Chapter 2

I checked social media and immediately saw Eva's latest Instagram story.

The photo showed Johann and her thoroughly enjoying themselves at an expensive steakhouse in a five-star hotel. The table was adorned with flowers, lit candles, and a variety of other items.

It was simply too jarring, and I laughed self-deprecatingly at that.

As expected, he was only coming home so late because he was busy having dinner with Eva.

When Johann was finally done with his romantic getaway, he came back home and trampled all over my self-esteem like he was disciplining a mere dog.

Was I just their afterthought after all?

I flung my phone onto the couch in a rage. "I hate secondhand men who've been defiled by other women!"

This was the first time I had said such harsh words to him.

Unexpectedly, Johann frowned at once as anger lit up in his fiery eyes. He grabbed my chin tightly and slapped me hard on the cheek just a split second later. He slapped me so hard that my vision blacked out for a moment.

"Nancy Castro! I am the one paying for your food and your lodging! How dare you yell at me like that! Who the hell do you think you are?"

I got a huge fright and struggled to escape his constraints.

However, right after that, he began his carrot-and-stick tactic as always.

He lightly rubbed his wrist against my slapped face, his gesture like a pitiful act of consolation after the fright.

"It was all because you were behaving out of line that I had to treat you like this. Do you understand now that you must be a good girl and listen to me?"

Faced with his terrible, disgusting act, I dug my nails into my palms and forced myself to remain calm no matter what.

I gradually realized that I couldn't continue acting weak like this anymore.

When I woke up the next morning, I realized someone had requested to follow my private account on social media, and the request came from a profile I wasn't quite familiar with.

I tapped into the follow request message. It read, "Nancy, it's me, Cedric York."

I froze for a moment when I saw the name on the screen. Memories of my college days immediately flooded my mind.

Cedric was my senior in the same course I was taking when we were still in college. We even used to be in the student council together, working as a team.

At that time, everyone could already tell that he had a crush on me and was very partial to favoring me, getting concerned about me, and taking care of and protecting me on campus.

However, back then, I had been hung up on Johann instead.

After graduating, I lost contact with Cedric, and shortly after, I married Johann.

I thought that I had finally found my happiness and my forever home, but I never thought that I had only just taken the first step toward my fall into such a dark, painful abyss.

I had only just accepted his follow request when Cedric suddenly video-called me on Instagram.

His familiar, yet slightly foreign voice immediately came through.

"Nancy! I heard that Johann had been treating you really badly! Are you okay?"

He spoke as if he had been keeping in touch with me all these years, getting straight to the point about my situation.

I said nothing and just stared at his face, suddenly feeling a wave of nostalgia washing over me as I longed for our college days again.

He seemed to notice the cuts and bruises left on my face after getting into a fight with Johann, and I detected a flicker of anger and heartache in his eyes for a moment.

He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Wait for me to come back, Nancy."

Just then, Johann suddenly emerged from the bathroom, with droplets of water still dripping down his body. He approached me.

I couldn't help but take a few steps backward and hide the phone behind my back.

"If I remember correctly, it's our… wedding anniversary today, isn't it?"

Johann seemed to grin ever so slightly as he spoke to me, his tone filled with mockery and sarcasm.

He then turned, grabbed a box from the closet, and threw it onto the bed like he was just tossing charity coins into a beggar's bowl.

"See this? It's the bag you wanted. I'm right, aren't I?"

Just as I was about to open the box, Johann said, "I'm going to be busy with a huge project, and I won't have any time to keep you company. Just tell me whatever you want."

Then, he caressed my neck like he was comforting a mere pet, his movements thick with mockery and degradation. Yet, just a split second later, he suddenly gripped my neck with force, hurting me like he was trying to strangle me.

"There really is nothing going on between Eva and me. Our relationship is strictly that of employer and employee. She's nothing more than just my secretary, so stop being so petty and jealous.

"Do you understand me?"