On the third day of my business trip, I opened the smart pet feeder app to check if Colbie was eating well.

As soon as the camera connected, a soft, sweet voice came through the speaker. “Oh dear, your dad is so careless. He didn’t even notice you ran out of food. Did my baby starve? Mommy’s heart aches so much.”

On the screen, a young girl was holding Colbie in her arms, rubbing her face gently against him.

The cat, usually so wary, didn’t scratch at all. Instead, his eyes narrowed in pure contentment.

A chill ran down my scalp. I quickly tapped the intercom, my voice shaking. “Who are you? Why are you in my house?”

The girl froze. Her back stiffened, panic flashed in her eyes, and then, just like that, the screen went black.

I immediately called my husband and asked what was going on.

He answered casually, as if nothing was wrong. “Oh, you mean Desiree Acosta? She’s a new intern at the company. She helped me grab an urgent file from home. Probably saw Colbie was cute and played with him a bit.”

He gave a light laugh. “She’s just a kid, at company dinners she even orders from the kids’ menu. She talks without thinking, very childish.”

I didn’t argue. Instead, I picked up my phone and called my lawyer best friend without hesitation.

“Vincent Davidson is cheating. Help me draft a divorce agreement!”

——

On the other end, Leighton Bentley almost choked.

“Just because that girl held your cat, you’re sure Vincent is cheating and wants a divorce? Girl, that’s way too rash, don’t you think?”

I took a steady breath and said, “You know Colbie’s temperament. With strangers, forget holding, it would scratch them bloody if they even tried to touch him. That girl was hugging him, kissing him, rubbing him, and Colbie was calm like a stuffed toy in her arms. There’s no way she could be that close on her first visit. Vincent is lying.”

Leighton went silent for a moment, then cursed furiously.

“That bastard Vincent! A man who married into your family dares to cheat? He must be sick of living! Jasmine, don’t worry. I’ll make sure this scumbag leaves with nothing, not even his underwear!”

After hanging up, I forced myself to calm down. From the smart feeder’s saved footage, I took a screenshot of the girl’s face.

Then I rescheduled my flight and flew back overnight.

As soon as I landed, I drove straight to the company.

My eyes scanned the desks, but that familiar face was nowhere in sight. Could Vincent have hidden her so quickly?

In the restroom, just as I slipped into a stall, I overheard two girls chatting outside.

“Desiree, you’re so lucky! You found such a rich, doting boyfriend!”

“Tickets for Taylor’s concert are impossible to get, but he actually got you seats in the inner section. I’m so jealous!”

Another girl, her voice sweet and proud, replied, “Oh, it’s nothing. He insisted on taking me, said youth shouldn’t leave regrets…”

I froze. That voice was the same one I had heard through the pet feeder.

Through the crack in the door, I glimpsed Desiree standing at the sink, touching up her makeup in the mirror.

Suddenly, I remembered that a month ago, I had playfully told Vincent I wanted to see Taylor’s concert, asking him to get tickets.

At the time, he had frowned impatiently.

“Jasmine, aren’t you too old for that? Still chasing idols like a kid?”

“Besides, Taylor’s tickets are impossible to get. Why waste the effort?”

So it wasn’t that the tickets were hard to get. He had given the tickets and himself to someone else.

A cold laugh escaped me as I pushed the door open. Both girls froze.

The other girl stammered, “President Higgins,” before slipping away awkwardly.

Desiree tried to leave, too, but I stopped her with a sharp word. “Desiree, right? Yesterday afternoon… did you go to my house?”

Desiree’s eyes flickered nervously.

“President Davidson forgot his documents… it was urgent. He asked me to grab them…”

I raised my brows, my voice cold and sharp. “My Colbie is wary of strangers. If someone who doesn’t know touches it, it gets stressed. How did you manage that? It actually lets you hold it?”

Desiree’s face drained of color, and she stammered, “Maybe… maybe because I usually feed stray cats. I carry their scent, so small animals… they like me…”

I sneered. “So you like them so much that the very first time you came to my house, you called yourself its mom? And called Vincent dad?”

“Then what am I? The nanny?”

Desiree instantly panicked. “President Higgins, you misunderstood! I was just joking. When I feed stray cats, I often call myself their mom.”

“I really didn’t mean anything else… please don’t misunderstand…”

She looked so anxious that her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

If I hadn’t checked her social media before coming to the office, I might have actually believed her.

On her side account, I saw her dining with Vincent on our wedding anniversary, the one he had skipped, at a candlelit dinner costing 3,000 per person.

I remembered that on the day we had been trying for a baby, just as we were about to begin, Vincent had left for an “urgent phone call.”

She even posted a photo of two hands clasped together on a hotel bed, mocking me. “The big dog is so obedient, I lured him over with one call. Meanwhile, the old bitch can only stay home alone!”

That hand in the photo, I had known it for five years. There was no mistaking it.

Thinking of how I had endured endless hospital injections to stimulate ovulation, while Vincent, with his weak sperm, frolicked with his mistress, it made my stomach turn.

With that thought, I no longer bothered with Desiree’s act. I turned and walked away.

As I reached the company entrance, Vincent came rushing back just in time to see me.

A fleeting trace of panic crossed his face.

“Wife, why did you come back early? You didn’t even tell me, I could have picked you up at the airport!”

I noticed the sweat dotting his forehead and sneered silently. So anxious to get back, Desiree must have warned him, of course.

I met his gaze, my tone cool and measured.

“Are you unhappy I came back early?”

“Or is it that you’ve got a little secret lover at the company, and you’re worried I’d catch on?”

Vincent froze, then forced a laugh and reached to wrap his arm around me.

“What are you talking about? I’m just surprised, that’s all. Didn’t expect you to return so suddenly. Come on, let’s go home. I’ll make you something nice!”

I sidestepped his arm, casually adding, “Oh, that concert a few days ago, it sounded incredible.”

Vincent’s face changed, and he quickly denied, “Concert? What concert? I was working overtime until midnight every day then. How could I have had time to go? Did you see someone? You must have mistaken them for me!”

I sneered inside. I hadn’t even said who he might have gone with, yet he spilled the truth on his own.

When I stayed silent, only staring at him, Vincent grew uneasy and rushed to change the subject, his voice full of fake sweetness.

“Wife, you’ve been working too hard. You’re just overthinking. In my heart, you’re a goddess. No other woman could ever compare to even a single strand of your hair.”

“If you really want to see Taylor’s concert, I’ll buy tickets from scalpers right now. Even if I have to pay ten times the price, I’ll get you front-row seats. We can have our own romantic time… how about it?”

Before, hearing that might have made my heart race.

But now, all I felt was disgust. I wanted nothing more than to divorce him and cut him off completely.

Still, I knew, if I ended it now, it would be far too easy on this cheating pair.

I had to wait for the perfect moment to ruin them both completely. With that thought, I pressed down the disgust in my chest and forced a calm smile.

“Maybe I really saw it wrong. Alright, I’m fine now. Go back to work.”

Vincent studied my face closely. Believing I was pacified, he finally let out a breath, turned, and walked back into the company.

The moment his back disappeared, the smile on my face froze.

That night, as expected, Vincent was “working late” again. I opened Desiree’s side account and saw her newest post.

“Some old women really have no self-awareness, clinging to my boyfriend, it’s hilarious. Luckily, my boyfriend only loves me. To prove it, he gave me a limited-edition yacht for Valentine's Day! Everyone, come watch the yacht’s first launch!”

The photo showed her holding a huge bouquet of red roses, standing in front of a white yacht; it was clearly photoshopped.

The instant my eyes landed on that yacht, my anger exploded.

That yacht was the gift my dad gave me and Vincent for our sixth wedding anniversary.

It was worth tens of millions, with the custom build alone taking a full year.

Even though I hadn’t used it yet, I always kept it carefully maintained at the private dock.

And Vincent, this live-in freeloader, dared to use my yacht to please his mistress?

Valentine’s Day, huh? I would see with my own eyes what tricks these two scumbags were playing.

On Valentine’s Day, I called my best friend Leighton, and together we went straight to the private dock.

From a distance, I saw my white yacht, gaudily dressed up with ribbons and heart-shaped balloons.

But something felt wrong, the veteran craftsmen my dad had hired at high wages to maintain the yacht were nowhere to be seen.

I pulled aside a familiar attendant and asked, “Where did the people who used to maintain the yacht go?”

The attendant looked shocked to see me.

“They were all dismissed by Vincent. He said you were going abroad for medical care, and that the yacht had been handed over to him to manage.”

Just then, Vincent called, his voice smooth and oddly gentle.

“Wife, happy Valentine’s Day! Did you get the roses? I’m sorry, but I have an important client today and really can’t get out of it. I can’t spend the evening with you, so why don’t you go grab something nice with your friend? I’ll reimburse you.”

I glanced at the yacht where Vincent stood holding Desiree by the waist, and a sneer touched my lips.

“Alright, work is important. Go ahead.”

Fearing I might say more, he hung up at once.

Leighton’s anger flared, and she stomped.

“Jasmine, can you tolerate this? That bastard is using your yacht and your money to throw a party for his mistress! I’m going to tear him apart right now!”

I gripped her arm to hold her back.

“Don’t rush. Look at Desiree’s show; there are so many guests and her bragging posts. Do you think she’s just celebrating a holiday?”

Leighton frowned. “You mean…”

“Wait. She’s definitely planning something big.”

We found a quiet corner and sat down, watching and waiting.

Sure enough, as the party reached its peak, Desiree suddenly took the microphone and sweetly pulled Vincent to the center.

She wore a dazzling couture gown, her makeup flawless, and clung to him with the polished airs of a hostess.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming to this yacht party. Today marks its first launch, and to celebrate, all the drinks are on Vincent!”

At once, cheers and flattery filled the air.

Leighton rolled her eyes, her voice sharp with disgust.

“Using your money to play generously, what a shameless bitch!”