Long before I married Eve, I'd already built my own business empire. Back then, I'd wanted to inspect the subsidiary's operations firsthand, so I entered the newly established branch under the guise of a low-level employee. It was at a meeting there that I first met Eve.
I noticed she had real drive, a fierce ambition for her career. So I took on a mentoring approach, gradually sharing my management experience with her while quietly having corporate HR promote her step by step until she became president of the subsidiary.
I just never revealed my identity. I didn't want to undermine her confidence.
Over time, I developed feelings for her, and I told her how I felt.
Not long after we got together, she proposed splitting all expenses fifty-fifty. She said it would keep the pressure on both of us to keep striving, so neither would fall behind the other.
I agreed without hesitation. That arrangement had continued ever since.
I never expected that the very rule she'd put in place would be what led me to discover her betrayal.
Before long, Eve came home.