Chapter 2

The man turned around and slid into his bedroom to answer the phone.

"Babe, miss me already?"

"Then come over today."

There was a brief silence on the other end before a familiar female voice agreed.

"But I can’t stay over tonight."

"I'll make it up to you next time."

I stood frozen in the living room, mechanically putting on my face mask and gloves.

A voice deep inside me desperately whispered that this was just a coincidence. It was just someone with the same name and a similar voice...

I pulled out my phone and opened my Snapchat chat with Sarah. The last message was still her wishing me a happy birthday.

I quickly typed: [What time do you get off work today?]

After sending it, I locked the screen and went to work.

The man’s flirtatious conversation kept drifting out of the bedroom, but I forced myself to pretend I heard nothing.

Usually, time flies when I'm working, but today, every second felt like torture.

By dinner time, I had finished organizing the living room.

I forced a professional smile.

"Mr. Marcus, your booking is for two days. I’ll come back tomorrow to finish the rest of the apartment."

Seeing the spotless living room, Marcus grabbed my hand, his eyes shining.

"Wow, thank you so much!"

"Just in time, too. My girlfriend is coming over soon. She’ll be thrilled to see the place this clean."

"Though, I guess I'm in for another wild, exhausting night with her..."

I squeezed out an unnatural smile and left the apartment.

Pulling out my phone, I saw a reply from Sarah sent five minutes ago.

[I have to work late at the law firm today. I won't be able to make dinner. I'll be home late.]

Working late again...

Over the past six months, since she started her own law firm, she was always busy until midnight.

But I had never doubted her. After all, Sarah had severe intimacy issues.

It was so bad that she would literally throw up if she had any physical intimacy with a man.

I gripped my phone tightly and let out a long breath, trying to calm the overwhelming bitterness in my chest.

Right then, Sarah sent a second message:

[Happy birthday, babe.]

[I know your back always hurts from all the bending during your organizing work, so I ordered a massage chair for you. It should have been delivered to the house already.]

[I’m so sorry I can’t be with you tonight. Once this busy season is over, I promise I'll make it up to you.]

Seeing the phrase "make it up to you," my eyes stung.

Sarah was always so thoughtful.

Over the past three years, no matter how busy she was, she always cared about my health.

How could a woman like her be the same person who was just flirting with another man on the phone?

I must be too tired lately. My nerves were playing tricks on me.

When I got home that night, a massive massage chair was sitting quietly in the living room.

I lay down on it. As the rollers massaged my back, the tiny seed of doubt in my mind began to fade.

Out of habit, I opened Instagram to do some mindless scrolling before bed.

Suddenly, a newly posted update caught my eye. The poster was my client from today, Marcus.

It was a headless bed photo. Under the dim lighting, he was lying down, holding his phone up for a selfie.

A woman was lying on his chest, her face buried in the pillow, revealing only her bare, fair back.

The caption read: [She said this is my compensation.]

My breathing stopped instantly.

The woman’s right hand was resting by the pillow. On her wrist was a delicate silver chain bracelet.

Hanging from the bracelet was a tiny silver pendant.

That bracelet was handmade by my late mother.

She had made two. One for me, and she had personally put the other one on Sarah's wrist, saying it was a gift for her future daughter-in-law.

For three years, Sarah had never taken it off, not even when showering or sleeping.

My whole body began to shake. My stomach churned violently.

With trembling hands, I took a screenshot of the photo and sent it directly to Sarah.

My fingers were so stiff that I could barely type:

[When you were sleeping with him, didn't you feel like throwing up?]