Chapter 11
870words
I could sacrifice the profits of Carl's company to save our marriage. Alternatively, I could tell Carl the truth, though we would probably go our separate ways afterward.
I had never been in such a dilemma before!
…
Time flew by—24 hours, then 12, then eight.
Then, it was down to the final hour.
As the appointed time approached, I finally had an answer. I sent the old man a message.
"Let's meet offline. I'll give you a USB drive with the documents in it."
He agreed to my request and replied, "Don't try any tricks. If you do, you'll be punished!"
I felt so disgusted that I wanted to throw up. A cold expression flashed across my face. I would make sure the old man understood he couldn't mess around with women!
I fingered the ring knife around my finger. It had been dipped in a specially concocted solution, and it would take effect as soon as it came into contact with blood.
According to our agreement, I arrived at the old man's address. He stood outside the door, smiling widely as he spread his arms. "Hello, gorgeous. Where are the documents for the project?"
I handed him the USB drive. "Delete the video, or I'll never forgive you, not even if I die."
He stuck out his tongue revoltingly and licked his lips. "I promise that I'll delete it as long as there are no issues with the documents. There's no point in my keeping it anyway."
The old man stuck the USB drive into his computer and clicked on it. Despite his age, he was adept at using the computer. What a pity that he was such an ignorant, incompetent jerk.
The old man suddenly demanded harshly, "How dare you trick me?"
Before he could react, I had my ring knife ready. I ambushed him and slashed his shoulder open. The potent poison on it was no joke.
However, something shocking happened. Carl burst through the door. "Lola, stop! This is all a misunderstanding!"
He hugged me tightly and apologized to the old man. "Mr. Woller, Lola came to meet you after leaving me a letter explaining things. I know her well, and I knew that she would do something impulsive and hurt you!"
I was frozen to the spot, my jaw hanging open. They knew each other?
What about everything that had happened? I couldn't begin to imagine how shocking the truth was!
Carl sighed and told me the truth about everything.
He had been feeling devoid of energy because of his heavy workload and had secretly been going to the hospital for treatment. He had been told that he just had chronic fatigue, which wasn't a big problem.
However, Carl had noticed my frequent complaints and how enthusiastically I talked to other men. He had begun to doubt my love for him.
He was a petty man, so he kept observing me in secret to see if I was loyal. If I did anything to betray him, he would divorce me and leave me with nothing.
He had hired Eustace Woller to keep filming me in secret from the opposite building so that he could monitor me and see if I was being loyal while I was alone at home during the day.
Unexpectedly, Eustace had recorded my intimate encounter with Stan. Although we hadn't gone all the way, Carl had been furious, and his suspicion of me deepened.
He decided to punish me and test me once more.
All the missions that Eustace had given me had been just part of an act that Carl had set up to test if I truly loved him.
In the end, my love for Carl had won. I couldn't leak his documents, but I didn't have the guts to tell Carl in person. Therefore, I had left him a letter explaining everything and begging for his forgiveness.
After that, I planned to meet Eustace with the poisoned ring knife and find an opportunity to injure him.
I was going to use the antidote to the poison to threaten him and make him delete the video. I hadn't expected all of this to be an act!
Still, I didn't feel any resentment toward Carl. Where there was smoke, there was fire. I had almost cheated. Carl could not be faulted for being suspicious of me.
Luckily, I had stood my ground in the end.
After what happened, the misunderstanding between Carl and me was resolved, and we became practically inseparable. He showed me what a real strong man was, and gave me intense pleasure.
As for Stan, he disappeared from my life. He wasn't a bad man, and he didn't force women to do anything, but anyone who would fool around with married women wasn't a good person. He was merely a minor character in the story of my life.
I would like to warn all women never to cheat, because the only result of that would be unending despair. Only those loyal to their husbands could truly attain happiness.
