Chapter 3

That evening, when Edward came home, I was in the kitchen cooking like always. He changed into his comfy clothes and stood at the kitchen doorway, watching me.

"Stella came to the office today to sign the contract, and we had coffee together," he said.

My hand froze mid-chop. "Yeah."

"She asked about you. She wants to invite you to dinner to thank you for all these years..." Edward paused, as if searching for the right words. "For taking care of me."

I almost burst out laughing. Stella wanted to thank me for looking after Edward. Was she trying to show off, or messing with me?

"No thanks," I said. "I've been pretty busy lately."

"Alright," Edward said, then turned and walked into the living room.

That night, I couldn't sleep. It wasn't because of the photo or the text. It was because Edward brought up his coffee with Stella himself.

He thought he was being open, but a truly open person wouldn't sneak around making late-night calls. He figured since I already knew, there was no point in hiding it anymore.

The more he behaved this way, the more I felt like a stranger in my own home. I was only treated with polite formality, never truly loved at all.

*****

That weekend, Edward had a get-together with his friends. I got stuck in traffic, so I arrived later than planned. Before I pushed open the door to the private room, I could hear their voices coming through from inside.

"Edward, if the Lanes hadn't kicked you when you were down back then, you'd probably be married to Stella by now, right?"

"You two were going strong, and then got ripped apart for no good reason."

"Exactly. That was a real scheming move by Isabelle. I heard when your family was in trouble, she was the first to jump in and suggest a marriage alliance. Who knows if her family was behind it all along?"

"I've been saying this for years. You and Stella were made for each other. She still can't get over you, writing all those love letters. She's still totally hung up on you."

"Isn't Isabelle the one who swooped in and took what was left over these past three years?"

Some laughed, others agreed.

Then I heard Edward's voice, so flat it was almost cold. "It's all in the past."

My hand froze on the doorknob.

Edward didn't stand up for me. He didn't say Isabelle wasn't that kind of person, didn't deny the scheming, didn't even mention I was his wife. He didn't tell them to stop, either.

Just a casual remark that it was all in the past, and in an instant, three years of marriage, along with every shred of my remaining dignity, was buried beneath their mockery.

My nails bit into my palm, stinging a little.

I'd looked into Stella before. When the Franklin family hit rock bottom, she wasted no time finding herself a new sugar daddy. If I could dig that up so easily, there was no way Edward couldn't. Unless he was totally convinced she was innocent.

Then it hit me. Three years ago, when the Franklin family was in crisis, my family wanted nothing to do with a marriage alliance. My family said the Franklin family was a bottomless pit, and we had no reason to wade into that mess.

So I sold every property I owned, mortgaged all my shares in Lane Group, scraped together every dollar I could, and sent it to Edward's finance team. I never told anyone, not even him.

I thought it was love. But in their eyes, it was me swooping in when he was down.

The laughter inside kept echoing. I released the doorknob, stepped away, and slipped out of the lounge before anyone could see my tears.