After my wife's assistant squandered my credit card money, I immediately got a divorce!

My wife's little assistant had been blowing money on my card like it was nothing, and at a French restaurant no less, he'd called me a kept mana useless freeloader.

I got pissed and froze his card, leaving him unable to pay the bill. Not only did he lose face in front of everyone, but the manager held him there overnight.

When my wife found out, she just tapped me on the nose playfully.

"Oh, you! A grown man getting jealous over a boy? And now he's a laughingstock because of you."

She didn't seem mad. In fact, she acted like nothing had happenedright up until my birthday, when she took me out for French cuisine.

She ordered dozens of expensive dishes and bottles of wine, saying some friends of hers would be joining us later.

"Honey, I need to step out for a bit. I'll be right back to celebrate your birthday with you."

But I waited until the restaurant was about to close. She never came back. Her friends never showed.

When I pulled out my card to pay, the manager said, "Mr. Dickerson, this card has been frozen."

"Frozen?"

This was the card Leila Galloway had given me. Before we left the house, she'd taken my own card, insisting that since it was my birthday, the bill should be on her.

I'd been so touched at the time. I'd even congratulated myself on finding such a thoughtful, reasonable wife.

But now she was nowhere to be found. I'd called her dozens of timesno answer.

If this card didn't work, I was going to have a problem.

The manager's expression shifted from polite to impatient.

"Mr. Dickerson, do you have another card you can use?"

"Just so we're clearwe don't do tabs here. You knew that after what happened last month, right?"

Of course I remembered. Last month, Leila's assistant had gone on a spending spree with the card she gave him, then called me a kept man, a useless live-in husband.

Could it be...

A bad feeling crept over me. Was this Leila's way of getting revenge for what I'd done to her assistant?

Just as the thought crossed my mind, the click of heels echoed from the entrance. I spun aroundand there was Leila Galloway walking in with her arm around Jacob Delgado, whose face was twisted with hatred as he looked at me.

Behind them trailed a group of her friends, every single one watching me like I was the evening's entertainment.

"Rick Dickerson, you love humiliating people who can't pay their bills, don't you? Well, now you get to experience it yourself. Let's see how you handle it."

The room erupted.

"I heard this Rick guy married into the Galloway family. And now his wife shows up with her new man to watch him squirm?"

"Ha! This is what happens when you're a kept husband with nothing to offer."

"Exactly. How long did he think his looks would last? The second a rich woman finds a younger, prettier face, his cushy life is over."

My fists clenched slowly. The humiliation burned through me like fire.

Just as I'd suspectedLeila had set this whole thing up to get back at me for her precious assistant.

Leila walked Jacob over to a table and pulled out a chair.

"Don't worry, sweetie," she said. "However Rick humiliated you that day, I'll make sure he gets it all back tonight."

Jacob's face lit up. Without thinking, he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you, Leila."

Then he turned to me, eyes full of spite. "Rick, you're just a useless kept man. What gave you the right to freeze my card?"

He grabbed an expensive bottle of wine from the table and smashed it at my feet.

Crash!

Wine splashed across my face, adding to my humiliation.

"Ha! Pathetic loser. Now I've got Leila to cover my tab. I can smash as many bottles as I want and she'll pay for it. But you?" He grinned. "You're finished."

Leila watched me with that same mocking smile. "Don't glare at me like you want to tear me apart. If you've got money, pay the bill and walk out."

"Ha! What money? He couldn't pay this bill if his life depended on it."

"Those dishes, the bottles of wine they've already uncorkedthe total alone would make him choke."

"He's nothing but a kept husband. Without her, he's nobody."

To make sure my humiliation was complete, Leila rose from her seat, her cold gaze sweeping the room.

"Anyone who helps Rick out of this mess becomes my enemyand an enemy of the Galloway family."

Everyone in Capital City knew the Galloways were the wealthiest family around. No one would dare cross Leila.

A few business partners I'd worked withpeople I thought were friendsstarted to stand up. But the moment Leila's warning landed, they sank back into their chairs, afraid she'd notice them moving.

"See that? She's not playing around."

"I know, right? I figured since they're legally married, she was just venting. But this is real."

"After a threat like that, who'd risk helping him?"

I lost control. I stormed over and grabbed Leila's wrist.

"Is this really what you want? To humiliate me in front of everyone for some pretty boy?"

Leila sneered and whipped her hand across my face.

Crack.

"Yes."

I turned back to her, stunned. Three years of marriage. Three years of being known as the perfect couple. She'd been the one who pursued me when I first came to Capital City.

At our wedding, she'd made vows. Loyalty until death. Love me forever.

And now? Three years. That's all it took. Every promise, every memoryshattered by her cold, calculated cruelty.

People always said live-in husbands had no dignity. The moment a younger, prettier face showed up, the free ride was over.

But Leila never understood. I didn't marry into her family for the Galloways' money. I did it because I loved her.

She pulled out a tissue and turned away, wiping the hand that had just struck me like she was cleaning off something dirty.

"You knew how much I cared about that assistant. But you just had to push."

"Rick, if you can't pay this bill, I'll have the manager strip you naked and march you out of this restaurant."

The room erupted. Laughter. Jeers. Every pair of eyes fixed on me with gleeful contempt.

"She's really going all outmaking her own husband walk out naked for the new guy."

"Can you believe it?"

"He won't be her husband much longer. After tonight, he's just another stranger."

"This is too good. Let's just watch."

The older women at nearby tables looked me up and down with amusement.

"Ooh, I want to see if he's got abs under there."

Heat burned across my face.

Before we'd left the house, Leila had taken my wallet. Made me let my guard down.

All I had was this expensive suit on my back. Not a dollar to my name.

And my phone was dead. That's when it hit meshe'd planned every detail.

"Time's running out. The restaurant wants to close, and they're waiting on you to settle up."

"Don't tell me you're broke."

"Because if you can't pay, they'll hold you here and call the police. Sound familiar? You did that to me once, remember?"

Jacob pulled out a cigarette, stuck it between his lips, and lit up.

He made a point of blowing the smoke right in my face. That smug expression pushed me over the edgemy hand shot up before I could stop it, and suddenly the table was a mess of scattered dishes and broken glass.

Leila rushed to Jacob's side, then signaled her bodyguards. They grabbed me and threw me back.

"Rick, stop it!"

"What's the matter? You can toy with people, but no one's allowed to push back?"

I glared at Leila, my eyes burning. The Galloway family had rocketed to the top of the wealth rankings in just three yearsand I was the reason why.

I'd used my family's influence to clear every obstacle in their path. Even the underground players who wanted to cause trouble for the Galloways backed off when they learned I was involved.

Tonight was supposed to be different. On my birthday, I'd planned to finally tell Leila the truththat I wasn't some nobody.

I was the heir to the most powerful of Northport's four great families.

I'd planned to bring her home to meet my parents. I never imagined someone's heart could change this fast.

I'd misjudged her. Overestimated who she really was.

"Leila. You really want me to walk out of here humiliated?"

She let out a cold laugh. "What did you think? That I set all this up just for show?"

Jacob, emboldened by the bodyguards, swung his fist into my face. "Listen up, Dickerson. You've got two options. One: you can't pay, and they haul you off to jail. Two: you get down on all fours with that steak in your mouth and crawl out of here barking like a dog."

"Oh, and here's the differenceoption one, you leave naked. Option two, you keep your clothes but lose your dignity." He laughed. "Come on, pick already. I'm getting impatient."

Dozens of eyes watched me like I was the evening's entertainment. My fists clenched until my knuckles went white. I looked at Leila without a trace of emotion.

"Fine. Since this is what you've chosen, when Galloway Group goes bankrupt, that's on you."

The words had barely left my mouth before Jacob burst out laughing, and the whole room joined in.

"Ha! Did you hear that?"

"Has this guy been reading too many romance novels? Does he think he's some secret billionaire?"

"He's lost his mind."

Leila's eyes blazed with fury. She thought I was bluffing too.

She grabbed a plate of food and hurled it at me. "Stop talking big. You're going to bankrupt my family? You think you have that kind of power?"

"Worry about your own problems!"

"Manager!" The manager caught her signal and walked over with security flanking him. His voice was cool and professional. "Mr. Dickerson, will you be paying in cash, or would you like someone else to cover the bill?"

At least he was keeping things civil.

I scanned the room and spotted someone I recognizeda business contact I'd worked with before, back when I was handling deals on behalf of the Galloways.

I started walking toward him. The moment he saw me coming, he jumped up and backed away.

"Rick, stay away from me. I can't pay for"

"Relax. I'm not asking you to pay. I just need to borrow your phone."

"Can I? I just need to call a friend to bring money."

"Ha! He's still putting on an act!" Jacob shouted. "Who in Capital City would show up to bail you out?"

"Go ahead, let him make his call. We'll give him thirty more minutes. If nobody shows up with the money, I'll let all these lovely single ladies here strip him down. A man the richest woman in the city has been with can't be all bad, right?"

Jacob turned to the cluster of wealthy older women nearby. They'd been eyeing me like wolves the entire time.

Jacob's people handed me the phone as instructed.

The moment I got it, I called my friend and told him to get the money here within thirty minutes.

Time slipped away, second by second. Ten minutes left.

Jacob couldn't wait any longer. He stood up.

"I must be an idiot to believe this guy. His so-called friend is going to show up with the cash? Please."

"Exactly! He's just stalling."

"Manager, have your boys break his hands and feet already. No one's stupid enough to cross the Galloway family for this loser. Stop wasting time."

As the manager and his security guards closed in with murder in their eyes, I raised my hand to stop them.

"Hold on. I've still got ten minutes."

"When those ten minutes are up, someone will be here with the money."

"Bullshit. When those ten minutes are uphell, I'll give you an extra tenif no one shows, I'll bite down on a piece of meat and crawl out of here on all fours like a dog."

My eyes lit up. "You said it. Remember that."

"Yeah, I said it. So what? Everyone here is my witness."

The room erupted again. "Ha! This is too good. I don't even want to go home anymore."

"Who knew dinner would come with a show like this?"

The ten minutes were almost up. One of the wealthy women couldn't waitshe reached over and ran her hand across my chest.

"Don't touch me!"

I slapped her hand away.

"Ooh, those pecs, that body. I didn't even need to touch to know. Very nice." She turned to Leila. "Ms. Galloway, why don't you just give him to me?"

Leila laughed and drained her wine glass, admiring her fresh manicure. "Why not? If he can't pay, you're all welcome to do whatever you want with him."

"Ha! Then I'm going first."

Everyone was certain I couldn't pay. They stopped caring about my consent and started grabbing at me.

My voice dropped to ice. I wanted to kill someone. But the woman didn't give a damn about the threat in my eyes.

Jacob shot a mocking look at Leila's bodyguards. "Hold him down. Pin him so these ladies can have their fun."

"Yes, sir!"

The bodyguards swarmed me, surrounding me completely.

I looked at Leila. My heart went cold.

We were still technically married. And here she was, letting other women grope me. She was humiliating herself as much as me.

She didn't care. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm not helping you."

"I just want Jacob to feel better."

With Leila's blessing, the women grew bolder.

"Come with me, handsome!"

"I've got money, sweetie. I can pay your bill for you!"

"No, nocome with me. I'm prettier than her."

They ordered the guards to hold me down while they tore at my clothes.

I struggled with everything I had. The men in the room burst out laughing.

I memorized every one of their faces. "You think this is funny? In a few minutes, you'll be the joke."

"And you." I looked at Jacob.

He spat at me. "Strip him. Time's up. No more stalling"

He didn't finish.

The doors flew open. A squad of men in black suits stormed in, moving with military precision. They took down the guards surrounding me one by one.

Then came Gavin Mercerthe most powerful bank executive in Capital City. He strode in carrying a briefcase, his face carved with an intensity that could freeze the room.

"Mr. Dickerson, I've brought the money for you. Glad I wasn't late!"