Chapter 1

When I got home from a business trip, I found the water was out. I called the property manager, and when the guy showed up, he looked at me in confusion.

"The water outage was announced in the homeowners' group chat yesterday. You even replied 'Got it'. Did you forget?" he asked.

My heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling crept over me.

Honestly, my husband and I never joined the homeowners' group chat because it was too much hassle.

After the property manager left, I joined the homeowners' group chat and scrolled through the messages. There was a woman who claimed to be the owner of Unit 1206, chatting nonstop in the group.

But 1206 was my place. If she were the owner, then who the hell was I?

I called my husband, Charles Bennett, right away. He didn't even pause before saying, "Probably just a mistake. There are so many buildings in this complex, so it's easy to mix things up. Want me to remind her to fix it?"

I gave a smile and told him not to bother, that it wasn't a big deal. After hanging up, I immediately used my side account to friend the woman who claimed to be the owner of Unit 1206.

It was only eight in the evening. She accepted my friend request almost instantly.

She texted: [Who's this? What do you want?]

I quickly typed: [Hey, I live right below you. There's been noise coming from your place for a while. Did someone break in or something?]

She replied right away: [I'll come check it out.]

I put my phone away, punched in the password, and walked into my place.

This apartment was near the airport, and Charles and I didn't live here full-time. We only used it as a crash pad when we were on business trips and couldn't make it back to our downtown place.

The place was empty. Charles was at our downtown penthouse.

Not long after, I heard the sharp click of high heels in the hallway. I peeked out and saw a young woman standing at the door. She punched in the password like she owned the place and walked right in.

That settled it. This wasn't just a mix-up with the room number. My gut feeling was spot on.

My phone buzzed again. She replied: [Are you sure you heard right? The water's out today, and no one's home. The noise definitely didn't come from our place.]

I replied with a couple of half-hearted messages, then stepped out from the fire escape and went back into my apartment.

"Who are you? Why are you in my place?" I spoke up first, catching her off guard before she could even process what was happening.

Her face flushed bright red, lips trembling as she stammered, "Y-You must be Charles's wife, right? I'm Nina Lewis. I'm from his hometown.

"Charles said you guys hardly ever stay here and were worried about burglars, so since I work nearby, he asked me to swing by sometimes to check on the place and tidy up a little."

I didn't live here much, but I'd already hired a cleaning service to come regularly. No need for anyone else to get involved.

But I didn't call her out. Instead, I patted her shoulder and smiled. "Thanks so much. It's getting late, so you should head home. I'm gonna get some rest."

Nina nodded and bolted out of there like she was being chased by a ghost.

After she left, I flopped onto the couch and started scrolling through her social media feed.

She had three pinned posts at the top. The first one showed her slender wrist wearing a men's watch.

The caption said: [Just playing around with it.]

I recognized that watch in a heartbeat. It was the one I'd given Charles as a gift.

After I checked the date on the post, I remembered that day I was cleaning out the closet and noticed the watch was gone. Charles told me he'd left it at the office, but turned out he was using it to please some girl.

The second post was tagged from out of town. The caption read: "The hotel walls are so thin. I can't sleep alone.]

When I checked the date, I realized it was my birthday. Charles and I were having a candlelit dinner when he suddenly stood up and told me his company needed him on a business trip right then.

I was a little upset and asked if he could leave tomorrow instead. He frowned at me. "This is for work. Don't be unreasonable."

The third post was a huge bouquet made out of cash. It was so big that Nina could practically disappear inside it.

Judging by the amount, that bouquet must've been worth about 200 grand in cash.

And where did the money come from? Straight out of my supplementary bank card.

Charles really spared no expense for his side chick. He spent 200 grand in cash flowers for his mistress, while all I ever got was a bunch of discount roses from a group buy.

I let out a cold, mocking laugh. Seriously, what was I even thinking falling for Charles such an idiot?

He actually dared to let his side chick crash in my own apartment, like I wouldn't notice or something.

He really thought I was clueless.