Chapter 1
It's my third wedding anniversary with Eanes Lambert. However, he and his childhood sweetheart put on a public display of affection on their social media.
"My heart beats for you and you only."
I like the post and share it, but the original post is immediately deleted. Later, Eanes calls me to tell me off. "I was just comforting her because she was in a bad mood. Do you have to be so petty? What else can you do other than get jealous of others?"
The next second, I receive a photo of him and his childhood sweetheart kissing passionately. She's the one who's sent it to me.
In the past, I would've stormed over there to kick up a fuss.
Now, however, I merely choose to leave Eanes. I'll let him have what he wants.
The third anniversary of my marriage to Eanes Lambert happened to fall on Eanes' 26th birthday.
Eanes got up early, carefully groomed himself, and wore a brand-new suit. However, he refused to let me see him off.
Seeing him dressed so differently from usual in his polished leather shoes and neatly pressed clothes, I hesitantly asked, "Is it Yasmine again?"
Eanes paused for a moment as he polished his shoes. His tone then turned impatient. "Can you stop obsessing over Yasmine? She and I are just friends!"
When I didn't respond, he seemed to realize how harsh he sounded. He softly added, "Don't overthink things. I'm not taking you with me because of the social circle. I'll be back by nightfall, and then the two of us can celebrate."
After saying that, he leaned in to plant a light kiss on my ear before turning away and leaving.
That evening, I made a cake and prepared a full table of dishes as I waited for him.
But Eanes never came.
I called him several times, only for my calls to go unanswered. It was only when his assistant accidentally let it slip that I learned where he was.
Braving the heavy rain, I rushed to his location.
As I pushed open the door of the private room, the first thing I saw was Eanes leaning lazily against his childhood sweetheart, Yasmine Quill. They had their bodies pressed together and arms intertwined.
Eanes' face was undeniably flushed when he heard the crowd of employees teasing him about his relationship with Yasmine.
I looked away and deliberately shook off the rainwater from my body, making noise to draw their attention.
The room fell silent in an instant.
Eanes' assistant, spotting me, stammered in panic, "M-Ms. Hunt! Why are you—"
Before he could finish, Eanes lazily glanced at me and sneered. "What a buzzkill. Ignore her and let's continue."
Then, he casually clinked glasses with Yasmine, completely indifferent to how it made me feel.
I walked up to him.
Just when everyone thought they were about to witness a dramatic confrontation, I simply said in a soft voice, "It's our wedding anniversary today. Won't you come home with me?"
Hearing this, the crowd collectively exhaled in relief. But soon, their gazes toward me carried a hint of disdain, as if they had never seen someone as pathetic as me.
When I asked again, Eanes finally looked up at me. He smiled mockingly. "Is it? I don't remember."
"Mm-hmm. Let's go home." I nodded earnestly.
We stared at each other for a long moment.
Gradually, Eanes' expression darkened, a flicker of anger brewing in his eyes.
Just as he was about to lose his temper, Yasmine placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke leisurely, "Jocelyn, it's just a wedding anniversary. Did you really have to ruin Eanes' good mood over it? Look at how you've upset him."
As she spoke, she openly sized me up with a mysterious smile.
Yasmine was Eanes' closest childhood sweetheart. However, everyone in the room knew the truth—years ago, Eanes was forced to leave Yasmine due to his family and ended up marrying me for business alliance.
Someone in the crowd, eager to stir up trouble, jeered, "Oh come on, Mr. Lambert! You even have restrictions on your nights out. Your wife is way too petty. Yasmine is so much better."
Chapter 2
"What nonsense are you talking about? They are husband and wife, after all," Yasmine said with a smile. However, she did not keep her distance as she clung to Eanes.
Their back-and-forth only made Eanes feel that I had embarrassed him. He shot me a vicious glare. "Can you not spoil the fun when everyone's having a great time? You've always been sensible, haven't you? Why are you still here? Get lost already."
He was right. I had always been the obedient woman who could read the room. Even as Yasmine used the excuse of pouring wine to pull Eanes onto her lap, I didn't so much as blink.
I even poured their drinks for them. "Don't drink too much," I reminded him. "I'll brew you some tea for your hangover when you get home."
Before leaving, I thoughtfully closed the door behind me.
The others stared at me as if I were some kind of freak.
"Mr. Lambert, your wife is unbelievably easygoing. She can still endure it even after all this. Unbelievable!"
Eanes' eyes were hazy with intoxication. "Ugh, she's as annoying as a mosquito! If it weren't for my parents' disapproval, I would've dumped her ages ago."
His words were like a knife, stabbing deep into my heart. I let out a laugh, only to realize I had tears in my eyes.
But it didn't matter. None of it mattered.
It didn't matter if he loved someone else and not me. It was enough for me as long as he stayed by my side.
When I got home, I wasted no time making hangover tea. I reheated it over and over every time it cooled. But even as dawn broke, Eanes didn't come home.
I found out through the trending topics on Twitter what he had been doing all night.
"Breaking News: Young Entrepreneur Eanes Lambert Spends a Passionate Night at a Hotel with a Woman!"
I clicked on the headline. The article was hundreds of words long, filled with juicy details. A blurry photo was attached.
In the image, a handsome, elegant man held a slender, beautiful woman possessively in his arms. Ignoring the paparazzi's camera, the couple stood face-to-face in each other's embrace, shamelessly smiling in a carefree and intimate manner.
I opened the comment section and read the praises that filled the screen, calling them a perfect match.
I thought I would be calm. But somehow, my vision had already blurred.
And then, just ten minutes ago, Eanes posted a tweet. It was a photo of a man and a woman standing side by side with their backs to the camera.
The caption read, "My heart beats for you and you only."
He tagged Yasmine and geotagged a well-known hotel.
So, Eanes went to a hotel with Yasmine after kicking me out. I even saw rose petals scattered across the bed in the last picture.
How romantic and thoughtful of him.
If I had been foolish enough to question him, he would've said the caption was about friendship or rebuked me for being jealous of Yasmine.
Eanes and I had been married for three years. Yet, not once had he ever made our relationship public.
Now, not only was he spending our anniversary with another woman, but he was doing so in the most public way possible and declaring his love for her.
Clenching my phone, I let out a bitter laugh. As I laughed, I suddenly made up my mind. I liked, commented, and shared his tweet, wishing them a wonderful time together.
Strangely enough, the tweet was deleted less than five minutes after I shared it.
I soon received a call from Eanes.
A small, ridiculous hope flickered in me as I picked up the call. I wanted to ask him what the meaning of his tweet was.
But before I could even get the word "dear" out, Yasmine's voice rang through the speaker, "Jocelyn, don't believe the gossip the paparazzi wrote. I got drunk last night, and Eanes was just taking care of me at the hotel. That's all.
"We didn't spend the whole night in the same bed. You're so understanding, so I'm sure you won't mind."
She hadn't even finished speaking before Eanes cut in, his tone berating, "I posted that to comfort her because she was feeling down. Did you really have to humiliate me in public?
"What will our friends and the people who know us think of me now? Do you do anything besides being jealous all the time?"
I could neither swallow the rage in my chest nor spit it out. In the end, it turned into a cold laugh.
"Then, go ahead and stay with her."
Eanes, who clearly hadn't expected that response, fell silent immediately.
Chapter 3
Just as I was about to hang up, Yasmine took the phone.
"Jocelyn, I think you misunderstood. If you're upset because of me, I sincerely apologize. I'll keep my distance from Eanes in the future. I don't want your years of relationship to be affected because of me."
This was Yasmine's usual tactic. She wasn't truly apologizing—she was just playing the innocent victim in front of Eanes.
"Why are you even apologizing to her?" Eanes interjected loudly. "I've already explained everything. It's up to her whether she believes it or not. It's a waste of time explaining to someone as petty as her."
With that, he hung up the phone abruptly, not even giving me a chance to respond. He neither came home nor contacted me for the next few days.
If it were before, I would have frantically searched for him. But I was sick of this. I suddenly didn't feel like waiting anymore.
I focused on my work. I decided to take a break for myself before finding the right time to have a conversation with Eanes and settle everything.
Just as I arrived at the office, a knock sounded at the door.
Leon Jameson, my assistant, opened the door and stood before me. "Ms. Hunt, there is an invitation from FunK for you to attend their exhibition. Would you like to go?"
FunK was an entertainment company well-known for generating buzz. Given Eanes' knack for stirring up publicity, he was bound to be there.
I agreed after a brief moment of thought.
Sure enough, on the day of the exhibition, I hadn't even stepped inside before spotting Eanes at the entrance, his arm linked with Yasmine's.
Dressed in a crisp white suit, he looked polished and refined. The moment I saw him, I found it impossible to look away.
I was about to speak when his mocking gaze stopped me cold.
He looked at me from head to toe before sneering. "Shouldn't you be home? What are you doing here?"
Eanes and I each had our own companies. However, I had poured all my attention into him and neglected my own business ever since our marriage. Over time, he had come to see me as someone useless who only deserved to cook and clean at home.
Suppressing the emotions surging within me, I finally spoke, only to realize my voice was slightly hoarse, "I came here to see you. I think it's time we resolve things between us."
"What's there to resolve? There was never an issue to begin with. How long do you plan to keep making a scene? I was going to go home tonight and surprise you, but of course, you had to bring your tantrum all the way here instead.
"Let's be honest—our marriage is nothing more than one of convenience. Call it a deal, if you will. I'd advise you to quit before you embarrass yourself any further.
"Marrying someone like you is proof of me having the worst luck ever."
As he spoke, his eyes darted around nervously as if he were afraid someone might realize we were married. His behavior was ridiculous.
"If it's so terrible to be married to me, why don't you just replace me outright?" I asked. "Or does sneaking around and keeping your options open somehow make things more fun?"
Anger simmered inside me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't suppress the fire in my gaze as I looked at him.
Yasmine, sensing my shift in expression, tightened her grip on Eanes' arm. "Eanes, let's just go inside. We can talk about this after the exhibition."
At that moment, a crazed man suddenly charged toward us, brandishing a knife and stabbing in Yasmine's direction.
"You slut! We just broke up, and you've already moved on? You deserve to die!"
My heart clenched in shock. Instinctively, I reached out to pull Eanes away, only for him to grab my hand and shove me in front of Yasmine.
The knife, originally aimed at Yasmine, changed course and slashed into my arm. My strength gradually faded as I slumped to the ground and slowly looked up at Eanes. "Why?"
He looked as if he hadn't fully registered what had just happened. When he finally snapped back to reality, he stammered, "I… I didn't mean to… I just pulled you by reflex.
"I know I messed up, but it's not like you were seriously hurt. No need to look at me like that! Since you took the hit for Yasmine, consider yourself her savior. I'll be sure to thank you for it."
With that, he turned and walked into the venue without hesitation, his hand still wrapped around Yasmine's arm.
The attacker cursed furiously as he was pinned to the ground by security. Blood continued to flow from my wound. And yet, Eanes, the one person who should have cared the most, remained completely indifferent. He didn't even spare me a word of concern.
A storm of emotions surged within me. But in the end, they all settled into a quiet, resolute calm.
It was time to end things with Eanes.