The day I took my daughter for a check-up, Diego Powell, who had been away on a business trip for several days, came to pick us up.

As soon as he saw us, he pulled both me and our daughter into his arms.

A faint, unfamiliar scent clung to him, brushing past my nose.

Our daughter nestled against his chest, giggling as she played with him.

I watched them with a smile until we got into the car.

That was when I saw the woman seated in the back.

——

She had a delicate, round face and wore a smart, tailored suit.

With a sweet smile, she greeted me. "Hello, sister-in-law. I’m Courtney Edwards, newly assigned to the Powell Corporation’s secretary's office."

I turned toward Diego. His tone was steady. "She was just on the way, so I gave her a ride."

But since when did the high-ranking CEO of Powell Corporation chauffeur a subordinate himself?

And more importantly, during the time meant for picking up his wife and daughter?

Courtney offered a gentle, apologetic smile. “Please don’t misunderstand, sister-in-law. I just wanted to take this chance to apologize.”

She handed me a gift bag. Inside was a brand-new tube of the hand cream I often used.

“These past few days, I was on a business trip with President Powell. I forgot my hand cream and happened to find it in his car. I used it all by accident. This is a replacement. I hope you don’t mind.”

I didn’t reach for it right away.

Awkwardness flickered across her face. Instinctively, her eyes turned to him, seeking reassurance.

“Take it,” Diego said, voice calm but firm.

I accepted it without a word and placed it aside.

Our daughter sat quietly in the car seat, studying this new "auntie" with wide, curious eyes. Her gaze lit up at the candy in Courtney’s hand.

Just as Courtney began unwrapping it, I finally spoke.

“She just saw the dentist. No candy.”

“This is imported,” Courtney replied with a smile. “It’s not low quality. You don’t have to worry.”

“Imported or not, it’s still candy, isn’t it?”

Diego, focused on the road, suddenly frowned. “Kelly, she meant well.”

I fell silent, but our daughter, always thoughtful, waved her hand.

“I’ll listen to Mommy. I won’t eat it.”

Courtney withdrew her hand, a trace of awkwardness flickering in her eyes.

The car soon pulled up to an old residential area. She stepped out and apologized once more.

I simply gave a polite nod.

As we continued toward home, Diego’s tone softened.

“Don’t be mad. She’s just a young girl, new at work, trying too hard to prove herself. When she digs her heels in, even I can’t change her mind.”

He chuckled lightly, a smile touching his eyes.

“She’s got spirit.”

Just as the car stopped in front of our house, he suddenly leaned over and kissed my cheek.

I didn’t move away.

From the back seat, our daughter piped up, “Mommy, Aunt Courtney smells really nice. She smells like Daddy.”

Diego’s smile froze in an instant.

I smiled as if nothing had happened. “Of course, Daddy’s car smells like him. What does that have to do with the auntie?”

“Oh.” She blinked, half-understanding.

I stepped out and carried her into my arms.

Looking up, Diego spoke in a flat tone, “If raising Madeline feels too much for you, I can hire professionals. She’s the pearl of the Powell family. Your carelessness can’t taint her.”

From the moment I married into this family, I had learned to stomach the cold indifference of the man beside me.

He had kept mistresses before. One-night stands, too.

The year our daughter was born, I lost control just once.

That was the first time I saw him truly enraged. His face went rigid, cold enough to pierce through flesh.

“Kelly, don’t forget, whatever I’ve given you, I can take away at any time.”

I thought of our daughter’s future. And in the end, that storm never even reached the shore.

It ended before it began, quiet as a whisper.

After that, I learned to stay in line.

No matter how often he changed women, he never forgot that he still had a family waiting at home.

Sometimes, I wondered, maybe that tenderness in his eyes when he looked at me was real.

I was his legal wife. Maybe, deep down, I truly was different from the others.

He built a tall, firm wall between our home and the world of singing birds and swaying willows.

I stayed behind the wall, pretending not to see.

They stayed outside, sharing one indulgent affair after another with him.

But Courtney’s appearance shattered that fragile line.

She wasn’t left outside. He invited her in. Brought her right in front of me.

After coaxing Madeline to sleep, I returned to the master bedroom.

He stood on the balcony, the night breeze brushing his sleeves, a faint smile on his face as he skimmed through something on his phone.

“All right, you’ve worked hard these past few days. Go rest early.”

That voice, that tone. He had never spoken that gently to any subordinate.

And just like that, the image of that pretty, delicate face from earlier floated back into my mind.

I walked past him without a word and stepped straight into the bathroom.

Halfway through my shower, a tall, familiar warmth pressed in behind me.

A low, husky voice murmured above my ear, “Did you miss me these past few days?”

I shifted quietly to the side, reaching for a towel and wrapping it around myself.

“I’m a bit tired today.”

But as I turned, a firm hand seized my wrist and yanked me back.

He raised a brow, his eyes gleaming with teasing mischief.

“I’ve still got my ‘rations’ saved up. If you won’t take them, should I hand them to someone else?”

He had always enjoyed making these crude jokes in bed.

No matter how I responded, he always assumed I was playing along.

Even when I pushed him away again, the grin on his lips only deepened.

“Angry?”

“There’s nothing between me and her. She just sort of looks like you...”

“If it bothers you, I’ll be more careful next time. Be good.”

His lips brushed my neck as he spoke, warm and smooth, but all I felt was a chill that sank straight to my bones.

“Diego, I’m begging you… don’t touch me.”

Steam clouded the air, and in the blink of an eye, his expression turned cold.

“Kelly, don’t be ungrateful while I’m still willing to coax you.”

I stood frozen, fingertips stiff with cold.

When I still didn’t yield, he scooped me up and flung me onto the bed, no warmth. No hesitation.

In the darkness, his voice came sharp and careless.

“If you want to live comfortably, stop making a scene.”

My whole body was locked up.

Moments passed before the tears finally slipped down, soundless and slow.

The next morning, Madeline dashed over and kissed my cheek.

“Mommy, Daddy’s taking me to the amusement park today!”

I blinked, stunned. Diego never liked crowded places, much less taking her himself.

He leaned against the door, smiling faintly at her.

“Let’s go, my little princess.”

Not long after they left, I headed to the hospital.

Something about the chaos from last night left a strange, uneasy ache.

The moment I saw the early pregnancy test result, I stood frozen.

The doctor spoke plainly. “You’re four weeks pregnant. The fetus isn’t stable yet. No intercourse for the first three months, and take care of yourself.”

“If you’re not planning to keep it, decide soon. The later it gets, the more it harms your body.”

Clutching the report, I broke down inside the car, crying until I couldn’t breathe.

Back when I loved Diego the most, I had once foolishly believed a child could tether his heart to mine.

So I had Madeline.

He came home more often, softened toward me, and held me the way he used to when we were just two students in love.

It felt like he had come back to me like he was once again that passionate boy who had chased me with reckless sincerity.

Until the day our daughter was born.

While I was lying in the delivery room, trembling with fear, he vanished without a trace.

Later, I found out that very day, he had finally won over the university belle he’d been chasing for years.

They spent the night tangled in springtime pleasures at the highest hotel in Anderson.

I hated him.

But over the years, that hatred had worn away every last shred of hope I once held for Diego.

People around me had advised, “You should have another child. Powerful men are never without women. At least Diego’s cleaner than most.”

“Give him more children. No matter what he does outside, your title as Mrs. Powell will always stand firm.”

The Powell family only produced one son per generation.

If I had another child, boy or girl, then even if Diego wanted to make things hard for me, his parents would step in first.

After all, who would go against the benefits right in front of them?

And more importantly, I still had Madeline.

She was nearly everything I lived for.

I carefully tucked the report away, drove home, and brewed a pot of nourishing soup while waiting for Madeline to return.

Night slowly fell.

After the tenth unanswered call to Diego, I could no longer hold it in.

I grabbed my car keys and rushed out to look for him.

He wasn’t at the office.

The amusement park had long closed.

Just as I was about to drive to the Powell family’s old residence in a panic, the housemaid finally called.

“Madam, Madeline’s home. Assistant Walter just dropped her off. She’s sleeping soundly now.”

I leaned back in my seat, closed my eyes, and exhaled slowly.

“Assistant Walter also said Sir won’t be coming home tonight.”

“Okay.”

I hung up and turned the car around.

But after just one turn, I saw Diego’s car.

Under the dim streetlight, his tall figure stretched long and silent. The red glow of a lit cigarette flickered between his fingers, the ground around him littered with cigarette butts.

I had been to this place just yesterday.

It was Courtney’s residence.

He stood there, unmoving, staring up at a lit window without blinking once.

Following his gaze, I saw the faint silhouette of a woman behind the curtains, graceful, soft, like silk gliding across the heart.

He stood there like a lovesick man in a television drama, only daring to look from a distance.

Something inside me cracked, bit by bit.

I remained in the car all night.

Until the sky began to lighten, and Courtney stepped out of the building.

She looked well-rested.

When she spotted Diego, a flicker of surprise crossed her face.

And the man who had seemed so broken just moments ago instantly came alive.

He said something with a smile and took a step forward.

She instinctively backed away, her cheeks flushed with color.

Then, the two of them got into the car.

I sat frozen, breath catching in my chest, as if some invisible thread had wrapped tightly around my heart, pulling, choking.

When Diego chased after me, he was just like this.

Flirtatious. Bold. Relentless.

A cold, elegant young master, fiercely pursuing the girl he wanted, and back then, the girl had been me.

But now, I was no longer the heroine.

I followed them all the way to the office.

From afar, I saw how they deliberately kept a polite distance while walking into the building, pretending there was nothing between them at all.

Diego walked ahead, returning greetings with polished ease, then casually lifted a hand in her direction, effortlessly, almost unintentionally.

Amid the waves of envious stares, she stepped into his private elevator.

As if to declare it to the entire office. She held a privilege no one else could touch.

The sight pierced my eyes like a blade.

I remained frozen in the car, emotions tangled and heavy, until the housemaid called again.

She said Madeline had woken up and was searching the house for me.

I went home.

When Madeline flung her arms around my neck, my nose burned from the tears I fought to hold back.

She wobbled excitedly on my lap, her little voice full of joy as she recounted yesterday’s events.

“Yesterday I saw Aunt Courtney too! She turned into a little bunny and played with me for a long time!”