Chapter 1

"I don't want to go with you on this business trip," Lucy Landon said at the dinner table. Her voice was calm, so calm that no one could sense anything unusual.

Steven Cooper's trip was set for June 1st.

It wasn't their wedding anniversary, nor was it anyone's birthday. Just an ordinary Children's Day.

Three days ago, she had stumbled upon a voice message on Steven's phone.

A child's soft and childish voice had said, "Daddy, for Children's Day, I want to go to Maldove to see fish!"

Lucy had stood there for a long time, frozen.

She and Steven had been in love for ten years, married for six. Everyone said he loved her to the bone, that he couldn't bear to be apart from her, not even on business trips.

She had believed that too. Until that childish voice shattered the illusion completely.

The child sounded about four or five years old, which meant that not long after they had married, Steven had already gotten another woman pregnant.

For five years, he had played the role of a devoted husband while secretly being a father to two children.

Lucy couldn't figure it out. Had she been too foolish, or was his act simply too perfect? Five years, and she hadn't suspected a thing.

Steven placed a piece of chicken on her plate and asked softly, "Didn't we agree you'd always accompany me for work trips? Why don't you want to come this time?"

"It's nothing," she said. "Maldove is too far. I don't feel like taking such a long flight."

Her mother-in-law immediately chimed in, "If Lucy doesn't want to go, then let her stay home and rest."

Lucy gave a faint nod. Then she picked up the chicken from her plate and tossed it straight into the trash.

Steven noticed something was off and was about to ask, but his mother tapped his arm and shook her head, signaling him to drop it.

He hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. Just rest at home. I'll come back to you as soon as I finish my trip."

After dinner, Lucy felt stifled and went for a walk in the courtyard.

When she returned, she overheard her mother-in-law talking to Steven.

"Shawn and Sharon are already five. You can't keep them hidden forever. It's time to bring them into the family."

Steven sounded irritated. "Mom, stay out of it. I'll take care of the kids, but Lucy is the one I love. I can't lose her."

"She's been married to you for six years and still refuses to have children. Now she won't even let you have any outside? I don't care what you say. Shawn and Sharon are my precious grandchildren. Every time I see them, I have to sneak around like some thief. How is that fair?"

Steven exhaled. "I'll figure something out."

"They're already five! If you were going to do something, you would have done it by now. Think carefully. What's more important—your children or your wife?"

Just then, his phone rang.

He frowned, picked up the call, and answered impatiently, "What now?"

But within seconds, his voice softened. "Shawn, be good. Daddy misses you too."

His mother's face lit up. "Is that my darling grandson?"

Steven switched to speakerphone.

A sweet, childish voice called out, "Grandma!"

His mother beamed. "Oh, my dear, Grandma's here."

Lucy didn't want to hear another word. She turned and walked back into the garden.

She stood there for a long time, alone.

The Cooper family's garden was filled with roses, all personally planted by Steven for her.

The summer night breeze carried the scent of roses. It should have felt refreshing, but Lucy only felt a deep, unbearable cold.

She took out her phone and called her best friend, Camille Reinhart.

"Camille, help me arrange an accident at sea."

Camille's voice sharpened. "What happened? Why are you suddenly saying this?"

Lucy didn't know how to begin.

By the time she finished explaining everything, Camille was silent.

"I thought he was a good man," she finally said. "I never imagined he'd be this kind of person."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Lucy said. "I just want to leave him for good."

Camille took a deep breath. "Alright. When do you want this to happen?"

Lucy thought for a moment.

"Half a month from now," she said. "On the day of our wedding anniversary."

Steven already had a new family.

It was time for her to go.

If she asked for a divorce, he would only try to hold on to her.

She was tired of this endless entanglement.

If that was the case, she would disappear completely—erase herself from his world forever.