Chapter one

Today was Cathan’s birthday, and Mira had prepared a full table of dishes for him. She had made a series of dishes such as jollof rice, fried spaghetti, and chicken burgers. She had even baked the cake herself after weeks of watching cooking vlogs and trying to improve her baking.

As she arranged the last plate, the phone Cathan had left on the couch before going out that morning suddenly chimed.

She tried to mind her own business and just focus on what she was doing, but the latest message caught her eye, so she checked it.

Stranger: “Hey, baby. I just got your favorite cake. Are we seeing each other today?”

She stared at the message.

Her eyes moved over the words again and again until they stopped on one word.

Baby.

She repeated the word in her mind thousands of times. Baby?

Cathan had never called her that. Not even once.

For two years, she had been his wife. She had taken care of him when he couldn’t walk, stayed beside him day and night, helped him with his medicine, prepared his meals, and accompanied him to his treatments. Yet, he had never once called her that sweet name.

Someone else had received the name she had secretly wished to hear from him. Mira swallowed hard. “No…” The word escaped her lips in a whisper. There had to be another explanation. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe the woman had sent the message to the wrong person. Maybe Cathan had a female friend who was simply being too friendly. She tried to convince herself of anything that could make the message hurt less.

But deep down, a small voice was already telling her the truth.

Before she could digest the message, another one came in. A funny selfie was attached beneath the message. The photo did not show the woman’s face. It only showed her legs.

She was wearing transparent leggings that revealed the smooth skin beneath them, creating an image that felt like a forbidden temptation. Mira’s breath caught.

Her face slowly drained of color as she stared at the picture.

Was this the woman? The woman Cathan had been seeing behind her back?

Her husband? The man she had spent two years caring for?

The man she had loved even when he treated her coldly?

Mira lowered her gaze, but the image remained burned into her mind. She had never been the jealous type. She had always known that Cathan didn’t love her.

She had accepted that their marriage had started because of circumstances neither of them had chosen. But knowing that he didn’t love her was one thing.

Knowing that he was giving another woman the attention and intimacy he had never given her was something entirely different.

Her fingers trembled, as she clenched the phone so tightly that her fingertips turned white.

Ding!

Another message arrived.

(“Cathan, let’s meet at the Marta Hotel tonight. I’m celebrating your birthday with you.”)

Mira’s heart seemed to stop. She read the message several times.

Tonight. His birthday. The woman wanted to celebrate his birthday with him. Meanwhile, Mira had spent the entire day preparing his favorite dishes.

She had stood in the kitchen for hours. She had watched countless cooking videos just to learn how to make his favorite meals. She had even baked his birthday cake herself.

Her eyes slowly moved toward the dining table. The table was beautifully arranged with jollof rice, fried spaghetti, chicken burgers, and the cake she had carefully made herself.

For the first time, the sight of everything she had prepared didn’t make her happy.

It made her heart ache.

A bitter smile appeared on her lips. “So that’s why…”. Her voice trembled.

“That’s why you never cared about what I prepared for you.” She talked to her self.

Her eyes burned. She quickly blinked, refusing to let the tears fall. But the more she tried to hold them back, the more painful her chest became.

She had spent two years telling herself that as long as Cathan was healthy again, she would be satisfied. She had never asked him to love her.

She had never demanded that he treat her like a real wife.

She had only hoped that one day, he might look at her and remember everything she had done for him. But perhaps she had been foolish.

Perhaps none of it had ever mattered to him. Mira placed the phone back on the couch.

She tried to return to the dining table, but her legs suddenly felt weak.

Her vision blurred.

She immediately held the dining table to support herself because she felt like she might fall.

“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered. “He doesn’t love me anyway.” But the moment she said it, a tear slipped down her cheek.

She quickly wiped it away. Then another tear followed. Mira closed her eyes. She hated herself for crying.

She hated that a single message could hurt her this badly. And most of all, she hated that even after everything, she still loved him.

She looked at the phone again. Her heart pounded. Who was the woman? Why was she so familiar with Cathan?

Mira couldn’t stay home and pretend she hadn’t seen anything. She needed to know the truth. Even if the truth destroyed the last piece of hope she had left.

Mira wiped her tears, grabbed her bag, and headed to the Marta Hotel.

She wanted to see it for herself. She wanted to know who this so-called young woman was.

When Mira arrived at the Marta Hotel, she was about to walk inside when she saw her own father. “Dad? What are you doing here?”

Thomas froze for a moment before answering evasively. “Mira, your sister just got back to the country. She’s staying here.”

Mira looked through the spotless floor-to-ceiling windows and saw Mia inside.

She instantly stiffened. She froze when she noticed Mia’s legs.

They were exactly the same as the ones she had seen in the photograph on Cathan’s phone earlier. Her heart sank.

So the young woman was none other than her own sister, Mia.

Mia had been beautiful since childhood. She had the most beautiful legs in the entire city, the kind of beauty that easily caught men’s attention.

And now her little sister was using that beauty to seduce her brother-in-law. Mira found it absurd.

She turned to look at her father. “Looks like I’m the last one to find out.”

Thomas shifted awkwardly. “Mia just got back yesterday. Did you expect me to tell you immediately?”

“Don’t act ignorant.” Mira smiled awkwardly and faced Mia. “You don’t have to act dumb to my question, right?”

“Mira, Cathan never liked you in the first place. Do you have any idea how many women have their eyes on Cathan? Rather than letting some other woman have him, it’s better to give him to your sister.” Thomas said without looking at her.

Mira clenched her fists. “Dad, I’m your daughter too.”

She turned and walked away.

“Mira.” Mia suddenly called out from behind her.