Framed by My Wife, I Buy Her Company

Valerie Palmer, who has been in a secret marriage with me, brings her secretary, Thomas Freeman, to the family gathering.

After she has half a glass of red wine, Thomas snatches the glass over and downs the rest.

When Thomas takes a bite out of the pickled cucumber and deems it too sour, he feeds it to Valerie right away, who swallows it without a second thought.

Having witnessed everything, I hand the divorce agreement to Valerie.

She looks at me coldly. "Is it really necessary for you to do this? Thomas is just a secretary."

I can't hold it back anymore. "You never even touched the glasses that I've used before, and yet you could eat something that was coated in his saliva?"

Valerie responds by throwing the papers in my face. "You call yourself a mature adult even though all you do is feel jealous all the time! Don't you think this is embarrassing?"

She seems to be used to not taking me seriously at all. Even now, she still thinks that I'm just throwing a tantrum.

I lower my head, a bitter smile gracing my face. "Valerie Palmer, I want a divorce from you."

After parting with Valerie Palmer on a bad note, I tossed the divorce papers to her regular secretary, Melissa Ryans, instead.

Valerie never signed them nor contacted me afterward, but that was just typical of her. After all, I was always the one caving and going back to her like her most loyal lapdog, begging to get back together with her.

She was sure and convinced that I loved her enough to always go back to her, no matter what she did to me.

However, she didn't know that I had completely given up on her this time. I was done with her and with our relationship.

…

The company successfully went public a month later. It was the culmination of both my and Velerie's hard work, and I had to be there to attend the launch no matter what.

At the launch event, Valerie moved through the crowd with Thomas Freeman, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts with the rest of the people as if they were the married couple instead.

Thomas smiled faintly at her, occasionally brushing a strand of hair from her forehead, and Valerie also casually took his arm and linked hands with him.

I turned away, trying to ignore them, but Thomas led her and approached me instead.

"What are you doing hiding here away by yourself, Mr. Hall? Don't you know that Val and I have been looking for you everywhere?"

There were faint dimples in his cheek as he smiled innocently at me while he spoke.

Meanwhile, Valerie looked down at me condescendingly and asked, "Have you realized your mistake yet?"

I remained expressionless as I said, "I never made any mistakes."

She was enraged by my attitude. "Don't you be such an ungrateful brat, Alexander Hall! I've had it up to here with your attitude!"

And yet, she was still linking arms with Thomas while saying that to me.

I looked at her and laughed in anger. "I've already given you the divorce papers. Sign it as soon as possible."

Valerie looked at me like I was a stranger. She didn't seem to think that I would have such a harsh attitude toward her.

Thomas spoke up just then. "Alright, don't get mad at her anymore, Mr. Hall. You know that Val is a lightweight drinker. All I did was drink on her behalf.

"If you really mind it that much, then I'll just disappear from your sight moving forward."

Valerie immediately defended him and said, "You were just doing your job. Alex has no right to decide whether you stay or leave."

I looked at them and felt my heart sink to my stomach. "So, she's a lightweight drinker. You're saying that your saliva can cure her hangover or something? You really love getting involved with married women, don't you?"

Thomas immediately looked at Valerie with an aggrieved expression on his face, as if I'd just killed his puppy before his eyes. Valerie immediately snatched a glass of red wine from a passing waiter's tray and splashed it on my face.

"I think you're the one who needs to cool off. It's about time you woke up."

Everyone around us immediately turned their attention to us. The looks on their faces were mocking and ridiculing.

After all, they were already used to seeing Valerie "discipline" her "subordinate" in public like this.

Nobody else in the company knew that Valerie and I were married, except for Thomas. So, in the other employees' eyes, I was just a lapdog infatuated with her, and nothing more.