As soon as Maxine stepped inside Sean’s office, the pungent smell of a woman’s perfume hit her nose. She wanted to throw up but held it in as she did not want to embarrass herself in front of the guest.“Sit down,” Sean ordered. Maxine and Elo sat on the couch by the wall. The woman in neon sat on the other couch in front of them. Then Sean sat on the single-seater in between. “This is Elo, my best friend. He’s the Executive Director for L’Amour,” Elo nodded at the woman, who in return smiled at him. Then Sean gestured to Maxine, “This is Maxine Winther, the Creative Director.”Elo looked at Sean. He could not believe Sean did not tell the woman that Maxine was his wife. Then again, when he looked at Maxine, she didn’t seem to care.But then the woman in front of them pulled down her glasses and looked closely, “Maxine? Maxine Winther?” she repeated.Maxine creased her forehead and nodded, but she was startled when the woman started screaming and jumping. Her overgrown boobs and thick

After dinner, Rob volunteered to take Maxine home, but she refused. It was not because she didn’t want him to do it, but because she didn’t want him to find out she was living with Sean. Instead of Rob, it was Elo who brought her home.She headed straight to the kitchen to grab a drink. She didn’t know that a grim shadow followed her. After that, she headed to her room and coaxed herself to sleep.Not knowing how long it had been since she dozed off, Maxine heard movements outside her room. With just an eye open, she checked the phone gifted to her by Elo. It was 3 AM.Instead of going out to check, she pulled her blanket to her head and tried to resume her sleep. But she was startled when her door flew open, and the lights turned on.“You just got home?” Maxine asked. She was surprised to see Sean still wearing his suit in the wee hours. His tie was loose, and his hair was a mess. “Where have you been?” She asked again when he didn’t respond.To her surprise, Sean grabbed her arm and

“What are you saying?” Maxine was startled as Sean suddenly yelled at her. “Are you out of your mind? Have you forgotten that you married me because you need to pay for your crime?”“Don’t yell! I’m not deaf! Besides, even if we’re divorced, I’d still work for L’Amour. You could still see me. You can still avenge your brother’s death all you want!”Sean’s face darkened. That was his plan, to divorce Maxine once he found Ruth. But her words roared like thunder, and he rattled.“There’s no way I’ll let that happen. Even if you die, there’s no way I’d divorce you!”Chills crept down Maxine’s spine. But it was not because of what he said, but because of how he said it. To her, it sounded like a threat.“Well, I was just making a suggestion. It doesn’t really matter to me whether we divorce or not. But it will surely be a problem for Ruth.”Sean was in a trance for a moment. He couldn’t help but think of what she said. However, for an unknown reason, he can’t seem to swallow it.“I’ll go o