The Price of a Fool's Choice

His eyes shifted away, but his voice remained firm.

“Isabella needed a quiet space. And yes, having so many trophies there would intimidate her.”

“That is my studio.”

“It’s my name on the door! I built this company from nothing. I’ll do what I want with it. It’s not your place to question me!”

His words hit me like a slap in the face.

He was right. It was his brand. Michael Games.

And I, the so-called “creative partner,” was really just a tool he used to generate new ideas.

We had married for business reasons in the first place. My design talent was the only asset he truly valued. Even the shares he gave me at the beginning were pitifully few.

I had been so naive.

I thought that after five years of living together, we had built something real.

That our love and trust had become more than just a business arrangement.

That we were no longer that emotionally detached couple in a marriage of convenience.

But now I understood. In his eyes, I was still just an asset to be managed. My feelings never mattered.

“Michael, you’ve changed.”

A complex expression flickered across his face, but it was quickly masked by stubborn pride.

“I’ve always been like this. You’re just being sensitive because you’re facing a talented new designer! It’s just a studio she’s borrowing. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”

Talented?

Stealing my work, passing it off as her own, and getting famous for it—he called that talented?

I turned to leave, my mind already made up.

If he could trample on my dignity so easily, then I saw no reason to give him any respect.

For the next few days, Michael and I were locked in a cold war.

He was still asleep when I left for work, and he was already asleep when I came home, cutting our lives into two separate worlds.

But Isabella insisted on causing trouble.

She knocked on the door of my temporary office, a practiced, sincere-looking smile plastered on her face.

“Sophia, I know you have a misunderstanding about me, but I really just want to learn.”

I didn’t look up from the development software on my computer.

“Learning doesn’t mean stealing someone’s workspace and their creations.”

She sat down across from me, her tone sickeningly sweet.

“Actually, I’ve always admired your designs. It’s an honor to be able to work with you.”

“If you truly admired me, you wouldn’t have demonstrated my game and claimed my ideas as your own.”