Nadia Donovan posted on her social media with both photos and text. [Thanks to my boss for celebrating my birthday with me]

Nadia was my husband's assistant, and the photo was of her and my husband.

Today was Nadia's birthday. It was also mine.

I had arranged with my husband in advance, asking him to put work aside for a while so we could spend the day together.

He had told me he was busy.

Looking at this post, uploaded just a minute ago, I called my husband.

"Where are you?" My tone was far from pleasant.

"Still mad?" His voice came through the receiver. "It's just a birthday, is it really that serious? You know the company is growing right now. I'm in Huntsville meeting with President Parker, I can't make it back."

"Fine. Then keep busy."

I hung up and zoomed in on the photo Nadia posted. I recognized the restaurant instantly.

I decided to go and see for myself, see how Adrian Hayes, the so-called Chairman Hayes, would explain himself on a battlefield where the truth left no room to hide.

——

There was a quiet alley in the capital, and hidden within it was a small restaurant. This place never served the public; it was a private sanctuary for Adrian and me.

When we were in a good mood, we came here to dine. When we were in a bad mood, we came here to ease the weight on our hearts.

Maverick Lewis specialized in medicinal cuisine, and his cooking perfectly suited both Adrian's and my tastes.

Eating his dishes here felt like drawing a clear line between ourselves and the rest of the world.

This was our paradise.

I never brought friends here, and Adrian never brought anyone else either. It was an unspoken understanding between us.

But today, he broke it.

The photo Nadia posted was taken here. The seat she sat in was the very one I had always used.

I drove to the entrance of the alley and spotted Adrian's car.

So this was the "busy" he had mentioned.

I sat in my car for a long while without stepping out, a sharp sting twisting in my chest as anger slowly rose.

It seemed that after the rapid rise of the Hayes family in recent years, Adrian no longer took me seriously.

Very well, then I would show him whether the woman he once relied on was truly useless now.

I pushed open the door, stepped into the alley, and walked toward the restaurant.

"This is delicious. And this one's not bad either," Nadia was commenting on the dishes laid out before her.

She pointed at Maverick, who stood nearby. "Hey, Maverick, make another serving of everything I just mentioned and pack it for me to take home."

A shadow of displeasure crossed Maverick's face. Even I would always address him respectfully as Uncle Maverick, and I had never asked him to prepare extra dishes.

In Maverick's words, cooking was an art. What dishes to make and how to prepare them depended entirely on his mood. Every time I came, he would surprise me.

He never repeated the same dish. Even something as simple as shredded spicy potato, if he made it twice, would always be done differently, with a fresh twist in its preparation.

Maverick's gaze shifted to Adrian, his temper held in check, offering him a measure of respect.

"Nadia likes it. Hurry and make it," Adrian said calmly.

"Make what?" I asked, stepping in from the doorway.

Adrian's expression turned slightly unnatural when he saw me.

"President Serrano," Nadia quickly stood up, her smile polite but tight. "I just wanted Maverick to make a few extra dishes for my mom to try."

"Who the hell is your mom to deserve Uncle Maverick's cooking?"

My bluntness caught her off guard. She glanced at Adrian, silently pleading for him to speak on her behalf.

Adrian had never seen me like this before. He was quiet for a moment before casting a brief glance at her.

"You go out first."

Nadia glanced at me and said, "President Serrano, then I'll be leaving now."

I ignored her.

She left in quiet embarrassment.

Maverick looked at me. "I've just learned a new way to make Celebration Pastas. I'll go prepare it."

"I'll eat in your room later," I replied.

He nodded, saying nothing more, and as he left, he gently closed the door behind him.

Only then did Adrian speak. "Don't you think what you just said was a bit too much?"

I sat down and fixed my gaze on him. "Too much?"

"You lied about going to a business meeting, then spent the evening celebrating Nadia's birthday, and you think I'm the one being too much?"

"Or do you think, with my abilities and methods, simply cursing that woman a couple of times is what you call excessive?"

I leaned back slightly, my voice colder. "Or would you like me to show you what being 'too much' really looks like?"

"Don't overreact. There's nothing between me and her," Adrian said quickly. He went on, "Nadia grew up without a father; she's from a single-parent family. Because of that, she craves male affection."

"She told me I reminded her of the father in her memories. She said she never had a birthday with him growing up, and as her boss, I thought spending one birthday with her wasn't a big deal."

My expression was ice-cold. "When you're fooling around with her, does she call you Daddy too?"

"Bianca, don't you think that was way out of line?"

"And you think you can do disgusting things and expect me to speak nicely?" I could feel my emotions spiraling, though I still tried to rein them in. "Forget it. Let's not talk about this anymore. Since you're chasing a thrill, let's get a divorce."

Perhaps it was the word "divorce" that struck him. His eyes darkened with anger.

"I just had a birthday meal with her. Do you really need to escalate it this far?"

"Today is also my birthday. You made your choice, didn't you?"

Adrian lowered his head. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Fire her."

"Nadia has always worked seriously and hard. You're the one who always talks about giving newcomers a chance. And now, just because I had one meal with her, you want to fire her? That's not fair."

"I promise, no private contact with her again. Only work-related interactions."

"Nadia? How intimate. Does she call you by name?"

I rose to my feet, my gaze slicing through him. "Nine a.m. tomorrow. City Hall."

Deep down, I knew it already. Adrian's choice to dine with Nadia today was a choice in itself. He had chosen her, not me. And now, he was still defending her.

There was no longer any reason for this marriage to go on.

"I just wanted to give a newcomer a chance," Adrian said as he stood, moving to block my way. "I'll transfer her to a branch office. I can't let her take all the blame just because I had a meal with her."

"If we really fire her, what will people think? Wouldn't that only confirm that something inappropriate is going on between us?"

He caught my hand. "You're overthinking. I just felt sorry for her. We don't have a child, and I… I suppose I'm overflowing with fatherly love."

"How about… we have a baby tonight?"

"No mood."

"What do you want me to do, exactly? Just because I had a meal with Nadia, you're ready to divorce me? Don't you have any trust in me at all?"

I stared at him, my voice dropping to ice. "Do you know what this place is? No one else has ever set foot here. This is our private world, our emotional sanctuary. A place no outsider was ever allowed to enter."

"And yet you brought Nadia here to eat. You crossed the line."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think that far," he said quickly. "Please don't be mad. Uncle Maverick said he's making a new Celebration Pasta for you. Let's go try it. I swear, I'll never bring anyone here again."

Maverick's Celebration Pastas were divine, each bite layered with skill and heart, but they did nothing to cool the fire raging in my chest. My anger still burned, the way it does when someone trespasses into your most sacred space, leaving you restless, unsettled, and raw.

I didn't let Adrian stay. At that moment, just looking at him made my stomach turn.

Maverick sat with me instead, sharing two quiet drinks.

He studied me for a moment before speaking. "Forgive me for being blunt, but the rumors outside are not in your family's favor. I suggest you keep your ties with Chairman Hayes intact. If your family truly runs into trouble, the Hayes family might still have the power to pull you out."

I swirled the wine in my glass and took a slow sip. "Uncle Maverick, do you know why Adrian dares to behave like this?"

Silence settled over him. He didn't need to answer; we both knew. Adrian's audacity came from those whispers outside. If my family truly was on the brink, then this was him beginning to show his true colors.

I added, "If those rumors turn out to be true, Adrian wouldn't even bother to apologize today. And it wouldn't be me asking for the divorce."

Maverick remained silent. He knew I was right. He drained an entire glass in one breath. "People these days are heartless. If your family hadn't helped the Hayes family, they would've been history long ago."

I smiled faintly. "If I could lift the Hayes family up, I can crush them back down."

He only glanced at me, knowing those were nothing more than my wishful thoughts.

Now, all the outside rumors pointed to the Serrano family becoming nothing but a relic of the past, with countless eyes waiting to watch us fall.

On that point, I said nothing more.

A decision had already settled in my heart: to use this incident with Adrian to show everyone whether the Serrano family would fall or not.

....

When I got home, Adrian was unusually proactive.

He wore the pajamas I had once picked for him, the same ones I used to beg him to wear, only for him to say it was undignified for a man.

Tonight, he wore them on purpose, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

In the first years of our marriage, he went out of his way to please me, because back then, his family needed my help and the backing of the group behind me.

But in the past two years, the Hayes family had clawed its way out of the mud and climbed higher and higher.

He stopped making the effort. Every time, it was either "busy" or "tired." I had reached out more times than I could count, only to be met with cold responses.

When he did agree on rare occasions, he was like a dead fish.

Sometimes, I even felt disgusted with myself.

As a woman, I felt like I had failed.

But forgiving yourself was always easier than forgiving others.

I had long carried resentment toward this relationship; today, even more so.

Faced with his sudden display of initiative, I chose to turn it away.

I went upstairs to the bedroom and locked the door behind me.

Lying in bed, I realized Adrian and I had been sleeping in separate rooms for two years.

The last time we had been intimate was six months ago.

It used to be him locking the door; today, it was me.

The next morning, to my surprise, he had made breakfast and was already seated at the table, waiting.

I ate in silence, only a few bites, without looking at him.

He seemed ready to speak, but when I stayed quiet, he swallowed his words.

At noon, his mother called, saying we hadn't visited in a while and inviting us to dinner.

She gave me a reason I couldn't refuse; my parents would be there too.

I knew this had been arranged by Adrian.

He wanted to use this dinner to smooth the cracks between us.

But a chill that had built for years could not be melted in a single night.

Yesterday's meal with Nadia was only the fuse; it had simply lit the fire already waiting.

Still, I had thought about it all night. To divorce over a single dinner would be too hasty. I would wait. Watch. See how he acted from now on.

That evening, over dinner, Adrian handed my father a document. "Dad, take a look. This is the project plan for the Haines project."