Chapter 2

"If I actually let Whit resign, wouldn't that just prove there was something going on between us?"

"I, Ethan Shaw, swear to God. And the whole office was watching. There's nothing going on between Whit and me! I have a clear conscience! "

He made me laugh in spite of myself.

"A clear conscience? Perfect."

"Ethan, you're really something."

I turned and walked out. He didn't come after me.

Once I left the building, I called a private detective.

"Look into Ethan Shaw for me. I need proof that he's cheating on me."

Then I called my lawyer.

"Pull up everything under Ethan Shaw's name. I want to know whether any of our marital assets have been transferred."

I stayed home and waited until Ethan got off work.

Normally, I'd have dinner waiting for him when he got home, with several dishes and a pot of soup on the table.

Today I couldn't be bothered to cook either.

He came over and crouched down in front of me. "Vivi, are you still mad at me?"

"You broke into my office today and made a scene in front of the entire company. You completely humiliated me. But I let it go, so, can you stop giving me the cold shoulder now, please?"

"People's tastes change. When I was little, I loved sweets, but now I can't stand anything sweet at all."

"I'm getting older. It's not really that weird that I've developed a taste for spicy food."

That afternoon, the detective called me back. There were no suspicious hotel bookings under Ethan's name over the past year.

And neither he nor Whitney had been spotted in each other's neighborhoods either.

Had I really misread him?

"Since you didn't cook, let's go out to eat."

In the end, I agreed.

He started the car. "There's a new restaurant that just opened on Baker Street. The broth there is incredible; you'll love it."

He reached over to open the door for me as he spoke.

But the moment I slid into the seat, I froze.

The glove compartment in front of the passenger seat was covered in Snoopy cartoon stickers, and an ugly handmade Snoopy dangled from the rearview mirror.

"Who put these stickers and this thing in the car?"

"Oh, I went out to run some errands with a coworker, and she got bored along the way and started decorating the car."

Ethan had always hated anything overly cutesy. He'd tossed out the Hello Kitty charm I'd once hung in his car without giving it a second thought.

He would absolutely never tolerate anyone doing this to his car.

And now he'd made an exception again.

"It was Whitney."

Not a question. A statement.

He slammed his hand against the steering wheel. "Vivian, can you stop dragging Whit into everything!"

"She's just an ordinary coworker who was bored and messing around. Do you really have to make such a big deal?!"

"You're right. It's not a big deal."

I pulled the little Snoopy from the rearview mirror, rolled down the window, and dropped it into the trash can beside us.

Then, in a few quick motions, I peeled all the stickers off the glove box.

He flew into a rage.

"Vivian, what are you doing? How can you possibly have a problem with these things?"

"I don't like them. They're an eyesore."

"How many times a year do you even ride in this car? As long as they're not an eyesore to me, that's all that matters!"

And suddenly, I remembered what Ethan had told me when we first got together.

"Only you get to sit in my passenger seat."

But now another woman was sitting there.

"Why did you let someone else sit in your passenger seat?"

"What?"

"You said only I could sit in your passenger seat. But now you've let someone else sit here."

He was losing his patience.

"Vivian, are you a kid or what? Can you please be reasonable for once!"

"I went out to work with a coworker. There wasn't room in the back, so of course she had to sit up front."

"But you're the boss. Why were you the one driving?"

"Have you been watching too many TV dramas? I'm not some billionaire who needs to be waited on hand and foot. I’m not that kind of royalty!"