Chapter 3

Nigel helped Cassie to a chair nearby and made sure she was seated comfortably before turning toward me with careful eyes. "Elena, why are you at the hospital? Are you sick?"

I didn't answer. My gaze slid past him, landing on Cassie.

He hurried to explain. "Cassie twisted her ankle while delivering some documents to me, so I brought her here for a checkup. Don't overthink it."

I smiled, suppressing the impulse to hurl the cup of water in my hand at his head. "Is that so? What a thoughtful boss you are."

I said nothing more and walked away.

When I got home, I hadn't expected Nigel to follow soon after.

He wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Elena, why did you go to the hospital today? Are you feeling unwell?"

I gently pushed him away, pretending not to see the disappointment in his eyes. "It's nothing. Just a routine checkup."

I went to the bedroom and lay down, but sleep refused to come. The cleansing serum in my system was gradually neutralizing the lingering effects of my medication, making me more awake by the minute.

Nigel entered the room as well. The moment I heard his footsteps, I closed my eyes and feigned sleep.

He sighed, took some clothes, and headed into the bathroom.

Listening to the sound of running water, I picked up his phone and unlocked it.

He had two phones—one for work and one for personal use.

I started with the work phone. The password was the date of our wedding. It hadn't changed in all these years.

The device was filled with business-related apps, nothing unusual.

I opened his messaging app. The conversations were strictly professional.

Then, almost unconsciously, I tapped into Cassie's social media posts.

[Afternoon tea from my boss. So delicious. I love it!]

[On a business trip with my boss today, and he gifted me a necklace. He's so sweet!]

[Injured my foot, and my boss personally took me to the hospital. How can a girl not be touched?]

Every post was connected to Nigel.

Suppressing the nausea rising in my throat, I picked up his personal phone.

The password was my birthday.

There were fewer apps here, mainly contacts and messages from family and close friends.

But Cassie—someone who had no place in this phone—was pinned at the top of his messaging app.

The last shred of hope I had shattered in an instant.

My hands trembled as I tapped on Cassie's profile.

Their messages were numerous, mostly Cassie talking and Nigel giving short responses.

But the last exchange was what made my world tilt over.

Cassie: [I'm pregnant with your child. When are you going to marry me?]

Beneath it was a picture of a hospital's prenatal checkup report.

So, they had already been together for a long time.

My mind drifted. My chest tightened with a dull, throbbing ache.

'Nigel, when you say you love me, who is it you're thinking of? When you look at me, whose face do you see?'

Actually, the signs were always there.

He had never come home late before, but ever since Cassie joined the company, his return times had become more erratic. Some nights, he didn't return at all.

Even when he was busy, he would always call if he couldn't make it home. But after Cassie joined the company, there were times when he simply disappeared.

His phone calls with Cassie had started as work-related questions.

Then they became about trivial things. A broken faucet, a burnt-out lightbulb.

He dropped contracts and business matters to fix these small inconveniences for her.

"She's just a young girl trying to make it on her own," he had said. "It's not easy for her."

As if any of the company's thousand employees had it easy.

He once told me Cassie reminded him of me from the past. How ironic. Aside from our faces, we had nothing in common.

At the very least, I never asked my boss to replace my water heater while I was in the shower.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he pulled me into his arms. "Darling, I love you so much."

A chill spread through my body as I turned to look into his deeply affectionate eyes. My right hand touched his handsome face, then slid down to the spot over his heart.

"Nigel, do you still love me?"

He rested his forehead against mine. "I do. I love you more than anyone."

I wanted to laugh. "Is that so? Then if the day ever comes when you no longer love me, promise me you'll tell me. I'll let you go so you can find your happiness."

A flash of panic crossed his face before he gripped my hand tightly. "You'll never leave me. Never."

I had given him a chance to be honest, and he had chosen to lie.

I pulled away. "You should head to bed soon. There's a meeting at the company tomorrow morning."

He opened his mouth to speak, but just then, his phone rang.

He answered, his brows furrowing, before turning to me with an apologetic look. "Darling, there's an urgent matter at work. I need to go handle it. I'm so sorry I can't stay with you."

Another lie.

As the company's vice president, if there had been an emergency serious enough to require the president himself, I would have known.

The caller must have been Cassie.

His lies, his devotion to Cassie—all of it had become a blade slicing into me, making my already numb heart ache anew.

Ten years of companionship meant nothing against the lure of youth.