Chapter 3

The company that Enrica had an interview with was a multinational pharmaceutical company. She had originally applied for a sales manager position, but because she was 30 years old without any children and had left the workforce for two years, the HR department eventually assigned her to a sales assistant position. Her basic salary was 4,500 dollars plus commission, and if she did not secure any sales in three months, she would be asked to pack up and leave. She recalled how she had been the backbone of her company before she resigned from her job two years ago. Her manager had advised her multiple times not to abandon her career for love. However, she had been obstinate and rushed headlong into marriage like a moth to a flame, chasing a life of peace and security. Little had she known that the life she was chasing would turn out to be one of suffering. Now that she was returning to the workforce, society was teaching her a hard life lesson—this was the price of marriage. She smiled bitterly and signed the employment contract. She believed in herself, and she was confident that her career would not stagnate here. She would officially start work tomorrow, so after running through the formalities, she left the company. She headed to the address that Zayne had given her and knocked on the door, which was quickly opened. Zayne stood inside the house with no apparent expression on his face. "You're back," he said politely. She smiled politely back at him. "Yes. I've bought some food. If you haven't eaten yet, how about we eat together?" He paused slightly. She thought that he was going to refuse her offer, but unexpectedly, he agreed. "Alright. I'll get the cutlery." He even brought out a bottle of fruit wine. She toasted him at the dinner table and said, "Thank you for coming to my aid at the courthouse today." Zayne smiled faintly with his wine glass in hand, seemingly unconcerned about the matter. "Just consider me a good Samaritan standing up for what's right. We're partners, after all." At his mention of them being partners, she said with slight embarrassment, "I'll pay you rent for the house based on the market price. I'll have to owe you a portion of the rent for the first two months, but I'll pay you back in full after I get my salary." He simply nodded. After dinner, he asked, "It's still early, so how about we go for a walk together? There's another person living here now, so there are many things that need to be purchased. We'll split the cost." She had no choice but to go along. "Sure." Neither of them owned a car, so they could only walk to the shopping mall. Fortunately, it was not too far away, and it only took them ten minutes or so to get there. As the two of them browsed the home appliances section, pushing a shopping cart between them, Zayne suddenly stopped. Enrica followed his gaze and stiffened involuntarily. It was often said that enemies would inevitably meet each other time and time again. A short distance away from them, Sheila was holding Miguel's arm while leaning lovingly against his shoulder. Standing next to Miguel was his younger sister, Rohana. Sheila looked over in surprise. "What a coincidence, Ms. Schubert. Are you also here to purchase the necessary supplies for living together?" Miguel's expression immediately darkened. Rohana crossed her arms over her chest and sneered, "Why are you so shameless, Enrica Schubert? You only just got divorced and immediately remarried. You've completely disgraced the Zucker family!" As soon as the words left her mouth, the surrounding people started looking Enrica up and down. They were shocked that a woman who looked so pretty was actually such a player. Enrica subconsciously squeezed Zayne's hand. She had never really gotten along with Rohana. In the two years she was married to Miguel, Rohana had made it a point to bully her whenever possible due to her family background and had even gone as far as to pour boiling water on her once. Enrica had countless other memories of Rohana belittling her like this in public. In the past, she would endure it as much as she could for Miguel's sake, but suffering in silence had not helped her achieve a good ending. She felt suffocated. She looked at Rohana and said in a very soft voice, "You say that I remarried as soon as I divorced, but didn't your older brother practically do the same? My husband and I are legally married, but Miguel and Sheila are still unmarried. Who exactly deserves to hold their head high here?" Miguel's expression instantly turned stormy at her words, and he snapped with suppressed anger, "Why are you getting all passive-aggressive, Enrica? Sheila and I truly love each other, and it's not your place to express your opinion! Know your place!" Rohana sneered and added, "That's right. Just look at yourself! What do a pair of adulterers know of legal marriage? Do you think yourself comparable to Sheila? You sure have a lot of nerve to act all high-and-mighty despite being such a slut!' Enrica felt her chest twinge in pain as if she had taken a heavy blow to the chest. Look at herself? When Miguel first hooked up with Sheila, she was still the Zuckers' official daughter-in-law and Miguel's legitimate wife! She was the one who had chosen to let the matter rest and helped the couple attain their wish of being together, but in the end, she was the one being ridiculed for being unworthy due to her status. She gazed at Miguel with dull eyes and said, her voice still soft as silk, "You can rest assured that I want, more than anyone, to completely sever ties with all of you." She said this with a dejected look on her face, like a flower that had been nipped harshly by frost on the day it fully bloomed, leaving it to wither away overnight. A strange feeling curled around Miguel's heart. He could not help recalling the day of their wedding two years ago, when she had smiled tenderly at him and said, "Please take care of me for the rest of my life." Sheila suddenly shook him gently and asked, "How about you just forget it, Miguel? Ms. Schubert probably didn't mean it in a bad way…" He instantly came back to his senses. He had married Enrica back then simply out of convenience, and Sheila was the one he actually loved. He looked at Enrica with annoyance. "It'd better be as you say!" He turned to leave, pulling Sheila along with him. Rohana's eyes flashed with dissatisfaction, and she suddenly rammed into Enrica, who was completely unprepared for her assault. Just as she was about to fall over, a hand suddenly reached out to catch her by the waist and pulled her aside. Rohana had thrown herself at Enrica with all her strength, not expecting Enrica to dodge. Unable to control her momentum, she ended up falling directly against one of the shelves. The items on the shelves fell to the floor in a series of loud clatters. The number of onlookers instantly increased. Rohana had made a fool of herself, which made her furious. "You did that on purpose, didn't you, Enrica Schubert?" An employee rushed over and was stunned to see the mess on the floor. "What happened here?" Rohana pointed at Enrica and said angrily, "Settle things with her! She's the one who did all this!" The employee looked hesitantly at Enrica. "Excuse me, miss. You're going to have to pay compensation for damaging so many of the supermarket's products…" Everyone looked at her, but nobody spoke up on her behalf. That included Miguel and Sheila, who had seen Rohana do it with their own eyes. Enrica stood in the spotlight, feeling a strong sense of loneliness and helplessness. "It wasn't me," she said weakly, attempting to explain herself, but her words fell short in isolation. Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind and wrapped itself around her waist, as if lending her strength. A tall figure then stepped forward to stand beside her. "I can testify that my wife did not touch those shelves," he said confidently. "It's this woman here who suddenly attempted to ram into her and knocked down the merchandise on the shelves." Rohana immediately glared at him. "You're spouting nonsense! I say you're both in cohorts, and you're deliberately framing me in order to absolve that bitch of blame!" Zayne looked expressionlessly at the employee. "You can check the surveillance feed. If there's any dispute, you can call the police, but my wife will not plead guilty to a false charge." His voice was calm and powerful, slowly calming down Enrica's heart.