Chapter 5

I shook my head weakly, propping myself up. The pain from my illness combined with the beating left me unable to speak.

My coworker stood nearby with hands on hips, angrily pointing at me. "You've been caught red-handed in someone else's home. We practically caught you in bed together. What possible explanation could you have?"

"You're nothing but a shameless homewrecker, climbing your way to the top. No wonder you've been working so hard all these years - you were trying to climb into the boss's bed."

"If you're claiming you're not the other woman, then why are you in Ms. Everhart's house? Are you some kind of criminal sneaking around?"

The angry shouts continued relentlessly. Wylie's eyes were rimmed with red, his hands clenched tightly with veins bulging.

"Archer, I understand your ambition to get ahead. It's okay, everyone makes mistakes. If you just apologize to me, I might be able to forgive you."

"Just don't do anything like this again in the future. It's not right."

"You're lucky you're dealing with someone as understanding as me. If it was anyone else, you might not have made it out of here alive today..."

I sat up slowly, fighting through the pain. But before I could explain myself, the door was suddenly kicked open.Vivienne's brow furrowed, her voice turning sinister and terrifying, "Don't you all have anything better to do? What are you doing in my house?"

The room fell silent in an instant. The coworkers who had just been wearing menacing expressions suddenly lowered their heads, exchanging uneasy glances.

Wylie approached Vivienne with his head bowed, cautiously tugging at her collar.

"Vivienne, some coworkers saw that Archer has been staying at your place for several days now. They're all saying Archer is the third wheel between us. I don't believe it; I only believe in you..."

"Whatever you tell me, I'll believe it."

Hearing the words "third wheel," Vivienne abruptly looked up at me, then quickly averted her gaze after our eyes met.

Seeing no response from her, Wylie's face showed obvious distress. As he spoke, he managed to squeeze out a few tears.

"Vivienne... there's nothing between you two, right? Just tell me, you can say anything, just as long as you tell me..."

Not only was I eagerly awaiting Vivienne's answer, but everyone standing in the room was on edge, anticipating her response.Vivienne's eyes darted to the floor, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. "He's just a relative from my past. He's dealing with some family issues and is staying with me for a while."

The group collectively exhaled in relief, immediately shooting sideways glances at me.

Wylie broke into a smile, nodding incessantly.

"I knew it, I just knew it..."

Witnessing this scene unfold before me, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Years of dating aside, after eight years of marriage, I've been reduced to nothing more than a relative in her family.

I pushed myself up, supporting my back as I stood. Reaching for the coffee table nearby, I grabbed our marriage certificate and forcefully slammed it onto the person in front of me.

"I'm not just some relative of Vivienne's."

"I'm Vivienne's husband."

"Well, not for much longer. If you're looking to make your move, you might want to start getting ready."

Vivienne's eyes widened in disbelief as she frantically grabbed my arm.

"Archer, I dare you to say that again!"

Her grip was intense, her nails threatening to dig into my very bone marrow.

I took a deep breath, looked at her with a blank expression, and repeated what I had just said.

"I said, Vivienne, we're getting a divorce."