She Split the Bill on Our Marriage,So I Took Back My Billion-Dollar Empire

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Five years into splitting every expense fifty-fifty with my wife, I spotted something on her company's financial report that didn't add up: a box of condoms, categorized under business trip supplies, with no cost-sharing record.

The date was last December. She'd gone overseas to negotiate a deal, and the only person she'd brought along was her young assistant.

I took a photo of the line item and sent it to her.

Her response was pure irritation.

"You're nothing but a business manager. Who gave you permission to go through the company's financial reports?"

"I'm out here meeting clients. Stop stirring up trouble over nothing. Spend your time developing leads instead. And don't think being my husband means I won't fire you."

No explanation. Just a voice dripping with threats.

The line went dead. I turned and called my subordinate.

"Gather evidence of Eve Pruitt's affair. And draft a document stripping her of her position as president of the subsidiary."

Within minutes, a video arrived.

The footage showed Eve entering a hotel with her assistant, Gabriel Henson. Same hotel. Same room.

I ordered my subordinate to keep digging.

The moment I hung up, I noticed a new post on Gabriel's social media.

In the photo, my wife wore a revealing swimsuit. The two of them were pressed together, dancing close, with a cruise ship and a bright blue sky behind them. If you looked carefully, you could see Gabriel was visibly aroused. But my wife's face, soft with a tender smile, showed no sign she found anything wrong with it. If anything, there was a hint of playful reproach in her expression.

The caption read: "Grateful for every day my beautiful boss treats me like a little brother."

I screenshotted it, saved it, then went back through the financial report one more time.

Beyond the condoms, I found that Eve had also purchased several luxury items, all labeled as client gifts.

Before today, if I'd interrupted her while she was meeting clients and she'd snapped at me, I wouldn't have thought twice about it.

But now I'd sent her a photo loaded with obvious implications, and she hadn't offered a single word of explanation.

And the real question was whether she was actually meeting clients or keeping her assistant company.

The answer was self-evident.

That was when Eve called back.

"Lowell Dickerson, I was in a meeting with a client just now. What was that screenshot you sent me supposed to mean?"

"You should know exactly what it means," I said evenly.

Anger crept into her voice on the other end.

"Lowell! You can't seriously think I'm cheating? People go on business trips every month. How can you be sure I'm the one who bought them?"

"Eve," I said calmly, "you seem to have forgotten. When you arranged my position here, you also gave me one specific task: compiling the monthly log of all employees on business travel."

"And last December, you were the only one who traveled. Oh, right. Your assistant too."

Silence on the other end.

Then her tone softened a few degrees.

"Is... is that so? Well, maybe I did buy them. Must've accidentally charged them to the company account."

"Since you've brought it to my attention, let's follow our fifty-fifty agreement. Go ahead and transfer me your half."

I let out a cold laugh.

Eve Pruitt was known as a powerhouse businesswoman. From the very start of our marriage, she'd insisted on a fifty-fifty agreement under the guise of "motivating me to be more ambitious." Everything was split down the middle, from major appliances to a single plastic bag.

And yet for something as sensitive as condoms, she hadn't asked me to split the cost.

That alone said everything.

On top of that, ever since Eve came back from that trip, we hadn't been intimate once.

She'd had her fun with someone else, and now she wanted me to foot half the bill.

The sheer audacity.

"Whoever you used them with," I said coolly, "take it up with him."

I didn't bother with another word and hung up.

But just before the call disconnected, I heard Gabriel's voice in the background.

"Come on, babe. What's his problem? He's only eating because of you. Without you, he's nothing."

I laughed coldly to myself.

None of them knew that this company was just a subsidiary under my group.

So who was really supporting whom here?

Long before I married Eve, I'd already built my own business empire. Back then, I'd wanted to inspect the subsidiary's operations firsthand, so I entered the newly established branch under the guise of a low-level employee. It was at a meeting there that I first met Eve.

I noticed she had real drive, a fierce ambition for her career. So I took on a mentoring approach, gradually sharing my management experience with her while quietly having corporate HR promote her step by step until she became president of the subsidiary.

I just never revealed my identity. I didn't want to undermine her confidence.

Over time, I developed feelings for her, and I told her how I felt.

Not long after we got together, she proposed splitting all expenses fifty-fifty. She said it would keep the pressure on both of us to keep striving, so neither would fall behind the other.

I agreed without hesitation. That arrangement had continued ever since.

I never expected that the very rule she'd put in place would be what led me to discover her betrayal.

Before long, Eve came home.

Normally, I'd drop everything the moment she walked in. I'd massage her shoulders, rub her back, have dessert waiting. But this time, I didn't even glance up. I just kept replying to a client's messages.

Eve frowned at the sight and stormed over.

"Lowell, are you seriously still going on about this? It was just a box of condoms I forgot to split with you. Is that really worth giving me attitude?"

I said nothing. Kept typing.

"Are you deaf?!" She slammed her purse down and marched into the bathroom.

Through the door, I could faintly hear her on the phone.

"Gabriel, the company just landed a few big clients. If I start a fight with him right now, it'll leave a bad impression on them."

"Don't be upset. You know you're the most important person to me. Tomorrow I'll get your promotion and raise pushed through, and I've already got a birthday present ready for you."

A few minutes later, she came out in a loose bathrobe. There, just above her collarbone, sat an unmistakable hickey.

She caught me looking and quickly tugged the robe higher, irritation flashing across her face.

"Lowell, enough already!"

"I work myself to the bone every single day, and you're sitting here throwing a tantrum, accusing me of cheating!"

"Instead of figuring out how to bring in clients, all you do is obsess over this petty nonsense. You're worse than a nagging housewife!"

I scoffed and held up my phone, showing her the screenshot of Gabriel's social media post.

"Then how do you explain this? I thought you were meeting with clients."

She froze. A flicker of guilt crossed her face.

The words slipped out before she could stop them: "Gabriel deleted that already..."

The second they left her mouth, she realized what she'd just admitted.

But in the next breath, she doubled down.

"Lowell, you always jump to conclusions! The only reason Gabriel and I were doing that is because the client wanted to go dancing. He insisted we join him or he wouldn't sign the contract!"

"You didn't even bother to get the full picture before coming at me with accusations?!"

"I'm warning you, drop this useless nonsense. Your numbers are below target this month. If you don't start pulling your weight, don't blame me when I dock your entire paycheck!"

"And don't forget, we split everything fifty-fifty. If you can't afford to carry your own weight, I'm under no obligation to support you!"

"When that day comes, you could get on your knees and beg, and I still wouldn't forgive you!"

Three threats in a row. Impressive.

I was the one who'd taught her how to manage a company. I was the one who'd shown her how to negotiate with clients. When she first proposed splitting everything down the middle, she'd dressed it up in all sorts of pretty words about equality and mutual growth. Now here she was, wielding it like a weapon.

I let out a cold laugh. "Eve, I could beg for change on a street corner and I still wouldn't take a single cent from you."

"Besides, you've already lost the right to make me bow my head."

Eve reacted as though she'd just heard the most ridiculous joke of her life.

"Lowell, who do you think you are? You're nothing but a lousy sales rep!"

"Since you don't know what's good for you, you can kiss your paycheck goodbye!"

With that, she stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door. The lock clicked behind her.

The air in the living room turned suffocating.

Then a wave of dizziness hit me out of nowhere.

I remembered the doctor's warning: my anemia meant I couldn't afford to get worked up.

The room spun. My legs buckled, and I hit the floor.

I needed to call 911, but my phone was still in the bedroom. I dragged myself to the door and tried the handle.

Locked. I knocked.

All I got was Eve's cold, contemptuous laugh from the other side.

"Oh, so now you realize you were wrong? Too late!"

"You're not setting foot in this bedroom tonight!"

Then silence.

Half an hour passed. I was on the verge of losing consciousness when Eve finally opened the door to use the bathroom.

She found me lying on the floor. No concern crossed her face. She nudged me with her foot.

"Keep faking."

She stepped over me and walked into the bathroom.

When she came back out, I still hadn't moved.

Only then did it dawn on her that something might actually be wrong. She fumbled for her phone and dialed 911.

The ambulance arrived, and she was about to ride along to the hospital. But then Gabriel called.

"Evie, I got bitten by a dog on my way home today. What if I get rabies? I'm so scared."

The color drained from Eve's face. She immediately switched to a soothing tone. "Don't worry, I'm coming right now!"

As she turned to leave, a nurse caught her arm.

"Your husband's severely anemic. You're not going with him?"

Eve's expression was frantic. She glanced at me, my face white as a sheet, and pulled her arm free.

"Someone else needs me. He's got you people. That's enough."

"Besides, he's probably faking it. I'm not forgiving him until he apologizes."

She hailed a cab and vanished into the night.

One of the male orderlies watched her go, then looked down at me with a sigh.

"If that were my wife, I'd have filed for divorce a long time ago."

By the time I woke up in the hospital, Gabriel had posted on social media again.

This time he was showing off a watch worth a million dollars.

The caption read: "Thank you to my generous boss lady for this gift. I'll repay you with every ounce of energy I have, every single day."

The comments underneath were a parade of sycophants.

"Only Gabriel could get this kind of attention from Ms. Pruitt!"

"Gabriel, when are you going to replace the husband so we can all come to the wedding?"

There were plenty more where those came from.

My expression didn't change. I closed the app.

A message from one of my people came through: a file. Eve's complete affair timeline.

Last June, while I was hospitalized, Eve and Gabriel had checked into a hotel together. The file included a photo of them in bed.

I remembered that we'd already been splitting everything fifty-fifty for four years by then, but Eve's growing impatience with me had left me craving even the smallest scrap of warmth.

So I'd called her. Told her I didn't have any money on me. Asked if she could come see me and help cover my medical bills.

She'd barely let me finish before hanging up.

"Lowell, I'm on a business trip and I don't have time. Besides, our agreement is crystal clear: neither of us borrows money from the other. It kills motivation. If you're broke, tough it out. Consider it a lesson. Maybe it'll teach you to work harder."

Then there was last November.

The company had organized a team retreat. Eve said she needed to stay behind at the office to meet with clients.

But according to the file, she and Gabriel had spent the entire day going at it in her office.

Now it all made sense. The flush on Eve's cheeks when she came home that night. The hungry way Gabriel's eyes had followed her. It had been right there in front of me the whole time.

I put the evidence away, a cold void settling in my chest.

The betrayal was a done deal. What came next was the reckoning.

After I was discharged from the hospital, I printed out a divorce agreement and headed to the CEO's office at the company.

But when I opened the door, I walked in on her and Gabriel in an intimate embrace.

He had his arms wrapped around her, their clothes half-undone, hands roaming over each other.

Even though my heart was already dead, the sight still sent a surge of fury through me.

I forced it back down.

They both jumped when they saw me. Eve scrambled off him, smoothing her clothes as she blurted out an explanation.

"Lowell, don't get the wrong idea. We were just discussing a client issue."

I let out a cold laugh. "Eve, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Or blind?"

Gabriel rushed to smooth things over.

"Lowell, buddy, don't overthink it. We really were just talking business. Eve twisted her ankle, and I happen to know a massage technique, so I was helping her with the pain."

As he said this, a smirk flickered across his lips.

I ignored him and handed the printed divorce agreement directly to Eve.

The moment she saw it, irritation flashed across her face. She snatched the papers and tore them to shreds.

"Lowell, don't think I can't see right through you. You're doing this because you're jealous of how well I treat Gabriel!"

"Fine, you've got my attention now. Happy? Now get back to work before I dock next month's pay too!"

I stared at the shredded agreement in silence, then turned and printed another copy.

But before I could find Eve again, Gabriel sauntered over to me, looking pleased with himself.

There was an ID badge hanging from his neck now.

It read: Sales Director.

He tilted his chin up with a grin. "Bet you didn't see that coming, Lowell. I'm your boss now."

"Though it's not quite the outcome I was hoping for. Looks like Eve still can't bring herself to divorce you. Guess I'll just have to turn up the heat."

He reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

I looked closer. It was a jade bracelet.

I recognized it instantly. It was my mother's. The one she'd left for me, telling me it was only to be given to my future wife.

I had given it to Eve and told her to keep it safe. I never imagined she'd handed it over to Gabriel.

The thought barely had time to form.

In the next instant, he opened his fingers. The bracelet slipped from his hand, hit the floor, and shattered into pieces.

Something inside me shattered with it.

"You broke it. You're dead."

My fist connected with his face.

He went down with the punch, crumpling to the ground in a heap that looked far too deliberate.

And of course, that was the exact moment Eve came rushing in.

She ran straight to Gabriel's side, her voice thick with concern.

"Gabriel, are you okay?!"

He looked up at her, the picture of wounded innocence.

"Eve, I remember you said this was Lowell's mother's keepsake. I just wanted to return the bracelet so he could have something to remember her by. But he accused me of stealing it and tried to beat me to death."

"He even printed out another divorce agreement. He said if I ever come near you again, he'll divorce you!"

"Maybe I should just resign. I don't want him coming after me."

Eve's face flushed with anger. She whipped around to face me.

"Lowell, I've had it with you!"

"I just gave the bracelet to Gabriel for safekeeping. He was kind enough to return it so you could remember your mother, and this is how you repay him? By slandering him?"

"You really don't know what's good for you, do you? I've decided. You can forget about your salary for the entire year!"

She snatched the divorce agreement from my hands.

"What is this act you're putting on? You keep shoving these divorce papers in my face to threaten me. You're just banking on the fact that I won't sign!"

"You want a divorce? Fine. You've got one!"

She snatched the divorce papers out of my hands and scrawled her signature across them.

Then she hurled the document at my chest.

"Don't forget, Lowell. You work at my company. Without the title of 'my husband,' you're nothing. Less than nothing."

Her voice dropped to ice. "And another thing. You just hit Gabriel. I want you on your knees, groveling for his forgiveness. Otherwise, you're not walking out that door."

I didn't respond. Didn't even look at her. I just bent down, picked up the divorce agreement, and checked her signature.

From this moment forward, Eve Pruitt and I had nothing to do with each other.

And since that was settled, it was time to settle some other debts.

I tucked the papers away, looked at the two of them, and let a faint smile cross my face.

"Oh, I'm not leaving. Now that the personal matter is resolved, I think it's time we discussed your unauthorized use of company funds."

I pulled out my phone and dialed. "Send the corporate legal team over. I have some accounts to settle with Eve Pruitt."