In the third year since my husband, Axel Kramer, starts working as a rideshare driver, we finally manage to buy a home of our own.

On the day we move in, he suddenly says to me, "Some friends want to come over for dinner tonight. I already said yes."

I'm someone who values boundaries and doesn't like outsiders coming into my home. Even when we host relatives, we take them out to restaurants.

"Can't we just go to a restaurant?" I ask.

He looks helpless as he replies, "I already suggested that, but Lindsay said it would be more fun if we hang out at home. She said we should liven it up in our new home. And since everyone knows I'm a good cook, she wants to try my cooking too."

One corner of my eye twitches with displeasure.

Lindsay Brun is the female driver he's mentioned the most over these three years. She's also the only woman in their rideshare drivers' group chat.

I pursed my lips and continued tidying things up without showing any emotion. "I heard you mention before that your fellow female driver is trying to get a divorce."

Axel Kramer and I were sorting through our miscellaneous possessions after our move.

Not noticing that something was off in my expression, he replied, "Yeah, because of what happened half a year ago. Her husband got drunk and kept mumbling about his first crush and saying that he regretted not confessing back then.

"Around that time, he'd been secretly chatting with that woman, and Lindsay found out. Ever since then, they'd been sleeping in separate rooms. Recently, things flared up again. They even filed for divorce and are now in the waiting period to get their divorce certificate."

I responded with a hint of sarcasm, "She's busy getting a divorce, but she still has time to come over and join your housewarming, huh?"

Axel picked up on my tone and said with a laugh, "We're just friends. What were you thinking? Besides, a housewarming is supposed to be lively. You know what kind of person your husband is, don't you?"

Indeed, I knew.

Axel was a very good man. He cooked and took the initiative to do chores. Aside from not being very ambitious about making money, he could be considered a perfect husband.

He liked to stick close to me and was very good at providing emotional support. Even when he played games, he only teamed up with men, never with women.

Everyone in his rideshare group chat knew how well he treated me. Since I couldn't cook, he went home at noon every day to prepare meals before going back to work.

And yet, my seemingly perfect husband began to mention a female driver friend more and more often ever since he started driving for a ride-hailing platform three years ago.

I was frustrated and unhappy, so my voice turned cold as I stated firmly, "I don't agree to this. I don't like other people coming into my house."

Still, Axel tried to persuade me. "But I've already promised them. It's just one meal, and it'll liven up the atmosphere at home. We're hosting a housewarming dinner, after all. Wouldn't it be awkward if we didn't invite them to our home? Besides…"

My hands, which were folding some clothes, paused mid-action. I didn't remember anything he said after that. All I remembered was that it felt as if a stone was pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

All I knew was that he was trying to convince me to compromise my boundaries just to satisfy another woman. But maybe I really was overthinking it and being petty.

When he finished speaking, I nodded. "Fine. Invite them over."

Axel called his friends, happily inviting them to come over that evening to liven up our new dwelling. After hanging up, he called his parents and asked them to take care of our daughter for that night.

Then, he took my hand and led me out to buy groceries. He chattered on about the kinds of dishes his friends would like.

I stayed silent the whole time.

After getting into the car, my nose picked up the scent of a light fragrance.

I turned to look at Axel and asked, "Are you wearing perfume?"

Because I got carsick easily, he had never kept anything scented in the car.

He seemed excited as he pulled out a bottle of perfume and sprayed it toward me. "Lindsay gave this to me. It costs 250 dollars. Well, she didn't exactly give it to me—I asked her for it. She bought a new perfume, and I'd almost used mine up. I liked the scent, so I took it. Smells good, right?"

The fragrance spreading through the air made my stomach churn.

I suppressed the discomfort and replied, "Didn't you use to say you didn't like the smell of perfume?"

Axel flashed me a goofy smile and carefully put the perfume away as he said, "That's because I hadn't found the right scent before. I get all kinds of passengers in my car. Some of the smells aren't exactly pleasant. Honestly, if I don't spray a bit of perfume, I can't stand it."

However, he had once said, "Why would I bother with perfume? You don't like it. On top of that, you get carsick. The smell inside the car is bad enough. If I spray perfume, you definitely won't be able to take the scent."

I bit the tender flesh inside my mouth and said nothing.

After buying everything, we returned home. Several of his friends had already arrived and were waiting for him downstairs. I followed him to greet them and took a quick glance around.

Lindsay Brun had a slender figure, and she was much thinner than I was.

We were both married with children, but because I had been on long-term medication due to an illness and hadn't controlled my food intake, I had gained quite a bit of weight.

Inside the elevator, I stood close to her. I realized that I was about half a head taller than her.

A faint fragrance drifted from her, and I knew that scent well. It was the same smell as the one in Axel's car.

Suddenly, I remembered that about half a year after he started driving, he had said to me out of nowhere, "Why do I feel like you've gotten taller?"

When he held me, he would sniff lightly and suddenly say, "I think it'd be better if you wore a bit of perfume."

Lindsay was shorter than I was, and she liked wearing perfume.

The stifling feeling in my chest intensified with that realization. Still, I didn't want to jump to conclusions. As soon as we entered our apartment, Axel went straight into the kitchen and got busy.

I didn't know how to cook, so I sat on the couch and scrolled idly on my phone. His driver friends had all heard that I was somewhat introverted. So, after they toured around, they started chatting among themselves.

It was our housewarming, so I had come over at 5:00 am and started tidying up since then. I hadn't slept at all last night because I was excited. After spending the entire day at our new place, I was now so sleepy that my head felt dizzy.

As the conversation went on, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that one person was missing. I looked over and saw that Lindsay was now in the kitchen and helping Axel with the food preparations.

The two of them were chatting and laughing happily, while I observed them quietly.

Sensing my gaze, Axel wiped his hands on his apron and walked over. He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the room.

In a hushed voice, he instructed with concern, "Don't bring up Lindsay's divorce. She told me not to tell you. Since this is our housewarming, she said it wouldn't be nice if the others found out she was getting a divorce. It would dampen the mood."

I blurted, "Wouldn't be nice? If she were so thoughtful, then why did she insist on coming to our new home to celebrate then?"

Axel choked on his words for a moment. "She just wanted to come over and enjoy the lively atmosphere as a friend."

I took a deep breath. "She's a guest, so it's not appropriate for her to be in the kitchen."

He shrugged it off with a smile. "That's it. She's just a friend. And since she knows how to cook, she came in to help out. It's fine."

After saying that, Axel hurried back into the kitchen.

Because of what I had said, he drove Lindsay out of the kitchen. "You're a guest. Don't stay in the kitchen. Go relax for a bit."

Lindsay glanced at me and smiled. "It's fine, we're all friends. Susanna doesn't cook. I can help out instead since I know how to do so. It's no trouble."

It was an ordinary, off-handed remark. Yet, it sounded especially grating to my ears.

Only after Axel repeatedly urged her did she sit down on the couch. She leaned closer to me and flashed me a friendly smile.

She said, "Hi, Susanna. You must be really busy after just moving. If you need any help, just let me know. I'm so happy that you and Axel gave me that 250-dollar perfume to cheer me up. I don't know how to thank you enough for that."

My mind buzzed and went completely blank in an instant.

When Axel's other driver friends heard that, they started making teasing comments.

"Oh, wow. A 250-dollar perfume, eh? Axel sure is generous to Lindsay."

"Tell me about it. Last time I asked him to buy me a perfume, he told me to get lost."

"Lindsay is the princess of our group. Isn't it normal for Axel to spoil her?"

Lindsay quickly waved her hands to dismiss them. "Alright, that's enough. If you keep going, Susanna will get upset."

She turned to me with a worried look. "You're not mad, right?"

One of the drivers chimed in, "Oh, she won't be. Everyone knows Axel's wife has the best temper. Back when we played games every night, my wife got jealous, but she didn't. She's incredibly tolerant."

"Exactly. You and Axel even used matching profile pictures, and you had those couple accessories on your cars. She didn't get mad at all. When you were upset about your divorce, Axel even bought you perfume to cheer you up. We're all jealous of that kind of friendship."

I stared at Lindsay and asked, word by word, "Divorce? What divorce?"

She quickly covered her mouth in regret, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I told Axel not to tell you about my divorce. It wouldn't be appropriate for such an occasion. I completely forgot about that."

Lindsay put on a remorseful act in front of me, but she had gone on and revealed everything anyway.

The other drivers watched me with amused expressions like they were enjoying a show.

I clenched my hands tightly. My fingernails dug into my palm, sending sharp pain through it.

A 250-dollar perfume, huh?

Axel had said he didn't care for those superficial holidays. Even though he knew I loved flowers, he would just ignore the flower stands whenever we passed by one.

Ironically, he spent 250 dollars on a bottle of perfume for a friend without batting an eye.

He had no ambition at all, which led him to work on and off. So, he barely made 1,000 dollars a month.

How could he possibly afford such an expensive perfume? Well, of course, he couldn't. He could only afford it because I gave him all of my salary each month.

It seemed I had indulged him too much.

Lindsay observed me cautiously. "I'm sorry I came to your housewarming when I have so much going on. I didn't want this to be about me. I hope you don't mind."

The tip of my nose stung as tears came to my eyes.

Just then, Axel came out of the kitchen and said, "Come eat! Honey, give me a hand and bring out the dishes and cutlery."

Lindsay immediately stood up. "I'll help you. Susanna can rest."

The other drivers shuffled toward the dining table.

I clenched my fists, forcing down my anger and steadying myself. I quietly took several deep breaths to suppress the immense hurt that welled up in my heart.

Using the excuse of fetching water, I carried an empty bucket downstairs and looked at the back of Lindsay's car. The drift charm on the rear bumper caught my eye—it was one of Marge Simpson.

Axel loved watching The Simpsons, and I had always known he had a Homer Simpson drift charm hanging from his bumper. But I never knew he had bought a matching one for Lindsay!

I yanked off both Simpsons and threw them into the trash.

After I was done filling the bucket, a hand took it from me.

"I told you to wait for me. Why did you come down by yourself?" Axel said.

I looked at the ground in silence before forcing a faint smile. "It's fine."

When we went back upstairs, Axel's friends had already opened several cans of beer. They were about to start drinking.

I went into the kitchen and took Axel's phone. Then, I slipped into the bathroom to check it.

We had never looked through each other's phones because we trusted each other completely. So, he had never felt the need to set up any passcode or security measures to guard against me.

I unlocked his phone and checked their group chat.

The drivers talked about everything and anything in there. There were complaints about passengers, the ideal drop-off locations, and various things they had encountered when driving people around.

Axel's profile picture looked normal. It wasn't one of those couple artwork photos. Instead, Lindsay's one was exactly that.

My heart began pounding.

I suddenly remembered Axel had a secondary account, so I logged into it.

Sure enough, his profile picture there matched Lindsay's.