I suspected my husband was cheating on me. Over the past couple of weeks, he'd been making excuses about working late, turning off his phone, and staying out all night.

Erich had always been wonderful to me throughout our seven years of dating and three years of marriage, but lately, something had changed.

"Hey, babe, tonight I..."

"Working late again. Don't bother making dinner for me," he cut me off, his back already turned as he headed for the door without so much as a glance back.

My breath caught in my throat, and the smile I had plastered on my face fell away. I sank into the couch, murmuring to myself, "But today's our anniversary…"

Every year, Erich would start planning surprises for our anniversary weeks in advance. I could never remember the date, but his endless creativity made me look forward to it.

Maybe this time, it is one of those setups where he plays it cool before hitting me with something amazing? Surely, he has something planned for tonight.

Hope flickered back to life, and I decided to glam myself up for the evening. I called my best friend, Lindsay Crane, and we headed out together.

I felt a spark of hope ignite within me, so I decided to pamper myself with a beautiful outfit and headed out with my best friend, Lindsay Crane.

But as the dinner hour approached, Erich hadn't sent any messages my way. Noticing my dwindling spirits, Lindsay took charge, inviting me to the city's finest restaurant for a gourmet meal.

That only made me feel worse. So many of our anniversaries had been celebrated right there.

"Lindsay, what am I going to do? I feel like my husband is losing interest in me…"

Lindsay was more worked up than I was, letting out a loud gasp that turned heads in the restaurant. She quickly lowered her voice. "No way! You two are so in love. If he's cheating, I'd lose all faith in love!"

I barely registered her words, my eyes glued to the entrance.

There they were—Erich and a woman walking in together!

He actually forgot our anniversary and went out to dinner with another girl!

Anger surged through me, and I fumbled for my phone to call him, but it went straight to voicemail.

If I had any doubt before, it was gone now.

I was certain that it was Erich. He always kept his phone on during work hours, only turning it off when we were supposed to be spending time together.

It seemed that whenever he had a date—regardless of who it was—his phone went silent.

He must be cheating…

At around 2 a.m., I heard the sound of the door unlocking.

I quickly wiped my tears away, but I heard the guest room door creak open and then shut again.

I froze for a moment, realizing I had been fooling myself.

He wouldn't even notice the tear stains on my face because he didn't care anymore.

I spent the night tossing and turning, determined to confront him.

"Didn't sleep well?" Erich asked as he stepped out of the guest room, still buttoning his shirt.

He paused when he saw me on the couch, a smile flickering across his face.

"Yesterday was our anniversary," I said, forcing a smile that felt more like a grimace.

I hadn't looked in the mirror, but I knew my face must be a mess.

For a brief moment, I saw a flicker of discomfort cross Erich's face.

He approached and squeezed my shoulder. "Work has been crazy lately. I was tied up with a project last night. Don't be mad, okay?"

I scoffed, shaking his hand off. I wasn't in the mood to play games. "So you took a woman to dinner to discuss work? Erich, are you cheating on me?"

His expression turned icy, the warmth and tenderness evaporating in an instant.

"Seriously? I just forgot our anniversary, and you're throwing around accusations? I don't have to listen to this," he shot back, looking wounded as he quickly threw on his blazer and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

A whirlwind of emotions surged inside me—hurt, anger, betrayal… I felt like I was going to explode.

Then, everything went dark as I fainted from the overwhelming pressure in my chest.

When I came to, Lindsay was hovering over me, her face etched with worry.

"You scared the life out of me! Why did you faint? If I hadn't noticed you were off yesterday, you might've been sprawled on the floor all day! Come on, we're going to the hospital."

She tugged at my arm, trying to pull me up, but I just stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Lindsay, I think Erich is cheating on me…"

Under her relentless questioning, I spilled everything that had happened.

Lindsay's expression turned incredulous. "You didn't even see him in a hotel or anything. How can you jump to that conclusion? You're just scaring yourself!"

But I knew something was shifting beneath the surface.

I blinked back tears, trying to hold it together.

"After all these years together, are you really going to throw it all away over this one incident? You need to calm down and hear Erich out."

She has a point.

Ten years together should mean something. Maybe I should trust him more.

With Lindsay by my side, I rested for the morning. By noon, I decided to make Erich's favorite food and took it to his office.

I sometimes dropped by to check on him, and the receptionist greeted me like it was just another day.

I put on my best "CEO's wife" smile, waving at every employee I passed, but my smile froze when I reached the door to his office.

The girl I had seen with Erich at the restaurant was standing beside his desk, arranging dishes in front of him.

Our eyes met, and Erich's expression was disturbingly calm, devoid of any surprise or panic.

The girl looked up and smiled when she saw me. "This is…"

Erich glanced at her, his voice softening. "My wife."

Her face blanched, and she stammered a quick greeting before hurrying out.

I had to admit she was a striking beauty with an exotic allure. It was no wonder Erich might be tempted.

A heaviness settled in my chest, and my hands trembled as I clutched the warm food container.

But as Erich noticed the box, his demeanor softened. He stepped forward, taking it from my hands and then grasping mine. "Your hands are freezing! Are you feeling alright?"

I shook my head, trying to brush it off.

"Hey, babe, let me explain. Yesterday was just a team-building event. It hurts me that you'd misunderstand like this. Please don't be mad."

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling out a beautiful necklace from his pocket. "This is your anniversary gift. Let me make it up to you today, okay?"

My heart warmed a little, and I hesitated before accepting the necklace.

Maybe I have misjudged him…

That evening, Erich set up a romantic candlelit dinner. The soft glow highlighted his features, making him look exceptionally gentle.

I couldn't help myself; I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him. The morning's uncertainty had left me feeling terrified of losing him, and all I wanted was to hold on tight.

With a playful grin, Erich lifted me effortlessly, striding toward the bedroom.

I let him take the lead as always, but just as we reached the crucial moment, I felt him tense up.

He suddenly rolled off me and hunched over the edge of the bed, gagging.

My heart raced, and I jumped off the bed, flipping on the light.

Erich's face twisted in agony as he looked at me, and my stomach dropped when I saw the blood pooling on the floor.

I called the doctor, my heart pounding with worry.

After a long night filled with tests and examinations, the results came back: Erich was perfectly fine.

After everything that had happened, I found it hard to focus on anything else.

Seven years of love and three years of marriage made me prioritize his well-being above all those whispers of infidelity.

Still uneasy, I decided to take him to a larger hospital for a second opinion.

Once again, the results showed he had no health issues at all—if anything, he was in great shape.

Sensing my anxiety, the doctor explained, "It could just be something he ate that didn't sit well."

Determined to take care of him, I prepared a nutritious lunch to bring to his office.

Normally, I would send the driver, but this time, I wanted to surprise him.

Yet, I couldn't shake the nagging doubts that still lingered in my mind.

Standing outside his office, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

No answer. He wasn't there.

My heart sank.

"Mrs. Kastner?"

The girl from before stepped out of the break room, carrying freshly changed bed linens and flashing me a sweet smile.

Seeing the food container in my hands, she raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Kastner went out for lunch. Why not give him a call?"

But he usually ate in the office, and today's schedule didn't show any lunch meetings with clients…

A chill ran through me. How could he be so brazen? And how dare she flaunt her presence in front of me like this?

I pushed past her and swung open the break room door.

I searched everywhere, including the cabinets, the bed, and the changing area. Erich was nowhere to be found.

My trembling body finally found some calm as I leaned against the wall, feeling utterly defeated.

The girl looked puzzled but smiled as she left. "Well, I'll just take these linens to the dry cleaners."

Her feigned innocence was sickening!

I scoffed internally, thinking she believed I hadn't caught on to anything.

If Erich wasn't in the office for lunch, he wouldn't be in the break room either, so why would there be any need for fresh linens?

Once my thoughts settled, I called Erich.

As expected, I heard the dreaded message. "The number you dialed is currently busy…"

Despair washed over me. Is there even a point in continuing this marriage? No matter how much I loved him, I didn't want to lose myself in the process.

Just then, my phone rang, sending my heart racing. I felt alive again.

But the caller wasn't Erich; it was Lindsay.

"Hey?"

"Alice, something's happened to your husband!"

I rushed to the hospital, finding Lindsay anxiously waiting on a bench in the emergency room.

"What happened?"

She looked disheveled, water still dripping from her hair, but she managed to pull herself together when she saw me.

"Alice, your husband scared the daylights out of me! We were on the phone, and suddenly he just went silent. If it weren't for a passerby noticing something was off and calling me, it could've been a disaster…"

"How is he? Did he throw up blood again?"

Panic surged through me as I struggled to breathe.

"Yes, he lost a lot of blood…"

After what felt like an eternity, we were finally told that Erich had regained consciousness and was physically fine.

"How can that be? Doctor, no one just throws up blood for no reason!"

The doctor, holding the test results, looked conflicted.

"I can assure you, the patient is fine. His lungs and gastrointestinal tract are healthy, and we've ruled out any foreign objects. It might be related to psychological factors…"

Upon hearing the news, Erich's parents were beside themselves with worry. They urged us to go back to the Kastner Manor for a few days, bringing in top-notch nutritionists and doctors to keep an eye on him.

While I wasn't thrilled about spending time with them, I tolerated it for Erich's sake.

But for some reason, Erich's demeanor had turned icy again.

His parents, fueled by their distress over his vomiting blood, directed their anger at me, accusing me of being the source of Erich's mental struggles.

They took on the role of concerned guardians, chastising me relentlessly.

"Erich, can you at least say a few words in my defense?" I pleaded at dinner, only to be met with more barbs from my mother-in-law.

Once I got back to our room, I couldn't hold back my frustration any longer.

"Erich, come on, can you at least defend for a second?"

But he was lost in his phone, chatting away, barely lifting his head.

"Just ignore what Mom says. Humor her," he replied dismissively.

I struggled to grasp why his attitude flipped like a switch.

Watching him smile while texting someone else disappointed me.

"Erich, just be honest with me. Do you have feelings for someone else?"

His smile faded at that question.

"Can you stop jumping to conclusions? You're always suspicious—if you keep this up, I might just look for someone else!"

I let out a bitter laugh, feeling sickened by his attempt to deflect responsibility.

I'd always taken pride in having such a wonderful partner, but now I realized he was just like every other man who couldn't own up to his faults.

"You're honestly making me sick!"

With those words, I turned and stormed out of the room.

The house felt stifling, and I was overwhelmed with pent-up emotions as I made my way outside. But halfway down the staircase, I heard footsteps behind me.

When I turned around, I was shoved hard.

He tried to kill me.