Ray POV
I had obtained all I needed from him. He had voluntarily destroyed his own marriage, thrown himself into a cri that he had planned, found himself in a pinch over his ga project, and lastly...
Taking off the wedding ring, the last rembrance of a beautiful life with Claudia.
Since I had squeezed out his usefulness, I could simply sit tight and watch how he destroyed his own previously blissful life with a loving wife and a cute child, all because he showed his true nature with just a few monetary incentives.
But he wanted advice, so that was what he got, even if it was bad advice.
"Recall so weird things that Claudia did before the event, so the police would get even more suspicious of her."
Miles’ eyes glinted with relief as he finally got a "good" piece of advice.
"You’re right. I need to keep pinning her down as the culprit, so there’s no chance for the police to suspect and Clarissa."
Yes, you should do that, Miles. Little did you know, there are bound to be so inconsistencies when you’re making up stories, and soon enough, you’ll beco one of the suspects as well.
That sinister thought crossed my mind, and I couldn’t help but show a devilish grin, thinking about how Miles would look nervous as he could barely create a consistent story in front of those oppressive detectives.
I walked out of the eting room and headed to my office. I had another schedule in about an hour with Thomas Page, but my mind drifted back to the penthouse, thinking about how Claudia would react once she saw Miles’ wedding ring in my hand.
Would she snap at ? Yelling at for being a heartless bastard just like usual?
Or would she cry until I was forced to turn around to block the image of her tears out of my head?
Or maybe she’d be more than happy to keep the wedding ring for herself so she could reminisce about the past?
Hah, surely I wouldn’t allow her to do the third one, but curiosity made it hard for to think about other things.
Even when Thomas Page was in my office, I was dazed a few tis, to the point that he actually called out for it.
"Ray, it’s unprofessional to think about other things while my money is on the line."
"Oh—my apologies," I said. "Should we postpone this eting then? Indeed, I am a little distracted, and I don’t want to give you bad advice because of it."
"Sure, I get why you’re distracted though. You keep touching the ring in your chest pocket. Is that for the missus?" Thomas Page pointed out. "I didn’t expect that the scary Mr. Gatlin can feel love and already has a plan to propose."
"... What?"
"You have a ring in your pocket. So I assu it’s for your woman," Thomas Page made it even clearer now. "Honestly, I think it’s about ti. You are always married to your job, and no matter how many won I introduced to you, you’d either go on just one date or reject them outright. As your friend, I feel obliged to make you feel less lonely."
"... "
"Don’t forget to invite to your wedding," Thomas Page said with a smile. "You’ve been giving good advice on how to manage my trust fund. Though I know you’re doing it out of your obligation, I still think your advice is genuine, and I prefer to see you as a friend, Ray."
I didn’t expect things to develop this way. Did Thomas really think that I’d give a woman like Claudia a wedding ring?
That was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard in my life, right next to that ti my father said that my stepmother was a loving woman and a good mother to .
Claudia didn’t deserve a wedding ring from , nor did I deserve to propose to her. We were enemies, bound by hatred and everlasting enmity. How could we end up as a married couple?
Yet, for a mont, my mind began to visualize the dream I had last night—Claudia and I sitting in our beach house, staring at the sea while I embraced her.
...
Before I could drown in that fantasy, I quickly pulled myself back to reality and scoffed at Thomas.
"Stop with the joke, Tom. Didn’t I tell you once that no woman will ever shake ?"
"Hmm, you did. But people can change, you know? You can say that now, but once you find the right one, you’ll realize how life would feel empty without her," Tom sighed as he caressed the ring on his finger. "That’s why I married Elaine, despite my father’s disapproval. I fell in love, and I married the right woman who gives joy every day."
"Had I followed my father’s advice and married the woman of his choice, my life would’ve been pretty miserable," Thomas added.
He looked at with the eyes of a sage, as if he were an old man with tons of experience giving his youngster advice, even though we were only one year apart in age.
"I’m curious what kind of woman can lt your heart. You might not show it outright, but whenever I introduce you to a woman, the first reaction you show is disdain. I thought you were into n instead, but your reaction is even worse with them," Thomas chuckled. "Your future missus—she must be a wonderful woman, eh?"
...
Slowly, a mysterious heat spread through my body, making feel fidgety all the sudden.
The image of that dream surfaced again, complete with her genuine smile in that beautiful mont when I gave her a kiss on the lips.
But reality quickly shut down as I rembered the way she cursed as if I deserved to die alone and in agony, the way she always looked at like a monster she had to be careful around.
And then the final pull back to reality was the wedding ring in my pocket. It was a trinket from Miles and Claudia’s love in the past, when she decided to humiliate and then married my stepbrother.
That final reminder hit like icy water, soaking my body with extre coldness, and shocking my mind back into clarity.
"You couldn’t be more wrong, Tom," I demurred coldly. "She’s flippant, and has no love for a heinous man like ."
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