Chapter 2

Faye's POV

I swallowed the bitterness and nodded. "Yes. I'll buy it for you."

After Anne fell asleep, I sent my résumé to a company in Borwick.

Cassian didn't come home until early the next morning, wearing a different outfit from the day before.

He kept a change of clothes at Esther's house. He'd told me it was simply more convenient to go straight to the office from there whenever he stayed late with Noah. I'd believed him.

But over time, he started spending more and more time at Esther's place. He went from saying he was helping his brother's family to openly taking care of her. Meanwhile, Anne called him "Dad" less and less, and Noah grew ever more affectionate toward him.

"Faye, where's breakfast?" Cassian asked as soon as he walked in. His tone was as demanding as ever, as if I should be grateful he'd bothered to come home.

"I didn't make any," I replied coldly.

His expression darkened. "Are you done throwing a tantrum? Esther offered to make me breakfast, but I turned her down to get home sooner. Now I can't even get a bowl of porridge?"

I kept packing Anne's clothes without looking up. "You can go back and eat there. I don't mind."

Cassian stiffened, his brows furrowing. "You don't earn a single dime for this family, and now you won't even cook? Did I marry you just to sit around looking pretty?"

My hands stopped, and I looked up at him. "Cassian, have you forgotten that I gave up that promotion for you?"

We'd worked at the same company, competing for a single promotion. Back then, Anne was still small. The nanny's negligence had let her fever turn into pneumonia, and my mother-in-law had only bothered to look after Noah.

Cassian had begged me for a whole week. With Anne still not fully recovered, I eventually gave in and resigned. He got the promotion that same day.

That night, he bought me a gold bracelet and fastened it around my wrist himself.

"Faye," he said, holding my hand. "All you have to do is take care of Anne. I'll handle everything else in this family."

Later, Esther "borrowed" that same bracelet. And in Cassian's eyes, I became nothing more than a useless housewife.

Maybe because this was the first time in years I'd brought it up, a flicker of embarrassment crossed his face. He looked away irritably and tossed his jacket onto the couch.

"Why bring up the past? Besides, haven't you been enjoying an easy life at home for the past five years?"

I looked down at my pilled loungewear and worn-out slippers. My voice was soft. "Does having to beg you for money just to buy underwear count as an easy life?"

If this was what he called an easy life, I had no intention of enjoying it any longer.

He finally lost his temper. "Faye, when did you become so petty?"

At the sound of his voice, Anne came running out of her room. "Mom." She stood in front of me, glaring stubbornly at Cassian.

He froze, then noticed her pajamas. They'd faded from countless washes, and the sleeves and pant legs were far too short for her.

He whipped his head toward me. "Did you make her wear those on purpose just to make me feel guilty? I'm telling you right now. I'm never abandoning Esther and Noah, so stop wasting your breath."

I was so angry I almost laughed. I'd brought up buying Anne new pajamas countless times, but he always brushed me off and said he'd buy them next time. That next time never came.

I was done arguing about it. I met his gaze.

"I have a suggestion," I said quietly. "Why don't we get a divorce? Then it'll be a lot easier for you to take care of them, won't it?"