4.

At my words, Alex’s expression stiffened for just a moment, but he still nodded.

“Okay, Jenny,” he said, almost gently.

“Your happiness is the most important thing to me.”

The heavy weight that had been hanging over my heart finally eased a little at his promise.

“But,” Alex said, holding my hand,

“can you still go to this birthday party? Anna and I planned the whole thing together, and we’ve invited our friends. They’re waiting in the private room upstairs at the restaurant. Daniel has been looking forward to it for a long time, and he even made you a handmade gift… Even though today didn’t go as planned, I still hope you can have it, okay?”

Looking into his expectant eyes, I finally agreed.

However, after I freshened up and walked into the private room full of friends, I still hesitated a little.

Deep down, I knew Anna could not possibly mean well.

But Alex was obviously so eager to show me the surprise he had prepared for so long that he didn’t notice my unease at all.

He impatiently pulled me along and pushed the door open.

“Surprise!”

“Happy birthday, Jenny!”

“Happy birthday, Mommy!”

Streamers floated down through the air.

Seeing everyone’s smiling, affectionate faces, my heart finally relaxed a little.

When Daniel—who had been sulking with me for days—awkwardly handed me the handmade gift in the pink gift bag and wished me happy birthday,

even the sight of Anna and her daughter standing in the corner of the room no longer made me feel afraid.

The emotional ups and downs of this day left me completely exhausted.

After the party ended and all the guests had left, I almost immediately fell asleep on the sofa in the room.

My dreams were light, drifting, full of colorful but unmemorable fragments.

When I woke up, I found that I was still in the hotel room.

My throat was dry, my head heavy.

I climbed out of bed, wanting to pour myself a glass of water.

Just then, I heard low voices talking in the hallway outside the room.

It sounded like Alex and a woman.

For reasons I couldn’t explain, I tiptoed to the door and pressed my ear against it to listen.

“…She’s still sleeping…” Alex said.

“…It’s finally over…”

That was Anna’s voice!

I would never forget that creepy, fake gentleness in her tone.

But they were too far away for me to hear clearly, so I quietly opened the door a crack.

The voices instantly became much clearer.

“How much longer are we going to keep this up? I don’t want to hide it anymore.”

The dissatisfaction and resentment in Anna’s voice were suddenly unmistakable.

That sentence made me push the door harder without realizing it.

The door swung open with a loud creak that echoed sharply in the quiet hallway.

Alex and Anna both turned to look at me at once.

Only then did I see that Alex had been holding Anna in his arms.

The moment they saw me, they immediately let go of each other.

My emotions surged straight to my head.

My already dizzy brain felt like it had been hit hard with a hammer.

Almost the next second, I strode toward them and shoved Anna hard, pushing her away from Alex.

Then I grabbed Alex by his clothes and almost screamed hoarsely,

“What did you promise me, Alex?

Why are you still meeting Anna?

What are you hiding from me?

Are you cheating on me?!

Do you also think Anna is a thousand times better than me?

Are you going to abandon me and choose her?!”

I had grown up under Anna’s constant oppression.

But even in the most painful years, I had never lost control like this.

I had always been stubborn and unwilling to give in.

Maybe that was exactly why Anna had never been willing to let me go.

Just a day ago, I never would have imagined that I would end up like this—

hair disheveled, looking like a shrew, grabbing my husband and accusing him of cheating.

My voice must have been too loud.

Daniel and Lisa in the other room were startled.

They opened the door and ran out, looking uneasy.

Alex was clearly shocked by my shouting.

He hurriedly grabbed me and covered my mouth with one hand.

“Lower your voice, Jenny. You’re scaring the children.”

After that, he signaled Anna to take the kids and pulled me back into the room.

After the door closed, Alex, Anna, and I stood in a triangle.

Daniel and Lisa sat on the sofa, looking uneasy.

Alex’s face looked terrible.

He seemed very dissatisfied with my behavior.

But my trust in him was already hanging by a thread.

I turned my head away from him and glared angrily at Anna instead.

I broke the dead silence and decided to be blunt.

“Anna, why are you meeting my husband alone in the hallway late at night?

What were you talking about?

Why are you hiding things from me?”

Anna hesitated and glanced at Alex, as if seeking his help.

She put on a hesitant, reluctant expression, as if she had so much to say but couldn’t bring herself to speak.

I had had enough.

I snapped coldly,

“What are you looking at him for? Alex is my husband.

If you have something to say, just say it.

Stop acting like everyone owes you and should give in to you!”

To my surprise, it was Alex who spoke up unhappily.

“Jenny! Do you have to be so mean?”

I couldn’t believe those words came from my husband—

the same man who had said just hours ago that my happiness mattered most

and promised me he wouldn’t see Anna again.

It felt as if I had been slapped hard across the face.

My cheeks burned with pain.

“I’m mean? Ha.”

I shook my head in disbelief and took a step back.

“You have no idea what she’s done to me…”

“Jenny!”

Anna raised her voice and cut me off.

She reached out and tugged lightly on Daniel’s sleeve, signaling him not to speak.

Then she did something I never imagined I would see Anna Walsh do in my entire life.

She took a step back, took a deep breath—

and knelt down in front of me.

“I’m very sorry, Jenny, for all the fights we had in the past,” she said,

with a terrifying kind of sincerity.

“I’m here to beg you to help me.”