For three years, Caleb had been obsessed with Joyce’s body.

Before the floor-to-ceiling window that mirrored their tangled forms, Joyce murmured playfully against his lips, “Caleb, it’s been three years. Don’t you ever get tired of me?”

Caleb only deepened the kiss, his reply muffled. “I’m crazy about you. I wouldn’t tire of you in thirty years.”

Afterwards, he left. But at the corner, Joyce heard him say to his friend:

“Three years of this act with Joyce. I’m so done.”

“I need to speed things up, bankrupt LinCorp, and get Anna her revenge.”

Ice water seemed to flood Joyce’s veins. She left a divorce agreement on the desk and fled the country.

After she was gone, Caleb lost his mind.

* * *

For three years, Caleb had been obsessed with Joyce’s body.

In the private elevator, he pushed up the silk of her cheongsam and pressed her against the wall.

She let out a soft gasp, turning her head with a shy glance. “Caleb, the board meeting is about to start. Not here.”

Nibbling her ear, his voice dropped to a low, seductive murmur. “I’ve been away three days. Don’t you miss me, sweetheart?”

That intimate endearment melted half her resolve. She yielded, leaning into the elevator wall as he took her from behind, her sounds growing increasingly unrestrained.

The elevator stopped on the 33rd floor—Caleb’s private domain. No one dared come up without his permission.

He carried her from the elevator to the adjoining lounge, where the carpet soon bore the evidence of their passion. With a final, sharp cry, Joyce collapsed into his arms.

Satisfaction washed over his face as he pressed a tender kiss to her chest.

“Rest here, sweetheart. I have to go to the board meeting. Go home after and wait for me.”

Joyce gave a drowsy murmur of assent. The moment he left, exhaustion pulled her into a deep sleep.

She slept for two hours, finally stirring to the sound of male voices outside the lounge—three or four of them, all Caleb’s inner circle.

“Caleb, you’re something else. Delaying the board meeting an hour just for a quick one with Joyce. Three years of this performance. What a sacrifice.”

His voice answered, lazy and unbothered. “What choice do I have? I spent three days with Anna. Had to pay the wife some attention when I got back.”

*This performance? Anna?* Joyce’s mind went blank. A cold dread settled in her chest.

The banter outside continued.

“Give me a break. Joyce, that elegant ice-princess in her traditional dresses, going at it with you anywhere, anytime. And you’re complaining?”

“You don’t know the half of it. Caleb gave up everything for Anna. Went to insane lengths to get close to Joyce, offered up his own body, methodically bought up LinCorp shares until he had majority control. All while funneling money to Anna on the side, helping her family stage a comeback. What he feels for Anna… no society beauty can compare. So, Caleb, when are you dumping Joyce and marrying Anna?”

“Soon.” His voice was cold, stripped of all feeling. “The Lins destroyed the Huang family. Drove them to bankruptcy overnight, left them with nothing. Anna hates every last one of them.”

“Only after LinCorp is bankrupt, after Joyce has suffered everything Anna endured… only then will she let go and marry me willingly.”

Tears burst from Joyce’s eyes. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she used every ounce of strength to stifle the sob fighting its way out.

The voices outside faded. Joyce waited a long time, checking and rechecking that the coast was clear, before she finally slipped from the lounge.

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of LinCorp, she trembled uncontrollably. Her heart felt seared over an open flame, burning with a pain too profound for words.

Three years of marriage. She had believed hers was the happiest in the world.

It had all been a lie.

Four years earlier, at her design school’s graduation show, the model Joyce had booked fell suddenly ill and couldn’t make it.

She was pacing frantically, at her wit’s end, when Caleb appeared. The computer science department’s heartthrob offered to help.

Tall and strikingly handsome, he was the perfect model in her eyes.

Thanks to him, Joyce graduated successfully. To show her gratitude, she took him out for a meal.

On their walk back to campus, a drunk driver swerved straight toward them.

At the last second, Caleb shoved her out of the way—and was hit by the car himself. He landed in the hospital.

When he woke up, he confessed he’d had a crush on her for a long time.

That confession shattered her walls completely. Caleb walked right through them, and never left.

Remembering all their sweet moments over the years, then replaying the words she’d heard today… the whiplash was excruciating. It felt like a pain that might tear her in two.

Outside, rain lashed the window. A flash of lightning cracked, jolting her scalp.

She stared at her own reflection in the glass, her breathing gradually steadying.

Crying was pointless. She couldn’t afford to be this weak any longer.

Caleb wasn’t after her. He was after Lin Holdings.

She couldn’t let him win.

Just then, her phone rang. She answered.

“Joyce, about that designer competition we talked about—the one with the intensive training program. Have you decided? Are you in?”

Joyce swiped the tears from her face and nodded firmly into the phone. “Sign me up, Dylan. I’ll be in the States next month.”

“Whoa, last week you couldn’t bear to be apart from your darling husband. What changed your mind?”

Suppressing the tremor in her voice, Joyce said with finality, “Dylan, I’m divorcing Caleb.”

Silence stretched on the other end before Dylan’s voice dropped, low and dangerous. “What happened, Joyce? Did Caleb do something to you? How dare he? The absolute audacity. I brought him into the company, gave him the CEO position, and this is how he repays us? By hurting my sister? Just wait, I’m coming back right now.”

Dylan was in the U.S., managing Lin Holdings’ most crucial international market. Joyce didn’t want him distracted by this mess. “No, don’t. I can handle things here. Trust me.”

Hearing the steel in her voice, Dylan, though worried, reluctantly agreed.

After hanging up, Joyce stepped out alone into the downpour and walked home in a daze.

At home, Caleb was still at his desk, working.

The moment she walked in, he rushed over and wrapped her in a tight hug, his voice thick with concern. “Where have you been? You’re soaked. Why didn’t you call the driver?”

Seeing the worry in his eyes sent a chill straight through her.

For over three years of marriage, he’d looked at her like that every single day, making her believe he loved her to his very core.

He, who was terrified of heights, had once jumped from a thousand feet in a paraglider just to kneel before her and propose.

He’d given up the tech company he’d poured his heart into for years, just to take over the Lin Group’s fashion business so she wouldn’t have to worry.

He’d made wishes under shooting stars for them to be together forever.

But today, she finally knew. Every word, every gesture, had been an act.

What he truly wanted, deep down, was to see her family ruined.

Joyce stepped back, evading his reach, and walked straight to the bathroom.

“I just stepped out for a bit. My phone died.”

Caleb watched her go, a flicker of unease passing through him, but he didn’t dwell on it.

When she emerged, he headed in to shower.

Seizing the moment, Joyce picked up his phone. A pinned contact at the top caught her eye: *Anna*.

[Caleb, Singapore is so boring. I’ve already bought a ticket back to Ning City. You *have* to pick me up.]

Caleb had replied with a simple, *Okay, I’ll be waiting.*

Scrolling up, she found a constant stream of messages—daily check-ins, words of concern, the easy intimacy of a couple in love.

Even his so-called ‘business trip’ three days ago had just been a getaway to Japan with Anna.

The chat was filled with photos she’d sent him. Every image radiated intimacy, from their body language to their shared glances.

The irony cut deep.

Three years of marriage, and she and Caleb had never once traveled together.

Every time she’d tentatively brought up a honeymoon, he’d say, “Joyce, your father and brother entrusted me with the company. I can’t let them down.”

She’d accepted it. She’d perfected the role of the understanding wife, never making waves.

And in the end, he’d used a business trip as a cover to take someone else on vacation.

Her hands began to shake. Forcing herself to stay calm, she placed the phone back exactly as she’d found it, just before the water stopped.

The mattress dipped beside her. Caleb slid in from behind, wrapping his arms around her, his warm breath ghosting over her ear—his usual, unspoken signal.

Joyce couldn’t understand it. How could he even fake *this*? His physical desire?

Every time he lost himself in her, who was he really thinking of?

Swallowing the bitter ache in her chest, she pushed his arm away, her voice flat. “My period’s coming. I’m cramping.”

Caleb paused for a second, then his hand slid to her waist, giving it a gentle, placating stroke. He reined in his own desire with visible effort.

She didn’t sleep a wink that night.

Caleb was up at dawn. He put on the bespoke suit she’d bought him just last week and, for the first time ever, spritzed on cologne.

Excitement lit up his eyes, impossible to miss.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Joyce asked, her tone carefully neutral.

The smile vanished from his face. “Nothing. Just meeting an important client today. I’m off, Joyce. Don’t call me unless it’s urgent.”

His steps as he left were light, almost buoyant. Watching his retreating figure, Joyce felt the tears finally spill over, hot and silent.

So this was what it looked like when he truly loved someone. Even the mere prospect of seeing her filled him with joy.

Not like with her. With her, it had always been calm waters, a surface-level affection that never quite reached his eyes.

Once he was gone, Joyce started making calls, digging into Anna’s past.

After hitting several dead ends and leaning on a few reluctant contacts, a document finally landed on her phone. As she read it, a cold dread seeped into her bones.

Anna was Caleb’s college sweetheart. Her family, the Huangs, had once been giants in the fashion industry.

Then the Huangs went bankrupt after a massive counterfeit scandal. Anna was forced to flee the country to escape creditors, and she and Caleb broke up.

But what Joyce never could have imagined was the story Anna had spun: that the Huangs’ downfall was orchestrated by the Lin family empire. A lie that had fueled Caleb’s hatred for her family.

His entire approach had been calculated. Playing her model, pushing her out of the way of that car—every single act of ‘kindness’ was a deliberate step in a plan.

His goal? To ruin the Lin family business and restore the Huangs to their former glory.

Joyce sank to the floor of the bedroom they’d shared, a room that now felt like a museum of lies. She felt ripped in two by the warring voices in her head.

One whispered that Caleb had loved her. The other screamed that it had all been a lie.

She buried her face in her hands, her body wracked with sobs until her voice grew hoarse, teetering on the edge of collapse.

Her phone chimed. Blinking through her tears, she opened WeChat to a notification: a friend had posted a new update.

One of Caleb’s friends had shared a video. The caption read: *Welcome back, Goddess.*