He turned away, his voice cold and hard. "Hurry up. Take the trash and get out. And don't ever take another job from our household."
My stomach lurched violently. I bit down on my lower lip until the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.
Without a word, I bent down and picked up the broken pieces from the floor. Then I grabbed the garbage bag stuffed with seven years of my life, turned, and walked out the front door.
I had barely stepped past the gate of the complex when my phone screen lit up.
A text from Otto: Meet me at the coffee shop across the street. I'm coming now.
I stood on the corner in the biting wind for ten minutes before Otto appeared, wearing a surgical mask and a baseball cap pulled low, jogging toward me.
He grabbed my wrist and tried to examine the cut on the back of my hand.
"Joan, does it still hurt? Davina was right there. I couldn't just—"
I wrenched my hand free and took a full step back, putting distance between us.
"Don't touch me. I'm too dirty for you, remember?"
Otto blinked, then irritation crept across his face. He lowered his voice, an edge of accusation in every word.
"Joan, can you stop being so dramatic? What was I supposed to do back there?"
"Davina has tens of millions of followers. My company's cash flow just collapsed. I need her reach for product promotion and the investors behind her. Being with her is just an act. You're the one I love. You've always been the one."
I stared at that familiar face of his and felt nothing but nausea.
"Just an act?" I let out a cold laugh. "Does 'just an act' mean throwing my things out like garbage? Does it mean buying her handbags worth over a hundred thousand dollars? You make me sick, Otto."
He stepped forward and gripped both my shoulders.
"You think I enjoy groveling for someone else's approval? Who do you think I'm killing myself for? It's for us. For our future! You're an organizer. You fold clothes and sort closets all day. You have no idea how cutthroat the business world is!"
"Once I land the investment from Davina's family and the company stabilizes, I'll dump her and marry you. All you have to do is hang on a little longer. Just pretend none of this happened."
So that was his logic.
He had used my money to start his company. He had spent my youth as his safety net. And now, for profit, he had climbed into another woman's bed and had the nerve to blame me for not being understanding enough.