Chapter 10

"I'll find a top-notch team and hand over the work properly. I haven't touched your property or allowances over these years, and I'll give them all to you when we sign the divorce agreement. By the way, if you feel the divorce is causing you any financial loss, you can hire a lawyer. That's it, I'm tired."

With that, Brian ascended the stairs lightly, leaving William deflated. Their parents collectively sighed.

What could they do now? It seemed there was nothing they could do.

William felt he needed a strategist to plan for him, to understand all of Brian's movements over the past few years. With his parents looking at him as if he were a cockroach and Brian not opening the door to talk to him, William had no choice but to keep his appointment.

Theodore and William were very close, the kind of relationship where they would do anything for each other, whether it was good or bad.

Such a cunning strategist was exactly what William needed.

At their usual drinking spot, that scoundrel Theodore was already flirting with a girl. Seeing William come in, he waved his hand to clear the room, leaving just the two of them to drink.

According to their usual practice, after not seeing each other for a long time, they would drink until dawn. But today, William was not in high spirits. He walked into the room, sat down on the sofa, and started drinking straight from the bottle.

"So, how is it, William? Did your husband compromise?"

"He's driving me crazy. Compromise? I think if we wait a little longer, we'll really divorce. I brought my parents and his mother here, and we're still getting a divorce."

"Ah, I knew it. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

"What do you mean? Does he really have someone else?"

William perked up. If there was someone else, Brian wouldn't divorce.

"No, William, let me put it this way. I also work in my family's company, and I've been to countless business dinners. Sometimes, Brian's dinners coincide with mine, and we end up at the same restaurant. Ah, it's a tough situation. Your husband really has it hard."

Theodore gritted his teeth and shook his head with a look of deep resentment.

"I heard from my mom today about the business and family affairs. He's had it tough."

"What your family knows is just the tip of the iceberg. Let me tell you the truth, these things can't be hidden anyway."

Theodore downed a glass of wine and started talking.

"There are always people making demands in a company, especially when you're the boss or CEO. Sometimes, you really need to bow down. This was three years ago, when your family's company had some issues with the bank. I saw Brian drinking with three different groups in one day. He drank at noon, finished around one, and immediately went to the second group. There was another round in the evening that lasted until midnight. Do you know how he managed these drinking sessions? He would drink, throw up, go back and continue drinking, come back and throw up again. I know him, and I felt that doing this would be too hard on his body. So, I went to the bathroom to check on him. He was leaning over the toilet, throwing up until his face turned green. I helped him up and offered to take him home, but he rinsed his head under the tap, called his secretary to bring a change of clothes, got dressed, and continued the drinking session. Late at night, when I was ready to go home, he was sent to the hospital by his secretary. The next day, he drank like that again and secured a multi-million dollar loan from the bank. William, you didn't see how hard it was for him at that time. Every time I saw him, I felt he wasn't the same person anymore, so thin that a gust of wind could blow him away. But he gritted his teeth and endured."

"There were also those who tried to take advantage of him when he was drunk, trying to take him to a hotel when he had too much to drink. Damn, Brian is really badass when it comes to fighting. He knocked someone down with a single bottle. Once, someone brought bodyguards, and Brian fought four of them alone. He won the fight, trashed a bar, and stabbed the guy. There was also a time when he drank spiked alcohol. When he was delirious, he stabbed himself. It was really tough."

"And you just watched? You just watched when he was like that? Why the hell didn't you call me? Who did it?"

William was about to jump up. Was it not that Brian had someone else, but that someone else was trying to rape his husband? He'd castrate every one of them.

"I called you, but you were nowhere to be found. Brian was constantly trying to reach you on his phone, but he couldn't get through." Don't worry, I was there for some of it. The time when he stabbed himself, I was there. He came out of the bar with his arm bleeding, and I pulled him into my car and took him to the hospital. He was delirious in the car, calling your name. William, to be honest, you really owe him."

Theodore spoke some truth. He had witnessed Brian's hardest times, times that were hard to watch.