"Kathryn, a skin allergy isn't going to kill you. Just take some extra medicine."
"Shirley's right. You need to learn some manners. Other men's wives don't act the way you do. Some husbands keep a whole string of mistresses and their wives don't say a word."
"Be good. Stop upsetting Shirley, and I promise I'll keep my word about what I said earlier."
My heart went completely cold.
When Neil's first business venture fell through, he'd been scammed out of everything. Not only was he penniless, he was half a million dollars in debt.
I couldn't bear to watch him spiral into depression, lying awake night after night.
But I didn't want him to feel like I was handing him charity either, so I deliberately hid who I really was.
I told him I'd sold the apartment my parents left me as a wedding gift, used that money to pay off his debts, gave him the startup capital, and encouraged him to try again.
Then I asked one of my grandfather's most accomplished protégés to pose as a business mentor, tutoring Neil one-on-one in corporate management and how to survive in the business world.