The sudden blazing in my neighborhood jolted me awake. Yet, when I looked around, I found there was no one in the house. It was empty.

Terrified, I called Martin Calhoon, my husband. Just when I turned my head, the door burst open and I saw him running toward me without single clothes on his body.

He immediately scooped me up and carried me down the stairs. As we fled, my eyes caught the vivid red scratch marks all over his body and his neck was littered with countless kiss marks.

"Why were you outside?" I choked, my voice trembling as my pregnant belly tightened painfully.

Suddenly, my eyes caught a familiar figure in the midst of the disorderly crowd. She was in an equally disheveled state like everybody else. Yet, her hands were clutching my husband's coat and shoes.

I immediately recognized her because she bore an eerie resemblance to me. She was Martin's new secretary.

So, the man who once adored and cherished me above everything else had betrayed me.

Then, I made a phone call, “Mom, about the immigration plan … I agree.”

That call across the ocean became the final note in the symphony of my marriage.

——

“Doctor, I’m five months along. Can I still terminate the pregnancy?”

Since the moment I got pregnant, Martin had been present at every checkup. No matter how packed his schedule, he had always found the time to accompany me.

When I stared at his silhouette through the window of the clinic, a mix of sorrow and anger was welling inside me and I finally asked those questions.

Seeing my doctor, who was in the middle of checking me, froze, I started panicking. The doctor immediately apologized and asked me in surprise, "Do you want to terminate this pregnancy?"

Seeing the determination in my eyes, she answered carefully, "It's possible to have an abortion, but you need to have the father sign the agreement."

The doctor became awkward and tried to persuade me but I could not hear a word she was saying, no matter how much she tried.

That night, Martin claimed that the reason he was naked was because he had drunk a lot during a business meeting and vomited all over his body so he had to take off his clothes.

Yet, I did not believe a single word he said.

Meanwhile, the news of his deed ran rampant on the internet. It said that a CEO risked his life to save a pregnant wife in an ablaze house. The media applauded him as a heroic husband, the epitome of a good man.

The love story of a rich CEO was exposed on the internet. Our love story from childhood sweetheart to our lavish wedding became a trending topic.

Even my wedding dress, a priceless diamond wedding dress, was also posted online. For the time being, Martin's love became a mythical story all over the world.

Although I knew his love was real, he also did not love me that much. He had long lost his love for me.

After the check-up, Martin cautiously helped me out of the clinic. His concern for me and my unborn child was palpable. Although I could feel him glancing at me cautiously over and over again, I pretended I did not notice them and kept walking forward.

Even though I planned to terminate the pregnancy, I still underwent routine examinations. During one, as the rhythmic sound of the baby’s heartbeat filled the room, his phone buzzed.

Instinctively, my eyes flicked to the screen and saw Jenna Miller's name there.

Then, not like he had before, listening to the fetal heartbeat check until it was finished, he excused himself before it was done, went out and answered the call.

His tone was colder, more distant than I had heard before, but I recognized the undercurrent of deception.

“Wait, I’ll be there soon,” he said.

When he returned, Martin walked, pulled my shoulder into his embrace and leaned closer to explain in a low voice, "A major client showed up unexpectedly. I’ll head back to the office and pick you up afterward.”

The doctor, who was checking on me, smiled and praised him as she usually did, "What a wonderful husband you have.”

I kept my head down, but I could not smile anymore.

After he left, I stayed in the hospital bed, listening to the steady heartbeat of the child inside me.

When it was time to go, I didn’t wait for him. I hailed a cab and returned home alone.

That night, he came home and tried to cheer me up as usual. He even called his act of leaving me behind for work “a terrible mistake".

Once upon a time, his jokes and expressions had made me happy, but today they felt dull and meaningless.

His clumsy attempts to entertain me were nothing more than a façade to hide his cheating. The louder he tried to be, the clearer his mistakes became.

Silently, I pushed him away. I ignored the hurt that flickered in his eyes and told him to go shower.

As the sound of running water filled the air, I stared at his shadow through the frosted glass and made up my mind. Eventually, I typed out a message and sent it.

“Doctor, I’ve decided to proceed to terminate the pregnancy. Please help me schedule the procedure.”

The child I had once eagerly waited for so much was ultimately not destined to be with me. If I could not provide it with a loving, stable family, perhaps it was better for it not to be born.

Martin habitually began preparing his clothes for the next day, his voice calling out to me without stopping, “Wife, where’s my black tie?” then, “Wife, have you seen my white pants?”

Sighing, I entered the room and fetched the items he needed.

From behind, he wrapped his arms around me and planted kisses on the back of my neck.

The sound of his ragged breathing shot to her heart from her ear. It was like venom that made my whole-body shudder in revulsion.

“Wife, how would I even survive without you?” he seduced me. His hand wandered all over my body but when he turned me around to face him, his movements froze.

“Cathy William, why do you look so pale?” he asked. He looked at me with eyes full of love, they seemed genuine, not a trace of deception in there.

“You should come to the office with me tomorrow,” he added. “Or, I’d worried about your well-being.”

I shook my head without offering any explanation.

“Honey, are you still upset about … that incident?” he asked cautiously.

We both knew what he was talking about, though neither of us dared to address it directly.

“No,” I replied, my tone even. “Don’t overthink it.”

Forcing myself to suppress the revulsion, I patted his shoulder reassuringly.

Martin took the opportunity to act intimate with me, then walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

When I heard the sound of running water in the bathroom, I picked up his phone and unlocked it with ease. The password was still my birthday. He had not changed it.

The chat history was filled only with business matters. Unconsciously, I opened Jenna's Instagram account.

“Afternoon tea from the boss. Love it! It's so delicious.”

“On a business trip with the boss, he gifted me this necklace! I really love it!”

“Who else has a boss who gives six-figure birthday bonuses?”

Every post was about Martin. From Paris to Italy to Japan, they had traveled together, leaving a trail of picturesque memories at countless scenic spots. The girl in the photo smiled sweetly, with endless love in her eyes.

Though Martin was not in any of the photos, I knew. The one behind the camera was him.

A sharp pain pierced my chest as my gaze shifted to his briefcase. Quietly, I retrieved his backup phone from a hidden compartment. Luckily, the password was still my birthday.

The bitterness was unbearable, like swallowing bile. How could someone who claimed to love me so deeply still stray so far in our marriage?

I opened Jenna's chat. On the last conversation on the chat page, Jenna asked Martin, "Boss, after Cathy gives birth, will you still treat me this well?”

She added the text with a playful and coquettish selfie of hers.

Mark only replies with a simple. "Mm."

I couldn’t bear to scroll further. The moment the sound of the shower stopped, I quickly turned off the phone's screen and returned the spare phone to his briefcase.

He hugged me from behind and said the usual love words to coax and reassure me that he loved me.

However, gradually, my mind wandered.

Martin, when you say you love me, who are you really thinking of? When you look at me, whose face do you see?

In hindsight, I should’ve known that something was wrong when the first time I met Jenna. She was like a mirror image of me.

Back then, Martin had simply laughed it off and said it was a coincidence.

Later, over time, as Martin's secretary, the frequency of her calling him increased exponentially and her reasoning became even more trivial, like fixing pipes, changing light bulbs and finding a missing cat or ID card. Jenna could always summon him away with only just minor reasoning.

“She’s just a young girl trying to make her way in the world,” Martin would coax me. He would say, “She reminds me so much of you back in the day.”

Every single time he held me in his arms, he would coax me, “You’re the only one I’ll ever love in this lifetime.”

However, this time, I could not bring myself to believe him.

The lies Martin told me and the sincerity he showed Jenna became the sharp dagger that pierced my heart.

The next morning, I woke up because of Jenna's voice.

When I opened the door, I saw Jenna and Martin standing in front of the dining table, playfully dividing breakfast into plates.

“Stop it,” he said.

“Boss, feed me!” Jenna pouted and inched closer to him.

Martin sighed, amused and picked up a slice of sandwich from the table, moving to feed her.

Jenna took the opportunity to bite Martin's fingers, her bright eyes brimming with mischief.

He tried tickling her to make her let go and amidst their antics, his gaze locked with mine.

Startled, he reflexively pushed Jenna aside, his face pale as he hurriedly walked toward me.

“Did we wake you up?” he asked.

Pretending not to see their interaction, I shook my head. However, out of nowhere, Jenna squeezed herself between me and Martin.

"Cathy," she said. "Boss really loves you so much, you know. Look, he even went out to buy you breakfast himself! It's your favorite, meat buns and strawberry shortcakes!"

"Huh," she joked. "I just got a measly sandwich. He's really a stingy boss!"

She giggled while throwing playful looks at Martin, who responded with a helpless yet indulgent smile.

My gaze was directed to her then fell into the delicate necklace around her neck. It was a Van Cleef & Arpels.

That receipt for the necklace? It was still sitting in the pocket of Martin’s coat.

I once thought it was a surprise gift for me, but now it adorned Jenna's neck.

“Well, it’s fine if the boss doesn’t treat you well,” I said coolly, pulling my hand away. “After all, Miss Miller seems perfectly capable of treating herself. You were able to buy a necklace so expensive just like that.”

Then I turned and walked to the table to sit down.

Behind me, the two of them were still standing in place, one looking flustered while the other smiling.

The breakfast felt tasteless in my mouth.

Before we left, Martin pestered me to accompany him to the office. I actually did not want to but I did not have the energy to refuse. So, I reluctantly agreed.

However, Jenna got to the front passenger seat first. As she rolled down the window, she said, "I easily get carsick if I sit on the back. You don't mind sitting on the back today, right Cathy?"

I turned to look at Martin, who had not gotten into the car yet, but all I could see was his embarrassment.

"Cathy, Jenna's stomach hasn't been okay in these past few days …."

I did not let him finish his sentences. I just opened the door and got into the back seat.

The bumps in the back made my abdomen tighten painfully and cold sweat dripped down my back. I had to grip the handle tightly to steady myself.

At the front, Martin and Jenna were talking and laughing merrily as if there was not that third person in the car.

"Cathy, why are you sweating?"

At the red light, Martin finally remembered my existence and glanced at the back toward me.

I forced myself to smile and shook my head.

From then on, he kept looking back at me. His concern was evident. He even did not realize that he had run a red light.

The whole world might see him as a devoted, loving husband, but only I knew that his heart was slowly leaning toward someone else.

Martin himself did not realize it but undeniably his heart leaned toward Jenna. The woman who, in his own words, reminded him so much of me.

Martin would make time to hug me even though he was so busy. From the eyes of the outsider, we were an inseparable and loving couple.