Stella was having a cold war with me again.

If it were in the past, I would be restless and begged for forgiveness, wanting to reconcile with her as soon as possible.

But now, I found these days were the most relaxing time I had had with her in the seven years that she and I had known each other.

I didn't have to shorten my sleeping time to prepare breakfast or give up lunch break to rush home to make her a fresh lunch and then deliver it to her.

With enough sleep, the dark circles under my eyes had faded a lot and I looked more energetic.

When I was at work, I no longer recalled the quarrels with Stella or found fault with myself. I no longer sent her messages frequently. Even my work efficiency had improved a lot.

I got off work on time, so I finally had time to attend gatherings with colleagues and manage interpersonal relationships.

I used to rely on Stella and never attended any gatherings. My colleagues all said behind my back that I was dominated by my wife.

Without cooperating with my colleagues, I couldn't finish many tasks, which made my performance being bad.

Last year, my manager told me that I was capable, but I didn't focus on my work. If I could try my best, he would consider giving me a promotion.

At that time, I only thought about the fact that if I got promoted, I would not be able to cook for Stella and take care of her, so I never expressed my opinion.

Now I worked very hard, and my manager saw it and did a big project with me.

The project was successfully completed and my manager said that unless something unexpected happened, my promotion would be announced by mid-year.

I was overjoyed and traveled.

Lying in the hotel at night, I checked my social media that I hadn't looked at for a long time, and then I remembered David.

For some reason, I checked his account.

Sure enough, during the cold war between Stella and me, she always appeared beside David.

They went hiking together and ate in popular restaurants. David even attended a party of Stella's friends.

In every photo, he was smiling happily, and there were traces of Stella in every photo.

Sometimes she showed half of her face, sometimes she showed her hand.

If it were in the past, I would have called Stella repeatedly or gone to find her.

But I humiliated myself every time.

She would explain and get annoyed when she thought that I was jealous.

Then, Stella would not come home for several days.

But when I saw these photos now, I felt calm and was even interested in the restaurants they went to.

My manager told me that the new position was in the next city. He remembered the crazy things I had done for my wife in the past and spoke carefully.

"I want you to focus on your career."

"Okay, I'll go."

I agreed without hesitation. The manager was stunned and felt that I had become a completely different person.

After returning for a few days, I unexpectedly saw Stella downstairs of the company.

"I happen to be here to deal with something."

I walked around to the driver's seat and saw David sitting inside.

He opened the car window and smiled at me, saying, "Stephan, long time no see.

"Stella and I just happened to finish our swimming lesson here, so she gave me a ride back. Do you mind?"

I smiled and replied, "I don't mind."

Then I sat in the back seat.

Stella realized something was wrong only after she sat in the passenger seat. It seemed as if they were a couple and I was a colleague who was just hitching a ride.

She turned around, hesitating to explain.

"Our company is going to hold a swimming competition. David is a good driver, so I feel safe with him driving."

I nodded lightly without saying a word.

David was very familiar with this car and it was not his first time driving it.

Stella sat stiffly in the passenger seat, glancing constantly at the rearview mirror, trying to know what I was thinking from my reflection in the mirror, but unfortunately, she could tell nothing.

She must be very surprised by my reaction at this moment. This was my first car and I had a unique possessiveness towards it. Most people would not lend their cars to others, let alone let others drive them.

Although I gave the car to Stella, I always sat in the driving seat, no matter how.

I once said to Stella proudly, "Only by sitting in the driver seat can one be considered the owner of the car, and the one sitting in the passenger seat must be my wife."

Stella despised me and said, "It's just a driver's seat. It doesn't matter where you sit."

But I just wanted to see her when driving.

David was driving and chatting with Stella as if no one was around. They were talking about their company's matters and I couldn't get involved at all.

I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.

David called my name and said, "Stephan, I want to treat you and Stella to a meal this weekend. Thank you for your help during this period."

"Help?"

I asked in confusion, I wanted to strangle David to death, how could I help him?

"I asked Stella to accompany me back to my hometown last weekend. My family was urging me to get married, so I brought Stella back home to pretend to be my girlfriend."

I was confused.

What the hell?

Did Stella meet his parents?

Stella was visibly panicked and said, "Our company held an activity in his hometown. I was just helping out a little."

I laughed out of anger.

In the third year of my relationship with her, my parents suddenly became seriously ill, so I begged Stella to go home with me to see them.

But she used being busy with work as an excuse and never went back with me.

Even after my parents passed away, she never visited them, saying that she hadn't married me and shouldn't go back home with me.

But now she visited David's parents.

Was she helping him or did she want to do so?

After listening to what David said, Stella felt guilty and didn't say a word.

The takeaway arrived home with us.

I took a quick shower and started eating. Stella came out of the bathroom and asked, "Where's mine?"

Her face froze for a moment, and she sat opposite me as if she had something to say.

If it were in the past, I would have asked out of concern or even admitted my mistake directly regardless of whether I was wrong or not.

But now I just wanted to eat.

Stella snatched my fork and called me.

"I wanted to discuss with you about meeting David's parents, but we were in a cold war at the time, so..."

I swallowed my food, looked at Stella seriously, and interrupted her softly.

"Shouldn't you have rejected it directly? Is there any need to discuss it?"

Stella avoided my sharp gaze, stiffened her neck, and tried to find an excuse.

"He and I are just colleagues, why couldn't I help him? Do you suspect that I have an affair with him? Stephan, why are you so dirty-minded!"

I was speechless.

Stella cried, "Since we got married, you have been suspicious every day. If you don't trust me, why did you marry me?"

She acted like this every time.

I wanted to talk to her nicely and solve the problem, but she always blamed me for not believing her.

I was tired.

I was exhausted.

She left me on my birthday and went to have dinner with David.

She didn't go to the restaurant I booked for our wedding anniversary because she was taking care of David who had a cold.

Leaving me alone in the heavy rain, she chose to send David home.

...

I sighed, "Stella, am I the one with dirty thoughts? Ask yourself."

I was slapped in the face.

Her hands were shaking as she pointed at me, and she said, "Stephan, you bastard!"

Stella did not return home all night.

I checked David's social media and saw his latest post without a doubt.

The lighting in the photo was dim, and Stella looked drunk.

I called Stella, but the call didn't go through, so I called David.

David sent me a location.

My car was driven out by Stella. When I arrived by taxi, David was already waiting for me at the door with his arms around Stella.

Under the dim light, Stella's whole body was very close to David.

This scene hurt me deeply.

Although Stella and I had a bad relationship and often quarreled, I always loved her deeply.

When I saw her being intimate with another man, I couldn't control my anger.

I walked over and tried to take Stella from David.

But what happened next left me stunned.

Stella kissed David.

She kissed his mouth.

My blood froze and my heart seemed to stop for a moment.

Was she kissing another man?

Apart from preparing for pregnancy, she wouldn't let me touch her even with a finger.

But now she kissed another man in front of me!

She seemed to be enjoying it, and it was obvious that she was doing it voluntarily.

"Stephan?"

Stella was sober.

She let go of David in panic, ran towards me, and tried to hold my hand, but I avoided her.

"Listen to my explanation. It's not what you think!"