Lingering Hatred

Theo and I have been sleeping in separate rooms ever since our second child was born.

He would sleep with our son, Joseph Cooper, in one room. Meanwhile, I would sleep with our daughter, Rebecca Cooper, in another.

Due to work transfer, Theo only had time to come back on weekends.

In the middle of the night, he suddenly sent me a suggestive photo from the room next door, saying that he missed me.

This photo marked the sixth time Theo had dropped a hint since his return.

I was exhausted from childcare all day, so I didn't have the energy to reply to his text. I took a glance at it and went back to sleep.

…

To my surprise, a woman showed up at our house two days later. Theo said that she was the nanny he'd hired to reduce my workload.

Back then, I was so touched that I almost cried. However, I started to notice something was off several days later.

I spent a lot of time with Tiffany Jackson since she was a live-in nanny.

She was six years younger than me, full of optimism and chatter. As such, I didn't feel the need to be on guard around her.

I passed by the bathroom at night while Tiffany was showering. She was on a call with someone at the same time. "What's the fun in just listening to me? Wouldn't I taste better in person? How about I head over to your place tomorrow?"

As we've all been through the same situations, I immediately understood what she meant and hurriedly walked away.

As expected, Tiffany gave an excuse and took the next day off. I agreed to it without thinking too much about it.

Rebecca had a fever that very night.

I video-called Theo, asking if he could come back to send her to the hospital. However, in the video, I saw a long-haired woman pass by in the bathroom mirror.

I immediately zoomed in to check the woman's face, but she disappeared from view. Soon after, a familiar dress was thrown into the sink.

Wasn't that the same dress Tiffany was wearing when she left earlier?

My heart sank when I recalled the figure from before. My chest tightened in pain, and I was overwhelmed by anger like never before.

It turned out that whatever Theo said about hiring a nanny to reduce my workload was just a bunch of lies!

…

My husband, Theodore Cooper, was an engineer.

I was at the lowest point in my life when I first met him, so I've always thought that heaven sent him.

He was caring and considerate, never letting me do any house chores. He often told me that I deserved the best things in the world.

So, even though Theo wasn't particularly handsome, was fairly short, and lacked a prestigious background, I married him without hesitation—simply because he treated me well.

I gave him everything I had wholeheartedly. Yet, he was now bringing his lover home.

"What's wrong, honey? Why aren't you asleep yet at this hour?" Theo's voice remained gentle on the other end of the line.

I suppressed my anger and kept my tone neutral as I asked, "Is there anyone else in your hotel room?"

"There's no one here!" Theo replied confidently, even cracking jokes with me. "I wouldn't dare mess around when I have such a beautiful wife! The shower in my room broke, so I had housekeeping come to fix it."

I felt disgusted when I saw his face on the screen.

"Rebecca has a fever, so we must get her to the hospital. Can you come back for a while?" I asked.

"Is her fever serious?" Theo seemed anxious, yet he remained lying on the bed. "It won't be safe for me to drive at such a late hour now. Besides, I can't be late tomorrow when I have an important land bidding meeting in the morning.

"How about this—you take Rebecca to the hospital first. It's not too hard to get a taxi nowadays anyway. As soon as I'm done tomorrow, I'll return immediately!"

I kept my burning anger in check. I wanted to tell him never to come back again.

"Fine!" I ended the call abruptly, no longer wanting to hear Theo's excuses.

I sat on the bed, contemplating if I should head over to catch him in the act. He was just over 60 miles away from me. I could definitely make it before dawn if I left now.

However, I stopped myself after turning to glance at Rebecca.

Even if I caught Theo, what difference would it make? I had no job or income. I didn't even have the right to fight for my children's custody.

After much consideration, I had no choice but to carry a feverish Rebecca to the hospital alone. Fortunately, it was only a cold and nothing serious.

I finally managed to get her to sleep, but I spent the entire awake, unable to sleep a wink.

I looked at Rebecca, feeling a pang of guilt, but Theo's affair was an undeniable fact.

I had to gain the upper hand before getting a divorce. Only by obtaining enough evidence would I have the right to negotiate.

…

I dropped Joseph off at a learning center near his school early the next morning. I then went over to Mom's place, told her that I was busy, and asked her to look after Rebecca for the next few days.

I then headed over to the tech marketplace to execute my plan.

The first step was securing footage of Theo's affair—the most direct and compelling evidence for a future court hearing.

From the looks of it, this was clearly not the first time for Theo and Tiffany. Since they want to cheat, I'll just give them the opportunity to do so.

I specifically bought some high-resolution mini infrared cameras, even taking the risk to get some listening devices.

I told the tech marketplace shop owner it was for safety, as we had a nanny caring for the kids.

There were too many cases of nannies abusing babies these days, so he sold them to me despite his initial hesitation.

Once I got home, I installed the cameras and listening devices in various hidden corners of the house.

To my surprise, I found Theo's ID card in the drawer. The fact that he could still check into a hotel without his ID card made me suspicious. Could he have bought a place for the woman?

When I thought about it some more, I realized that the walls of the room in the video were different from a hotel's interior style.

My anger surged. I grabbed Theo's ID and bank cards and headed straight to the bank.

However, reviewing someone's bank transaction history over the counter requires being at the bank in person. So, I opted to print his transaction history for the past year using a self-service machine.

I couldn't believe that I had been working myself to the bones without spending much on myself for the past decade while Theo used the money to support his mistress.

I found a cafe and started going through the records. I nearly had a heart attack.

Theo had been transferring money to this woman dozens of times this year alone. The recent transfers were even outrageous. They added up to hundreds of thousands. It was enough for a down payment for a house.

At this rate, it was clear that they had been having an affair for at least a year.

It might have been hard to believe, but I had never once checked how much Theo had in his savings during the ten years we had been married. That was because I believed that trust was everything in a marriage.

However, it turned out that our trust was built on a foundation of lies.

…

As expected, Theo returned the next day. He immediately gave me a call. "Where are you, honey? Hurry back because I'm taking you for a feast this afternoon!"

I was monitoring the surveillance cameras. After he finished speaking, he even turned to kiss Tiffany. I felt utterly disgusted.

"What's the happy occasion?" I tried my best to keep my tone calm during the call.

"I have insiders' news!" Theo said excitedly, "My boss is planning to promote me to a project manager position this time. After ten years of hard work, I've finally made it! Half of my achievements are all thanks to you, honey!"

I sneered inwardly before saying, "Is that so? That's great. I still need a few hours before I can head back. Why don't you make the reservations first? I'll see you at the hotel."

I couldn't help but end the call right after that.

"When are you getting a divorce, Theo?" Through the surveillance video, Tiffany could be seen hugging Theo's neck and giving him a teasing bite. Her voice made me sick.

"Let's just wait for a while more. I'll definitely get a divorce once I sell the house!" My hands trembled as I stared at him through the surveillance video, listening to his familiar voice.

Tiffany replied, "But why do I feel like your wife has already found out about us?"

"That's impossible." Theo said confidently, "She isn't this smart. Besides, she always assumed her beauty had me utterly spellbound."

"Who's more beautiful—me or her?" Tiffany asked.

Theo flipped over and hooked a finger under her chin. The look they shared made me sick to the stomach. "You are, of course."

I couldn't stand watching them any longer. I yanked my earphones out, feeling my blood boiling. The only thing I wanted to do was to destroy the cheating couple.

At first, I simply wanted a divorce and custody of my children. But I changed my mind. I wanted them to pay a heavy price for what they had done!

…

When I arrived at the fancy restaurant, I was surprised to find Tiffany in the private room. They were even sitting a little apart from each other on purpose.

"Hello, Wendy." She immediately stood up and said awkwardly, "I hope that my presence isn't interrupting you and Theodore."

I wondered if she would leave or beg for my forgiveness if I were to say that she was indeed interrupting us.

"You aren't," I said, smiling, and sat beside Theo. "You're not an outsider anyway. Aren't I right, Theo?"

Theo looked slightly awkward and immediately explained, "The circuit breaker at home is broken, and the technician is fixing it. Since there was room for more, I asked her to come along."

He leaned closer to me and deliberately whispered, "There are many valuable things at home. It wouldn't hurt to be extra cautious."

I was tempted to slap him.

"Let's order." I smiled, a show of my agreement. Yet, Theo said that he was already done ordering. He even told me that he had called for all my favorite dishes.

However, I was the one who had prepared all the meals at home throughout our ten years of marriage. He wouldn't know what my preferences were.

Theo only figured that I would like spice since I was from Secia. In fact, after living in Gordoria for many years, my tastes had become much milder.

The only reason I've always made spicy food was because he was from Honhor, and he enjoyed spicy food.

A spread was served on the table shortly after. I could barely eat as even the greens were spicy. Meanwhile, Tiffany ate enthusiastically, citing that she did not want to waste food.

I finally realized that the spread of food wasn't ordered based on my preferences. They were all for Tiffany. The cheating couple was actually showing off their love in front of me.

I suppressed my anger, accidentally bending the cutleries in my hands.

…

On our way back, I sat in the passenger seat and suddenly noticed a sticker on the seat. It said "Exclusive Seat for My Wife". I immediately found it disgusting.

Theo wasn't a romantic person. Once, I wanted to hang a handmade ornament in the car, yet he thought that it would block his view while driving. So I knew that he wouldn't buy something as childish as this.

It would definitely be Tiffany's purchase if it weren't his.

"What do you think of it? Do you like it?" Theo kept his expression neutral as he drove.

He casually said, "A few days back, one of my friends told me that women enjoy these childish items, so I bought one. That way, people would know I'm taken no matter where I go. Does that ease your mind a little?"

I felt my eyes twitch. The words "Exclusive Seat for My Wife" pained me. However, I did not tear it out. Instead, I merely forced a smile as I said, "I like it!"

"That's great!" Theo was happy to hear my answer. He then changed the topic and said, "By the way, I want to discuss something with you."

"Go on." I naturally found it ominous.

He immediately continued, "Now that we've had our second child, I'm sure our current rooms won't be enough. I'm considering selling our current place to buy a bigger four-bedroom house. What do you think?"

"That's great." I suggested, "Let's find time to go house hunting together."

"I've already found a place." Theo seemed hesitant as he looked at me. "It's not far from where we live now. So it wouldn't be a hassle to move and go to school. I wanted to surprise you. That's why I didn't tell you beforehand. What's wrong? Are you angry?"

My anger was barely contained, and I looked displeased. He claimed he wanted to sell the house for a bigger one, but I knew that he just wanted the money and to get rid of me.

"Alright then." I nodded while keeping my expression neutral, secretly making plans on my own.