During my annual paid vacation, I was lounging in a private hot spring pool when a waiter brought me a small cake. I casually complimented him, “Your service is excellent. Do you offer this to all guests?” The waiter informed me that the sweet treats were only provided to female guests or couples staying at the hotel. The small fork in my hand slipped into the pool. My husband, Gregory, always brought me a similar triangular cake every time he returned from a business trip. My intuition told me he was having an affair, and that woman didn’t like sweets. My name is Zoe, and I’m a jewelry sales department manager. I’m well-versed in business acumen and have been successful in my own investments in recent years. My husband, Gregory, was my college classmate. He persistently pursued me for three years from freshman to junior year before I finally agreed to date him. He studied art and wasn’t well-off in any aspect. Even his job as a sales consultant was one I helped him secure. But what I liked about him was that he was not only handsome but also gentle and loyal. Now, however, I stared at the small cake in my hand, speechless for a long time. He would bring back such a triangular cake after every business trip, claiming it was a gift from the hotel. Since single male guests generally don’t receive such treatment, it’s highly likely that a woman was staying at the hotel with him. I’m frugal by nature and usually take high-speed trains directly to clients when discussing business, returning home the same day because I care about my family. Even when I stay at hotels, I choose ordinary ones. Gregory, on the other hand, uses the excuse of company reimbursement to stay at these luxurious homestays. When I shared my suspicions with my best friend Rachel, she first expressed surprise, then analyzed the situation for me: “That’s impossible, right? You two have been together since college, weathering storms for so many years, from school uniforms to wedding dresses. You should investigate thoroughly before jumping to conclusions.” I frowned and nodded. To be honest, I was also questioning whether I was being overly paranoid and making wild guesses. Regardless, I still needed to test Gregory. My best friend runs a nail salon and is quite clever with words. While I’m well-versed in business circles, I’m not as adept at understanding human nature, so I asked for her advice. Rachel pondered for a long time and sent me a message on SnapChat the next day with her plan. “Didn’t you say he often goes on business trips? The person he’s cheating with could very well be his colleague. We could try to catch him in the underground parking lot after work.” I agreed with her suggestion. Indeed, if they were staying at hotels together during business trips, it was likely a female colleague. So, on the day Gregory was to finish work, I deliberately called him to inform him that I would be shopping with my best friend that evening and wouldn’t be visiting him at work. “Alright, honey. I’ll go home and wait for you after work,” he replied. His tone was as affectionate as ever, the gentle voice almost making me think I was being overly suspicious. That evening, in the underground parking lot, my best friend and I sat in her car, waiting. Soon enough, Gregory came out of exit 2 as usual and headed to his parking spot. A young woman was with him, and their behavior seemed intimate. The woman, in particular, was clinging to his arm, pressing her ample bosom against him. My lips quivered slightly as I clenched my fists. Sure enough, he was having an affair with a young female subordinate. “Well, well. Has he forgotten that when he had no income at first, he ate and drank at your expense? Even this job was found by you. How dare he be unfaithful to you?” my best friend scoffed. Indeed, Gregory came from a poor background, while I was from a well-off family. We were originally from two different social classes. Our union naturally met with strong opposition from our parents. Back then, to date him, I made a bet with my parents, swearing that I would definitely be happy. But reality had slapped me hard in the face. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, my fingers aching, as I continued to watch the scene before me. However, unexpectedly, although the young girl kept pressing herself against him, he politely declined her advances and pushed her away as she was about to get into the car. He said, “I’m sorry, but I’m a married man. Please maintain a proper social distance from me in the future.” His voice wasn’t low. Especially in the empty underground parking lot, his words rang out clearly. Even I could hear them distinctly from inside the car. The young woman seemed to angrily stamp her foot before turning and leaving without looking back. My best friend breathed a sigh of relief and comforted me, saying, “See? He doesn’t seem to be cheating. That woman was probably just having a one-sided crush.” A one-sided crush… I didn’t believe it. Such a fair-skinned, beautiful long-legged beauty was exactly the type Gregory liked. When I returned home and was changing my shoes in the entryway, Gregory, who had come back early, gently hugged me from behind. “Happy anniversary, darling,” he said, hanging a diamond necklace around my neck. I was a bit surprised, as I’ve always been more fond of diamonds due to my years in the jewelry business. I shrugged off his hands, determined to confront him directly. So I said, “Who was that woman who almost got in the car with you?” Gregory seemed quite surprised but still explained calmly, “Oh, you mean Fiona? She’s the boss’s mistress. Even if I were willing, the boss would kill me if he found out.” Seeing my brow relax slightly, Gregory leaned in to embrace me and whispered in my ear, “In my heart, there’s only room for you, my dear wife.” Everything had been explained perfectly, leaving me speechless and with nothing more to ask. However, his embrace no longer held the familiar warmth I knew; it only made me feel a chilling coldness. The sweet and normal scene before me seemed too perfect. Was it really just me overthinking things?
My suspicions stemmed from my lack of confidence in our marriage. As a career-oriented woman with a DINK (Double Income No Kids) mindset, I didn’t want children. This led to opposition from Gregory’s family when we got married. My mother-in-law, Susan, came from China and had deep-rooted traditional beliefs about continuing the family line. Gregory was the only child in the Gu family, so naturally, they were unwilling to agree. “It’s not like you can’t have children. What’s wrong with giving me a grandson to take care of?” she would say. However, I stubbornly refused to change my mind. It seemed like this marriage was about to fall apart, teetering on the edge of collapse. But at this point, Gregory surprisingly went to the hospital and had a vasectomy for my sake, standing up to his mother. This shocked and moved me deeply. “Mom, look at the hospital results. I can’t have children now, so it doesn’t matter if I marry Zoe,” he told her. His mother was so angry her lips trembled, and she was about to perform her high blood pressure fainting act right there. In fact, I knew she didn’t actually have high blood pressure; it was always just an act to manipulate people. But since what’s done was done, she couldn’t say much more and could only watch helplessly as we happily entered into marriage. To date, we’ve been married for three years, adhering to our DINK lifestyle without children, living in our own little world. However, I could sense that my mother-in-law extremely disliked me and was always sharp-tongued and nitpicky at home, constantly finding fault with me. “A hen that doesn’t lay eggs, what use are you!” she would say. Due to my guilt towards Gregory, I had always been patient and filial towards my in-laws, never showing any disrespect. After a night’s sleep, I looked at my still-sleeping husband beside me in the morning and suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He treated me so well, almost perfectly. What more could I ask for? So when I got up to go to work, I was reinvigorated and felt refreshed. Back at the company, I received news that the new set of jewelry up for bidding was actually a rare royal collection piece! I was almost ecstatic. This was definitely going to be a big profit. I had some spare savings and wanted to seize this opportunity to invest, so I decisively requested to buy one of the bracelets. After negotiating the price with the company leaders, I bought one of the bracelets for $2.08 million. Upon returning home, to express my filial piety, I gifted this bracelet to my mother-in-law, Susan. However, she merely frowned: “Oh my, why give me this useless thing? It’s neither edible nor drinkable. You know, I’d only be happy if you gave me a chubby grandson!” I pursed my lips, about to mention the price of the bracelet, but the words got stuck in my throat, and I eventually swallowed them. At least I had shown my sincerity; it was up to her to appreciate it or not. To celebrate the first S-grade jewelry set of the year, I spontaneously invited my best friend out for dinner. This time, we went to a members-only restaurant with no menu; everything depended on the chef’s mood that day. Rachel seemed a bit nervous, perhaps because it was her first time in such a place. When I poured her some wine, she quickly refused: “I took some antibiotics earlier, so I can’t drink alcohol. I’ll just have some juice.” I nodded understandingly. Before all the dishes were served, more guests arrived, all seemingly well-mannered upper-class individuals. Rachel was visibly uncomfortable, mainly because her clothes were cheap market goods, making her feel out of place. “Oh my, I feel so embarrassed in these clothes. Let me go to the restroom and put on some jewelry. I won’t feel comfortable eating otherwise.” I nodded in agreement, watching her hurry off to the restroom with her bag. When she returned, she indeed had several pieces of jewelry on and had even carefully applied lipstick. I teased her, “My lady, you don’t need to put on lipstick just for a meal—” At that moment, as my gaze wandered, a jade bracelet on her wrist caught my attention. It was clearly the bracelet from my jewelry set. There were only two bracelets in that set: one bought by the boss, and one I bought and gave to my mother-in-law. “That bracelet of yours… is nice,” I frowned. Rachel casually waved her hand and said, “Oh, I can’t afford real jewelry. This was a gift from someone. It’s probably just a cheap imitation.” There’s no such thing as a perfect piece of jewelry. When I was examining the bracelet earlier, I had noticed a flaw on the inside. This was also the distinguishing feature between the bracelet I bought and the one the boss bought. Seeing my expression suddenly turn serious, my best friend’s demeanor gradually became flustered.
Perhaps it was inexplicable guilt that made her act this way. Halfway through the meal, my best friend received a phone call and hurriedly said she had an urgent matter to attend to before leaving. I maintained my composure and smiled, “Do you need me to give you a ride?” Rachel waved her hand, “No need, Zoe. Someone’s coming to pick me up.” Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows on the high floor of the restaurant, I watched as she didn’t wait for anyone to pick her up as she had claimed, but quickly got into a taxi under the bright street lights. I felt confused, vaguely sensing that an even bigger conspiracy was waiting for me, so I quietly followed her in my Porsche Cayenne. Her destination was my company. It was the same place where I had sold the jewelry a couple of days ago, and also Gregory’s workplace. He should be working overtime at this hour. Rachel was very cautious. After arriving at the company building, she put on a black mask, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then quickly entered the building. I narrowed my eyes and quietly got out of the car to follow her into the company. It was 9 PM, and the company corridors were pitch black. As I fumbled my way up, only one office had a dim light on – Gregory’s. I held my breath and quietly approached. Through the crack in the door, I witnessed a scene that almost made my eyes pop out of my head.
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