2: 2

2.

Both of them turned at the same time, still busy at the stove. Antony's face went tight, but even now he didn't dare lose his temper. Rachel's eyes welled up again.

She looked at me, tears trembling on her lashes. "Ebony, is it something I did wrong? Just tell me and I'll fix it."

I said nothing.

When I stayed silent, she cast a wounded glance at Antony, then untied the apron. "I'm sorry. I overstepped. I'll go right now."

She hung the apron on the wall, and when she reached the door, her steps suddenly stopped. I knew she was waiting for Antony to ask her to stay.

Antony clenched his fists, not daring to look at her, and only said softly, "Rachel, be careful on the way back."

When the answer she wanted didn't come, she grabbed the bag beside the shoe cabinet and ran out without looking back.

She left still wearing my pajamas.

The apartment went terrifyingly quiet in an instant. Antony saw it and put on an awkward smile. "Dinner's almost ready."

Half an hour later.

Everything he'd made was food I liked. He put a piece of sweet-and-sour pork ribs on my plate. "Ebony, be as angry as you want, but don't play games with your own body."

We were each other's first love.

Getting this far hadn't been easy, and the way he was acting right now was pure effort to win me back.

I let out a long sigh, and half the anger inside me faded. I took a small bite of the ribs. "Too sweet."

Seeing that I'd finally spoken, the tightness in Antony's face eased.

"That's my fault. I haven't cooked in a few days, so I'm out of practice. It's fine, I'll cook for you every day from now on."

He was working this hard to please me, and I'm not the type to push my luck.

The next second he sat down beside me again, slid an arm around my waist, rested his head on my shoulder, and coaxed, "Ebony, don't be angry anymore. I'll go buy a durian right now and kneel on the shell. If that's not enough, then, then I'll kneel on a washboard."

I couldn't hold back a laugh.

Fine.

"All right. I'll forgive you today. Don't ever do this again."

He shot to his feet and even bowed to me, pinching his voice thin. "Thank you for your mercy, my lady."

After that, he really didn't bring Rachel home again.

Antony's company and mine were just one building apart.

This morning, after a meeting, I remembered that when he'd dropped me off, I'd left a document in his car.

But when I got to the front of his building, I saw Rachel getting out of the car with him.

A client was walking behind them.

Just then the client said, "Mr. Henson, you and your wife really get along."

I thought Antony would explain. Instead he smiled and answered, "You're joking, Mr. Finch."

Rachel stood beside him, all bashful, and hooked her arm through his.

Well.

No wonder he'd been so well-behaved this past month. His company had just changed locations.

Maybe the look I was giving them was too sharp. Antony suddenly glanced my way, and the second he saw me, he pried Rachel's hand off at once.

Rachel asked, all confusion, "Honey, are you feeling okay? Your face doesn't look right."

I clapped my hands as I walked over. "Huh. Funny, I didn't know my husband had divorced me."

The client clearly turned to look at me, a little bewildered too.

I stopped in front of them, gave the client a polite smile first, then looked at Antony. "Well? Aren't you going to explain to your client?"

The client asked, puzzled, "Mr. Henson, who is this?"

The moment he said it, Rachel hurried to pull the client along. "Mr. Finch, look, the meeting's about to start. Let me take you up."

The client glanced at his watch, then followed Rachel off.

I said, with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, "You've got a nice little life going, Mr. Henson. One wife at home, one at the office? Maybe I should throw you a banquet one of these days."

3: 3

3.

His fist clenched, then loosened. He softened his voice. "Ebony, it was just a joke from a client. Why take it to heart?"

"Rachel and I only do this so the deal goes smoothly."

"Ebony, Rachel is like a little sister to me. Why have you been going after her lately?"

I laughed.

A little sister?

Going after her?

"Ha. A joke? A deal? What, that client only agreed to work with you two because of your pretty faces?"

"Once, twice, fine, Antony. But you keep defending her, over and over. What exactly is she to you? Don't tell me you don't know."

Instead of getting angry at all this, he actually smiled.

The next second he took my hand. "Ebony, what goes on in that head of yours all day? I help her because the boss put her in my hands himself. If I don't look out for her, isn't that the same as going against the boss?"

"All right, don't be upset. If this really bothers you that much, I'll go write my resignation letter for the boss later. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

Every time we fought, he was the one who backed down first.

And when he put it that way, I was the one who came off as unreasonable.

That was exactly why everyone saw us as the model couple. Even my own parents said I'd married well, that no one but Antony could put up with me.

But this time, I didn't want to just let it go.

We'd fought before, and it always blew over fast. Since Rachel came along, we fought more and more, even if in the end nothing ever came of it.

But it had already done real damage to my marriage.

Right now, every explanation of his was just an excuse to me. I shoved him away, angry. "Antony, do you remember that necklace you gave me last time?"

"Of course I do. I gave it to you for our third anniversary."

I looked at him and pressed on. "She was wearing it."

He grabbed my hand and coaxed me. "Of course I know that. That's why I bought you a new one, a limited edition."

In a flash, like a magician, a necklace appeared in his hand, and before I could react it was around my neck.

I looked at that familiar face of his.

Seven years in love, three years married, ten whole years, and it all played back through my mind like a movie.

Then I thought over everything that had happened lately.

He and Rachel really hadn't done anything. I knew every time he brought her home, and there were cameras in the house.

So what was I even thinking?

Was I going to throw away all these years over someone who meant nothing to us?

Just then Antony's phone rang. It had to be his boss. His face turned grave and he said, "Okay."

He hung up, kissed my forehead, and said, full of apology, "Ebony, the meeting's about to start. Go wait for me in the car. I'll come find you as soon as it's over."

Then he handed me the car keys and walked off without looking back.

I sat in the car for half an hour. The photo hanging from the mirror was still the one from when we first got together.

In it, he and I were smiling, happy.

I clenched my fist and told myself, [Ebony, stop letting your mind run wild. He loves you. He's always loved you……]

After all that back and forth in my head, I quietly drove home.

Antony came back that night in high spirits, wrapping his arms around me and spinning me in circles. "Ebony, we landed the contract. The boss says he's giving me a raise. Ebony, aren't I amazing?"

He spun me until my head swam, and I quickly reached out to swat him. "Amazing, amazing, you're the most amazing. Now put me down, you're making me dizzy."

He set me down right away, gently.

For a moment, all the distance of the past weeks vanished, and it was as if we were back to when we'd first started dating.

But heaven always seemed to want to make a joke of me.

A week later.

My boss sent me on a business trip, a night flight at that.

But by the time I got to the airport, a storm hit, and the airline canceled tonight's flight. After I called my boss to explain, I had no choice but to drag my luggage home.

I had just parked the car when I heard a familiar voice.

"Antony, honey, hang in there a little longer. We're almost home."

4: 4

4.

Rachel's voice carried a note of coy urgency, and Antony's hand rested on her waist as he mumbled, "Rachel, I'm sorry to make you drive me back like this."

The next second she threw herself into his arms. "Antony, I like you."

Antony froze completely, but he didn't push her away.

Watching them like that, I could have rushed over and torn into both of them, cursed Antony until he had nowhere to hide. But I was frighteningly calm. I pulled out my phone and recorded the whole ugly scene.

Antony lifted a hand to Rachel's face, and she gazed up at him with such happiness, the two of them wrapped in each other, eyes tangled together, not caring in the least that they were in a parking garage where anyone could come by at any moment.

The two of them kissed, lost in it.

A few minutes later they finally pulled apart, reluctant, and Antony seemed to sober up.

"Rachel, I'm... I'm sorry, I..." he said, guilt in his voice.

Rachel didn't care at all. She grabbed at him as he tried to leave and kept confessing. "Antony, I really do like you. Even if you're married, I still like you. And you like me too, don't you?"

Antony hesitated a moment, then pulled his hand free of her grip. "Rachel, I'm married. You can't like me."

At that, her voice rose, worked up. "I don't care. You clearly like me too. Why won't you admit it?"

Antony clenched his fist. "There's no way for us."

"What are you afraid of? As long as she doesn't find out, it's fine. Antony, as long as I can be with you, I don't care if it's out in the open. I'm willing."

Rachel leaned in to kiss him, and in that second, maybe his conscience caught up with him, because he pushed her away and fled.

Only after Rachel too left the garage, hurt, did I step out of the shadows and stare at the images on my phone.

In them, Antony's eyes were plainly full of feeling. That same look he once gave me.

I didn't know what they'd done behind my back, in all the places I couldn't see.

Whether it was only kissing, or whether they'd been in bed together long ago.

An hour later.

I didn't go home. I found a hotel nearby and checked in.

But no sooner had I lain down than my phone buzzed.

【Your husband's cheating on you and you still have the mood to go on a business trip.】

Attached was a photo. Rachel and Antony, cozy together inside the karaoke bar.

Hah.

I didn't even have to think to know this was Rachel's taunt.

Rachel, oh, Rachel.

Should I call you clever, or stupid?

After saving the photo, I didn't reply. I went to the desk, opened my laptop, and posted the video I'd just recorded along with that photo online.

When that was done, I quickly got in touch with a lawyer to go over the divorce agreement.

I didn't finish until three in the morning.

Looking at the divorce papers the lawyer sent to my laptop, I gave a mocking little laugh. "Ten years of love, and in the end it still comes to nothing between us."

My finger hovered over send.

I asked myself whether I'd regret this.

A person who has betrayed you in body and in heart, what does it matter even if he loves you?

His love would go to a thousand other women, never mine alone. Once I saw that clearly, I stopped hesitating and sent the divorce papers to Antony.

The next day.

Three in the afternoon.

Antony called. I thought he'd demand to know why I wanted a divorce, but he didn't. The first thing out of his mouth was, "Ebony Fox, you've gone too far."

"You actually hired someone to follow me."

"I got drunk last night, Rachel was kind enough to drive me home, and you hire someone to spread lies. Why would you do this?"

Listening to him accuse me, I figured he hadn't gotten around to reading the email yet. More likely Rachel had already called him to complain.

Seeing that I said nothing, he paused a second, then asked in a heavy voice, "Ebony Fox, have you got someone else?"