Chapter 1

After leaving, I sat in the parking lot until 5:00 pm.

It was then that I received a message.

"What's taking so long with the draft proposal? Is this how you work? The project's on hold for now. We'll talk again once you get your act together."

After six years of marriage, Matt Miller had grown increasingly indifferent toward me.

To secure Miller Group's beauty project, I had put in twice as much effort as everyone else.

Yet the moment we started working together, he would cut the budget at my slightest missteps, even going as far as putting the project on hold.

He said it was strictly business and that he couldn't lower his standards even though we were a married couple.

That morning, his secretary, Faye Davis, had posted on Instagram.

Matt, donning a white shirt and black trousers, with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, was arranging bags of potato chips on the shelf.

His handsome profile appeared softer in the light, a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

"Mr. Miller is restocking my supplies. He says eating as much as I want is basically my job."

When I saw that post, my chest tightened.

Matt was never much of a talker. Back in college, he was strict and impartial, a top student who hardly ever smiled.

He would only be indulgent with me.

The photos of him staying up late to help me with my thesis and the videos of him encouraging me to eat green peppers were still circulating on the school forum.

I just didn't know when he had given that attention to someone else.

My phone buzzed again. Matt had sent me another message.

"Busy. Working overtime."

Before I could even reply, I suddenly saw them.

Faye was walking backward, laughing and clapping. Her ponytail kept swinging left and right.

Matt followed unhurriedly with a slight smile, his gaze fixed on her.

I watched them for a long while before lowering my head.

It seemed that I was no longer the woman who could make him smile.

At 11:00 pm, I was still awake when he came home.

A variety show was playing on TV, and the laughter made him frown.

"Yelena, it's too loud."

I didn't answer. I simply grabbed a handful of chips and shoved them into my mouth.

His frown deepened.

"The project is on hold because you didn't submit the draft on time. Don't use this as an excuse to get back at me."

Still munching the chips, I looked up at him.

"You made me revise my draft eight times. It doesn't matter when I submit it."

"This project belongs to my company. Is it unreasonable to ask my business partner to revise the draft?"

"No, but asking me to revise it without even looking at it is."

Matt's face clouded over.

The noise from the TV and the sound of me crunching on chips made his body stiffen.

"Yelena, turn off the TV. Also, you're eating chips on the floor. There are crumbs all over the carpet."

I crushed the chips in my hand.

The memory of Faye eating chips on the carpet while watching a variety show in the morning flashed in my mind.

He picked up the remote and switched off the TV, using the same hand that had touched her hair.

The living room fell silent.

He was about to return to the room when the crunching of chips beneath his feet made him stop. The next second, he turned and walked out.

"It's too noisy. I'll sleep at the office tonight."