Before I could respond, he added casually, “Oh right, I forgot to mention. Faye’s family went bankrupt. Creditors are all over her. She’s just a young girl. I didn’t feel right letting her stay out there alone. So she’ll be living with us for now.”

From behind him, the girl peeked out with a sweet smile, sticking her tongue at me.

“Hi, Sister Everly.”

She wore his pajamas. Even the slippers on her feet were the couple's pair I had once carefully picked out for him.

I shot Ace a mocking look. He seemed startled, rushing to explain, “Faye forgot her own pajamas, so I just grabbed something for her. Randomly.”

Faye tilted her head, feigning innocence.

“Sister Everly, you don’t mind, right? Ace and I grew up together. Back then, we were so close we even wore the same pair of pants.”

Ace tried to scold her, but the indulgence in his tone was impossible to miss.

“Faye!”

Faye threw herself into his arms and playfully pinched his waist.

“Hmm, Sister Everly, look at him. He got married, and now he’s forgotten his childhood best friend.”

“Faye, stop messing around. Your sister-in-law is right here.”

Watching them flirt so openly, my chest tightened. A wave of nausea surged up from my stomach.

I rushed into the bathroom and vomited until the world spun around me.

But what caught my eye wasn’t just the dizziness. In the trash bin beside the sink, five or six used condom wrappers lay scattered. The sheer number spoke volumes about how wild last night must’ve been.

My hands curled into fists. My eyes stung hot and red.

Ace followed me in and lightly patted my back. “Morning sickness again? I’ll grab you some preserved plums...”

But when he turned around, his expression faltered. “We’re out of plums. I’ll get something else, okay?”

Out of plums? That couldn’t be. He knew how bad my nausea was. We always had them stocked. Always.

Faye pointed at the trash bin and said sweetly, “Sorry, Sister Everly, I suddenly craved something sour, so Brother Ace gave me all the preserved plums. You know I’m not like you delicate girls. I can gobble up a whole handful in one go.”

Then she threw a wounded glance at Ace. “Brother Ace, really? You knew Sister Everly was nauseous, and you still gave them all to me…”

She stepped closer and grabbed my hand, letting two delicate tears slip down her cheeks.

“If you’re upset, then blame me. It’s my fault. I was just being greedy.”

I yanked my hand away without a word.

Ace’s face darkened instantly. “What’s with that attitude? They’re just a few plums. You eat my food, wear my clothes, spend my money; what right do you have to throw a tantrum at Faye?”

My chest constricted, and a sharp pain shot through me again, the same place where they had scraped the child from my womb. I could barely breathe.

He had left me, left a pregnant woman stranded on the highway, without a single word. Yet now, just for pulling away from Faye’s hand, he looked at me like I was the villain.

Realizing he might have gone too far, Ace finally offered me a way out.

“Fine, you’re pregnant. I won’t hold it against you. Just apologize to Faye, and we’ll let this go.”

“Why should I?”

Why should I apologize for her eating the plums meant for me?

I asked with clenched teeth, the tightness in my chest spreading like a damp cotton ball, wet, heavy, and suffocating.

“Because you’re older. You should know better. Faye… she’s too soft-hearted. She can’t take even a hint of grievance.”

Ace knew I had claustrophobia. Yet he still locked me in the bathroom.

“If you don’t apologize, then stay here tonight. I’ll let you out once you’re ready to say sorry to Faye.”

Faye hesitated by the door. “But… locking Sister Everly in the bathroom doesn’t feel right?”

“Don’t worry about her. Petty old women like her need to learn their place.”

Suddenly, the bathroom light flickered, then snapped off. Darkness swallowed the tiny space.

I slammed my fists against the door, my voice cracking and my breath shallow.

“Ace… I was wrong… I know I was wrong… Please, let me out…”

But from the room next door came only the obscene echoes of their heated entanglement.

“Brother Ace, are you really this obsessed with my body? I can’t take it anymore…”

“I spent thirty million on you—you’d better make it worth my while, little minx…”

“Ah… Brother Ace…”

By the time morning light poured in through the window, Ace finally unlocked the bathroom door.

“Have you realized your mistake?”

I was curled up on the floor, eyes swollen, hands trembling like leaves in the wind.

He frowned. “It was just a little time alone in the bathroom. Why do you look like I tortured you?”

As a child, I had been kidnapped by thugs. They locked me in a dog cage for three days and nights, tormenting me to squeeze ransom from my parents.

Since then, I could never bear small, confined spaces alone.

When Ace first found out, he had held me tight and whispered, “Wife, I swear. I’ll never let you go through that again.”

But now, just to shield his little childhood sweetheart, he had locked me in the bathroom overnight.

“Since you’re awake, come have some breakfast. Even if you don’t feel like eating, don’t starve the baby growing inside you.”

I struggled to get up, only to find the dining table bare except for a plate of meatloaf, my most despised food.

I took a reluctant bite, cold and tough.

Faye, having just finished her warm scrambled eggs, beamed at me with a bright smile.

“Sister Everly, Brother Ace is amazing in the kitchen! I only mentioned I wanted a sandwich and some scrambled eggs, and he made them all himself.”

“I’m so jealous. You get to enjoy Brother Ace’s homemade breakfast every day; you’re really lucky!”

Ace’s face stiffened, and he muttered awkwardly, “I’m tied up with billion-dollar deals every day. When would I have time to play house?”

The words lodged painfully in my throat.

Throughout our marriage, Ace always claimed his hands were meant for signing billion-dollar deals, not for chopping vegetables or kitchen chores.

Even when I was burning with fever, he never once crossed into the kitchen, let alone made me scrambled eggs.

What I had never tasted or enjoyed came so effortlessly to Faye.

Perhaps feeling a twinge of guilt over last night, Ace suggested we go out for a candlelit dinner.

I thought maybe this was my chance to finally bring up the subject of divorce.

Once inside the car, my hand brushed against a pink lace nightgown.

Ace’s expression shifted instantly, but without missing a beat, he lied, “It’s a gift I got for you. Do you like it?”

I glanced at the suspicious, damp stains and smiled quietly.

Ace hurried to explain, “Faye saw it last time and said she’d never worn anything so feminine before, so I let her try it on. She spilled some water, don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad,” I cut him off, “Just tell me when we get there.”

He scrolled through several restaurant options, his brow furrowing as he stared at his phone in dissatisfaction.

It wasn’t until a message popped up from a contact saved as “Baby Faye” that Ace’s lips curved into a satisfied smile.

My eyes dimmed. We had known each other for ten years, yet he had never once given me a nickname, always using my full name. He said long-married couples didn’t need excessive affection.

But Faye was always the exception, forever his favorite.

Finally, we settled into a cozy restaurant.

Suddenly, Faye appeared, dragging along a stranger. “Wow! I told Brother Ace this afternoon to take you out on a date to make it up to you, and he followed through so fast! This place is totally my style, too!”

She shot me a sour smile. “Such a perfect, thoughtful man is rare, Sister Everly. I’m so jealous! Poor me, stuck going on blind dates to find someone…”

The orange juice I had earlier had been sweet and tangy, but now my mouth was flooded with nothing but bitterness.

Last week, I had made a reservation, hoping for a quiet dinner with Ace, but he claimed he was too busy with work.

Yet, with just one word from Faye, he dropped everything and took me out on a date.

Ace had never once cared about how I felt. His eyes fixated on Faye’s hand entwined with that man’s. “Who gave you permission to go on a blind date alone?”

“What’s it to you? You’re the one who stopped taking me shopping after you got married!”

Their voices clashed, and Faye broke down in tears. “I don’t want you meddling! Who even are you to me? Go take care of your precious wife!”

Ace snapped back, “As long as you’re my brother, I’ll care about you for life!”

“You’re not allowed to see this man again!”

Watching his jealousy over Faye pierce my already-deadened heart was unbearable.

I lost all my appetite. As we stepped outside, a large wolfdog suddenly lunged toward us.

Faye screamed in terror, “Ace, save me!”

In that desperate moment, Ace grabbed a wooden stick and shielded Faye behind him, pushing me aside without hesitation.

I spun around in disbelief just as the wolfdog lunged, sinking its teeth deep into my calf. A searing agony exploded through me, and I cried out for help.

But Ace only covered Faye’s eyes and said softly, “Don’t look. It might scare you.”

A chunk of flesh tore away from my leg. His words hit me like a cold wave; my face drained of color, and then darkness swallowed me whole.

When I awoke in the hospital, the IV needle in my hand had already backflowed. A nurse rushed in, flustered. “Where’s your husband? You’re this badly hurt, and he’s not here to care for you?”

Ace arrived late, guilt weighing on his shoulders. “Wife, I’m sorry. Everything happened so fast that I could only protect the one closest to me. I swear, I’ll make it up to you.”

My eyes caught the crooked button on his shirt, and through the gap, a fresh hickey was glaringly visible.

My heart plummeted into a well of bitter despair.

In the two hours I lay unconscious, my husband had already succumbed to temptation with Faye.

I pulled out the divorce papers I had painstakingly prepared. “If you want to make amends, then sign this.”

Ace didn’t even glance at the papers before signing. “Buy whichever villa you want, go ahead.”

I stared at him and asked, “Aren’t you afraid I’d actually make you sign divorce papers?”

Ace raised an eyebrow, a smug smile playing on his lips. “How could that be? You love me too much; you’d never want a divorce.”

My heart shuddered.

Just then, the hospital TV displayed the winner of the rookie design contest. The featured artwork was unmistakably mine: “Rose Maiden.” But the artist’s name flashed as Faye.

“This Faye is incredible! Even though her family went bankrupt, she’s a gifted artist. Look, her very first competition, and she’s already taken the grand prize!”

My mind went completely blank.

That painting, Rose Maiden, had always been tucked away in my storage room. I had painted it in memory of my late mother—it was her silent portrait, her quiet memorial.

The only person who had ever seen it was Ace.

Back then, he had tried to comfort me. “Even though your mom’s gone, you still have this painting… and you have me.”

Now I looked at Ace beside me, guilt plain on his face.

“Why?”

My most treasured artwork had been stolen, yet Ace spoke casually, “It’s just a trophy. You’ve won so many; what’s the harm in giving one to Faye?”

“Don’t be so petty.”

A sharp pain stabbed through my heart. I grabbed a glass and flung it at him. “Ace! You knew how much that painting meant to me!”

A gash opened on his forehead, blood trickling down as his face darkened to an almost inky black. “You’re insane! Jealous shrew!”

I laughed bitterly, tears blurring my sight. Nothing mattered anymore. I snatched up my phone. “I’ll tell everyone right now that Faye is nothing but a plagiarist hiding in the shadows!”

In a panic, Ace snatched the phone and smashed it against the floor with a loud crack. “How can you be so cruel? Faye’s just in her twenties; you want to ruin her life?”

Watching the destruction, I broke down, crying uncontrollably.

Flustered, Ace came closer to comfort me.

“You’re already getting old. What’s wrong with being a good housewife? Faye’s still young; she needs that award more than you do.”

“Besides, without her, your painting might never have become famous.”

A lump rose in my throat. I stared at the man I’d shared a bed with for three years, but no words came.

While tucking me in like a loving husband, he whispered cruelly, “Get some rest. When you wake up, remember to promote Faye a little. I know you’ve got a lot of followers on Twitter. She’s new; she needs the buzz. Do help her out…”

How absurd.

A true artist asked to cheer for a plagiarist.

Silent tears slid down my cheeks.

Thinking I was merely sulking, Ace gently stroked my hair. “Be good, okay? Tomorrow, I’ll book the most thorough prenatal check-up for you, and I’ll stay with you the whole time.”

“There, don’t cry anymore. The baby inside won’t be happy either.” He kissed the corner of my eye. “Listen to me; awards and fame don’t matter. Isn’t my love enough for you?”