Chapter 3

I laughed mockingly. "A limited-edition watch? Who does he think he is? He doesn't deserve it."

"Chloe, people should act according to their status."

I took a step closer, my voice turning ice-cold.

"It is only natural for my wife to wear limited-edition jewelry and custom designer gowns."

"But if you, Chloe Miller, want to keep your foot in the door of high society... money alone won't cut it."

Chloe flew into a rage. "Ethan! We have important business to discuss! Julian worked incredibly hard on this deal. Please leave immediately!"

She actually screamed at me for this useless parasite.

I sneered. "Fine. Let's see what Julian is actually capable of."

Furious, Chloe threw her bag at Julian and stormed out.

Julian gave me a smug, greasy smirk before jogging to catch up with her.

Before the sound of her heels faded, I dialed a number.

"Proceed with the plan. Have Arthur Sterling give them a proper welcome."

Then, I ordered a cup of coffee and sat by the floor-to-ceiling window.

I had only taken two sips when Chloe's call came through.

Her voice was so shrill that I had to pull the phone away from my ear.

"Ethan, you despicable coward!"

"Arthur Sterling tore up the contract in front of everyone! He called Julian a gold-digging boy toy who lives off sugar mommies!"

"He even mocked me, saying I slept my way to the top and wanted to have my cake and eat it too!"

"You put him up to this, didn't you?! I must have been blind to marry you!"

I calmly set my cup down. "He has his own mouth. How can I control what he says?"

"If your conscience were clear, you wouldn't be so defensive."

Before I could finish, Chloe screamed hysterically.

"The deal is dead, and Julian was humiliated so badly he ran away! Are you happy now?!"

The corner of my mouth turned up. "Happy? I'm just putting things back where they belong."

Chloe hung up in a fit of rage.

I called HR and had every trace of Julian erased from the company.

At this point, I felt I had left Chloe with enough dignity and room to back down.

As long as she behaved and returned to being Mrs. Vance, we could still make this work.

Unfortunately, she didn't value the opportunity I gave her at all.