Chapter 4
Ten years ago, the Sanders family company fell into crisis. Her father jumped to his death, her mother ran off with another man, and the company was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy, buried under tens of millions of dollars in debt.
It was just the two of us then, and rescuing the company from its dire state was anything but easy.
I still remembered it clearly. On my third day at the company, debt collectors blocked the doors and trapped us inside.
A bloated man in his 50s brought a group of thugs and forced us into a corner. He pointed at Catherine and bared his teeth in a leering grin. "Sweetheart, don't say I didn't give you a chance. Stay with me for a year, and I'll wipe out three million dollars of your debt. Otherwise, find a way to pay up today."
The company didn't have a single dollar to spare. Catherine cowered against the wall, shaking with fear, pleading for them to grant us more time.
However, those people had no compassion at all.
More than a dozen men started shouting and rushed forward to grab her. At that moment, I had only one thought. If they wanted to touch her, they would have to step over my body first.
I seized a chair and shielded Catherine behind me, fighting with everything I had while telling her not to be afraid. No one would hurt her unless I were dead.
I vaguely remembered knocking three of them to the ground. Despite my shattered ribs and blood-covered body, I refused to leave her side.
Fortunately, the police arrived in time, and we narrowly escaped disaster. My injuries were so severe that I lay in the ICU for eight days, teetering on the edge of death.
When I finally opened my eyes, the morning light was dim. Catherine sat slumped by my bedside, and her eyes were red from crying. I forced a weak smile.
As long as Catherine was safe, everything was worth it.
"Why are you crying?" I said weakly. "Aren't I still alive?"
She cried even harder, choking on her words. "Why were you so foolish to fight them? You almost…"
She couldn't finish.
She collapsed onto my arm and sobbed uncontrollably. I raised my hand and gently stroked her hair. "If I stood by while the woman I loved was being bullied, would I even deserve to call myself human?"
After that incident, my body was left with serious aftereffects. Any physical exertion left me gasping for air. The doctors said my internal organs had been damaged and that I would never fully recover. Because of the assault, the attackers were ordered to pay 200 thousand dollars in compensation, and the company survived its hardest period on that money.
After all, she was a young, spirited woman who didn't understand the ways of the business world. In those early years, incidents like this were far from rare, and every time, I stood in front of her to protect her.
I loved her. I was willing to do everything in my power to help her, even to the point of risking my life. I foolishly believed that love meant giving everything without hesitation or regret.
Whenever she told me she would never betray me for the rest of her life, my heart overflowed with joy. No matter how bitter or difficult things were, I felt it was all worth it.
And yet, the woman who had pledged never to forsake me, the one I had shielded with my life for ten long years, was now throwing me out of the company in a way that felt almost degrading. Pain tore through my chest like a blade.
Overwhelmed by memories of the past, I stared at Catherine and said in a trembling voice, "Catherine, you know why I did everything for the company. It was because I loved you. I loved you! Have you forgotten what you said to me over and over? You swore you would never betray me."
At my words, she lowered her eyes, and a flicker of pain crossed her face. She turned away and said coldly, "I'm grateful for your love, but I must be honest with you. In my heart, you have always been Sanders Technology's No. 1 employee. When I said I would never betray you, I meant that I would make sure you were generously compensated. You misunderstood."
At that moment, my heart crumbled to ashes. I couldn't stop myself from laughing, even as tears streamed down my face.
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