Chapter 49 Failed Medication
JAMES’ POV
I sat there at the dining table, the early morning light passing through the blinds and casting long lines across the polished surface. It was barely 8 am, yet the house was already alive. I could hear movement from the kitchen, the low voices of the staff as they went about their duties like clockwork.
Everyone was awake.
Everyone except Melissa.
She was still upstairs, fast asleep, wrapped in sheets like she owned the world. And knowing her, she wasn’t going to wake up anytime soon either. What a wife she was.
I scoffed quietly, pushing my chair back a little as the thought of her irritated me even more. Every time we argued, this was one of the things I brought up. Since the day Melissa and I got married, she had never made breakfast for me. Not once. Not even on days when the staff were off or running late.
Yes, we had maids. Yes, we had cooks. But was it really too much to ask for her to try just once?
If she had done it even one time, it would have made a difference. A big one. At this point, I was starting to think she didn’t even know how to cook. And no matter how many times I hinted at it, joked about it, or even complained openly, she always brushed it aside like my opinion didn’t matter.
Yet she had no problem spending every single penny I made every month, as if it grew on trees.
She wanted me to be a loyal, hardworking, providing husband, while she couldn’t even do the simplest things expected of a wife. Peace. That was all I asked for. But I didn’t even have that in my own house.
Why wouldn’t I cheat, when the place I was supposed to find comfort felt like another battlefield?
The buzzing of my phone interrupted my thoughts. I glanced down at the screen, already annoyed, expecting it to be another call from the company. They had been calling nonstop since last night. I had stopped answering because honestly, I didn’t have the solutions they asked of me.
As expected, it was them again.
I ignored the call, setting the phone face down on the table as my jaw tightened.
Two days ago, the worst possible thing that could happen actually happened. The news about my medication formula being only temporary — worse, a failed medication had gone public.
Everywhere.
Social media. Medical blogs. News channels. Forums.
Now everyone knows.
Patients who had taken my medication were reportedly experiencing the same symptoms they had before treatment. Some even claimed it felt worse than before. Doctors were raising questions. Analysts were digging through reports.
Investors are beginning to get scared and skeptical. Patients were second-guessing whether they should even come near Greenleaf Med. Some were already demanding refunds, and a few had gone straight to the media.
All it took was one crack.
One tiny flaw in the flawless image I had spent years building.
The board of directors wasted no time. They called an emergency meeting and made it very clear — if I didn’t fix the error in the formula, I would be removed as Managing Director. Not suspended. Not warned. Removed.
And that wasn’t even the worst part.
They wanted all the perks refunded.
The house I was currently living in? Company-owned.
Two of my cars? Company perks.
Several benefits I have enjoyed over the years? All tied to that position.
If I lost that title, I’d lose everything.
I leaned back in my chair, running a hand down my face.
I had come too far to be left with nothing. Too far to start from scratch again. I wasn’t that struggling man I used to be, and I refused to go back to that life.
Once upon a time, Anna had listened to every word I said.
She believed in me. Trusted me. She even went as far as giving me her entire life savings without hesitation. And I screwed that up.
Years later, when fate gave me another chance and I ran into her again, I managed to screw that up too.
But it wasn’t entirely my fault.
The Anna I knew back then was dirt-poor, always tired, always smelling like chemicals and cheap soap. And suddenly, after all those years, I saw her again standing confidently at an event meant only for the elites.
Anyone in my shoes would have reacted the same way I did.
That was part of the reason I chose Melissa. She was my type of woman. She knew how to dress, how to command attention. She was beautiful, flashy, and always the center of attention whenever we stepped out together. People noticed her. People envied me.
She fit the image.
But now… now the tables have flipped.
Anna didn’t look like that poor, miserable girl anymore.
She looked… good.
No — she looked stunning.
That dress she wore hugged her perfectly, and even though I hated myself for thinking it, she looked more beautiful than Melissa. Confident. Classy. Untouchable.
Money really does change people.
Or maybe it just revealed what had always been there.
My brows furrowed as another memory surfaced. At the ceremony, there had been a man. He intervened when things were getting heated up between Anna and I. She clearly knew him. They didn’t look like they were together, but there was something there. Something I couldn’t quite explain.
The way he stood close. The way she didn’t seem uncomfortable.
Was I overthinking it?
Probably.
Guys like him — rich, arrogant, powerful went for supermodels with exaggerated curves, not plain Anna. There was nothing to worry about. At least that’s what I told myself.
Still, the thought lingered.
Now that I knew she was a Quinn, everything made sense. And it also changed everything.
I wasn’t done with Anna. Not yet.
There was a reason she fell in love with me in the first place. I knew her weaknesses. I knew how to talk to her, how to make her feel seen, wanted, important.
And I was going to use that.
I straightened in my chair, determination settling in my chest. I would go after her again. Slowly. Carefully. I would remind her of what we had. Make her see that I was still the man she once loved.
Tomorrow, I would find a way to see her again. Any way possible.
I would bring back that spark.
And when she eventually yearned for me again — because I knew she would, I’d use that moment to get what I wanted.