Chapter 1

On the night of my 30th birthday, I waited until the early hours of the morning, but my husband, Theodore Hawk never showed up. Instead, I came across an Instagram post from his childhood sweetheart, Emily Gallagher.

[What romantic is not the starry night, it's having you by my side.]

In the picture, she was wearing a delicate, sky-blue camisole that revealed just enough to charm and seduce. A man stood close behind her, his hand firmly gripping her waist.

The scene was set in the seaside villa that Theodore had gifted her, their figures intimately entwined under the soft glow of the night. Someone had commented beneath the post:

[I can’t stand you two being this lovey-dovey all the time! Just get married already!]

Emily had responded with a shy-face emoji.

I had just liked the post when Theodore, who I had failed to reach all night, blew up my phone with calls.

"Are you out of your mind, Camilla? Emi and I grew up together! If we wanted to be together, we would’ve done so long ago! Why are you being so petty?"

Looking at how Theodore gently held her in his arms, comforting her, I realized something. Letting go of someone you’ve loved for seven years... can take only a moment.

…

When Theodore returned, I was sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast. Ever since his childhood sweetheart had come back, we hadn’t seen much of each other.

As our eyes met, I could sense a faint trace of annoyance in his gaze.

He glanced at my single serving and sat across from me.

"Where’s my breakfast?"

I didn’t look at him. I continued eating from my bowl.

"I didn’t make you any."

Theodore let out a cold laugh, then pulled out a necklace and tossed it at me.

"All this because I didn’t spend your birthday with you? Is this really necessary? You’re so petty. Anyway, that’s your gift."

I glanced at the cheap-looking necklace on the table.

Immediately, I thought of the sapphire necklace with diamond accents that adorned Emily's neck on her social media post.

The one Theodore threw at me wasn’t worth even a fraction of hers.

I chuckled, finding myself agreeing with something she’d posted recently. She had said:

[The perfect match is a gift from the heavens]

The caption was beneath a photo of her nestling in Theodore’s arms. They were gazing at each other with shy affection.

I knew it all too well.

Theodore and I came from vastly different backgrounds. He was the son of Jupiter City’s wealthiest family, while my parents were just ordinary university professors.

But still, he had been the one who pursued me…

When I remained silent, Theodore sneered at me.

"What’s this? Are you so moved by just one necklace?"

I set down my spoon and looked up at him.

As he watched, I stood up and then tossed the necklace straight into the trash.

"Thanks, but I have plenty of cheap necklaces like this one. You don’t have to bother next time."

His eyes flashed in anger.

"Are you crazy? Whether I give you gifts or not, you’re still not happy. What more do you want from me? You know how busy I’ve been at work!"

I raised my eyes, meeting his with a cold stare.

"So spending time with Emily counts as being busy? Having dinner with her is what you call work?"

Theodore scoffed, his face full of disdain as he looked at me.

"Do you think you're better than Emi? What part of you even comes close to her? My patience is wearing thin. You better take it out of the trash now!

I ignored him and turned to leave.

"Didn’t you hear me? I said pick it up!" he shouted angrily.

Suddenly, Theodore grabbed the vase from the table and hurled it at me.

I tried to dodge the vase, but as it filled my vision, I felt it strike my forehead.

The vase shattered on impact, and immediately, I felt warm blood trickling down my face.

It wasn’t until then that a glimmer of sanity returned to Theodore’s eyes.

He rushed to grab a napkin from the table and held it to my forehead.

"I…lost my temper. Are you alright?"