tristan bought me a toy car! Why did you hit him? Waaah..."

Marina walked over with Nathan in tow.

Nathan clutched a toy car to his chest and planted himself in front of Tristan, shielding him. He said I was a bad daddy.

And just like that, I understood.

Tristan had planned this.

But what chilled me to the bone wasn't Marina. It was my son.

Marina stared at me. "After you left this morning, Nathan cried and refused to go to school. Tristan took him to the children's park for the whole morning and bought him that toy car."

"Then he got worried something might have happened to you and offered to come find you."

"He was trying to do a good thing. And you did this to him?"

Right on cue, Tristan whimpered, "Ms. Pruitt, my face really hurts."

Marina's expression softened with concern. She cupped his face gently, then helped him to his feet.

"Apologize to him. Now!"

Marina glared at me, the words grinding through her teeth.

"Daddy, say sorry to Uncle Tristan! Hurry!"

"Mommy says Uncle Tristan is a good person and you're the bad guy!"

I laughed. So this was how Marina was raising our son.

Before I could get a word out, Marina signaled the bodyguards behind her. They seized me and forced me to the ground.

She grabbed the back of my head and slammed my face into Tristan's body. Once. Twice. Three times.

"Uncle Tristan, Mommy punished Daddy. Does it still hurt?" Four-year-old Nathan saw the blood running down my forehead and broke into a grin, his tears forgotten.

"With you looking out for me, Nathan, it doesn't hurt nearly as much." Tristan smiled.

Marina stood and glanced at my luggage. Contempt dripped from every syllable. "Without me, you're nothing."

Tristan spoke up. "Ms. Pruitt, since Godfrey here is so desperate for a divorce, let me make a suggestion." He paused, savoring the moment. "Make him leave with nothing. No assets, no custody. The kid stays with you." His eyes slid to me. "Let's see if he has the guts to agree."

"Brilliant." Marina's answer came without a second's hesitation.

Within minutes, her assistant had drafted a divorce agreement exactly as Tristan dictated.

Marina signed it with a flourish and tossed the papers at my feet.

Tristan's mouth twisted into a crooked grin, pleased that his scheme had worked.

Marina and Nathan both expected me to refuse.

I picked up the pen and signed my name without a moment's hesitation.

"Can I go now?"

I clutched the papers tight, rose to my feet, and asked quietly.

"Three days."

Marina's lips curled upward. "Come back within three days. Apologize to me and to Tristan. Stop interfering with the baby I'm carrying. Do all that, and you can still be my husband."

I didn't answer. I shouldered my bag and limped out into the night. Within moments, the darkness swallowed me whole.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in five years.

"Hey, old friend. It's been a while. Any chance the company still has a place for me?"

The voice on the other end erupted with excitement.

"Are you serious? You finally came around?"

"We've been waiting five years for this call!"

"Oh, and there's something you should know. A year ago, the government absorbed us. We're a classified unit now. I'm sending someone to pick you up right away."