Chapter 4

“He says if you ask again, next month's allowance will be cut in half.”

A thirty-dollar transfer followed.

I stared at the notification for a long time before accepting it.

At least I could have breakfast.

But I couldn't breathe in a marriage where even begging didn't get me enough to eat.

After thinking about it for a long time, I finally texted Ethan.

“If you can't afford to support me, let's get divorced.”

That evening, I reported to the bar at the agreed time. I changed into the black uniform and sat in the break room, eating a bagel I'd bought on the way.

The manager kept looking between his phone and my face.

“You look a lot like that Grant Group wife. You're not here to pull something, are you?”

I waved him off and took another bite.

“You've got the wrong person. I'm nobody's trophy wife.”

He looked me up and down, then relaxed.

“Yeah. I guess the wife of Grant Group's CEO wouldn't end up looking like this.”

“Finish eating and get to work.”

It was my first shift, and I was still learning. The lead server showed me the usual tasks, but the bar was so busy she couldn't keep helping me.

“Nora, take this bottle to VIP Eight. Don't keep them waiting.”

I took it and started checking the rooms, trying not to look as nervous as I felt. Every so often, a drunk customer tried to chat me up.

At the end of the hall, I finally found Room Eight.

I was about to push the door open when I saw someone on the couch whom I knew far too well.

Ethan.

He must have had quite a lot to drink. He usually held his liquor well, but his cheeks were flushed.

He wore a black shirt, the top two buttons undone. Leaning back on the couch, he casually lifted his vape and took a drag.

“Is four hundred and fifty thousand a month too little to give your wife?”

The friend beside him turned sharply.

“Did I hear that right? Four hundred and fifty thousand a month isn't enough for her?”

I knew him. Luke Carter, Ethan's childhood friend. We'd met a few times.

Ethan exhaled and gave a quiet grunt of agreement.

“After the way her father treated her growing up, I figured she wouldn't throw money around, even if she had it.”

“But Claire says she runs out every month. She's always going to expensive clubs. It never stops.”

Luke jumped off the couch.

“Ethan, is she paying some guy on the side? She looks so quiet. I never would've guessed she was into that.”

Ethan turned toward him. He narrowed his eyes and set the vape down.

“She's getting worse. The last few days she's even been saying she's pregnant, asking Claire to send money over and over.”

“Last night she stood there acting like she had nothing. I gave in and had another hundred and fifty thousand sent to her.”

He paused, then drained his glass.

“This morning she texted me asking for a divorce because apparently I can't afford to support her.”

I heard every word from the hallway.

If I hadn't opened my bank app and seen those monthly deposits of a hundred and twenty dollars, I might almost have believed him.

If he wasn't talking about me, there had to be someone else.

I shook so hard with anger that I couldn't stand there another second. I pushed the door open.

Ethan froze.

“Nora? What are you doing here?”

Luke went pale and instinctively stepped in front of him.

“Nora, calm down.”