Chapter 6 · The Wife Strikes Back

Chapter 6

After leaving Riverside Manor, I sat in the car for five minutes.

My hand rested on the steering wheel, this car had been bought by Ethan, and it was still under his name.

I thousht, 'Soon, I'll have my own car. And my own money. And my own life.'

Just then, a message popped up on my phone.

Ethan: [What do you want for dinner? I'll pick up some groceries on my way home.]

He was actually buying groceries himself.

That's not like him at all.

Claire: [Whatever, just get whatever you want.]

He sent back a smiley face.

I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat and started the car.

That evening, he came home with two bags of groceries and a bouquet of flowers.

"These are for you," he said, handing me the flowers.

I took them.

They were baby's breath, beautifully wrapped.

"What's the occasion?" I asked.

"No special occasion," he said. "I just thought I should treat you better."

I met his gaze.

His eyes were sincere.

If I didn't know everything that happened, maybe I'd actually be touched.

"Thanks," I said.

While he was cooking in the kitchen, I put the flowers in a vase and then went through his coat pockets by the door.

Inside the pocket, I found a business card.

It wasn't his company's card.

It belonged to a real estate agent.

On the back, a handwritten note read: "The one-bedroom apartment Ms. Miles liked requires a down payment of 67,000 dollars. The contract can be signed anytime."

Ms. Miles.

A one-bedroom apartment.

A down payment of 67,000 dollars.

I snapped a photo of the card and slipped it back into his pocket.

During dinner, Ethan kept piling food onto my plate.

"You've been working hard lately," he said. "Taking care of Mia is no walk in the park."

"It's alright," I replied.

"I told Mom to lay off about the second kid. Don't let it bother you."

"Got it."

He set down his fork and looked at me seriously. "Claire, I know I've let you down these past few years. Once this project is finished, let's take a trip, just the three of us."

Just the three of us.

But meanwhile, you're out there buying a place for another woman.

I just smiled. "Sure, Mia's always wanted to go to the beach."

After dinner, he holed up in the study to work.

I texted Julia: [He's buying a place for Sophie. A down payment of 67,000 dollars.]

Julia: [Where'd he get the money?]

Claire: [Not sure, but the timing matches up with the 167,000 dollars he transferred out.]

Julia: [That's straight-up transferring marital assets to a third party. Claire, this is crucial evidence. Did you get a clear shot of the real estate agent's card?]

Claire: [Yeah, I snapped a clear photo.]

Julia: [Good, add it to the evidence chain.]

Claire: [When's the demolition payout coming?]

Julia: [I asked around, earliest is next month.]

Claire: [Then let's wait another month.]

Julia replied with a thumbs-up.

I put my phone away, opened my laptop, and started working on Adam's design proposal.

By 1 a.m., the first draft was done.

I stretched and glanced at my phone.

There were two new DMs on the design platform, both from people wanting to collaborate.

And there was an email from a studio called Haven Design Studio.

The subject line read: [Invitation: Judge for the 3rd Innovative Home Design Awards]

I thought, 'A judge?'

I opened it and skimmed through.

Haven Design Studio: [Dear Ms. Star, we are Haven Design Studio, and on behalf of the Innovative Home Design Awards Committee, we sincerely invite you to serve as a preliminary judge for this year's competition. Your work has garnered widespread attention in the industry...]

I just stared at the screen.

Four years ago, I entered this competition and took home the silver award.

Four years later, they're inviting me to be a judge.

And yet, here I am, a full-time housewife.

The disconnect between my past and present left me staring at the screen for a long time.

The next day, I went to pick up Mia from school.

At the school gate, I ran into another parent, Linda Grant.

Linda's daughter is in Mia's class, and Linda herself is a sales director at a real estate company, always looking sharp and put-together.

"Claire? Long time no see!" Linda called out.

"Hey, Linda," I replied.

"How've you been? Are you still just staying home with the kids?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, come on, with your looks and brains, it's such a waste to just stay home."

There was a hint of smugness in her voice.

I just smiled and didn't say anything.

Another mom nearby leaned in. "Ms. Grant, who was that designer you mentioned last time? Star, right? My friend's been trying to book her, but she can't even get on her schedule."

Linda's eyes lit up. "That's Star! She's blowing up right now. Her old condo makeover went viral online, and tons of magazines picked it up. I asked around, her waitlist is backed up for two months."

I bent down to adjust Mia's backpack strap.

"Mom, can we go home now?" Mia asked.

"Sure, let's go," I said.

As I walked away holding Mia's hand, I heard Linda say to someone behind me, "Full-time moms have all the time in the world. But wasn't Claire a designer before? What a shame, she's done for now that she's married."

Done for.

So I was done for.

That night, I sent over the duplex design proposal to Adam.

He took twenty minutes to review it, then replied: [Perfect. It's ten times better than I expected. When can we sign the contract?]

Claire: [You pick the time.]

Adam: [How about the day after tomorrow? By the way, Ms. Star, I mentioned your work to some friends, and two of them want to hire you for their projects. Are you taking on new clients right now?]

Two new clients.

And the three companies I'm already collaborating with.

My "Star" brand was growing at a pace I never expected.

"Sure, have them add me on WhatsApp." After hanging up, I sat in the dark living room.

Ethan's snoring drifted out from the bedroom.

Everything in this house still looked peaceful on the surface.

But beneath the calm, the undercurrents were already churning.

Just half a month more.

Julia said the demolition payout would be here by the middle of the month.

I could wait.

But Sophie couldn't.

The next weekend, I took Mia to play in the neighborhood garden.

A woman walked over.

She wore a white trench coat and high heels, her long hair loose.

And around her neck was the silk scarf I recognized from the receipt.

It was Sophie.

Chapter 6

After leaving Riverside Manor, I sat in the car for five minutes.

My hand rested on the steering wheel, this car had been bought by Ethan, and it was still under his name.

I thousht, 'Soon, I'll have my own car. And my own money. And my own life.'

Just then, a message popped up on my phone.

Ethan: [What do you want for dinner? I'll pick up some groceries on my way home.]

He was actually buying groceries himself.

That's not like him at all.

Claire: [Whatever, just get whatever you want.]

He sent back a smiley face.

I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat and started the car.

That evening, he came home with two bags of groceries and a bouquet of flowers.

"These are for you," he said, handing me the flowers.

I took them.

They were baby's breath, beautifully wrapped.

"What's the occasion?" I asked.

"No special occasion," he said. "I just thought I should treat you better."

I met his gaze.

His eyes were sincere.

If I didn't know everything that happened, maybe I'd actually be touched.

"Thanks," I said.

While he was cooking in the kitchen, I put the flowers in a vase and then went through his coat pockets by the door.

Inside the pocket, I found a business card.

It wasn't his company's card.

It belonged to a real estate agent.

On the back, a handwritten note read: "The one-bedroom apartment Ms. Miles liked requires a down payment of 67,000 dollars. The contract can be signed anytime."

Ms. Miles.

A one-bedroom apartment.

A down payment of 67,000 dollars.

I snapped a photo of the card and slipped it back into his pocket.

During dinner, Ethan kept piling food onto my plate.

"You've been working hard lately," he said. "Taking care of Mia is no walk in the park."

"It's alright," I replied.

"I told Mom to lay off about the second kid. Don't let it bother you."

"Got it."

He set down his fork and looked at me seriously. "Claire, I know I've let you down these past few years. Once this project is finished, let's take a trip, just the three of us."

Just the three of us.

But meanwhile, you're out there buying a place for another woman.

I just smiled. "Sure, Mia's always wanted to go to the beach."

After dinner, he holed up in the study to work.

I texted Julia: [He's buying a place for Sophie. A down payment of 67,000 dollars.]

Julia: [Where'd he get the money?]

Claire: [Not sure, but the timing matches up with the 167,000 dollars he transferred out.]

Julia: [That's straight-up transferring marital assets to a third party. Claire, this is crucial evidence. Did you get a clear shot of the real estate agent's card?]

Claire: [Yeah, I snapped a clear photo.]

Julia: [Good, add it to the evidence chain.]

Claire: [When's the demolition payout coming?]

Julia: [I asked around, earliest is next month.]

Claire: [Then let's wait another month.]

Julia replied with a thumbs-up.

I put my phone away, opened my laptop, and started working on Adam's design proposal.

By 1 a.m., the first draft was done.

I stretched and glanced at my phone.

There were two new DMs on the design platform, both from people wanting to collaborate.

And there was an email from a studio called Haven Design Studio.

The subject line read: [Invitation: Judge for the 3rd Innovative Home Design Awards]

I thought, 'A judge?'

I opened it and skimmed through.

I just stared at the screen.

Four years ago, I entered this competition and took home the silver award.

Four years later, they're inviting me to be a judge.

And yet, here I am, a full-time housewife.

The disconnect between my past and present left me staring at the screen for a long time.

The next day, I went to pick up Mia from school.

At the school gate, I ran into another parent, Linda Grant.

Linda's daughter is in Mia's class, and Linda herself is a sales director at a real estate company, always looking sharp and put-together.

"Claire? Long time no see!" Linda called out.

"Hey, Linda," I replied.

"How've you been? Are you still just staying home with the kids?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, come on, with your looks and brains, it's such a waste to just stay home."

There was a hint of smugness in her voice.

I just smiled and didn't say anything.

Another mom nearby leaned in. "Ms. Grant, who was that designer you mentioned last time? Star, right? My friend's been trying to book her, but she can't even get on her schedule."

Linda's eyes lit up. "That's Star! She's blowing up right now. Her old condo makeover went viral online, and tons of magazines picked it up. I asked around, her waitlist is backed up for two months."

I bent down to adjust Mia's backpack strap.

"Mom, can we go home now?" Mia asked.

"Sure, let's go," I said.

Done for.

So I was done for.

That night, I sent over the duplex design proposal to Adam.

He took twenty minutes to review it, then replied: [Perfect. It's ten times better than I expected. When can we sign the contract?]

Claire: [You pick the time.]

Adam: [How about the day after tomorrow? By the way, Ms. Star, I mentioned your work to some friends, and two of them want to hire you for their projects. Are you taking on new clients right now?]

Two new clients.

And the three companies I'm already collaborating with.

My "Star" brand was growing at a pace I never expected.

"Sure, have them add me on WhatsApp." After hanging up, I sat in the dark living room.

Ethan's snoring drifted out from the bedroom.

Everything in this house still looked peaceful on the surface.

But beneath the calm, the undercurrents were already churning.

Just half a month more.

Julia said the demolition payout would be here by the middle of the month.

I could wait.

But Sophie couldn't.

The next weekend, I took Mia to play in the neighborhood garden.

A woman walked over.

She wore a white trench coat and high heels, her long hair loose.

And around her neck was the silk scarf I recognized from the receipt.

It was Sophie.