The next morning, I drove Celeste to the hospital.

When I pushed the door to the ward, I was genuinely taken aback. On the bed, Felix had visibly lost weight.

"Edgar, you're back," he said, giving me a weak smile the moment he saw me.

Guilt surged inside me. I walked over, patted his shoulder, and handed him a get-well-soon gift I'd readied earlier.

"You should've told me you were sick, kid. Focus on getting better. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to eat."

Felix grinned. "You're the best, Edgar."

Seeing how loose his clothes hung on him now, I felt a wave of shame over last night's suspicions. Right now, even an L-sized shirt would be too big on him.

I finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Celeste's phone rang. When she stepped into the hallway to answer it, I faintly heard her say, "Understood. I'll handle it right away."

Then, she hung up.

"Who was that? Did something come up at the company?" I casually asked.

She walked back in and packed her stuff as she replied, "From my secretary. It's just a minor work issue."

My heart skipped a beat as I remembered that Celeste's assistant was a woman, but I'd clearly heard a young man's voice on the call.

My guard went up again, though I kept my expression neutral. "Did you switch to a different secretary? I thought the woman from before was doing just fine."

Celeste explained naturally, "Oh. Since we're preparing to expand into menswear, I thought it'd be better to hire a male secretary. He used to be a model and knows the menswear market.

"While you were away last month and Felix was sick, he stepped in and helped me with the fittings."

She finished with a teasing smile. "What? Are you jealous? If it bothers you, I'll fire him right now."

At this point, I'd look petty if I pushed any further. So, I waved and said, "Not at all. I understand that it's for work."

Though I said so, something sharp and prickly had lodged itself in my chest.

That afternoon, I came up with an excuse to visit Celeste's company as an investor. The moment I walked into the design department, I spotted the new male secretary.

He was young and handsome, with a tall, well-proportioned build. There was a youthful energy he carried that hovered between a boyish and a mature man's charm.

A few senior staff members warmly greeted me the moment they saw me. "Mr. Dalton! Great to see you!"

I smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries. "How's the company doing lately? I heard a handsome new secretary was hired for the menswear line."

A senior female designer beamed and said, "That's right, Mr. Dalton. Kai's a sharp kid, and he's been a great help to Ms. Beaumont. Besides, with that gorgeous build, he's basically a walking mannequin. He's saved us so much trouble fitting samples."

Someone else nodded along. "Ms. Beaumont's got an eye. The menswear design process has efficiently sped up."

The more they praised him, the more unsettled I was.

Smiling, I walked into Celeste's office and set an astronaut figurine on her desk equipped with a hidden security camera.

For the next few days, I checked the footage whenever I had a spare moment. Everything in the feed looked normal.

Kai Carter rarely stepped into Celeste's private office. Most communication happened through the internal phone line.

Even if he had to enter the office to report his work, he stood orderly in front of the desk and left within minutes.

Nothing inappropriate or out of line happened between the two.

For a moment, I felt a sudden flush of shame for my actions. Celeste might be a powerhouse at work, but at home, she was affectionate and clingy toward me. Her desk was covered with our wedding photos, and she called me to give updates whenever she had a break.

I started wondering if I was just too doubtful and insecure…

However, the shirt still lingered in my mind.

Would a designer so sensitive to measurements really make such a mistake?

As the new menswear brand progressed, Celeste worked overtime more frequently and sometimes didn't come home until 1:00 am or 2:00 am.

She said the new collection had hit a bottleneck.

I told her not to overwork herself, but she'd just smile and say she was fine.

Then, another detail raised my guard.

When Celeste came home, her body wash seemed different. We'd always used the cedar-scented body wash at home, but for days, she carried this sugary floral scent.

When I asked, she brushed it off by saying, "The pantry at the office stocked new toiletries. If I stay late, I would just shower there since I don't want to come home and wake you."

It was a perfect excuse, but the unease in my mind sprouted like mad.

On another late night, she texted to tell me that she might pull an all-nighter and told me to go to sleep first.

I tossed and turned in bed before finding myself checking the security camera footage again.

The office lights were on, but Celeste's seat was empty.

Frowning, I scrolled back a few minutes in the footage and noticed that just minutes earlier, a figure had flashed past the camera and quickly moved into a blind spot inside the office.

Though it was just a glimpse, I was sure it wasn't Celeste!

I jumped out of bed and threw on my clothes in the shortest time possible. After packing the simmered chicken soup into an insulated thermal flask, I rushed out of the house with it.

15 minutes later, I was downstairs at her company. Only her office was lit throughout the entire floor.

My heart pounded as I walked to her office door and noticed it was unlocked. When I pushed it open, it was empty.

How could it be? I saw a man go in!

I checked the design department, the pantry, storage room, and every possible hiding spot. However, there was no one around.

Breathing heavily, I returned to Celeste's office and heard the rustle of fabric, mixed with a woman's suppressed panting. It seemed to come from near the corner of the room.

I moved quietly toward the sound.

Up close, I noticed a narrow gap between a panel and the wall with light seeping through.

Without a second thought, I yanked the panel open and shouted, "Celeste! What are you doing?"

Behind the panel was a small space, almost like a mini fitting room. Celeste stood inside, staring at me in shock while holding the arm of a mannequin.

There wasn't a living person in the space other than her.

Looking at my twisted expression, she seemed utterly confused. "Babe? What are you doing here?"

The heat of the moment had completely taken over and stripped away my rationality.

I frantically searched every corner of the cramped space when Celeste finally snapped and shouted at me, "What the hell is wrong with you, Edgar?"

Still finding no one, I yanked out my phone from my pocket, tapped on the security feed, and shoved it in her face for questioning. "Where is this man? Where are you hiding him?"

When Celeste's eyes fell on the screen, her expression twisted with fury. "Were you spying on me?"

Completely blinded by the human figure I'd seen, I ignored her reaction. "I'm asking you where this man is!"

"Man?"

Celeste let out a sharp, mocking laugh and pointed at the mannequin. "That's the man you're talking about."

After walking over, she adjusted the mannequin's pose until it matched the angle in the video. "I was just adjusting the shape of the mannequin, and to find the right angle, I'd shifted it."

I was completely stunned. The mannequin's shape and build seemed to match what I'd seen in the footage, so could it be that I'd really wronged her?

As my reason crept back in, my hands and feet started going cold. I'd not just doubted Celeste, but I'd also spied on her and questioned her like a lunatic.

"I-I'm sorry…" I murmured in a dry voice, helplessly holding my forehead.

Celeste stood with her back to me, her shoulders slightly shaking as if she was crying. It took a long time before she turned around with red-rimmed eyes and softly muttered, "It's fine. I know I've been working overtime lately and neglected you, so it makes sense you'd feel insecure."

She leaned her head against my chest with her fingers tracing slow circles on my back. "We haven't really been intimate in a while, so go home, shower, and wait for me. I'll clean up and be right back, alright?"

Her softness and understanding only deepened the guilt within my chest. There was nothing I could say, so I nodded and headed home.

However, sitting in the living room, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was still off. Not only was the thorn of suspicion in my chest not pulled out, but it'd also dug deeper.

I took out my phone and repeatedly replayed the footage once, twice, ten, and even 20 times…

Finally, I slowed the video to half-speed and stared at the screen unblinkingly.

In one split second, it finally struck me what was off.

Sure enough, Celeste had been lying to me all along!