Chapter 3

There were twenty days left before her father received his sentence. If she still could not get enough money to pay back the sum he had embezzled within those twenty days, her father might have to sit in jail for such a long time that his hair would be white by the time he was finally released.

‘Investor?’

When she remembered what Mister Whittle said earlier, Jade Redfern hesitantly took out her phone from her pocket. She swiped down her contact list and stared at the contact number she had practically memorized by this point.

In the beginning, she had registered Zephaniah as “Husband”, and she had even added an “Adorable” in front. That way, his name would be at the top of her contact list, and when she opened it, that would be the first thing she saw.

However, over the past three years, she could count the number of times Zephaniah called and texted her with just one hand. As time went by, she changed his title from “Husband” to “Zephaniah”, and she would not disturb him if nothing important happened.

Jade gave him a call, and she also threw the cigarette into the toilet while she was at it. Then, she went out to rinse her mouth with tap water.

Her voice had become slightly hoarse after smoking. If she did not do something about it, Zephaniah would know when he picked up her call, and his face would definitely turn very dark.

“Hello, who am I speaking to?”

The call soon went through, but it only brought chills to Jade, because the person who picked up the phone was a woman. She asked the question with such natural familiarity that it seemed like she had received quite a number of similar calls in the past.

When she heard no response from Jade, she repeated her question, “Hello?”

Jade only managed to snap out of her daze after a long time. When she spoke, it was difficult to make out her words, and her voice was grating to the ears. “I’m looking for Zephaniah Owens, is he around?”

“Zephy is in a meeting.” The woman sounded very natural when she blurted out his nickname as if she was the one who held the reigns of the conversation “Could you please tell me your name, and which client are you? Zephy didn’t save your number—”

Jade hastily ended the call before the woman could finish speaking. Her hands were shaking, and in the end, her phone hit the floor with a sickening thud. She picked it up in a flurry and saw her face on the broken phone screen.

At some point in time, her face was stained with tears, and she looked like her family was broken. She was a total mess.

She had been married to Zephaniah for three years, and that meant they spent twelve seasons together. According to the standards of others, they were not considered a new married couple anymore, yet he never saved her number.

Was it so hard to save her number into his contact list?

And that woman…

When she thought about the call three minutes ago, Jade just felt a chill all over her body.

Zephaniah had always been indifferent, and while Jade did suspect that he could be having an affair some time ago, both of them had signed a contract. If he did end up having an affair, he was not to ask for even a single cent when they filed for divorce.

Jade had trusted him all this while, but the way the woman called Zephaniah in such an ambiguous way during the phone call today caused her to change her mind.

In fact, the thin crack, which had kept itself inconspicuous, in her heart was beginning to grow larger.

Jade did not care that it was a Sunday, she could not be bothered with whether Zephaniah would return home.

She clocked off work at five o’clock in the afternoon, drove past the supermarket, and went in to buy some fresh fruits as well as vegetables.

Her cooking skills had always been good because she learned from her mother. After she got married, she would even cook different dishes for Zephaniah. However, Zephaniah only came back once a week according to the contract, so no matter how delicious her food was, she could only eat everything on her own on every other day of the week.

Over time, Jade could not find any drive to cook anymore. If Zephaniah came back during the weekend, they would then decide who was to cook, and they would distribute the work between the two of them. When he was not home, she would order takeout to fill her stomach. Only when she was in a good mood would she enter the kitchen and have some fun cooking.

Her phone was blaring out music in the living room, and it was loud. So naturally, Jade did not hear the sound of the door opening while she was busy in the kitchen. She was too engaged in her battle of wits and strength against the small yellow croaker on the cutting board.

“Ouch!”

However, when she was cutting out the fish gills, she cut her finger. Jade yelped and yanked her finger back. It was covered in blood.

Before she could react to the situation, she felt someone approaching her from behind. Her finger was seized by a huge hand, and it was brought under the tap. Water drenched the wound, but the heat from the person’s palm caused Jade’s heart to skip a few beats.

It seemed as though all of the man’s body parts were warm, except his lips.

“Why didn’t you have someone clean the fish for you when you bought it?” Zephaniah asked. He used a paper towel to wipe her finger and put on a plaster for her. His actions appeared gentle, but he looked as distant as ever.

“I bought the groceries in a hurry, so I forgot…” Jade murmured.