Chapter 1

After three years of marriage to Baxter Russell, I could never unlock the smart door lock at home.

There was only one reason for that.

It was because his foster sister, Mandy Russell, didn't like me.

Before she left for college overseas, she reset every password on the smart lock at home.

Whenever I tried to change the password, Baxter would give me that icy stare and warn me, "If you ever make Mandy unhappy, we're getting divorced."

He'd been using that line for three years, keeping me on edge the whole time.

Then, when Mandy came back from overseas, Baxter ditched our wedding anniversary just to be with her.

Suddenly, it all made sense to me that I could never make him appreciate me.

*****

After leaving the restaurant all alone, I ended up standing outside our front door again.

I waited for Baxter for three hours, just sitting there by the door, feeling more and more hopeless.

Curled up at the doorstep, I hugged my knees and waited, shivering in the night.

I stared blankly as Mandy linked her arm through his, looking all affectionate and close, as they came out of the elevator together.

The moment they saw me, their smiles froze on their faces.

Baxter reluctantly pulled his arm away from Mandy and slowly walked over to me.

But then, Mandy let out a playful little scoff.

Baxter stopped dead in his tracks.

He shot me a guilty look before speaking.

He said, "Aileen, I'm sorry. Mandy came back out of the blue and wanted to surprise me, so I couldn't say no to her.

"Next year, I promise I'll spend our anniversary with you. Just be the bigger person, okay? Don't hold it against her. She's just a little girl."

He never got tired of asking me to be the bigger person, even after three years.

Honestly, I was so done with it.

Before, I might've thrown a fit or cried my eyes out, hoping Baxter would feel sorry for me, maybe even show a little tenderness.

But this time, I just agreed.

Expressionless, I used the wall for support and slowly got to my feet.

That made Baxter think I was just acting up again.

He shoved me aside, clearly annoyed.

Then he unlocked the door, the one whose password I'd never be allowed to know, took Mandy by the hand, and led her inside.

The door was left wide open.

I just stood there, legs tingling and numb, while Mandy tossed me a smug, challenging glance from inside the house.

She piped up, "Baxter, Aileen's still outside. Do you think she's mad at me?

"Maybe I should go say sorry to her."

Baxter was being all sweet, helping Mandy out of her coat.

He didn't even look my way.

He said, "Don't bother with her. I skipped our anniversary last year too, and she didn't care. She's just got nothing better to do."

Just then, Mandy's hair got snagged on the button near her chest, making her let out a soft gasp.

Baxter's eyes filled with concern and tenderness the moment he saw it.

He didn't hesitate for a second.

He leaned in close to her chest and used his teeth to free the tangled strand of hair.

Mandy seized the moment and snuggled up, locking her arms perfectly around Baxter's neck.

She purred sweetly, "Baxter, you're always so sweet to me. I like you so much!"

Her earlobe moved toward Baxter's lips, and he frowned.

He wanted to push her away.

But when he saw the obvious mocking smile on my lips, he hugged Mandy back, looking straight at me standing in the doorway.

As if out of spite, or maybe to punish me.

"Mandy, you smell so good. I really like it," he said.

He used to whisper those exact words to me on so many late nights.

I always thought I was the only one he'd say that to.

It turned out that I was just fooling myself.

It was only now that I finally understood that Baxter never loved me at all.

Finally, Baxter took off Mandy's coat, then slipped her feet into the slippers.

Only then did he drag me inside, not even bothering to be gentle.

He snapped, "Why are you just standing there? The second Mandy comes home, you start giving her the cold shoulder. I was actually thinking about telling you the house password, but now? Forget it.

"You really need to fix that nasty habit of not being able to tolerate Mandy."

Baxter stared me down, like he was just waiting for me to cave and say sorry first.

But he was the one who let me down, and I hadn't even done anything.

He always blamed me and made me apologize to Mandy in the end.

"Whatever," I muttered.

Right then, the door I'd always wanted to unlock myself suddenly didn't seem so important anymore.

I'd waited for him all afternoon, called him a hundred times, and I still hadn't eaten a single bite.

Not even bothering to change my shoes, I headed straight for the kitchen.

But Baxter, tall and handsome, stepped right in front of me, blocking my way.

The scent of Mandy's perfume was all over him, hitting me right in the face.

I recalled that Baxter had once given me a bottle of perfume, and it smelled exactly like this.

He said he loved it and told me to only wear that brand from then on.

I realized at that moment that he probably only cared about whoever wore that scent.

Baxter snapped, "Aileen, why are you so upset?

"It's just an anniversary. Is it really that important? Do you have to keep acting like this?"

For a moment, the confusion in Baxter's eyes stabbed me right in the heart.

If our anniversary meant nothing, I wondered what would make him care.

I wondered if it was Mandy.

For three years while Mandy was overseas, Baxter would fly out to visit her every month.

Whenever Mandy acted up, he'd drop everything and fly out almost every week just to be with her.

Baxter had only just come back from overseas a week ago.

A few days later, he ditched me again for Mandy, whom he only considered as a sister.

I stared at Baxter, wanting to spill everything I'd been bottling up inside.

But the words just died in my throat.

It was not like I hadn't tried telling Baxter before. However, he never wanted to listen to me.

I was exhausted, so I decided to let it go.

Maybe my unusual calm today made Baxter feel something was off.

I shook him off.

He left me alone after that.

But from the living room, Mandy's soft, playful giggles kept floating over.

When I finally came out of the kitchen, I saw Mandy with her hair down, dressed in pajamas, nestled right up against Baxter's shoulder.

They were happily watching cartoons together.