Chapter 1

My husband, Samuel Tucker, still tried to snatch the phone away from my hands, and in doing so, he accidentally spilled the pot of consommé all over the floor.

I had slaved over this consommé for hours.

It was his favorite soup, and he would always request it for dinner every year on our wedding anniversary.

"No, wait, I can explain, darling! I didn't mean to hide it from you!"

He then stepped over the mess on the floor and rushed toward me in a hurry.

"But you know very well that Samson left his wife and two kids behind after his death three years ago! And she is unable to find a job, and she still needs to raise Zack and Zoe as well! It's very hard on her…

Samson Tucker was Samuel's older brother. His wife was Misty Patterson, and they had two children together, Zack and Zoe Turner.

I gripped my phone tightly and fought to stay calm over everything.

"So? What was the issue that stopped you from telling me the truth back then? And for keeping it all a secret from me?"

He stopped about three feet away from me and stammered, "I-I was worried that you'd get the wrong idea about Misty and me having an affair… I didn't want you to get mad."

I understood what he was trying to say now.

He thought that Misty was having it rough, so he thought of renting out my luxury apartment to her for the lowballed price of 300 dollars monthly instead of the 10,000 dollars it was worth. And, he kept everything from me because he thought that I would get jealous about it.

"How long have you been renting it to her?"

"Three years. Ever since Samson passed away."

"Since it's a rental, then were you really helping out at a friend's place every weekend as you said you were? Where were you, actually?"

Samuel lowered his head and avoided my gaze.

"I was working overtime…"

"Lies," I refuted. "Nothing in your payslip suggested that you worked any extra hours all that time."

I tapped into the WhatsApp chat interface and saw Misty's message pop right up. I tapped on it again.

It was the weekend yesterday.

"Sam, the lightbulb in the second bathroom has gone out. Are there any light bulb shops around here?"

Samuel had answered instantaneously, "I'll be right there to change it out for you, Misty. Don't touch it. You might get electrocuted."

I continued scrolling upward, and there was a text message exchange every single morning on the weekends before that.

"Sam, the freezer isn't working anymore. Do you have the technician number?"

"I'll be right there. If I can't fix it, then I'll just replace it for you."

"Sam, Zack bruised his knee against the floor, but I don't know where the emergency kit is."

"Is it bad? I'm coming right over to bring him to the hospital."

Every single time, Misty would start each message with his name, and the outcome would be Samuel immediately hurrying over to her.

The entire screen was filled with their conversations, and it was making me dizzy.

"Samuel Tucker," I said. "The light in our hallway went out for weeks, and every time I asked you to change it out, you'd always tell me that you were too busy to do it.

"Did you know that Elsie hit her head in the middle of the night while going to the bathroom because she couldn't see? And I had no choice but to pay for a technician to fix it for me while still being considerate of you.

"As it turned out, you'd been spending all of your weekends being a free handyman for Misty instead?"

Samuel gulped instinctively and said, "But darling, she's bringing up two kids on her own, and she doesn't have a man by her side to help her—"

"What about me? Where's my man?" I demanded. "Do I even have a man by my side anymore if you're always by her side instead?"

I couldn't bear the thought of him still defending Misty and painting her in such a pitiful light anymore. I grabbed my spoon and flung it in his face.

Samuel panicked. He didn't even duck as the spoon hit him on the face.

"Don't be mad, Carol. Elsie is still asleep…"

I suddenly found it very ironic.

As it turned out, he still remembered that we had a daughter together. So, who really was the woman who had to bring up her kid by herself without a man to help her, now?

The anger burned even more intensely in my chest. I grabbed my phone and called the property manager for a luxury apartment at once.

Samuel tried to snatch my phone away from me.

I swerved and turned my back to him, quickly speaking into the phone. The manager then exclaimed and said, "Ms. Caroline Whitaker, the unit you're referring to isn't housing just a lady and her two children, miss. A family of six is living there."

At once, I recalled having briefly met Samson's in-laws back when he was still alive, and I felt goosebumps spreading all over my body.

"Samuel Tucker! Is this what you meant by Misty being a poor widow bringing up her children by herself without a man by her side?"