Chapter 1 Give It Back To Me

Clutching a thermos she had prepared herself, Rena Bailey walked into the Bailey Group headquarters, careful not to jostle it even slightly.

Inside that container was an herbal tonic she had fought hard to make, pulling favors to secure the only Sanguinaria intercepted from a black-market auction in Suspainia on the other side of the world, then spending six unbroken hours watching over the low, slow brew without once leaving the stove.

Jase Bailey, her husband, had long been tormented by brutal migraines, and this tonic was the only remedy that ever truly kept them in check.

When she eased the office door open, Rena caught sight of Jase passing an invitation to Elyse Marshall.

Elyse was the woman who had always held a place in his heart.

What in the world was she doing here?

"Oh my God! Is that really an invitation to the Sanctus Annual Conference?" A bright, sugary laugh slipped from Elyse as she took the envelope, then she shot Rena a look so openly smug it barely bothered to hide the challenge in her eyes.

At the sound, Jase looked up. His gaze brushed over the thermos in Rena's hands for a second before drifting away without interest. "Just set it down there."

That cold indifference from Jase only made Elyse glow with even more satisfaction. She turned the invitation over in her hands again and again, practically savoring it.

"Thank you, Jase!" she exclaimed brightly. "Only the best medical experts in the world are invited to a conference like this. I can't believe you'd put this much thought into me. You even remembered I'm about to earn my PhD in medicine and prepared such an incredible surprise."

A surprise?

From the doorway, Rena could only stare in cold disbelief. The whole scene was so ridiculous it bordered on insulting.

Sanctus had issued the invitation for a single purpose-to bring her and her mother, Clara Shaw, in as speakers for a medical lecture.

She had only asked Jase to pick it up on her behalf, yet somehow it had turned into a thoughtful little surprise for another woman.

All her mother had ever done was devote her life to finding a cure for a rare, deadly genetic disease. Right when her research had been on the brink of a breakthrough, someone had sabotaged everything, and her mother had vanished, leaving behind the ugly stain of an academic fraud accusation.

Over the last five years, she had lived in the shadows of two separate identities. In the Bailey family's eyes, she was nothing more than a homemaker who could cook. Yet inside the rough basement lab hidden beneath the villa, she had spent endless sleepless nights with aching, bloodshot eyes, testing formulas, checking data, and quietly carrying on her mother's unfinished research.

Only last week, her findings had finally passed the International Medical Association's clinical double-blind verification.

That invitation was her one chance to clear her mother's name. More than that, it was a chance to give the people suffering from that genetic disease one last hope at survival.

Stepping forward, Rena locked her eyes on the envelope in Elyse's grasp. "Give it back to me."

At once, Elyse's fingers tightened around it. She edged behind Jase, wearing a fragile, aggrieved expression. "Rena, what on earth are you doing? Jase gave this to me."

A shadow crossed Jase's face as he remarked, "Rena, it's wasted on you. I already handed it to Elyse."

Rena huffed sharply, her irritation clear in the sound, "Wasted on me? Since when did you start deciding whether my things have value, Jase?"

From the side, Brett Todd, Jase's assistant, chuckled with open contempt. "Rena, your things? Everything you own came from the Bailey family in the first place. What exactly do you think belongs to you? Ms. Marshall just returned from overseas and is getting a doctorate from a prestigious university. Giving that invitation to her actually serves a real purpose. As for you-you're a housewife who barely touches a book. Do you honestly think you'd even understand what that invitation represents?"

A faint crease formed between Jase's brows. Brett's words clearly a little too harsh for his taste, yet he offered no correction.

In Jase's mind, Rena had always been the same woman-someone who spent her days drifting around the kitchen, cooking meals and waiting for his approval. The idea that she might understand anything about medicine had never once crossed his thoughts.

To him, the invitation was nothing more than a prop she had somehow acquired from somewhere, another clumsy attempt to capture his attention.

After he reached that conclusion, Jase's expression eased, and even his voice turned gentler. "Elyse is about to receive her doctorate. She needs a way into the medical world. With this chance, she'll be able to meet the top experts from around the globe. If this was your way of proving yourself and trying to get me to notice you, I get it now. You don't have to keep doing this."

Those words cut deep, sharp enough to make Rena's chest tighten.

At her side, her fingers slowly clenched into a fist.

After five full years of marriage, this was what she meant to him. Nothing more than an ornament at his side, a woman so insignificant she had to rely on tricks just to earn a sliver of his attention.

With a fierce motion, she slammed the thermos onto the desk. The lid bounced loose and hit the floor with a heavy, muffled thud.

Fixing him with a frosty stare, Rena retorted, "The invitation already belongs to me-my name is right there. But you chose to give it to another woman. That was awfully generous of you."

Then she shifted her gaze to Elyse and went on, "Since you're going to be a PhD and have such a promising future ahead of you, getting your hands on an invitation like this should've been effortless, shouldn't it? So why bother to snatch one from me? Or was this your way of admitting you couldn't even measure up to a housewife?"

"How dare you say that?" Color drained from Elyse's face, and her eyes brimmed red almost at once. "Jase, I swear I didn't mean anything by it. I honestly had no idea the invitation was Rena's. If I'd known, I never would've accepted it."

While speaking, Elyse stretched the envelope toward Rena with trembling fingers. "Rena, I'm sorry. Here, take it back."

Rena lifted her hand to take it.

Right before her fingertips could brush the edge, Elyse abruptly let go.

Down it fell, dropping straight into the open thermos.

At once, the once-pristine dark red envelope was drenched in tonic, and it looked completely ruined.

With a startled gasp, Elyse's hand flew up to cover her mouth. "Oh no! I'm really sorry. It just slipped from my hand. I didn't mean to mess it up."

Rena stared at the ruined envelope, Clara's words swirled around in her head. Her mother had once said to her, "Rena, I hope you will carry on my dream and become a world-class doctor."

That had been her mother's wish.

With stiff, trembling movements, Rena lowered herself into a crouch.

"Can't you even manage to hold on to a single piece of paper?" Jase snapped at Rena with a frown, shooting a brief look at the invitation. He had meant to take the invitation from her later, but now that it was ruined, he would have to think of something else. "It's only a piece of paper. If it's stained, then so be it."

Using a tissue, Rena carefully dabbed at the stains again and again.

Nothing came off.

At last, Rena rose to her feet and crushed the ruined paper into her palm. The sharp edges bit into her skin, and that small, biting pain was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

"Forget it. I won't argue about the invitation anymore." Lifting her gaze, she held Jase's gaze with a calm, unwavering look. "My father is returning from overseas tomorrow. You promised you'd come with me to meet him. Three o'clock tomorrow afternoon. At the port."

For this marriage, it was the final chance she was willing to offer.