My husband Samuel Baker had often been absent from home recently.

After searching for answers online, I reluctantly clicked on a certain online shop and placed an order for a nightie in shame.

It arrived after a few hours.

After taking a shower, I blushed and changed into the new nightie I just bought.

It was very sheer with so little fabric.

I dialed Samuel's phone number with trembling fingers.

The phone rang for a long time.

When the call finally connected, I heard a sweet female voice instead of Samuel's.

...

"Hello, I am Mr. Baker's secretary. He is a bit busy now. Is there anything I can help you with?"

I froze.

I dialed Samuel's personal number, and he always carried the phone with him.

How could a secretary answer my call?

A chill crept up my spine, preventing me from thinking deeply.

I looked at my new look in the mirror and spoke softly.

"Can you tell Samuel that I'm waiting for him at home?"

The secretary chuckled and hung up without answering.

All my doubts disappeared the moment Samuel came home.

I smiled and approached Samuel, wanting to make out with him.

Samuel was shocked to see my new nightie, then frowned, and dodged.

"Why are you dressed like this?"

"My secretary is waiting for me outside!"

I was scared by the undisguised coldness in his tone, so I quickly picked up a piece of clothing and slipped it on.

"You don't like it?"

I gathered up the courage to ask him.

But Samuel was busy looking for documents in the study. He just glanced at me indifferently.

"I like it, but I'm tired."

I was hurt by his casual, indifferent response and grabbed his hand. "But we are lovers. Don't you have any other feelings?"

Samuel sneered, "What feelings?"

He looked at me as if he was looking at a stranger. "Honey, your family is rich, so you don't understand my pain."

What pain? I looked at Samuel in confusion.

What pain could he have? I gave him money when he started a company, and I persuaded my parents to invest in it when he needed investment.

With the help of my parents, Samuel became a rising financial professional.

He said my parents looked down on him, so I cut off ties with my parents.

What pain could he have now?

I stood still and didn't say anything. Samuel looked at me for a while, bypassed me, and left the living room.

"Why were you not home for several nights?"

After Samuel took the documents, he was about to leave. But I blocked his way at the door.

I stubbornly wanted an answer.

Samuel bypassed me and said, "Ember, go bring the car around."

I just noticed a young and beautiful girl standing at the door.

Out of sheer intuition, I discreetly glanced at her a few times.

Ember was wearing valuable jewelry and delicate makeup.

I could tell from her scent that the perfume she was wearing was the one I asked Samuel to buy for me but was left in the store due to his negligence.

Ember noticed my gaze and smiled proudly at me. "Ms. Harris."

She was slim and had a really small frame.

She actually looked a size smaller than me.

Her waist was particularly slim.

"The perfume you're wearing smells good."

I looked at her and praised her calmly.

Samuel was inexplicably annoyed and impatient. "All kinds of perfumes smell the same, right?"

I didn't answer.

I just smelled this scent on Samuel's suit lining.

He hadn't been home for a long time, and there was another woman's perfume on him.

I looked at this cold and arrogant man in front of me and asked tentatively, "Samuel, we will get married, right?"

Samuel frowned and nodded.

I felt relieved.

I took a step back and let Samuel go.

Ember looked at me and smiled meaningfully.

"It seems that next time we meet, I will have to call you Mrs. Baker."

I smiled and said, "Who knows?"

Samuel, who was standing beside me, looked awkward. "Ember, we're going to be late for the meeting."

After saying that, he left straight away.

Watching Samuel and Ember leave together, I found it ironic that they looked like a real couple.

No matter how calm I appeared in front of Samuel and Ember, I was worried deep down.

So on a sunny afternoon, I went to my best friend Zoey Torres's house.

Zoey had no regard for Samuel. When I complained to her with a frown, she surprisingly defended him.

"Maybe he's busy preparing for your wedding."

Zoey glanced at me teasingly and patted my hand soothingly.

"He is going to start a family and career, so he can't be with you every day like before."

I had been in a long-distance relationship with Samuel for ten years, and he had never mentioned the idea of marrying me.

It wasn't until a month ago that Zoey dropped a hint to him about it.

Only then did Samuel take me home to meet his parents.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.

"But his parents are not satisfied with me."

I heard someone sneer beside me, but when I looked around, there was only Zoey and me in her house.

So I quietly observed Zoey's expression.

She had a delighted smile on her face.

Noticing my gaze, she looked at me gently.

"How could that be? You love him so much, and he will definitely not let you down."

I looked at Zoey, whose attitude changed dramatically, and felt a bit doubtful and shocked.

In the past, whenever I mentioned anything negative about Samuel, Zoey would take the opportunity to criticize him.

After all, in her eyes, Samuel was just a nobody, not worthy of me.

But now she didn't mock Samuel anymore, which made me really confused.

But before I could think deeply, I received a call.

It was Madison, Samuel's mother, also my mother-in-law.

...

I quickly halted my thoughts and answered the phone.

A rude female voice came from the other end of the line. "Evelyn Harris, transfer 10,000 dollars to me. Otherwise, I won't let you marry my son!"

I felt a bit dumbfounded and observed Zoey's expression.

She looked calm as usual, and I felt relieved.

"Have you talked to Samuel? All my money is in his hands."

Before I could finish, Madison sneered.

"Don't try to fool me! You're probably doing nothing but spending my son's money every day!"

"You're a gold-digger! You just sit around doing nothing!"

Before I could speak, Zoey snatched my phone.

She looked indifferent, her eyes ablaze with anger.

"You old bitch, your son is nothing special. I wouldn't even look at him if he were a piece of trash on the curb."

"He's a piece of trash. Your son lives off me. Why don't you scold him?"

Madison's trembling voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Bad luck! You will never be able to marry my son in this whole life."

"No matter how loud you cry and beg me, I will never let you marry him!"

Zoey sneered, "Who cares?"

"Fine! Fine! Don't marry my son then! There are plenty of women out there begging my son to marry them!"

Before Zoey could say anything, Madison hung up.

Then, she raised her phone in her hand and looked at me coldly.

"Begging Samuel to marry them?"

I dared not speak.

Zoey tilted her head and snorted.

"One day, I will find a doctor to operate on your brain! You hopeless romantic!"

"Sis, who needs surgery?"

The boy who had just finished playing basketball walked in wearing a sweaty vest.

He was surprised to see me and then smiled broadly.

"Evelyn, long time no see!"

Austin Torres threw the basketball beside the shoe cabinet, poured a large glass of water in the kitchen, and gulped it down.

As if he had remembered something, he mentioned Samuel.

"Evelyn, I saw Samuel shopping with a beautiful woman. I thought it was you."

My heart sank. I lowered my head and didn't know what to say.

Since our last argument, Samuel hadn't been home for nearly two weeks.

I called him, and he just vaguely answered that he was on a business trip.

Now Austin said that he saw Samuel in the mall.

Speak of the devil, and the next second I received a call from Samuel.

I looked at the vibrating phone, without any movement to answer it.

Austin, who was one or two years younger than me, saw me hesitate and answered the phone for me.

"Why did it take so long to answer the phone?"

Samuel's voice came from the other end of the phone. "My mom will live with us for a few days. Remember to tidy up the house."

"Also, if my mom asks you for something, just satisfy her. After all, she is your mother-in-law."

With that, Samuel hung up before I could answer.

"Damn it! Where does he get the nerve?"

The grief inside disappeared with Austin's angry scolding.

Madison didn't like me, and Samuel was well aware of it.

Not only did he know, but he never stood in my shoes.

Zoey and Austin looked worried, and I tried to put on a smile to comfort them.

"It's okay."

After saying this, I stood up and said goodbye to Zoey.

As long as Samuel still wanted to marry me, I would endure everything.

After all, ten years of relationship was not just simple love.

And I didn't have another ten years to wait for someone else to marry me.

"Evelyn, if Samuel bullies you, I'll beat him up!"

Swan seemed to sense my unease and raised his fist to show me the muscles on his arm.

I was amused by him and went home with a happy smile.

Madison was extravagant.

For example, if she came to live with us, she must take the master bedroom.

I adjusted my mood and started tidying up the master bedroom.

Samuel must have come back for his suit was left on the bed.

I carefully folded the suit and fixed the other suits in the wardrobe for him.

Samuel's suits were all black, so the pink dress among them was conspicuous.

I remained calm and took out the pink dress with a cold face.

The waist was small and I couldn't fit into the dress no matter what.

It was a V-neck dress.

I couldn't help but think of that sexy nightie. Samuel said it was too sexy and not suitable for me.

But now this long skirt in my hand was almost in the same style as that nightie. It was just that this piece was not see-through.

I looked at this pink long skirt and couldn't deceive myself anymore.

The long skirt should have just been bought, still carrying the scent of the mall.

The details that were deliberately ignored by me now came to my mind one by one, such as the perfume on his shirt lining.

...

I suddenly remembered Austin's words.

"I saw Samuel shopping with a woman."

I called Zoey and let her ask Austin where he saw Samuel.

After getting the answer, I asked Zoey to buy me a pink long dress.

I heard the rude voice of a middle-aged woman downstairs and threw the pink long skirt in the trash can.

I pretended not to see it, took the trash bag downstairs, and threw it into the landfill.

I made a detour back home and saw Madison still waiting for me at the gate.

When she saw me, she was very resentful.

Madison pointed at my nose and snapped angrily, "You heartless bitch!"

I sneered and said, "If that's the case, then please leave my house."

Madison looked at me in disbelief.

Maybe she couldn't understand why I, who had just bowed down to her not long ago, dared to speak to her like this.

Madison called Samuel right in front of me.

Then, she scolded me over the phone for more than ten minutes.

In the past, I would have cried and explained to Samuel.

But after finding that pink dress, I no longer wanted to be with Samuel.

After all, no woman could pretend that nothing happened and continue living with her man after discovering his infidelity.

But my desire to win prevented things from turning ugly.

While Madison was still scolding me, Zoey arrived in a luxury car and brought me what I needed.

Zoey looked at my haggard face and touched my hand with concern. "You should dress up well. I not only bought you a pink dress but also skirts of other colors."

As she spoke, she pointed to the clothes in the bag.

"Hey! You're a horrible influence on Evelyn, aren't you?"

I was chatting with Zoey. Madison heard her voice and lunged at her like crazy.

I quickly pulled Zoey back a few steps.

Madison missed and said, "Evelyn, how dare you bully me with this uncultured bitch?"

Madison raised the phone in her hand and said, "Just wait, my son will be back soon!"

Zoey was about to scold her, but I quickly stopped her.

"Cool down. Help me find out what's going on between Samuel and his secretary."

Zoey looked at me in confusion and said, "Are you just going to let her insult you?"

I smiled faintly and said, "If Samuel still wants to marry me, then I win."

"Evelyn! Are you still angry with your parents?"

Zoey said angrily, "You shouldn't have made that bet with your parents in the first place!"

Ten years ago, when I was with Samuel, my parents didn't like him.

It wasn't because Samuel was from the countryside and couldn't make money, but they thought he was inferior to me and conceited, afraid that he would treat me badly.

Later, I borrowed money from them countless times for Samuel and gave him my savings to help him start a company.

After my parents learned about this, they forced me to break up with Samuel.

At that time, I thought that love was more precious than anything else, and I would rather sever ties with my parents than give up on Samuel.

Before leaving home, my father looked into my eyes and made a bet with me. "If you and Samuel finally get married, it proves that he's the right choice."

His eyes were full of disappointment. "If not, then come back to us."

Zoey knew about this, and when she saw how stubborn I was, she stopped persuading me.

After all, everyone thought I would lose.

But my desire to win didn't allow me to give in.

So as long as I didn't catch Samuel cheating on me, I could still endure the insults.