Chapter 2
The next morning, I had barely settled into my office chair when Zoe burst in, wearing a bright red floral dress.
“So, did you and the wifey have a passionate reunion last night?” she teased, perching on my desk and swinging her legs.
I took a sip of the coffee my secretary had prepared. “We’ve been sleeping in separate rooms for years now, as you well know.”
Zoe smirked and scoffed. “Separate rooms? That’s nothing. It’s just a matter of going through one door and into another. Didn’t you once dramatically threaten to kill yourself over your wife?”
I looked at her helplessly. “You know I promised Sophia I’d go home at least twice a week to be with Chloe, no matter how busy work gets. I’m purely there for our daughter; you’re reading too much into it.”
Zoe was silent for a moment, then tilted her head. “No, I want you to prove it to me.”
I laughed. “How am I supposed to do that?”
She bit her lip lightly, using the tip of her high heel to nudge my crotch. “Let it prove it.”
I glanced at the half-open office door. “There are people outside. We’re flying to Chengdu this afternoon anyway, so tonight we can—”
Before I could finish, Zoe’s hand was already reaching for me… with practiced ease.
“They won’t come in if they see me here. Besides, isn’t it more exciting with people around?” she purred.
Zoe had been insatiable lately, her desires reaching alarming levels. She would also get angry suddenly, and I often didn’t even know why. To avoid trouble, I had been trying to go along with her whims.
I caught her wandering hand, chuckling, “Try to keep it down a bit, will you?”
“Make me!” she challenged.
“…”
Zoe was my business partner and my lover. We had been together for four years.
She and Sophia were two completely different types of women. If Sophia was a gentle, harmless rabbit, then Zoe was a lioness.
Confident, proud, vibrant, always brimming with strength and courage.
Zoe and I were both VPs at local investment banks, originally competitors from different companies. After crossing paths in various professional settings, we developed a mutual admiration.
She was a firm believer in never marrying or having children. Her bold declaration was well-known in the industry:
“I make $200,000 a year, I’m rich, beautiful, and capable. Why would I need a man or a child to lower my quality of life?”
This statement made her an idol among her female subordinates, who saw her as a role model for women.
I suppose many men go through a complex process of struggle, hesitation, and testing before they cheat. But I later realized that when the time, place, and person are all right, the brain doesn’t have time to think.
Like my first time with Zoe. It was at an industry dinner. We’d had a few drinks, and we ran into each other in the elevator on the way back to our rooms.
Somehow, we ended up kissing passionately. The elevator doors opened and closed, but we couldn’t bear to part. We stumbled into the room, barely making it inside.
We didn’t even make it to the bed.
It happened right there against the door.
…
The coffee had gone cold. I stood up, wiping lipstick off my pants.
Zoe sat on the desk, touching up her makeup. Her phone on the table rang, and she casually picked it up, giggling as she read the message.
“Your wife says she’s prepared some medicine for you and is having it delivered. She doesnd some medicine for you and is’t want you to get sick while in Jiuzhaigou. Hah, I have to admit, I can’t compete with that level of devotion!”
Whenever Zoe mentioned Sophia to me, she never used her name or called her “your wife.” She always said “that woman of yours,” as if Sophia wasn’t even worth mentioning.
She probably thought the only reason Sophia was still my wife in name was because Zoe herself adhered to her no-marriage policy. Because she had no interest in competing for the position.
After all, in terms of looks, education, and ability, the two women weren’t even in the same league.
So in Zoe’s mind, Sophia’s current comfortable life was something she had graciously allowed her to have.
I suddenly felt an inexplicable irritation rising within me.
I snatched the phone away, snapping, “She’s still my wife. If she doesn’t care about me, who will? You?”
Zoe froze, staring at me in shock.