Claire laughed. Her eyes had turned red but she was still holding back her emotions.

“You can't do this, Abraham–”

“Oh yes, I can. And I can do much more,” he said in an annoyed tone.

“What happens to all our time together? What happened to the vows we exchanged?” Claire asked desperately, but Abraham merely shrugged.

“Are you slow? All that was in the past. You should move on because this, right here, is my man,” Rebecca sneered, trying to scare Claire away.

Claire fisted her hands, then closed her eyes. She shook her head, trying to control her emotion from taking over. She wouldn't give these idiots the satisfaction of seeing her tears.

Her mind replayed all she had done to help this man. She remembered that night he'd stayed up all night to finish that crucial presentation, the one that got him his first major deal. She'd brought him coffee and worked on his slides until dawn. She remembered pooling her savings for his business venture. Was this how he would pay her back? Was betrayal her reward for helping him all these years? Definitely not! She wouldn't allow him to throw her away like a piece of trash. A cold, hard resolve began to form beneath the rubble of her heart. If he wanted a fight, she'd give him one.

She opened her eyes and saw they had walked farther from her.

“Is this how you would pay me back for helping you all these years?”

Abraham stopped in his tracks. He turned back to face her with a cold look. His gaze was even colder than before. So cold she felt frozen.

He moved closer to her, his expression softening. Claire almost clung to the hope he'd finally returned to his senses, her heart beginning to beat fast when she saw him smile.

Was he going to apologize to her? The thought of that made her heart leap in joy.

However, his next words shattered all that hope. “How could a useless and wretched bitch like you claim to have helped me?”

Wretched? He called her wretched? The word hit her like a physical blow, stealing her breath. Was this the same man who'd proposed to her? No, this was a monster. A cold, calculating stranger wearing Abraham's face. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't let him see her break. But the anger that simmered beneath the shock was a dangerous thing.

“So you think you can ditch me for this bitch after–”

“Shut up!” Abraham snapped, startling Claire into silence.

He took a few steps closer, glaring into her eyes. “Call her bitch once again, and I swear I won't be so nice.”

Claire stood flabbergasted for a second. She was completely tongue-tied. Had Abraham suddenly been bewitched? She mused.

“Have this, and don't ever appear in my life again!”

Claire looked up to see Abraham stretching something towards her. Curiously, she took it from him.

Her eyes scanned the paper she was holding, and she scoffed. “You are paying me off with a hundred thousand dollars?”

“Isn't that enough, you greedy bitch?” Rebecca sassed, giving Claire a glare.

Claire turned to glance at her for a while, then faced Abraham. “I see you have made your decision. I hope you don't regret this.” She continued, trying to shut the emotion clouding her thoughts. “Have a nice life with your bitch!”

With that, Claire turned away from them. But not before throwing the cheque at Abraham's chest.

She didn't bother to look back. She didn't need to. She knew very well their mouths would be wide open in surprise.

Claire stopped in front of the man putting on a suit. “Are you still serious about getting married?”

“What?”

“I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Claire. I work in a library, and I dropped out of college four years ago to-”

At the mention of dropping out of college, the man waved Claire off.

“That's okay; it's not important anyway. You know who I am already, don't you? Just in case you forgot, I'm John Rhodes. CEO of Rhodes—”

Claire cut him off. “Are you still putting up that front?”

His eyes glowed with annoyance, but Claire didn't take note of it. Why wouldn't she believe him? He fumed inside, but decided he'd deal with her later. First, he needed to clear things with the dickhead who's now her ex-husband.

He walked straight to Abraham. “You have quite a beautiful partner there,” John said, and Abraham looked up at him.

“Thanks, mate. She's the woman of my dreams,” Abraham said, grinning from ear to ear.

“I see, I hope you don't ditch her later on just like you ditched her,” John said expressionlessly, pointing to Claire who was now coming towards their direction.

Abraham shot up his eyes at him in annoyance, his attention now totally focused on John. “Who the hell are you dude?”

John heard Abraham ask then turn his head to look at him. “I’m known for many things,” he paused, his eyes now settling on Claire who gave him a disapproving look. “You, my friend, can call me, John. John Rhodes.”

Both Rebecca and Abraham bursted into simultaneous laughter. At that moment, Claire tried to make John leave but he didn't seem to budge. His eyes were fixed on Abraham and Rebecca.

“What's funny? Did I say anything amusing?” John questioned, his eyebrows furrowed.

“I could tell a con artist when I see one,” Abraham answered, his voice getting serious. “You are lucky I'm in a great mood today. Otherwise, you'd have kissed your next meal in jail.”

John tightened his fists, Claire saw that things might get ugly so she quickly whispered into his ears for them to leave.

But as they turned to leave, Claire heard Rebecca's voice. “Bunch of losers, you both compliment each other.”

John stopped in his tracks, his gait now totally composed. “We'd be meeting formally soon, I hope you still have the pride to talk down on me by then.”

With that, John grabbed Claire's hand in his and strolled off.

But Rebecca yelled loud enough for both of them to hear. “Losers fan club, you both should go get a life!”

Claire suddenly stopped in her tracks after they had given Abraham and Rebecca some gap.

She turned to face John with a glare on her face. “Why do you have to do that?”

“Do what?” John asked almost nonchalantly. He was looking straight at Claire. She almost felt as if his ocean blue eyes were observing her soul.

“I appreciate you wanting to help but you don't have to lie because of me.” Claire explained, her voice softening.

“Lie?” he quizzed.

“About being John Rhodes, that could have put you in trouble. Now tell me, what's your real name.”

He gave her a long look then sighed. He turned and walked away leaving her still standing and waiting for answers.

Claire fumed. How arrogant was this man!

She turned to go give him a piece of her mind but what she saw stunned her to the bone.

Claire blinked twice. The arrogant man was sitting in the driver's seat of a Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail.