After You Satisfacted Me, I Satisfacted Her Entire Empire

When our number was called at the marriage bureau, Pearl Delgado stopped in her tracks.

"The truth is, the person I really love is Ronnie."

"Last month, while you were away on business, I took him to the Maldives. We slept together."

"Last night, he was crying, begging me to be with him one last time. He promised he'd never come between us again. But I just couldn't bear to say no."

"Ronnie's still young. He's so innocent. He can't live without me, and I can't abandon him."

I stared at Ronnie Harding in disbelief.

Just days ago, he'd been in tears, thanking me for all the years I'd supported him, calling me his brother.

Now he stood there with reddened eyes. "I'm sorry, Marcus Henson. But love doesn't follow a schedule..."

Pearl glanced down at the household registration booklet in her hand, her tone almost casual.

"Marcus, I don't want to hide it from you anymore."

"Don't worry. You'll still be my husband. Ronnie just needs to stay by my side. That's all."

"Whether we go in and sign the papers is up to you."

...

I stared at Pearl. Then, slowly, my gaze shifted to Ronnie Harding standing beside her.

This was the woman I had loved for seven years. My fiancée.

This was the scholarship student I had sponsored for five years.

They'd been tangled in hotel sheets in the Maldives behind my back. They'd been in each other's arms the night before we were supposed to register our marriage.

I tore the number slip to pieces.

The scraps drifted down, scattering across the floor of the marriage bureau.

Pearl's expression darkened instantly.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Marcus?"

"This is the marriage bureau. Have some decency."

I didn't acknowledge her. My eyes were locked on Ronnie.

"I sponsored you for five full years."

"I paid for your college. Bought your clothes. Covered your tuition. I even paid your mother's medical bills."

"And this is how you repay me? By crawling into your benefactor's fiancée's bed?"

Ronnie flinched. His voice came out thin and stammering.

"That's not... Marcus, you have a great family background, you're talented. You'd be fine even without getting married."

"But all I have is Pearl. If you... if you can't accept that, then I'll just throw myself against a pillar right here outside the marriage bureau!"

He stumbled backward, sobbing, and actually lunged toward a concrete column as if to bash his head against it.

Pearl grabbed him just in time, then whipped around and glared at me.

"Enough, Marcus!"

"It's bad enough you always act like you're above everyone."

"Ronnie has severe depression. Did you know that? Are you not going to stop until you drive someone to their death?"

Depression?

A cold laugh escaped me.

"He wasn't depressed when he was spending my money."

"He wasn't depressed on vacation in the Maldives."

"But now that he's been exposed as the other man in front of everyone, suddenly he's depressed?"

A flicker of panic crossed Pearl's eyes, but she raised her voice, righteous and defiant.

"I'm the one who took him there!"

"He's under so much pressure all the time. He needed to relax."

"Do you always have to be so aggressive?"

I looked at the woman I had been with for seven years and felt like I was staring at a stranger.

I had given up my chance to study abroad for her. I had stood beside her from nothing, all the way through Delgado Corp's IPO. And she treated everything I'd sacrificed as something she was owed.

Ronnie's timid voice cut in again.

"Don't blame Pearl, Marcus."

"It's all my fault. I couldn't help falling in love with her."

His shamelessness was so staggering it almost made me laugh. I raised my hand to slap him across the face.

Pearl stepped in front of Ronnie, shielding him.

"Are you done, Marcus?"

"I already told you the position of my husband is still yours. What more do you want?"