Chapter 3

Thinking about the night before, Jennie felt a wave of uncertainty rose in her chest. “When did you come back?”

William answered without hesitation. “I worked until almost dawn. I figured you must not be feeling well after drinking so much, so I got up early to buy your favorite breakfast.”

The look of satisfaction on his face made her stomach sink.

Something that once would have warmed her heart now only made her feel sick.

She regretted everything.

She never should have drunk that much.

Seeing her silent, William softened his voice. “Why did you drink so much alone? Did I do something to upset you?”

Upset did not even begin to cover it.

Jennie took a long breath, gathering the strength to speak. “William, we need to talk.”

For the first time, he seemed to take her mood seriously. His brows drew together, but instead of responding, he veered off in another direction. “Why do you look so pale?”

He sat down beside her and lifted his hand toward her forehead.

Jennie instinctively turned her head away.

William’s hand froze midair.

He did not pull back. Instead, he cupped her cheeks and angled her face toward his, pressing his forehead gently against hers.

Their breaths mingled, close enough to feel each other’s warmth.

But Jennie felt a canyon between them.

“No fever.” William let out a relieved sigh and leaned away. His thumb brushed her cheek. “Must be the hangover. Next time, don’t drink that much.”

Before she could reply, he calmly opened the breakfast containers one by one. He had brought her a box of warm butter croissants, a small stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes, and a container of soft scrambled eggs with herbs.

“Today I am all yours,” he said gently as he looked up at her. “Whatever you want to talk about, we can talk about it. But before that…”

He picked up a small bowl with a lid and placed it in front of her.

He lifted the lid slowly.

A warm, savory aroma drifted out.

Inside was a warm bowl of her comfort-food pasta that he always made on her birthday, topped with a perfectly cooked fried egg.

“Happy birthday, my princess.”

The steam blurred her vision. Jennie felt tears gathering again.

She was furious at how good he was at performing affection. Furious that she had been fooled for so long and even felt grateful for it.

William saw her reddened eyes and assumed it was because she was touched.

He immediately reached out and patted her head fondly. “All right, my little crybaby, don’t start. If your eyes get all puffy, you won’t look pretty when we take photos later.”

Jennie forced her emotions down and pretended nothing was wrong. She picked up the bowl and slowly stirred the pasta through the warm broth, twirling it and letting it fall back into place.

Without looking at him, she asked in an almost casual tone, “What were you doing yesterday afternoon?”

The moment she finished speaking, a ringtone she did not recognize suddenly rang out.

William’s gentle smile stalled for a fraction of a second, then quickly returned. He murmured, “Sorry, baby, let me take this.”

He stepped out of the room with the phone and even closed the door gently behind him.

Jennie stopped stirring.

He always kept his phone on vibrate. There was only one exception: specially marked contacts.

And until recently, she had been the only one.

It took her one second to guess who was calling.

Wendy.

Jennie set the bowl aside, slipped into her robe, and padded toward the living room barefoot.

The bedroom door was cracked open just enough to reveal the entire room beyond.

William stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, tension etched across his face, even a hint of panic.

Whatever the person on the line said, his expression tightened. He immediately started heading toward the door.

But after two steps, he stopped, hesitated, hung up, and walked back toward the bedroom.

Jennie rushed back to the bed and pulled the blankets up around her.

The door opened.

“Baby, something came up with one of our partners. I have to go there right away.”

He turned to leave.

Before this, even on her birthday, Jennie would have told him to go handle work first.

But now she stared at him without expression. “Didn’t you say you’d spend the whole day with me?”

William turned around, brows pinched. “I work this hard so you can have a good life. In the end, everything I do is for you.”

She had heard this exact line for four years.

Jennie cut him off calmly. “If you walk out now, we are getting a divorce when we get home.”

William froze in disbelief, staring at her as if she had spoken another language. His voice shot up several notches. “You want to divorce me?”

Jennie said nothing.

His temper flared. “Jennie, are you crazy? You want a divorce over something this trivial?”

Jennie followed his logic. “If it’s trivial, then cancel the meeting.”

His expression darkened instantly.

The phone rang again.

Without even glancing at it, William declined the call.

He took a deep breath, ready to speak when Jennie beat him to it.

“If you can’t cancel it, then take me with you. I won’t get in your way.”

She knew perfectly well he would never agree.

They stared at each other in silence for half a minute.

Finally, William exhaled. “Get changed. I’ll wait for you.”

Jennie felt something crack inside her.

He would risk being exposed just to go see Wendy.

He really could not let go.

She had barely gathered her thoughts when William snapped at her, irritation spilling out in a way she had never seen from him.

“Hurry up!”

Jennie flinched.

The man who had always spoken to her so gently was showing her a face he had never shown before.

She said nothing, got out of bed, and quietly changed into the simplest dress she had brought.

They went downstairs one after the other and got into the car.

By then, William had cooled off.

He glanced at Jennie sitting in the passenger seat and softened his posture again. He reached over and covered the back of her hand with his own.

“I’m sorry, baby. This partnership is very important for my company… for our company. I didn’t mean to snap at you earlier. Don’t be upset. I planned a surprise for tonight. I promise you’ll love it.”

Jennie gently pulled her hand out of his. “I’m not upset.”

Her refusal to play along made him abandon the idea of coaxing her entirely.

He withdrew his hand and drove in silence, typing something quickly on his phone with one hand.

Jennie saw his movements from the corner of her eye. Her chest tightened. She shut her eyes and leaned back.

An hour later, the car pulled up in front of a commercial building.

William naturally reached for her hand as they got out.

Jennie tried twice to pull away, but he tightened his grip, leaving her no choice but to let him hold her.

They walked into the lobby and took the elevator to the twelfth floor.

When the doors opened, a man in a suit was waiting.

He bowed respectfully. “Mr. Simmons, this way please.”

William nodded and led Jennie toward the meeting room.

Right before they entered, Jennie noticed a figure slipping into the office next door.

The side profile passed quickly… but it looked very much like Wendy.