Henry returned home after the New Year. He was covered in mud, and he had stubble growing along his jaw. There was also a layer of grime on his face. He had a sack of sweet potatoes and walnuts with him.

"I'm home, honey!" he announced as he stepped through the door, throwing the sack on the floor and scattering dust everywhere.

"I swear that I'm seconds away from dropping dead of exhaustion. The mountain roads aren't for the faint of heart. Anyway, look! The villagers insisted on giving me their local delicacies. They're all organic too!"

I looked at Henry coolly as I balanced my cup of tea between my hands.

"What's wrong, honey?" Henry asked. "Are you upset?"

He took off his muddy shoes. He then sat down next to me and tried to pull me into a hug. "Did you miss me so much that you couldn't sleep?"

The combined scent of perfume and alcohol permeated my senses.

I shifted away and dodged his grabby hands. "Why don't you take a shower if you're so tired?"

Henry retracted his hands and rubbed his nose, saying, "I just wanted to hold you first. Oh, that's right. I didn't come home empty-handed. Look!"

He pulled out a plastic bag from his coat.

There was a red, woven bracelet with a ruby pendant inside.

"I got this from the village. It was blessed by the priest to keep you safe. Felicity… I mean, all the youngsters in the village told me that it's really effective."

I accepted the bracelet and fiddled with it.

Felicity visited our home a year ago.

Henry had told me that he wanted to give his beneficiary a chance to experience the outside world and the warmth of a loving family.

Felicity had been wearing a worn-out uniform at that time. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she constantly kept her head lowered, not daring to meet eyes with anyone.

"This is Mrs. Gibbons," Henry said while pointing at me.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Gibbons," Felicity greeted me timidly.

Looking at her threadbare clothes, I decided to drop by the mall to buy a jacket for her. It had cost 200 dollars, which was half of our family's monthly expenses.

However, when I passed by the guest room that night, I heard Felicity complaining to someone over the phone.

"I'm so annoyed! That old hag has such old-fashioned tastes. She bought a stupid jacket for me that not even a beggar would wear. I much prefer the Moncler jacket that Henry said he would buy for me."

The next morning, I found the jacket that I had bought for Felicity stashed inside the kennel.

Beyond furious, I decided to air my grievances to Henry.

Henry frowned as he looked at me and asked, "Why are you being so petty? Felicity's from the mountains. She has a strong sense of pride. She probably felt guilty because you bought something so expensive for her, and she's probably too scared to wear it.

"Besides, youngsters these days have their own sense of style. You shouldn't have bought something for her without understanding her style first. You're behaving like a classic city dweller right now, trying to emotionally blackmail her!"

Now that I knew about the true nature of Henry's and Felicity's relationship, it was only natural that Felicity would dislike the jacket that I bought for her. My jacket was from a local brand, while the jacket that Henry bought from her was from Moncler.

"Why aren't you putting it on?" Henry asked when he noticed that I was lost in my thoughts. "I went through a lot of trouble to get this for you."

I snapped back to my senses and looked at the bracelet. I smiled as I asked, "Where did Mom's surgery funds go, Henry?"

"W-What surgery funds? What are you talking about?" Henry stammered, averting his eyes.

"I stopped by the bank yesterday," I explained as I placed the bank statement on the coffee table. "There's supposed to be 30,000 dollars in the account, but there's only three dollars and eight cents now. You withdrew the money a day before you left for the mountains."

Mom had left that money for me in case there was an emergency.

Henry leaped to his feet. A vein pulsed in his neck as he exclaimed, "You investigated me? We're husband and wife. Aren't we supposed to trust each other? I… I lent the money to Peter! His company was struggling financially, but he'll return the money in the next couple of days."

"You lent it to Peter?"

I pulled out my phone and navigated to Felicity's social media account. I then thrust the device in his face.

The photo showed a custom-made costume. The total cost was 28,000 dollars since each part of the costume was handmade.

"Thank you for your generosity, Henry! Apparently, he paid for this costume using that old crone's money that she saved to buy her mother's casket. Somehow, I feel even better when wearing it."

Henry's eyes widened. The color drained from his face as he stared at the screen.

"L-Let me explain! This is all part of the script! Youngsters these days love it when there's drama! We didn't actually buy the costume. We only rented it to take some photos."

I lifted my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

Henry was stunned by my slap. He stared at me while covering his cheek with his hand.

"Have you lost your mind?" he demanded. "How dare you raise your hand against me? I only did what I did for the sake of charity! To raise awareness for the students who are living in the mountains! You crazy, short-sighted wretch! Do you have any idea how much exposure Felicity's post will gain?"

"Exposure?" I asked with a scoff. "Do you really believe that you earned that exposure with your own hard work? Or did you gain that exposure by using the money that would save Mom's life?"

Henry swallowed the rest of his words as he looked into my eyes.

"Fine. I'm not going to argue with you anymore. You're clearly not mentally stable right now. We'll talk about this again once you've calmed down."

He then grabbed the sack of sweet potatoes and walnuts and retreated to his room, slamming the door with a loud bang.

I stared at the door that was sealed shut.

…

It was extremely quiet in the house for the next few days.

Henry began leaving early and returning late every day. A strong stench of perfume clung to him every time he stepped through the door.

He only returned home early on Friday, bringing a gift box with him.

"Are you still angry, honey?" he asked with a smile as he pressed the gift box into my hands. "Open it and have a look. I specifically picked this out as my apology present to you."

I opened the box.

A pearl necklace was nestled inside. The pearls had a dull sheen, and they were clearly defective.

"I specifically talked to the gala organizers to get this for you. The necklace itself isn't from a prestigious brand, but it has a unique design.

"I'm one of the main guests for tomorrow night's charity gala. I'll be going up on stage to accept an award. The organizers told me that the award-winners' families must attend the gala, so you have to be there to support me. Don't let me down!"

I fiddled with the necklace.

Half an hour ago, I received a selfie from Felicity.

In the photo, she was wearing a necklace with Artanan white pearls around her neck.

"Mrs. Gibbons, Henry told me that top-of-the-line, Artanan white pearls are perfect for me because I have a slender neck. Meanwhile, you have a thick and wrinkly neck, so you only need to wear counterfeit freshwater pearls to cover up your wrinkles.

"See you tomorrow night. I'll be wearing a gown from your favorite brand. Henry's the one who bought it for me."

I switched off my phone. I then picked up the necklace and looked at Henry. I made sure to sound excited when I exclaimed, "Is that so? This looks amazing! You're so good to me, honey."

Henry breathed a sigh of relief. A hint of disdain flickered in his eyes before he said, "Of course. It only makes sense for me to treat you well. Oh, that's right. Felicity will be attending the gala too. She's the representative for the student beneficiaries. She'll also be going up on stage to give a speech.

"This is a good chance for us to show the fruits of our labor. Since you're my wife, you'll also be going up on stage to present an award to her."

"Sure."

Henry hadn't expected me to be so cooperative. He gleefully rubbed his hands together and said, "Marvelous! You're so understanding and generous, honey. Oh, there's one more thing…"

He continued rubbing his hands together as an expectant smile stretched across his face. "My condition has been pretty good recently. I think now's the right time for us to try for a child. I'm not getting any younger. It's about time for me to sire an heir.

"Felicity told me that she dreamed about me cradling a chubby child the other day. It's probably a good omen!"

It seemed that Henry was trying to convince me to accept Felicity.

However, I already had other plans.

The private investigator had handed the information that he had collected to me yesterday afternoon. He had found evidence of Henry transferring our assets to another account, as well as a copy of a full-body check-up report.

A decade ago, shortly after Henry and I got married, we dropped by the hospital for a check-up because we couldn't conceive.

The doctor had asked Henry to enter the office by himself.

Henry had remained silent after he exited the office. He tore the report to shreds before telling me that all was well.

However, I had secretly remembered the name of the doctor since I was concerned about him.

For the last decade, I always assumed that I was the reason why we couldn't have a child. I took many different types of medication and was subjected to constant ridicule.

I only learned the truth yesterday after the private investigator obtained a sealed folder from the hospital. It contained the record that Henry had destroyed.

A smile stretched across my lips as I brushed my fingers across the USB drive in my bag.

"You're right. Felicity must be a lucky star. We have to make sure to celebrate as much as we can tomorrow night since there's a good omen."

…

The charity gala was hosted in a hotel in the heart of the city.

In the hall, the guests chatted among each other while balancing wine glasses in their hands.

Henry was dressed in a suit. He accepted compliments from the guests as he weaved his way through the crowd.

"You really are a Good Samaritan, Mr. Gibbons. It's not easy to support the students in the mountains for so many years."

"You flatter me. I'm just doing what I can for the students' sake."

Meanwhile, I stood in a corner while wearing a gown that I had purchased three years ago and the pearl necklace that Henry had given me.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted among the crowd.

"Who's that? She's beautiful!"

"I think she's the student representative."

Felicity strode into the hall while locking arms with a male celebrity. She was dressed in a gown. The Artanan white pearl necklace around her neck was especially eye-catching.

She immediately spotted me standing in the corner. Her lips curled up into a smile as she let go of the male celebrity and approached me, holding a glass of red wine.

"Good evening, Mrs. Gibbons—Oh!"

She suddenly lurched forward as she tripped over her own two feet, spilling the red wine all over my chest and staining the front of my gown.

"Oh god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, Mrs. Gibbons!"

Although Felicity was apologizing to me, she had a hand pressed to her stomach.

"Oh, my stomach…" she moaned. "Why did you push me, Mrs. Gibbons?"

The other guests immediately surrounded us.

"What happened?"

"I think Mr. Gibbons' wife pushed the student representative."

"Why did she do that? Felicity just lost her balance."

Henry swiftly rushed over when he noticed the commotion. He didn't even spare a single glance at me and held Felicity, exclaiming, "Are you alright, Felicity? Did you hurt yourself?"

"I don't blame Mrs. Gibbons for what happened, Henry. I was the one who lost my balance."

Tears rolled down Felicity's cheeks as she collapsed against Henry's chest. "But my stomach hurts so much…"

Henry whipped his head around to glare at me. "What did you do, you wicked wretch? Felicity is still so young. Why can't you tolerate her? I won't forgive you if anything happens to her!"

"I didn't push her," I explained as I stood my ground, allowing the wine to drip from my gown. "You can check the surveillance footage. She's the one who crashed into me."

"How dare you try to pin the blame on her?" Henry roared, reaching out to shove me. "Get out of my sight! Don't get in my way! I need to send Felicity to the hospital!"

I staggered backward and fell since I was wearing high heels.

A loud bang resounded around the hall when I hit my forehead against the table with the champagne tower.

Pain exploded from the point of impact. Something warm and sticky flowed down my brow.

Chaos erupted in the hall.

Henry didn't spare another glance at me. He picked up Felicity and roared at the security guards, "Why the hell are you just standing around? Call an ambulance! Now! I won't let any of you off the hook if anything happens to the heir of the Gibbons family!"

Silence immediately descended upon the hall at Henry's words. Everyone's gaze shifted.

I heard someone whispering, "I didn't know siring an heir was part of the deal when he decided to sponsor her."

Henry also seemed to realize that he had misspoken. However, he had other, more pressing matters to attend to. He rushed out of the hall while carrying Felicity, leaving me to stare at his retreating back.

Blood continued to flow down my cheek, mixing with the red wine. I pressed a hand to my bleeding forehead as I slowly crawled back up to my feet.

I knew that the guests were pointing at me and whispering among themselves.

I didn't feel any pain.

I reached into my handbag that was soaked with red wine and rummaged through it until my fingers brushed against some paper.

I pulled the report out of my bag and lifted it high into the air.