It was 10 pm on a summer night. A beautiful woman in a body-hugging dress and exquisite makeup sat in a hotel room at one of the city’s five-star hotels. A cigarette wisping pungent smoke dangled from her trembling fingers, showing how unstable her emotions were at the moment. She was eavesdropping on a conversation going on in another hotel room that she’d bugged, and it made her heart twist painfully. The conversation was between a man and a woman. The woman said, “Ian, you’ve been coming to me so frequently that I’m on the verge of collapse…”The man said, “Don’t tell me you’re unhappy about this.”The woman giggled. “I’m ecstatic!”“She’s going on a business trip tomorrow, so you can come over.”“Ian, I’m curious about something. Back then, Erin was known as the belle of our university. Don’t you love her anymore?”Ian said, “She’s worse than a sex doll. We’ve been married for a year, but I haven’t even laid a finger on her. That’s what she deserves for acting all high and mighty
Chandler Frost brought Erin to the most luxurious seven-star hotel in the city—the Grand Empire Hotel. He parked in the underground parking lot and turned to look at Erin, who’d been silent throughout the journey. His eyes gleamed like a panther waiting to pounce on its prey, and his tone was devoid of emotion as he said, “I’ll give you one chance to go back on your word. If you've changed your mind, this is the time for you to leave.”Erin was curled up in the passenger seat, trembling slightly. She couldn’t believe she’d actually gotten into a stranger’s car. Was she really going to go ahead with this? Then, the thought of Ian’s heartlessness made her hatred burn away her rationality. “I won’t regret this, and I’m not gonna back out!”“So you’ve thought this through?”“Yes, I have!” Erin said firmly.“There’s no turning back now.” Chandler got out of the car.Erin placed a hand on the handle as her heart raced. She took a deep breath before opening the door. Once they were out o
“What is it? Why do you suddenly look so serious?” Holly asked.Erin looked at her hesitantly for a few seconds before saying, “Eugene was interested in me when we were still in university, but the feeling wasn’t mutual.”Holly laughed. “Oh, I know—he told me all about it on our wedding day. Anyway, we didn’t know each other then. Don’t let it bother you.”“That’s not what I wanted to tell you.” Erin frowned. Her expression made Holly a little nervous. “I hope you aren’t about to give me a heart attack. Don’t tell me there’s something going on between you and him—there’s no way I’ll be able to withstand a double betrayal.”Erin shook her head with a sigh. “I went on a business trip three months ago to attend a designers’ forum, and we all had some drinks during dinner. You know how well I hold my liquor, so I was barely upright when we got back to the hotel. I ran into Eugene in the elevator; he was there for a business deal. He volunteered to help me back to my room, and I agree
At 3 am, Erin unlocked the door to her home and walked into the living room. She saw a pair of snakeskin heels that didn’t belong to her. Sure enough, Tracy was here. Erin took her shoes off and walked barefoot into the kitchen. Five minutes later, she silently pushed the bedroom door open and padded inside with a pail full of dirty water. Seeing Ian and Tracy wrapped around each other with her own eyes made her feel like her heart was being ripped to shreds. Hatred filled her eyes as Erin lifted the pail and splashed the water all over them, making them instantly jolt awake.Ian almost peed himself when he saw someone standing before him. After wiping the water from his face and getting a clear look at who it was, he roared, “Are you fucking nuts, Erin? What the hell did you pour on me?”Beside him, Tracy immediately pretended to be afraid when she saw Erin. “Ian, I’m scared she’ll hit me…”He turned to her and wiped her face with the sheets, saying consolingly, “Don’t worry. I w
When Erin entered the room, the smell of beer and kebabs on her made Chandler frown. “Did you go out for beer and kebabs in the middle of the night?”She was angered by him questioning her and glared at him. “Give me your name or staff number!”Chandler walked past her to the bar. Instead of getting any wine, he poured a glass of water. His actions were elegant and noble; even the simple act of drinking water made him seem sexy. “And why should I do that?” There was a trace of amusement in his eyes.Erin kicked her heels off and stormed toward him. Her bravado faded a little when she realized how much shorter she was than him when barefoot. Then, she backed up a couple of steps and yelled, “I’m going to lodge a complaint against you!”Chandler rarely had the patience for these things, but he couldn’t help feeling amused by her. He sat on the couch and sipped from his glass. “What’s there to complain about?”“That…that you’re not professional enough!”He smirked. “You enjoyed your
“You’re shameless! Why would anyone possibly want to seduce you?” Erin pulled the shirt tightly around her to avoid exposing herself. Chandler smiled faintly as he walked into the room and shut the door behind him.“Where is this?”“My office.”Erin was shocked to hear this. What was she doing at his workplace? “Wait, this is where you work?” She felt her goosebumps rise all over.At her disdainful expression, Chandler knew she’d misunderstood. He didn’t want to explain, though. He sat down and smirked at her. “What, can’t I have a proper job?”The fact that he was looking down at her arrogantly reminded Erin that she was still sitting on the carpet like a fool. She immediately got to her feet and backed away from him. “You have a proper job?” Her curiosity was piqued now. So he was moonlighting?Chandler rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. After a few seconds, he said, “I’m the president…president’s secretary.”Erin nodded understandingly. “Oh, okay. Look, we can leave that for some
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. When Erin checked her phone again, she saw Ian had called her several more times.“Oh, come on. It’s not like my mom has the plague or anything! Does he have to be such a dick?”She threw her phone aside angrily and hurried into the bathroom outside to shower. Chandler checked her phone when she shut the door behind her. For some reason, his spirits were lifted when he saw the missed calls were from “Jerkwad.”He put her phone down, then headed to the bathroom outside. The one attached to the bedroom was larger, but he just wanted to use the smaller one. He strode in boldly and wrapped his arms around Erin from behind. This made her jump, and she spun around in his arms, looking up at him.“What are you…”He turned the shower off and looked deeply into her eyes.“I want you to help me shower.”Erin was lost for words. She turned away from him so she wouldn’t have to keep looking at his body. The sight of it made her mind replay what they’
Ian’s heartless words dragged Erin back to her painful reality. She didn’t expect him to act so quickly; was he that desperate to officially be with Tracy?“Why aren’t you signing them? You agreed to this without hesitation, didn’t you?”Ian sharply detected how much pain Erin was in. She put up a strong front, but he didn’t miss the slightest hint of tears in her eyes. Erin averted her gaze from the divorce papers and looked into his eyes. She already knew the answer but still wanted to hear him say it.“What exactly went wrong? Why did you betray me? Was there even an ounce of sincerity in your promises and vows to me?”Tears streaked down her face at this moment, but she didn’t bother hiding them. Ian got up, pulled a cigarette out, and gave her a complicated look before lighting the cigarette.He took a deep drag and blew out smoke circles before saying calmly, “I’m not the only one at fault here, Erin. Don’t think you’re innocent in this—you tested me time and time again when you