I was in so much pain that sweat drenched my forehead, but Gwendolyn quickly put up an act.

She cried out pitifully, "Ms. Selkirk, why did you push me? What did I ever do wrong?"

At that moment, Kaden rushed in with a very grim expression.

He didn't even ask any questions and immediately turned on me. "What are you doing, Ella? How could you push her? Don't try to deny it. I saw the whole thing. She's just a secretary from my company. Stop overthinking, will you?"

He came up with an excuse for Gwendolyn effortlessly, completely ignoring the fact that my ankle was already bruised and swollen.

But when he saw the sweat on my forehead and how I was grimacing from the pain, he pretended to berate Gwendolyn for a bit. Although he was seated next to me, his gaze kept drifting toward her.

Gwendolyn cradled her arm and nursed the scratch on it cautiously with an aggrieved expression.

Kaden managed to maintain his act of nonchalance until Gwendolyn let out a soft whimper.

She complained, "It hurts…"

At that, Kaden couldn't hold back any longer. He pulled Gwendolyn into his arms and said to me, "I'll have the security guard take her to the hospital first. Wait for me. I'll be right back."

I closed my eyes with a heavy heart and said nothing.

Kaden seemed surprised by my calmness, but Gwendolyn's sobbing kept him from dwelling on it.

Once they were gone, I turned on the dashcam to view the real-time video it was showing.

The moment Gwendolyn got into the car, she straddled Kaden. "I thought you didn't care about me anymore! Don't forget that we're already engaged. Next week, we'll be getting our marriage certificates."

Her voice was coy and playful as she continued, "She was so mean to me, yet you didn't even defend me."

By then, Kaden saw through her act and realized she'd been pretending to be in pain.

He frowned as he lit a cigarette. "Why did you come here? Didn't I tell you not to disturb her? Have you forgotten our agreement before we got engaged? I said I wouldn't break things off with Ella, and you accepted it. What are you trying to do now?"

Gwendolyn gritted her teeth. But then, she quickly adjusted herself and said pitifully, "Why are you so mean to me, too? I missed you. You kept me up all night, but when I woke up, you were gone."

Kaden muttered a few more words perfunctorily before turning to leave, "That's enough. You should go now. She's still waiting for me."

But then, Gwendolyn suddenly unbuttoned her coat to reveal the sexy lingerie underneath.

She flashed Kaden a seductive look. "Are you really going to leave?"

Right away, I saw the change in Kaden's expression. In the shadows, a discreet smirk formed on his lips. "You really know how to tempt me."

The two of them locked lips.

Meanwhile, I turned off the dashcam footage with an ashen face.

By the time Kaden remembered that I was injured, I had already taken a cab to the hospital. The bruising on my ankle had faded quite a bit.

"I'm so sorry, wifey. I was in an online meeting and got held up for a bit," he explained.

Walking in with a mushroom soup takeout, he looked at my ankle with concern. "Is it any better?"

As he sat down beside me, I noticed a faint red mark on the collar of his shirt.

I couldn't help but wonder if Kaden perhaps had a split personality disorder. How could he go from a tender moment with his lover to coming here and playing the doting husband with me?

So, I brought up Gwendolyn. "Are you very close with her?"

Kaden chuckled. "Are you jealous, my dear? Don't worry. She's just a new employee. Don't you know what kind of person I am? I only scolded you earlier because I was afraid she might accuse you of something. Don't overthink it."

He casually rolled up my pant leg and applied medication to my ankle. After that, he blew on it gently.

This reminded me of when we first got together.

I could still remember the time when he had a huge row with his parents. He ended up living in a cramped and tiny rented apartment with me.

One Christmas, I was dismissed from my job. To cheer me up, he dressed as Santa Claus and dragged me out to hand out candy on the street.

Even his childhood friend had remarked in amazement, "I've never seen Kaden care about someone this much."

Over the past ten years, Kaden had given me everything I could have asked for—everything except marriage.

So, it was hard for me to believe that the man who professed to love me deeply was the very same man who slept with another woman behind my back.

I had never told Kaden about my family or background. He assumed that I was like Cinderella, who yearned to find her prince. However, the prince's true match would always be a princess.

I sat and watched him quietly, but my hand trembled uncontrollably under the blanket.

"You know, I think I've seen Ms. Crawford somewhere before. I think her name came up in the news," I remarked offhandedly.

Kaden stared straight at me and replied, "That's impossible. She's just a junior employee. You must have mistaken her for someone else."

The silence between us grew heavier until I suddenly laughed and said in a lighthearted tone, "You're probably right. I must have been mistaken."

Kaden let out a subtle sigh of relief, but his phone began to light up repeatedly with notifications of incoming messages.

This time, I didn't delay or hold him off from leaving. "Is something going on at the office? Go take care of it. I'll be fine here. So, don't worry about me."

The excuse he had prepared seemed to be caught in his throat. He looked at my curled-up form under the blanket and suddenly hesitated to leave.

Nevertheless, the steady stream of messages on his phone pushed him to make a choice.

He gave me a guilty glance and said, "Once things settle down, we'll go on a vacation to relax."

Kaden left me once again.

Soon, Gwendolyn's social media was updated. She posted a picture of herself lying on the hood of a sports car with a triumphant and smug expression.

"I can make all the tables turn. Why settle for an unremarkable housewife at home when you can have me instead?"

From that day on, Kaden didn't come back. I witnessed all his creative excuses and knew Gwendolyn was desperate to keep him with her.

…

Time flew by quickly. It was the day before Kaden and Gwendolyn would get married.

I packed up all my belongings and threw away anything in the villa that had any connection to me. The villa I had lived in for ten years suddenly felt like a stranger's home.

Kaden called me, saying, "Hey, wifey. I've booked tickets for the day after tomorrow. Let's meet at the airport, okay?"

It was almost impressive that he still remembered his promise to me, given how he and Gwendolyn were probably having the time of their lives these past few days.

Before I could respond, he hung up.

…

Early the next morning, the private investigator sent me one last message. He wrote, "The targets have obtained their marriage certificates."

The photo showed Kaden and Gwendolyn holding their marriage certificates, smiling contentedly at the camera.

At the same time, I boarded a plane that would take me far across the ocean.