**Chapter 1** On Valentine’s Day, I slipped and fell in the bathroom. My husband, Daniel, said he was on a business trip and couldn’t come with me to the hospital. As I was about to be wheeled into the operating room, I received a notification for my exclusive black card membership with the airline. “Dear Black Card member, thank you for booking a first-class family suite with our company to the Maldives. Points have been credited to your account.” I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. I sat straight up on the examination table. Just as I was about to send my assistant to investigate, a new post popped up on her SnapChat story. “Thought I’d be stuck living in someone’s shadow forever. Thank you, my darling husband, for giving me and our child a sweet night, just the three of us.” The accompanying picture showed two large hands cradling a tiny one. On the wrist of one of the larger hands was the Rolex watch I’d given Daniel for Valentine’s Day. I couldn’t believe it. The girl I had sponsored and promoted to be my assistant was having an affair with my husband. The doctor’s urgent voice broke through my daze. “Ms. Evans, if we don’t start the procedure soon, the baby’s life could be in danger.” “Perfect. Schedule an abortion for me.” I was just getting ready for the doctor to wheel me in for my check-up. My phone vibrated several times in quick succession. “Dear Black Card member, thank you for booking a first-class family suite with our company to the Maldives. Points have been credited to your account.” After reading the message, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. I hadn’t booked a flight to the Maldives. And besides, my baby wasn’t even born yet; how could I have booked a family suite? I thought the airline had made a mistake, so I called them to inquire. “Hello, ma’am, the points were indeed added to your black card. The passengers are a Mr. Daniel Hayes and…” Before she could finish, the surgeon sternly urged, “Ms. Evans, we can’t delay any longer. Even though it was just a bump and there’s no bleeding, we still need to do a thorough check-up.” At her words, my mind was a chaotic mess. I opened Chloe Miller’s SnapChat, intending to ask her to help me look into it. But then, her latest post suddenly popped up on her story. “Thought I’d be stuck living in someone’s shadow forever. Thank you, my darling husband, for giving me and our child a sweet night, just the three of us.” The accompanying picture showed two large hands cradling a tiny one. But before I could look for another second, the post was deleted. In an instant, I couldn’t even see her previous SnapChat stories. Even so, I had clearly seen one of the men’s hands. On the wrist of one of the larger hands was the Rolex watch I’d given Daniel for Valentine’s Day. Just because Daniel had casually mentioned his wrist felt bare. I had pulled every string, spent all my savings, and sent someone to buy that one-of-a-kind, limited edition Rolex. This sudden news left me utterly disbelieving. Immediately, I dialed Daniel’s number. My heart was pounding frantically. He answered quickly. “Wife? What’s wrong? I’m about to take off. I’ll call you back when I land.” He hung up in a hurry before I could say anything. But I still heard a familiar female voice gently coaxing a child in the quiet first-class cabin. “Lily! Don’t bother Daddy while he’s on the phone!” My heart turned cold. In an instant, I dialed Chloe Miller’s number. She didn’t answer for a long time. The next second, another message from the airline came through. “Thank you, esteemed Mr. Daniel Hayes, Ms. Chloe Miller, and young Lily Hayes, for flying with us. We wish your happy family of three a pleasant journey.” *** **Chapter 2** Seeing that message, my eyes widened. I couldn’t believe it. Chloe Miller, the girl I had sponsored and promoted to be my assistant, was secretly involved with my husband, Daniel Hayes. “Ms. Evans, if we don’t start the procedure soon, the baby’s life could be in danger.” I gave a wooden, hollow laugh. “Perfect. Schedule an abortion for me.” After the procedure, I returned home, feeling the emptiness in my womb. My heart was utterly frozen. This child was supposed to be born into Daniel’s and my hopeful anticipation. But now, Daniel had betrayed everything. He was the one who had been ecstatic when he found out I was pregnant, cheering, shouting my name from the streets of Barcelona. He was the one who promised to love me and our baby forever. That’s why I, despite my deep-seated fear of pregnancy, willingly carried his child. But now, he didn’t deserve it. I hired a private investigator, sending him on an overnight flight to the Maldives, to where Daniel and Chloe were staying. Looking at the photos the private investigator sent back, my heart plummeted. There was Daniel, holding a little girl, about three years old, in his arms, while Chloe smiled sweetly, linked to him by the hand. The Maybach I had gifted him during our honeymoon in the Maldives, which we’d driven together, was parked quietly nearby. I had given him more than one car in the Maldives, but he specifically chose this one with its special license plate. He had paid a fortune for that custom “Our Love” plate, and now it felt like a searing brand on my soul. He had insisted, no matter the cost, that he had to have that plate, and he’d personally promised that this car was exclusively for picking up his wife. Now, he was holding another woman’s hand, with another woman’s child, getting into that very car. The pain in my heart was unbearable. Immediately after, Daniel checked Chloe into the overwater villa I owned in the Maldives. That night, the smart assistant in the overwater villa was activated multiple times throughout the night. Having spent my honeymoon there, I knew exactly what that meant. Suppressing the fury raging inside me, I dialed Daniel’s number again. It took a long time for him to answer. Then came Daniel’s slightly breathless voice. “Wife? What’s wrong?” “Where are you?” “On a business trip.” My voice turned icy. “Is that so? Because I received a message from the airline about a flight to the Maldives.” “On Valentine’s Day, you’re on a business trip to the Maldives?” Daniel clearly froze, then a hint of panic crept into his voice. “Ava, listen, let me explain. I was actually preparing a surprise for you. You’ve been so down these past few days with the pregnancy, I thought I’d get everything ready and then bring you over.” Listening to his pathetic lie, I laughed out loud. “Daniel Hayes, have you forgotten? I own that overwater villa.” The moment those words left my mouth, Daniel surprisingly got angry first. “Ava, I know you’re mad that I wasn’t with you at the hospital on Valentine’s Day, but after all these years of marriage, are you really just going to accuse me like this? Is this all the trust you have in me?!” At his words, I laughed, but it was a bitter laugh. My heart ached terribly. I could abandon my own flesh and blood, so what was one Chloe Miller? I could nurture one Chloe Miller; I could cultivate many more, even better talents. “Daniel Hayes, don’t you dare play the victim card with me. And while you’re at it, tell Chloe Miller she’s fired.” “As for you, when you’re done playing around, come home and we’re getting a divorce.” With that, I hung up. I looked at the DNA test results sent by the private investigator. Upon seeing that Lily, the child, had a 99.99% match with Chloe Miller and Daniel Hayes, I scrambled out of bed and retched into the toilet. Daniel and I had been married for two years, yet he had a three-year-old child with Chloe. *** **Chapter 3** Daniel rushed back home that very night. When he opened the door, Chloe Miller stood beside him, her eyes red from crying. I frowned, about to close the door. Daniel barged in. “Ava! Listen to me, it’s not what you think!” Chloe cried, “That’s right, Ava! It’s really not what you think!” “It’s true that I flew to the Maldives with Daniel yesterday, but I only did it because I’m your closest assistant, Ava. I know your preferences, so I was just helping him prepare the surprise for you!” “Exactly, Ava! I only got to go because I was helping Daniel with *your* surprise! I was just lucky enough to see the beautiful scenery of the Maldives because he needed an extra pair of hands.” Listening to their rehearsed back-and-forth, I felt nothing but intense irritation. Suddenly, Chloe dropped to her knees in front of me. She was sobbing, her face a mask of pitiful vulnerability. “Ava! I can’t lose this job!” “You’ve sponsored my education all these years, you know my family situation. If I lose this job, my gambling addict father will surely beat me to death!” Daniel frowned, looking conflicted. “Ava, this is just a misunderstanding. Are you really going to abandon an assistant you’ve poured so much effort into cultivating for years, all because of a misunderstanding?” Hearing that, I couldn’t help but laugh. But my heart felt incredibly bitter. I could give up my own unborn child, so what was one Chloe Miller? I could nurture one Chloe Miller, and I could cultivate many more, even better talents. “Yes, Ava, I’ve been working with the company’s core confidential information with you. Are you really sure you want to just dismiss me like this?” “Are you threatening me?” Seeing my expression change, Chloe cried even harder, terrified. “No, I didn’t mean that. I’m not.” She looked up at Daniel pitifully. “Mr. Hayes, I didn’t mean it that way.” Chloe suddenly slumped to the side, revealing her bruised and scraped knees. She instinctively glanced at me, then quickly pulled down her skirt. Daniel’s face softened with concern. He pulled her up. “Alright, Ava, Chloe has apologized. It’s just a misunderstanding, why drag it out like this?” “A misunderstanding?” I threw the photos taken by the private investigator at his face. “Holding hands? A misunderstanding?” “Chloe Miller, do you dare to show me the SnapChat story you posted?” At my words, Chloe’s face went white. Daniel, too, looked utterly humiliated after seeing the photos I’d thrown at him. I forced myself to calm down. “Do you have anything else to explain? That overwater villa also has 24/7 surveillance recordings.” “Should I pull them up for you two to enjoy?” Chloe and Daniel’s faces completely panicked. My heart ached with unbearable pain. Actually, there were no surveillance cameras installed in the overwater villa. I was just testing them, lying to them. But now, their panicked faces had thoroughly betrayed them both. Looking at the man I had deeply loved for two years, I smiled in disappointment. “Daniel Hayes, let’s get a divorce.” At my words, Daniel, who had been momentarily stunned, exploded. His eyes blazing red, he grabbed my neck, pinning me against the wall. “Divorce? Ava Evans, what right do you have to talk about divorce?!” Daniel calmed down and pushed me away abruptly. “Ava, don’t be unreasonable.”
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