I paused and struggled to find the right words.

"Mr. Joubert, I'm busy. I don't have time to mess with you," I said.

Emmanuel held my gaze. His tone was completely serious. "I'm not messing with you. I'm serious. I've had feelings for you since middle school. That hasn't changed, not even after all these years."

I raised an eyebrow as I was doubtful about what he'd just said. I could buy it if he was just trying to rile Silas up, but saying he'd been into me since middle school? That didn't seem like the case at all.

Silas lost it and swung at Emmanuel. The next thing I knew, they were throwing punches right there in the open.

I tried to stop them, but when neither listened, I backed off. It wasn't like they were going to kill each other, and besides, it was broad daylight, right in front of the courthouse.

Watching them fight felt dumb, so I flagged down a cab and headed straight 

"Forget it. Forget it. Silas is the one out of luck," Grandpa said.

After I stepped out of the ward, Silas quietly thanked me. He must've overheard Grandpa and me talking earlier.

"You don't need to thank me. I kept quiet because I didn't want Grandpa getting more upset. It wasn't about you," I said.

Silas nodded, and his eyes revealed something I couldn't quite read.

"I get it. So... you're seeing someone?" he asked.

I furrowed my brow. "That's none of your business."

"Sorry."

"Grandpa's good now. I've got work to do, so I'm heading out."

With that, I turned and walked off.

Since that day, Silas and Whitney hadn't bothered hiding their relationship at all. They made it obvious. I tried to tune them out, but they kept making the entertainment headlines, and everyone at Seymour Group couldn't stop gossiping about them.

Whitney was all about tulips. So, Silas spent a few million 

I slapped Silas so hard that my hand went numb. A bright red handprint bloomed across his pale face.

"Silas!" Whitney gasped.

She rushed to him, giving me a look that could kill.

I rubbed my fingers, looked at Silas without a hint of emotion, and said, "You've been lying to me for three months. This slap settles the score."

"Rhea, don't you think you're taking this too far? No one's ever dared to lay a hand on Silas!" Whitney bellowed.

I stared at her, completely unfazed. "Ever been told no one's ever pushed me around like this?"

Back when Mom and Dad were still around, they spoiled me rotten. Everyone knew I had a tough side, so hardly anyone thought about crossing me.

After they passed in a car accident, I toned down a lot, but that didn't mean I was someone people could walk all over.

Whitney frowned and was about to argue, but Silas stepped in and pulled her back. His face was unreadable in the faint glow of the streetlamp.

"Whitney, enough," he said.

"But—"

"It's on me. I deserved it. Let's go."

Whitney shot me a resentful look, but in the end, she walked off with Silas without saying a word.

I turned and made my way back to my rented apartment. I spent the whole night throwing out everything that had to do with Silas. There was no point in holding on to any of those bad memories.

By the time I finished, it was already past 6:00 am, and the sky was starting to brighten. I decided to skip sleep. I grabbed my ID and marriage certificate and headed straight to the courthouse to wait.

Silas showed up at the entrance exactly at 9:00 am. I didn't waste time with small talk. I just turned and walked in.

The divorce went smoothly. Seymour Group was returned to me. Silas gave me tens of millions and two villas, but I donated them to a foundation so they wouldn't go to waste.

After getting the divorce decree, I stepped out of the courthouse. I was about to hail a cab when Silas suddenly called out to me.

"I'm sorry for lying to you," he said. His voice was sincere, and his face was full of regret.

"You don't have to apologize. The slap I gave you last night settled everything," I said.

Silas frowned like he was about to say something, but then his gaze fixed on something. I followed his eyes and glanced down, only to realize I was still wearing the silver ring he'd given me.

He bought it for 52 dollars from a street vendor after I sold my wedding ring to pay off some debt. I didn't even want it at first because I thought it was a waste of money, but he wouldn't let it go.

Silas promised he'd buy me back the wedding ring I sold someday. He was so serious about it that I actually teared up. After that, I treated the silver ring like a treasure. I polished it every night before bed. 

He probably had a good laugh at how easily I fell for it. Looking back, I could see how dumb I was to believe everything he said. I took off the ring and tossed it into the nearest trash can.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I just forgot to toss it out last night with everything else," I said.

Silas' lips twitched, and his expression was unreadable.

I frowned. He looked like he was about to say something but thought better of it, and I couldn't make sense of what was going on in his head.

Wasn't he supposed to be relieved that we were already divorced? Shouldn't he be off celebrating with Whitney? So why did he look like someone just robbed him blind?

I ignored him and stepped up to hail a cab.

Out of nowhere, a red Lamborghini rolled up in front of me. Emmanuel Joubert was behind the wheel, flashing a grin.

"Rhea, congrats on finally getting out of all that mess. Hit me up when you're ready for round two of marriage. I'm your guy," he said.

Silas' expression soured. He shot Emmanuel a look cold enough to chill him to the bone.

"Stop messing around, Emmanuel," he muttered.

Emmanuel had been in the same class as Silas and me since elementary school. The three of us were pretty close back then. But something went down between him and Silas in middle school, and they ended up becoming sworn enemies.

Lately, they'd become ruthless business rivals. They were always taking shots at each other, poaching clients, and digging up dirt like they were dead set on tearing each other down.

I barely kept in touch with Emmanuel, so I had no clue how he even found out about my divorce from Silas.

Before I could process it, he said, "Silas, you and I both know I'm not messing around."

Then, he got out of the car and walked right up to me.

"Rhea, I know this is coming out of nowhere, but if you're up for it, we can head to City Hall and get married right now."

I paused and struggled to find the right words.

"Mr. Joubert, I'm busy. I don't have time to mess with you," I said.

Emmanuel held my gaze. His tone was completely serious. "I'm not messing with you. I'm serious. I've had feelings for you since middle school. That hasn't changed, not even after all these years."

I raised an eyebrow as I was doubtful about what he'd just said. I could buy it if he was just trying to rile Silas up, but saying he'd been into me since middle school? That didn't seem like the case at all.

Silas lost it and swung at Emmanuel. The next thing I knew, they were throwing punches right there in the open.

I tried to stop them, but when neither listened, I backed off. It wasn't like they were going to kill each other, and besides, it was broad daylight, right in front of the courthouse.

Watching them fight felt dumb, so I flagged down a cab and headed straight to Seymour Group.

Silas had been running it for the past few years, so I hadn't been involved much.

Chapter 4