On our wedding anniversary, I wanted to drive out and buy a cake to celebrate.

But the moment I got into the car, I noticed the driver's seat had been pushed forward.

There were also a few bread crumbs scattered inside.

I called my husband.

"Has anyone been driving my car lately?"

His voice carried unmistakable guilt.

"My cousin borrowed it yesterday for the whole day. Why?"

His cousin was six-foot-three—twice my size. More importantly, he was severely allergic to wheat and avoided pastries like the plague.

I let out a soft laugh, hung up, and drove straight to the bakery my husband had been frequenting lately.

Inside, a sweet-looking girl was chatting and giggling with her coworker.

"So what if I'm short? I have to move the seat all the way forward when I drive, but at least someone spoils me!"

The moment she saw me, her carefree smile vanished, replaced by panic.

I crossed my arms and tilted my head as I looked at her.

Lucas had always told me I was too tall—not quite his preferred type.

Looks like he'd finally found himself a petite little lover.

"Welcome—"

The girl's composed smile disappeared the instant our eyes met.

Panic flashed across her face.

Lowering her gaze, she stammered awkwardly, "W-What would you like to order...?"

The moment I looked at her, I knew she was the one.

A faint smile curved my lips as I sized her up.

"Two egg tarts."

She looked innocent and delicate, small enough to seem fragile.

I suddenly remembered how Lucas used to tell me that being short was cute.

Back then, I thought he was comforting me. Turns out, he genuinely had a thing for it.

The girl handed me the boxed egg tarts. I accepted them with a smile and casually asked, "Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you before."

The employee beside her immediately chimed in familiarly.

"Jessica, you haven't been here in ages. She's the new college student who works at our shop—Lucy Lacher. Your husband recommended her."

Then she turned toward the girl.

"This is your sponsor's wife. Hurry and say hello."

Lucy kept her eyes lowered, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"H-Hello."

I couldn't help laughing.

Wasn't she just flaunting herself moments ago, bragging about how someone pampered and spoiled her? Why was she shrinking into an ostrich now?

Only then did I finally take the egg tarts she'd been holding out the entire time. I glanced down and frowned.

"I never asked for them heated."

Panic instantly spread across her face. She bit her lip, clearly at a loss, before finally forcing herself to speak.

"I'm sorry. Lucas only ever eats them fresh out of the oven, so I subconsciously just…"

I almost laughed out loud.

Was she trying to declare that she knew Lucas's habits better than I did? Such a cheap form of provocation.

Truthfully, I had been the original regular customer at this bakery. I'd even gotten myself one of their black-gold VIP cards.

Later, Lucas held my hand gently and told me that from then on, he'd personally handle all my desserts so I wouldn't have to make the trip myself. He said he'd feel bad seeing me tire myself out.

But now I realized I'd unknowingly given them the perfect excuse to meet in secret.

At first, seeing Lucas bring me dessert every single day, no matter how late he worked, made me feel both touched and guilty. I would help him out of his suit jacket and tell him he didn't need to work so hard for me.

But he would only shake his head and say I deserved every beautiful thing in this world.

That was why I never had to do housework—he cleaned the home spotless himself.

If there was a dish I wanted to eat, he would secretly learn how to cook it for me, even if he burned his hands in the process.

Even when working remotely and attending video conferences, he would get up to make me a warm beverage whenever I was feeling under the weather.

I once believed I had received the greatest love in the world. Now, it all felt like those "I love you" texts sent at four in the morning. Nothing more than a way to ease his guilt.

My gaze swept across Lucy's embarrassed face before slowly drifting downward.

Finally, it landed on the bracelet around her wrist.

"Nice bracelet."

Lucy gave an awkward laugh.

"I just bought it casually."

I only smiled without responding.

That bracelet design was one of a kind in the entire world. Lucas had won it for me at an auction as my birthday present.

It was also the very first gift he had ever given me.

Because it meant so much to me, I had locked it away inside the safe in my walk-in closet.

I never expected that after all this time, I would see my treasured bracelet on someone else's wrist.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, a message from Lucas popped up on my phone.

Lucas: [Jessica, did you go to the bakery?]

My heart skipped.

The moment I looked up, I caught Lucy hurriedly hiding her phone.

I let out a cold laugh inwardly and replied: [I was bored, so I came out for a walk. Want me to bring you something back?]

Realizing I sounded no different than usual, Lucas visibly relaxed. A voice message came through immediately.

Lucas: [No need. Just buy whatever you like to eat. Love you.]

I stared at the words "Love you" beneath the voice transcription and felt sick to my stomach.

When I looked back at Lucy, she had already composed herself and was trying to strike up a casual conversation with me.

Idiot.

I ignored her completely, turned, and walked out of the bakery before dialing my father's number.

Just two days ago, after much persuasion from me, my father's overseas company had finally agreed to invest in Lucas's business.

"Dad, don't sign the contract anymore. And help me contact a divorce lawyer while you're at it.

"Yes, I want a divorce. Lucas has learned how to cheat behind my back."

…

The first thing I did after getting home was tear through my walk-in closet.

Just as I expected, quite a few things were missing.

The closet was mainly used to store expensive gowns and dresses that couldn't be folded.

After marrying Lucas, I became a full-time housewife. Those clothes were rarely needed anymore, so I seldom stepped into the room myself.

Lucas usually organized everything for me. At a glance, nothing seemed out of place.

But all the items that held special meaning to me were gone.

With a grim expression, I pulled up the security footage from the closet.

Only then did I realize that within this tiny space of less than five hundred square feet, so many "wonderful" things had happened.

On May 7th, the two of them entered my closet for the first time, standing in front of the mirror while trying on my clothes.

Calling it "trying on" was generous. They were flirting shamelessly, wrapped up in each other, looking disgustingly sweet.

On August 29th, Lucas canceled the date I had carefully planned, only to hide in here and spend the entire night whispering sweet nothings to Lucy on the phone.

On October 5th, while I was away on a business trip, he and Lucy spent the night tangled together on top of my clothes.

My stomach churned violently. I rushed to the bathroom and threw up until my head spun.

Then the auto-playing footage showed Lucas appearing in front of the safe.

After taking out the bracelet he had once given me, his gaze shifted toward another document inside.

My heart sank instantly, dread creeping up my spine.

It was the property agreement my mother had left me before she died—the very last thing she left behind in this world.

Yet in the footage, Lucas turned around and handed it directly to Lucy.

Staggering to my feet, I rushed into the closet and pulled out the remaining copy of the document.

The contents were identical. But there was no official seal. This copy was fake.

Because I had trusted Lucas completely, I had never carefully examined the discrepancies in the documents.

I collapsed onto the floor, my entire body icy cold as I listened to Lucas's gentle promise through the surveillance recording.

"Don't worry. Even if I can't give you a title, I'll never let you suffer."

Lucy pretended to refuse modestly.

"Lucas, this is too valuable. I can't accept it..."

Then another voice appeared at the doorway—one I never could have imagined hearing.

"Oh, come on, Lucy, just take it! I specifically lured Jessica away so Lucas could surprise you! I deserve major credit for this. When you two get married, you better give me my own table at the wedding banquet, got it?"

The moment my best friend appeared on the screen inside my closet, it felt as though every drop of blood in my body froze.

Only then did I suddenly remember that day.

Out of nowhere, she had asked me to go buy her favorite pastries from the east side of the city for her.

I had stood in line for three full hours to get it, and the heels I wore rubbed my feet raw with blisters.

My whole body trembled with rage.

Not only had Lucas betrayed me, but even my best friend had stabbed me in the back.

On the screen, Lucas wrapped his arms around Lucy and said indulgently, "What's mine is yours. Why are you being so polite with me?"

Using the assets my mother left me to spoil his mistress, and still shamelessly declaring that everything he owned belonged to her. The irony flooded my chest until I could barely breathe.

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to rush in front of them and slap each of them across the face.

I wanted these people to open their eyes and see exactly whose belongings they had touched.

Just then, a friend request notification popped up.

The other party sent me a video, then quickly unsent it.

But I had already seen everything.

In the video, Lucy held up her phone with a radiant smile and said happily, "Mom, I finally have a little house of my own!"

And the background behind her was the house my mother had left to me.

At that instant, every shred of my rationality shattered.

I suddenly remembered that day. My mother had been gravely ill, lying weakly in bed as she held my hand and pressed a property agreement into my palm.

I cried so hard I could barely breathe, telling her I didn't want any house—I only wanted my mother.

But Lucas took the agreement from my hands on his own initiative and pulled me into his arms, his voice heavy with sorrow.

"Mom, don't worry. I'll take good care of Jessica. I'll never let her suffer."

A relieved smile appeared on my mother's face. And with that smile still lingering, she passed away.

I cried until my entire body went numb, collapsing onto the cold hospital hallway floor while Lucas held me tightly in his arms. Again and again, he comforted me.

"Don't be afraid, Jessica. I'm here. I'm right here. Everything's okay."

After my mother's death, I couldn't bear to look at anything that reminded me of her. I was terrified that even the smallest memory would break me down all over again.

So Lucas handled everything himself—my mother's belongings, even her funeral arrangements.

My father saw all of it and patted my shoulder, saying Lucas was a man worthy of trust.

But who could have imagined that the thing Lucas had coveted all along was my money and property.

Truthfully, the things he did were never completely flawless.

The faint traces of perfume lingering on him. The trendy slang he unconsciously used. The increasingly frequent "business trips"...

I had simply chosen to deceive myself because I treated him as my only emotional support.

After retracting the video, Lucy sent another message.

Lucy: [Sorry, I sent it to the wrong person.]

Then she followed up by sending photos of the bakery's newest desserts.

I stared at her unbelievably terrible acting without replying. Instead, I tapped into her social media feed.

She hadn't blocked me yet.

Her latest post was the very same video she had just deleted.

[Moved into my new home! Everyone's invited to my housewarming party!]

Below it was an address.

As expected, it was the address of my house.

At the very bottom, Lucas had liked the post and commented: [Congratulations, babe.]

I even saw my best friend liking and commenting underneath it.

"Congrats, Lucy! Another independent woman of the new generation is born!"

They all knew perfectly well that the house did not belong to Lucy. Yet, every single one of them chose to play dumb and shower her with congratulations anyway.

I watched everything with an icy expression.

Then I called the property agency and informed them there were issues with the ownership transfer process for the house. I requested an immediate freeze on all procedures.

I wanted to see who exactly dared to steal my property right under my nose without my permission.

…

The next day, I drove to my mother's house ahead of time and hired a locksmith to replace every lock with a fingerprint system that only I could open.

After that, I returned to my car and quietly waited for their so-called housewarming party to begin.

Before long, the private courtyard was filled with elegant flowers and delicate desserts.

A towering champagne pyramid stood prominently in front of the fountain.

There were many guests, most of whom I didn't recognize.

Until my best friend appeared.

Holding a glass of red wine, she walked up beside Lucy, her eyes full of envy.

"So nice. You're still so young. Unlike me—I already have wrinkles. Lucas, you better treat Lucy well, hear me? Otherwise, I won't let you off easy!"

Lucy lowered her head shyly while Lucas wrapped an arm around her waist.

With a solemn expression, he promised my friend that he would treat Lucy well for the rest of his life.

In an instant, cheers erupted throughout the courtyard.

A middle-aged woman affectionately grabbed Lucy's hand. Her wrinkled face beamed with pride as she spoke to the crowd.

"Lucy has always been outstanding since she was little! She never made me worry about her studies, and now, even her lifelong happiness has fallen perfectly into place!"