Chapter 2

Adrian didn't come home until after midnight.

I sat at the dining table, the cake for our seventh anniversary already sagging in front of me.

When he came in, he casually draped his coat over the cabinet in the entryway.

"Did you get the file?"

"Yeah."

"What was in it?"

"Some things my mentor left for Chloe."

He took off his coat, walked over, and reached out to stroke my hair. He'd done that for seven years.

Tonight, I turned my head away.

"When did you start keeping your mentor's things for her?"

Adrian paused. "He gave them to me before he died."

Words appeared above his head.

【COUNTDOWN: 3 DAYS】

I memorized the time.

"You've always said you hate unnecessary trouble. You don't keep things for other people."

"Those were his belongings."

He picked up the glass on the table and took a sip.

"Did you come to the office today just to ask me about this?"

I didn't answer.

Instead, I opened my phone to a bank notification.

Adrian saw it and spoke before I could.

"I took sixty-eight thousand dollars from our joint account and lent it to Chloe."

That money was supposed to pay for an executive certification program I'd been preparing for. I'd spent six months getting ready and had even booked the hotel.

"Why didn't you ask me before taking the money?"

"It was urgent."

"What happened to her?"

"She owed a penalty for breaking her contract with her previous employer. If she didn't pay it, it would go on her record and affect future background checks."

"So you used our money to cover it for her?"

Adrian lowered his eyes, his voice turning serious.

"I'll pay it back."

"What gave you the right to decide who my money should go to?"

"Ava, you can enroll again in the second half of the year. If she misses this chance, it'll be hard for her to recover."

I frowned as I remembered my acceptance letter.

I'd left it beside the computer in the study. A few days ago, Adrian had picked it up and said, "I'll put this in the folder so it doesn't get lost."

He must have seen the date.

The enrollment deadline was tonight. If I missed it, I'd have to wait at least another year.

He knew.

And he'd still transferred sixty-eight thousand dollars to Chloe.

"You saw my acceptance letter, didn't you?"

Adrian's hand paused.

"I was just putting it away for you."

There was no countdown.

He really had only put it away.

He simply hadn't told me he'd seen the deadline.

Sometimes the truth hurt more than a lie. He hadn't deceived me. He'd just left the most important part buried in silence.

A voice message from Chloe arrived.

"Mr. Whitmore, I'll pay Ava back. Please don't fight with her because of me."

I asked, "Why is she explaining herself only to you?"

Adrian took his phone and walked onto the balcony.

"She's afraid you'll misunderstand."

【COUNTDOWN: 9 MINUTES】

Nine minutes later, his phone lit up again.

A second voice message from Chloe.

"You promised you wouldn't let Ava fight with you because of me. Maybe I should just resign tomorrow."

I heard it and looked at him.

Adrian turned his phone facedown on the table.

"She's just too sensitive. Don't hold it against her."

I stared at him.

"She says she's going to resign, and you immediately want to go see her. You took my money, and all you have to say to me is not to make a big deal out of it?"

"Why are you talking like this all of a sudden?"

"My own money was taken to pay someone else's contract penalty. Am I supposed to smile and see the two of you out?"

Adrian's expression went completely cold.

"I said I'll pay it back!"

Then he grabbed his car keys.

"I'm going to check on her."

"You just got home."

"She's afraid to go back to her apartment alone."

I stared at him.

"She's twenty-five. She has a job. She has a phone. Why do you always act like you're the only person she can turn to?"

Adrian's hand stopped on the doorknob.

"Because she trusts me."

Then he left.

I sat back down at the table and pushed aside the cake that had already started to melt.

On our seventh anniversary, I ate dinner alone for the first time.

I saved screenshots of our joint account on my phone and emailed the withdrawal records to myself.

Only after I finished did I realize my fingers had been trembling the entire time.