The phone notification brought me back to reality.

"Sis, I've arrived safely."

Seeing the message on my phone, I smiled.

Jeremy loved to cheat, didn't he?

In this life, I would let him die at the hands of a woman.

My daughter's enthusiasm wasn't dampened by her father's absence.

I booked the most expensive hotel and let her eat the best seafood.

Watching her run joyfully on the beach.

I vowed to keep that smile on my dear Susan's face.

Back at the hotel, I received a message from my best friend, Emma.

I didn't hurry to check it but first bathed and settled my daughter for the night.

When I was ready to sleep, I opened my phone.

Emma had sent several messages and even called when I didn't reply to the first one.

I opened the top photo.

It showed Jeremy holding a young girl.

They were tightly embracing, with the girl's chest half-exposed.

It looked very intimate.

The following messages were Emma's indignant complaints on my behalf.

"Look at your husband, he can't move when he sees a pretty girl!"

"Aren't you going to do something?"

"Where the hell are you, Ava?"

"Your husband is practically in bed with her, and you're not doing anything?"

I calmly typed a reply.

"She's probably a colleague. They're on a business trip, nothing serious."

Emma quickly called.

She scolded me harshly.

"Ava, how can you be so weak? Your husband is like this, and you say it's nothing. Do they have to be in bed for it to be something?"

I gave my daughter a tablet to watch and walked to the balcony.

"He told me he's on a business trip with colleagues. How did you get this photo?"

There was a moment of silence.

"I was out with my kid and happened to run into them."

Emma was a single, divorced woman with a five-year-old child.

She never worked but lived comfortably.

We had known each other for four years and hit it off from the start.

Later, our interests aligned, and we became closer.

I once jokingly asked if she was kept by someone since she didn't work yet had money.

She said it was child support from her child's father.

I didn't pry and only reminded her to stay safe with her child.

But she always urged me to keep a tight rein on Jeremy and to confront him when he returned.

After chatting for a while, I used my daughter's bedtime as an excuse to end the call.

Emma was truly a loyal friend.

My husband's infidelity angered her more than it did me.

When Jeremy's business trip ended, my daughter and I also returned home from our vacation.

Jeremy came home in high spirits.

He, who rarely interacted with our daughter, surprisingly held her and asked about the beach trip.

Susan excitedly shared all the fun experiences with Jeremy.

Whether out of guilt or something else, Jeremy showed a rare fatherly smile.

"Next time, Dad will go with you and Mom."

While unpacking Jeremy's suitcase, I noticed several condoms were missing.

I wondered whom they were used on.

In the evening, Emma brought a bunch of groceries, saying she wanted to cook a feast for Jeremy and me.

Despite her earlier anger, she showed no sign of it when she saw Jeremy.

Emma enthusiastically went into the kitchen to cook, saying she would make a few of Jeremy's favorite dishes.

I smiled without saying anything and asked Susan to play with Emma's son, Kieran.

As I can't cook, I could only assist Emma.

She busied herself in an apron, looking more like the lady of the house than I did.

"Did you ask Jeremy about the photo?"

I kept my eyes down as I washed the vegetables, my expression unchanged.

"No, it's just a bunch of baseless rumors. There's no need to hurt our relationship over such things."

"They were hugging! How is that baseless?"

Realizing she was too emotional, Emma lowered her voice.

"I'm just angry for you. You're so excellent, yet he treats you like this."

I placed the washed vegetables in a basket.

I smiled faintly, not responding to Emma's words.

After washing all the vegetables, I left the kitchen.

"Daddy, I want to play with that."

Walking into Susan's playroom, I heard Kieran's voice.

Susan had a dedicated playroom with a small tent, a slide, and many toys.

Kieran was pointing to Susan's favorite puzzle.

"He's my daddy, you should call him uncle!"

Susan, like a big sister, corrected Kieran's mistake.

Kieran glanced at Jeremy, feeling a bit aggrieved.

"Uncle, I want to play with that."

Jeremy, with his back to the door and he could see his expression.

He touched Kieran's head and handed him the puzzle.

Susan immediately protested. "Mommy helped me with that puzzle!"

She tried to grab the puzzle from Kieran.

The once complete puzzle scattered all over the floor.

Kieran began to cry loudly.

"Can't you let your brother have it?"

Jeremy picked up Kieran, soothingly saying.

"Don't cry, Kieran. Uncle will buy you a new one tomorrow."

Susan, holding onto Kieran, tried to pull him away from Jeremy. "He's my daddy!"

Kieran cried even harder.

Without a word, Jeremy slapped Susan across the face.

My heart clenched.

"Jeremy, what are you doing!"

Susan, who had been trying to be strong, immediately cried when she saw me.

"Mom!"

I hugged Susan, my heart aching at the sight of her reddened face.

"It's okay, Susan. Mommy's here. No one will bully you!"

I looked at Jeremy with a gaze full of resentment.

"Jeremy, whose child is yours?"

Jeremy looked guilty.

"Kieran is her younger brother. I just wanted her to act like a big sister and give in a little!"

I gritted my teeth and slapped Jeremy's face.

"Susan is a child. I'm just asking you to give in a little to her!"

Jeremy was stunned by my action, looking shocked.

"Ava, are you crazy?"

"Yes! I'm crazy! If you touch my daughter again, I won't just hit you and I'll kill you!"

If it weren't for the law, I would have cut this heartless man into pieces right now.

Seeing me argue with Jeremy, Susan cried even harder, holding onto my neck.

"Susan, be good. Mommy won't argue with Daddy. Susan won't fight with Kieran over toys anymore!"

As Susan cried, Kieran cried even louder, as if unwilling to be outdone.

Hearing the commotion, Emma ran over.

"What's going on?"

Seeing her son crying so hard, Emma didn't even take off her apron before picking him up.

"What happened to Kieran?"

Kieran kept crying, looking terribly aggrieved.

Emma comforted him lovingly, calling him her darling and sweetheart.

Seeing this, Jeremy suggested, "Let me take you and Kieran home."

I didn't respond as they left.

Susan, still sobbing, asked me, "Mommy, why does Daddy like Kieran and not me?"

Seeing my daughter's red, swollen eyes made me feel terrible.

"Mommy likes Susan, and Mommy will protect you."

After comforting Susan, I went to the window.

I saw Jeremy hugging Emma, who was holding her child.

I watched the trio downstairs like prey, scrutinizing them.

The pain of losing my daughter and the agony of being burned alive in my previous life fueled my hatred.

The hatred in my heart surged even more violently.

When Jeremy returned, Susan was already asleep.

Seeing that I was ignoring him, he approached me.

"Still mad?"

I didn't want to talk to him.

The thought of pretending to be affectionate made me feel sick.

"I was just worried Emma might get the wrong idea. It's not easy for a woman to raise a child alone."

I laughed coldly at him. "If you care so much about her, why don't you go be the father of her child!"

Jeremy's expression became strange.

He then hugged and kissed me. "Don't be mad, honey."

I pushed him away in disgust.

Any intimate gesture from him now repulsed me.

I picked up his pillow and shoved him out of the room.

"Go sleep in the guest room!"

I threw the pillow at him and locked the door.

The thought of sharing a bed with this scumbag made my skin crawl.

Finally, I had some peace.

Jeremy and I entered a cold war.

Except for picking up and dropping off our child, I avoided interacting with him.

Eventually, I started taking Susan to my parents' house for meals before coming back home.

Jeremy began coming home later and later.

Then, my phone received another photo.

It was the same girl from the last photo Emma had sent, with Jeremy.

This time, the photo was even more explicit.

They were both naked in bed, Jeremy asleep.

And the young girl looking smugly at the camera.

Soon, another message came in.

"Sis, what do you think? Pretty juicy, huh?"

I looked at the photo, satisfied.

And I complimented the girl.

"Great job."

The girl then sent a money symbol.

I replied with an OK emoji.

After ending the chat with the young girl, I used a secondary account to send the saved photo to Emma.

Soon, Emma replied.

She first sent a few greetings.

I watched her typing indicator for a while.

Then, her messages came through.

"Who are you?"

"Do you know he has a family and a child?"

"You're destroying someone else's family!"

"Speak up, you shameless woman!"

I didn't reply and happily exited the chat.

When Jeremy came home, it was already past ten.