Chapter 1
Clutching the groceries she'd just bought, Grace Hacker pushed the door of her house open. Tonight, she would make her husband, Ben Cassidy, his favorite dinner.
In the past three years of marriage, she had been a perfect wife.
For the sake of Ben's business, she had given up the job she loved and become a housewife.
Unfortunately, before the Cassidy couple had their first kid, Ben's passion waned.
"Ben, are you home?" Grace called out as she set the groceries down and put on her comfy slippers.
Nobody was in the living room, but the TV was on.
Grace frowned as she thought, 'I saw Ben's car downstairs.'
She walked to the study, found its door ajar, and heard a deep voice from inside, "Babe, come on! My wife will be back at any second."
Shock rooted Grace to the spot.
"When will you leave her? I've been waiting for a whole year," a sweet voice came from the other end of the line.
Instantly, Grace's heart sank.
*****
"Soon. I'm working on it. She's been clingy lately. It's really annoying," Ben replied with unmistakable impatience in his voice.
"Ben, I miss you... Can't you come see me tonight?"
"I gotta go," Ben murmured.
Grace hurried to a corner by the stairs and then watched Ben emerge from the study.
Ben straightened his clothes, plastered on a fake smile, and headed toward the kitchen.
"Grace, here you are. I was in a meeting," Ben explained as he wrapped his arms around Grace's waist.
This intimacy disgusted Grace.
"I bought some ribs, your favorite." Grace forced herself to sound calm.
"Oh, what a pity! I have an important business dinner tonight." Ben dropped a kiss on Grace's forehead. "Enjoy yourself."
Grace looked her husband in the eye. "Again? You had more than a dozen business dinners this month."
"I am working on a big project. You know that." Ben impatiently let go of Grace. "I will go change now."
With complex feelings, Grace watched Ben disappear upstairs.
She took out her phone, started recording, and shouted, "Ben, you left your phone on the sofa."
"Just bring it upstairs," Ben responded from upstairs.
Grace picked up the phone and noticed an unread message on its screen.
The message came from someone called Daisy.
It included a selfie of Daisy posing in lace lingerie with her curves temptingly exposed.
Daisy: [Honey, I am in your favorite lingerie.]
Grace's hands shook uncontrollably.
Grace quickly took a photo of the messages and then took Ben's phone upstairs.
Trying on his third suit before the mirror, Ben looked like a charming and successful man.
The figure in the mirror was tall and handsome with an impressive temperament.
With her eyes fixed on Ben, Grace suddenly felt that she barely knew her husband.
'I have lived with him for three years, but when did the change happen?' she wondered.
"What do you think?" Ben turned to Grace and asked.
"You look great." Grace managed to put on a smiling face.
Ben walked up to Grace and cupped her face in his hands. "Let's vacation in Maldy after I get the project."
"Okay," Grace responded.
Ben gave Grace a kiss on the lips and then strode away with his phone and car key.
Grace didn't slump down onto her bed till Ben's car drove away.
She pulled out her phone and checked the photos she had just taken.
She thought, 'Daisy Darwin. I know her.'
Daisy had just made her name as a streamer lately. She resembled Grace in youth.
'No wonder Ben was tempted,' Grace thought.
She recalled how Ben had sweet-talked her in his embrace at the beginning of their marriage.
Back then, she had believed that she was the happiest woman in the world.
Now looking back, she found that she had been nothing but a laughingstock.
Via her phone, Grace found Daisy's channel.
Daisy was singing in her channel. Her voice was sweet, and her face was pretty.
Her male fans were showering her with insane compliments and gifts.
The message about Ben's gift which was worth thirty thousand dollars was eye-catching.
Grace's heart was completely broken.
Grace soon confirmed that Ben had given Daisy gifts many times.
The records showed that the very first gift could be dated back to one year ago.
In other words, Ben had been cheating on Grace for an entire year.
Like an idiot, Grace had wished Ben to have a change of heart.
Grace put away her phone and then stared at herself in the mirror.
26 years old, she had lost her vigor and vitality in the tedious life as a housewife.
Her clothes were plain, and there was no makeup on her face. To make things worse, she looked weary.
Compared to the vigorous and glamorous Daisy, she was completely a loser.
All of a sudden, Grace let out a chuckle.
She was laughing at herself for her stupidity.
She opened her closet and pulled out the professional suit from three years ago.
'It's time to be myself,' Grace thought.
She got changed and then drove away from home with a little makeup on.
She needed time to cool down and figure out what to do next.
At night, the city glowed with neon lights, and the streets were bustling with people and cars.
Grace kept driving with no destination in mind until she stopped outside a café that was open 24 hours a day.
The cafe was called Time's, cozy and a bit artsy. Through the window, Grace found the warm light inside quite inviting.