Chapter 1

Adam Graham cheated.

Standing outside a club's dimly lit private room, Renee Whitley watched her husband, who was supposed to be out of town on a business trip, lose himself in the arms of a stunning woman.

Her mind went numb; everything went blank.

It was summer, but she felt as though she were standing in a freezer. She was chilled to the bone and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

Suddenly, a voice next to her whispered, "I didn't know women liked watching these things live."

Renee turned her head slightly. In the dim light, she could only see the man's sharp jawline and short, slightly wavy hair. He wore sunglasses and had a cigarette dangling from his lips, giving off a carefree and rebellious vibe.

She let her eyes linger on the man for just a second before looking away, not in the mood to pay him any attention.

The man spoke again: "Is it good?"

"He's not exactly impressive, size-wise," Renee replied coolly.

He chuckled softly and teased, "You can see that? You've got sharp eyes."

Renee smiled faintly. "He's my husband."

With that, she turned and walked away gracefully.

Today was Renee and Adam's third wedding anniversary. They had planned a romantic candlelight dinner, but he suddenly said he had to leave for a business trip. It turned out that it wasn't business that had taken him away—he just couldn't resist chasing other women!

Having caught her husband red-handed, Renee couldn't find a reason to lie to herself, even if she wanted to.

Back home, sadness hit her like a wave. After crying for a while, she pulled herself together and quickly sorted out their assets, even drafting divorce papers. She thought she was strong enough. But as hours passed and Adam didn't come home, she couldn't stop crying for a long time.

To hide how tired she looked the next day, Renee put on extra foundation to cover her dark circles before changing into her work clothes and going to work.

Years ago, Adam had married her despite his parents' objections. As a result, the Graham family cut off his funds and kicked him out. Even so, he never regretted it.

Back then, Renee thought she had found her true love. So, she invested two million dollars to start a business with Adam. That company, Ascend Group, went on to succeed and was still thriving today.

Officially, Renee was the Director of Strategic Investments. However, everyone in the company knew she was really the second-in-command.

When Renee learned that Adam had returned to the company that morning, she immediately went upstairs and straight to his office. Just as she pushed the office door open a crack, she heard a girlish, teasing voice from inside.

"Come on, Adam, just one bite? I never feed people like this, you know! If you don't eat it, I'll get mad!"

"Okay, fine. I'll eat it, okay? Don't be mad, Princess Kayla."

There was a fond smile on Adam's lips, and his voice was soft and gentle. He lifted a hand to lightly ruffle the girl's hair, every move between them dripping with quiet affection. It was intimate, unspoken, and unmistakably more than just friendship.

It was a scene Renee had seen before. Only, the leading lady was different.

Her heart twisted painfully, and every nerve in her body screamed in pain.

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and stepped inside. Then, she smirked and said, "Oh, did I come at a bad time?"

As her voice cut through the sweet moment between them, their heads snapped to her immediately.

"Renee, what are you talking about?" Adam's eyes flickered with guilt as he wiped a smear of ice cream from his lips. "T-this is Kayla. You remember Julian Spencer, right? She's his sister, who just got back from overseas. You met her before, remember?"

Kayla Spencer had big, bright eyes and rosy lips. Her hair was up in a princess-style bun, while the pale yellow dress she wore gave her a fresh, innocent look. Also, she had that sweet, first-love kind of charm that made her instantly likable.

At the sight of two clear hickeys on Kayla's neck, Renee's gaze darkened.

Last night must have been intense.

Kayla looked Renee up and down, her eyes full of disdain. "Hello, Ms. Whitley."

Back then, Adam and Renee were madly in love. Adam had given up everything just to be with her, and for a while, their love story was admired by all and was the talk of Harborview City.

The Spencer family and the Graham family had close ties, so how could Kayla not know who Renee was? But still, Kayla called her 'Ms. Whitley'.

Renee wanted to ignore her, but nodded politely out of professionalism.

Kayla's glossy lips curved into a shy smile as she naturally looped her arm through Adam's. "Adam, my brother's out of town on business today, so you promised to spend the day in the city with me. You can't break that promise just because of work."

Adam's face flushed red all of a sudden. He instinctively pulled his arm away from Kayla's touch, feeling guilty and nervous.

He barely looked at Renee as he said, "Kayla, don't be like that. I have to finish some work first."

He had brushed her off and said that to keep his wife from reading too much into things. And if Renee hadn't caught Adam and Kayla being intimate at the club last night, maybe she would have believed him.

After all, no one could deny how handsome Adam was. He usually wore well-tailored suits that showed off his tall, lean frame. With those gold-rimmed glasses and calm, composed demeanor, he had the polished charm of a gentleman. He looked refined and mature—exactly the kind of man women found hard to resist. He always had plenty of admirers, back then and now.

Renee hid the pain deep in her eyes and walked up with a stack of contracts. She flipped to the signature page and said, "These contracts are urgent. Please sign them."

Adam's heart was racing because of his wife's sudden appearance. Without reading carefully, he grabbed a pen and signed quickly.

When he was done, Renee took the contracts and said, "Go ahead and continue what you were doing. I'm leaving."

In the hallway, she opened the folder. Her eyes fell on the divorce papers at the bottom, with Adam's signature right there in black ink. As a wave of sadness washed over her, she couldn't hide the sorrow on her face.

What did it matter that they once loved each other so passionately? In the end, their love couldn't survive the test of time. What was once cherished became tiring. He got bored and found someone new.

The end of the work day soon rolled around, and Renee was exhausted. She couldn't wait to head home.

Just then, the office door opened. A big bouquet of bright red roses mixed with delicate white baby's breath came into view. Then, Adam's handsome face appeared.

"Renee, I came to pick you up."

He stepped forward and handed her the flowers, bending down to kiss her lips.

Instantly, Renee's mind flashed back to last night at the club. Feeling disgusted, she frowned and instinctively turned her head, so the kiss landed instead on her cheek.

Noticing her displeasure, Adam quickly said, "Kayla is Julian's sister. You know he and I are childhood friends, so I see her as my own sister. After all, I've watched her grow up. Don't think too much about it, okay?"