Chapter 2
Back home, I locked the door behind me and called my detective friend, Samantha.
"Samantha, can you look into someone for me?" I said.
Half an hour later, Samantha sent over her findings.
She texted: [Edward's company system has no woman with the initials S.P.
[The restaurant he visited and Nature-Inspired are both in the same high-end commercial area, only about a ten-minute walk apart.]
Right then, I just felt sick to my stomach.
I forced myself to stay calm, but scenes of us together kept replaying in my head.
I remembered asking him, "Edward, do you think you'd ever betray me?"
He just held me close and whispered in my ear, "Don't be silly, you're the person I love most in this world. How could I ever betray you?"
Back then, I believed every word he said.
For his startup, I gave up a promotion at the overseas headquarters and invested the 1 million inheritance my parents left me. That was everything I had.
I told Samantha to keep digging. I needed to know the whole truth.
I said, "Keep going. Get me all his major expenses from the last six months, and track down the real user of that AI account."
It was past midnight when the door unlocked.
Edward stumbled in, smelling of alcohol and some strange perfume.
He spotted me on the couch and immediately started complaining.
He said, "Why are you still up? You know how exhausting these business dinners are, and you couldn't even leave a light on for me?"
He sounded like he was chewing out an employee who'd messed up.
The next morning, I woke up alone.
I wasn't sure if it was just exhaustion or something else, but my head was spinning when I opened my eyes.
I forced myself to sit up and called Edward.
The phone rang for ages before he finally picked up.
"What do you want so early?" he grumbled.
His voice was dripping with impatience.
I said, "I think I've come down with a really bad cold. I feel so weak. Could you maybe take me to the hospital?"
My voice trembled because my head was pounding.
There was a long pause on the other end, and then Edward finally answered, sounding even more irritated.
He said, "Look, I've got a super important meeting at work today. I can't just drop everything. Take a cab yourself, you're not a child."
He hung up on me without another word.
Before I could even put my phone down, a message from Edward to SugarPie popped up on my screen.
He texted: [Baby, my wife is being dramatic again. Says she's got a cold. Such a pain.
[How about I hang out with you today? Whenever I think of you, all my troubles just melt away.]
I gripped my phone so hard that my knuckles turned white.
Not long after, SugarPie replied.
It was a voice message. Her voice was so sugary that it made me want to gag.
She said, "Your wife's not feeling well? You'd better take good care of her, or I'll feel sorry for her. But I really miss you today. I just spotted this adorable bag I want. Won't you come spoil me and buy it for me?"
Her "take good care of her" sounded like a total joke.
Then she sent a picture of the bag, followed by a pouty emoji.
I stared at the screen, unable to look away.
I sent Samantha my joint bank account with Edward.
Five minutes later, she messaged me saying there was a 30 thousand charge on the account.
She texted: [Bastard.]
My headache was so intense that I nearly blacked out.
Clinging to the wall for support, I slowly made my way to the door and called a cab to the hospital.