Chapter 1

I arrived at the venue where Melissa York and her friends were meeting. It was raining, and I was late because I'd gotten caught in traffic.

I'd just arrived outside the private room when I heard someone say, "I heard Christopher is coming back soon, Melissa."

My hand stopped in midair before I could push the door open. I let it drop to my side as I clenched both fists.

"He called you after running into trouble abroad, and you dropped everything to fly over there to help him. You even lied to Fred and said you were going on a business trip. Aren't you worried Fred will ask you for a divorce after learning you're in contact with Christopher?"

The "Fred" she mentioned was me—Fred Carlton. I leaned against the wall, feeling like a fist had clenched around my heart. The intense pain spread through me, and I clenched my fists tighter.

My wife had been in contact with her first love, Christopher Johnson, behind my back. Yet, I hadn't noticed a thing over the past three years.

I didn't know what Melissa would say, but I wanted to find out.

"He loves me so much that he won't get a divorce. He couldn't possibly bear to do it," Melissa said.

"I guess you're right. He's been chasing after you since you two were children. You couldn't even get him to leave!"

I listened to Melissa's firm answer and her friends' mockery. My ears buzzed, and I didn't hear what else they said.

Her friends' attitude toward me depended on how she felt about me. It also was influenced by how much she loved me.

I didn't have the courage to enter the room, so I turned around, staggering away.

Chapter 2

On my way home, I still couldn't believe the things I'd heard while standing outside the private room. Yet, I had no choice but to accept them.

Christopher was Melissa's first love, and they'd been together for four years. Melissa and I had gotten married only because both our parents said we were a good match and that it'd be a good idea to marry someone familiar.

She hadn't said no, which had delighted me. After we married, she'd treated me with care and consideration. We were the most intimate of lovers.

I thought life would continue like that forever, but Christopher was now back. He'd shattered my illusion.

I knew Melissa didn't love me that much. I'd seen what she was like when dating Christopher; that was what she looked like when she was in love. It wasn't something that had ever belonged to me.

I arrived home. At the same time, I received a WhatsApp message from Melissa.

"You're not coming?" Her words were as concise as ever.

"Nah. I'll wait for you to come home," I replied.

I stayed up the whole night waiting for her, but she never returned. I started burning up because I'd gotten caught in the rain yesterday.

I called Jesse Green, my assistant, and told him the studio wouldn't be operating today. I asked him to explain to the clients who'd made reservations.

After that, I took something for the fever and got into bed, wanting to get some rest. Despite being half asleep, I still couldn't help wondering why Melissa had yet to come home.

I was awoken by my phone ringing.

My friend, Andre Stone, had called me multiple times. When I answered, he snapped, "Did you know that Christopher Johnson is back? Melissa even brought him to the company and arranged for him to be her assistant.

"Hello? Did you hear me? Hello? Look. Don't worry. I'll teach him a lesson. I won't let him come between you and Melissa!"

After that, he hung up. It sounded like he was going to put his plan into action immediately.

In that instant, I understood why Melissa hadn't returned last night. She'd gone to pick Christopher up and had spent the whole night with him. The next day, she'd hurriedly arranged for him to work for her so that he would be within her line of sight at all times.

I felt so horrible that I wanted to cry. However, the fever seemed to have dried up whatever liquid I had in my body. The tears just wouldn't come.

I figured I would wait for Melissa to come home that night and explain things to me.

Chapter 3

That evening, Melissa finally returned. She was in such a rush to explain the situation to me that she couldn't even tell I was sick. "I had too much to drink last night and was afraid I would wake you up if I were to come home. So, I slept at the gathering venue."

I laughed mockingly.

Why did she have to lie to me? She knew Andre worked at her company. "Did you have too much to drink, or were you just busy picking Christopher up? You got him a job at your company today, didn't you?"

Melissa fell silent. "You know about that? I didn't mean to keep it from you. I just didn't want you to stress over it.

"He doesn't have any family in the country, nor does he have a place to stay or a job. I'm the only person he's familiar with here, so I wanted to help him a little. He'll quit working at my company once he finds another job."

"Ha! He might not have any family or a place to stay, but doesn't he have money? Couldn't he have just stayed at a hotel? There are jobs everywhere—why did he need you to arrange something for him?" I couldn't help refuting her.

She widened her eyes in disbelief and became a little agitated. "When have you become so unreasonable, Fred? You're being so petty!"

Bitterness mixed with resentment washed over me, and I recalled what I'd heard last night. "What? Are you the only person he seeks out whenever he runs into trouble because he's used to you being so concerned over him? It's gone on for years, after all."

Melissa looked flustered at my words. Her eyes darted around, and she asked nervously, "How did you know that?"

Then, she explained, "It's not like what you think. I was only helping him because I couldn't bear to see him so lost. Once he's settled down, I won't interfere in his matters anymore."

She held my hand, her tone gentle as she said, "I swear, Freddie. Can you trust me just this once?"

I broke free of her grasp without saying anything.

She sighed, suddenly looking disappointed. "I'll sleep in the guest bedroom tonight. You should take the time to calm down."

After that, she headed to the guest bedroom.

Chapter 4

I lay on the bed in the master bedroom and stared at the ceiling as my heart sank lower than ever. My eyes prickled. It was only then that I realized how Melissa thought of this marriage as some kind of charity—she was being charitable to me.

Things had never been equal between us. She thought I couldn't interfere in her life because I'd accepted her charity. As expected, the infatuation I'd had for her when she was younger was just that—a crush I'd had for her younger self.

…

The following morning, Melissa went to work after leaving the breakfast she'd prepared for me on the table.

Andre texted me, saying, "Christopher didn't come to the office today."

Then, I received another message from Ashley Lane, the only person close to Melissa who was willing to be honest with me. "Melissa has arranged for Christopher to work at Dashing Corporation, Fred. She told us not to tell you about it."

"Thanks for letting me know," I replied.

I knew Melissa was only doing this for show. She just wanted me to let the matter slide.

I threw away the breakfast she'd prepared along with whatever love I still had for her. I didn't question her about this. Instead, I cleaned up and drove to the studio. Painting was the only thing I could engross myself in—it was something that would help me escape reality.

Yet, when I saw Christopher standing outside my home with Melissa, I felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over me. It woke me up.

"I came to return Melissa's clothes to her, Fred. She picked me up when I returned to the country, and she left this at my place.

"I also heard you got mad because I'm working at her company. I came to apologize for that. Melissa is the only person I know here. I hope you don't mind," Christopher said.

He was such a scheming man. I suppressed my disgust and took the clothes from him, flinging them into a nearby trash can. "They stink and should be thrown away. You came to apologize, right? Why haven't you said sorry?"

Christopher's expression turned ugly.

He was about to say something when I continued, "I've heard enough. It's been years since university, yet you're still incapable of finding yourself a job. I don't need an apology from someone who's shameless enough to rely on a woman for survival."

For a second, he didn't know what to say. Then, he said smugly, "Mel said that she would always have a spot for me in her heart if I were to come back to her. I only came back to see how she was doing, really."

I clenched my fists and said as calmly as possible, "That's about as pathetic as you can get."

After that, I turned and left without bothering about Christopher's reaction.

Chapter 5

I went inside the house, unable to hold my tears back any longer. I leaned against the door and slowly slid to the floor with my head in my hands. I couldn't help finding myself pitiful—I thought I'd gotten my wish after so many years, but it was all just a joke.

I thought Melissa and Christopher had cut all ties ages ago. It had never occurred to me that they'd secretly been in contact this whole time.

I decided not to torment myself any longer. It was ridiculous to waste the rest of my life on someone who didn't love me at all.

I opened the safe to retrieve our marriage certificate. At the same time, I saw something I would never have expected to see there—a sketchbook I'd lost. I thumbed through a few pages and was sure it was mine.

Just then, Melissa came into the room. She saw me with the sketchbook and screeched, "What are you doing? You can't touch that!"

She snatched it from me and stormed off to the study, slamming the door shut behind her.

I was sure the sketchbook was mine. It was filled with drawings I'd done of Melissa during her university days. There were drawings of her in class, when she was reading, eating, and more. They were all of her in university.

However, I'd lost the sketchbook in university. Later, I'd heard about her and Christopher dating. I'd stopped searching for the sketchbook when I'd learned about the news, and I'd never drawn her again.

I wondered why Melissa had reacted like that upon seeing the sketchbook. She'd never taken such a stern tone with me.

I texted Ashley. "Do you know about a sketchbook Melissa has? The drawings inside are all of her. Is there anything behind it?"

"I heard Melissa mention it before. She said she and Christopher got together because of that. You know how the first business she set up during university failed, right? She's so prideful that the failure depressed her for quite some time.

"That was when Christopher showed up. He comforted her with those drawings and helped her to get back on her feet. Then, he confessed his feelings for her and asked him to be his girlfriend," Ashley said.

"Thanks for being honest with me." I couldn't help finding the whole thing laughable when I saw Ashley's response.

The sketchbook was mine, yet it had become a symbol of Melissa and Christopher's love.

I had no intention of telling Melissa the truth. Instead, I contacted a lawyer and asked him to prepare a divorce agreement for me.

I wanted to return the charity Melissa had given me.

Chapter 6

Melissa later returned to the bedroom to apologize to me. Perhaps it was because she thought she'd been too loud earlier.

"I'm sorry about earlier—I was too rash. It's your birthday in a couple of days, right? I've prepared a surprise for you. I'm sure you'll love it." She looked at me apprehensively and waited for me to respond.

I couldn't help finding the whole thing pointless. In the past, I would've already started looking forward to this gift that contained her love for me.

Now, however, the only thing I could feel was the nagging thought that she was trying to buy me out. She wanted to use money and gifts to make me shut up. It was as if she thought I should sweep everything under the rug after receiving her gift.

I smiled coldly and said, "I haven't been sleeping well lately. I'll sleep in the guest bedroom from now on."

After that, I turned and left the master bedroom.

Melissa seemed to want to say something else but ultimately didn't.

I heard the door shut behind me, and I closed my eyes in disappointment.

She hadn't bothered explaining the sketchbook at all—she hadn't even bothered lying to me.

…

Over the next two days, I headed to the studio after waking up and returned to the guest bedroom when I got home. I didn't want to have anything to do with Melissa. I didn't even care that she came home late at night.

Soon, it was my birthday. Melissa had told me she'd prepared a surprise for me, but I didn't receive anything. In fact, she didn't come home. I couldn't help looking down on myself when I found that I was still holding out a sliver of hope for her.

I received a call from her friend in the middle of the night. "Melissa's gotten into an accident, Fred. She's at Central Hospital—hurry up and see how she's doing!"

My heart twisted painfully, but I soon regained my composure. I changed before taking a cab to the hospital.

When I arrived, I saw Melissa standing with her back to me. Christopher was seated and had his arms wrapped around her waist.

So, he was the one who'd gotten into the accident, not her. What an emotional roller-coaster this had been.

Christopher saw me first. He slowly released his grip on Melissa and said, "I'm sorry, Fred. Melissa wanted to head home to celebrate your birthday with you. It's all my fault for getting into the accident…"

I couldn't help smiling in self-deprecation. His tricks were so lowbrow. But what disappointed me more than that was Melissa's attitude. She said, "Don't blame yourself for this. This isn't the only birthday he's going to have, anyway."

I watched as she looked down at Christopher tenderly while comforting him. Wasn't it ridiculous that my wife was ignoring me in public while whispering sweet nothings to her first love?

"This really is such a birthday surprise, Melissa. You're right that this won't be the only birthday I celebrate, but it'll be the last that has anything to do with you. Let's divorce—I'll give you two my blessings," I said.

I saw the delighted surprise in Christopher's eyes.

I didn't understand Melissa's expression, though. She pursed her lips tightly, her gaze a mixture of shock and resentment.

I didn't care. Instead, I turned and left the hospital.