Chapter 3

The year I "betrayed" Samuel happened to be the second year following our marriage. I was already a month pregnant by then, but neither of us knew at the time. Meanwhile, Samuel's business was gaining momentum, and he had secured the backing of many investors as well. Things should have been looking up after that, but without warning, we hit a wall. Many investors backed out, and our funding was completely cut off. The company's products ran into one problem after another. We'd stopped paying our bank loans on time, and the house, car, and factory we had used as collateral were forfeited and auctioned off by the bank. Samuel spent those days losing sleep and barely eating. Alas, misery loved company. Samuel's mother was diagnosed with cancer that same year and required a lot of money for her treatment. I pulled strings and had someone look into these incidents, only to learn that the person who had been giving Samuel's company hell was none other than Kendall, the man whom Samuel had hit over the head with a beer bottle years ago. Kendall sought me out then. He told me that he could have one of Bloomington Group's holding companies invest in Samuel's business. He also offered to pay for Kendall's mother's cancer treatment. However, I knew Kendall wouldn't do us such big favors for free. He wasn't a saint, after all. He wouldn't offer such grand gestures of kindness without expecting an even greater repayment. I had asked Kendall why he was going to such lengths. He sneered at me. "I don't need a reason to do anything I want. I just love seeing pests like you getting all worked up despite knowing that there's nothing you can do about me. "Besides, I haven't taught Samuel a lesson yet for cracking my head open with a beer bottle. It's long overdue." I couldn't understand Kendall. He had a hundred ways to pick on Samuel and give him hell, but he settled on using me. I could still remember the scene that day, even though years had passed. We were in a dimly lit lounge, and Kendall was holding me while I perched in his lap. When Samuel entered the lounge with an agreement in hand and caught a good look at me, he froze. Tears welled up in his eyes as he asked me hoarsely, "Why?" I had answered, "Because Kendall can give me the kind of life that I want, and you can't…" Kendall burst out laughing. I felt his hand grope my waist, and my heart tightened in humiliation. However, I plastered a sickly sweet smile on my face and tried to dodge Kendall's forceful touch. "This is splendid, isn't it, Samuel? I'll recover your funding, and you'll have a deal with Bloomington Group. It's a win-win situation." Disappointment gradually worked its way into Samuel's gaze, but he reached for me all the same. "Calla, come here! I don't need you to do this for me. I'll work hard to give you the life you want, I promise." His face was close to crumbling as he pleaded. At that moment, I felt as if my heart was being torn into shreds, and breathing became difficult. He continued begging, "Calla, I don't have to sign the deal with Bloomington Group today. Come home with me…" Samuel was a man who had been full of pride and confidence, so much so that he didn't even hesitate to strike the scion of Bloomington Group on the head with a beer bottle. Yet here he was, showing such deference as he pleaded with me. Kendall guffawed like a triumphant villain. "I see that your woman is not as virtuous as you think, Samuel. I only had to curl my finger to get her to crawl into bed with me. I guess hitting me on the head with a beer bottle has gotten you nowhere, huh?" He laughed again. Samuel ignored Kendall's taunts and kept his steady gaze on me. Giggling, I clung to Kendall's neck and flashed Samuel a smile. "He's right, Samuel. Set your sights far. There's no point in being petty." I couldn't remember what happened afterward, only that Samuel signed the contract and looked at me with bloodshot eyes as he snapped, "This grudge between us will last a lifetime, Calla!" Samuel poured himself into his work like a maniac after that. In a few short years, his business had gone from a start-up to a listed company. Last year, the company even became a leading enterprise. Samuel had succeeded, and I'd become the biggest blight on his life.