Chapter 1

It was stifling inside the mascot suit—so hot I could hardly catch my breath. When I looked up, I spotted my wife, Marissa Osborne, walking through the doors, a handbag slung over her arm.

My heart swelled.

Last night, I'd told her that I'd found a part-time job as a mascot at Glory Grocer. It paid 300 dollars a day, and if I kept at it for a month, I could buy her the handbag she'd been eyeing.

I perked up, walking resolutely toward Marissa. However, I then saw a tall man tagging along behind her. He was her first love, Dominic Finch.

My eyes dropped to their hands, fingers tightly intertwined—a display of deep affection.

My heart stopped. I froze to the spot, lost in a daze.

Just then, the store manager rushed over and smacked me upside the head, jolting me back to reality.

"Hey! Why are you spacing out, dumbass? We've got customers. Get moving! We're not paying you to space out!"

I lowered my head and clenched my fists into balls, holding back my anger silently.

Marissa always claimed that she and Dominic were just friends. She told me not to worry, as she would not cheat on me.

As her husband, I should have faith in her. After all, she was just holding hands with a close guy friend. It was completely reasonable.

I picked myself back up and interacted with the customers, sneaking glances in Marissa's direction every now and then.

They went up to the second floor. At the very least, they weren't going up to get a room. I breathed a sigh of relief. When I was finally on my break, I grabbed the opportunity to urgently send Marissa a message.

"Where are you, Rissa?"

The typing indicator popped up, and then her sharp reply came through. "Why are you checking up on me every day, Ainsley Hayes? I'm at work, obviously. Where else would I be? How do you expect us to make ends meet with the pittance you earn?"

My temples throbbed painfully as her wave of complaints left me reeling. Every month, she demanded I hand over my salary of ten thousand dollars as her allowance.

I was also the one paying for everything from our rental to utility bills and daily expenses. All Marissa needed to do was go to work and come home on time. On top of that, she came home to home-cooked meals that I prepared for her.

Wasn't this life enough for her?

But before I could dwell on this, the store manager was once again pushing me to put on the mascot suit and get back to work.

My break was over in a flash. It went by so quickly that I didn't even have time to get a sip of water.

As I stood near the entrance, I heard Marissa's hearty laughter. With bags of shopping in her hands, she was chatting with Dominic, her voice loud enough for me to overhear her clearly.

"Is five suits enough for you, Dom?" she asked. "You work seven days a week, so should we just get seven sets instead? I can afford it anyway, since Ainsley gives me ten thousand dollars as my allowance every month."

She wore a triumphant grin on her face, peeking at Dominic as she leaned in close, her shoulder touching his.

"You know what? I've got Ainsley completely under my thumb. He's so obedient that he'd hand me anything I want on a silver platter."

I saw Marissa lower her head shyly, hooking her pinky around his as she added, "Of course, I would also be willing to give you whatever you want."

Dominic flashed her a tender smile, lifting his hand to stroke her forehead gently. He brushed a few of her stray hairs aside, tucking them behind her ears.

"You really are so good to me, Rissa."