Chapter 2

"Allen! Wait for me—" Romina called out.

But at a time like this, Allen couldn't hear a word she said. He strode into the elevator and pressed the button for the 22nd floor.

As he watched the numbers slowly climb, the thought of his wife doing something dirty with another man made his entire body tremble with rage.

The elevator doors opened. From a distance, Allen saw a thermal flask lying on the floor of the hallway. It was covered in pink heart-shaped stickers.

The sight of this only made him even more outraged—it was the flask that contained the bone broth he made for Carina.

She had a congenital heart condition. To help her stay healthy, he would simmer a nourishing portion of bone broth for 12 hours just for her every day.

But in the end, his dignity, his laughable desire for love, as well as his loyalty and devotion to their marriage, had been tossed out. It'd been discarded like the thermal flask, reduced to a joke.

Allen stopped in front of Room 2203 and took a deep breath. He kicked the door open and strode right in. Having done physical training and practiced martial arts for 12 years now, he could easily kick open a door that was only a couple of inches thick.

"What happened, hubby? Did something explode?"

The door to the side led to the bathroom, where Carina was still showering.

Hearing her use such an intimate term for another man pushed Allen's fury to its limit.

"Oh! Allen's here!" Jonah exclaimed upon coming to the door and seeing the blazing expression on Allen's face.

"Who? Allen! Wait! I'm coming out. It's not what you think—" Carina cried out from the bathroom, sounding rather flustered.

She quickly turned off the shower and scrambled to make herself presentable.

Meanwhile, when Jonah saw the furious Allen slowly approaching him, he hastily tried to explain, "Allen, it's not what you think. Carrie is just here to see me. Nothing happened between us…"

But Allen couldn't hear anything. He raised his fist high and smashed it right into Jonah's face, knocking him to his knees, stars bursting in his vision.

"Alone in a hotel room together, huh?"

Another punch landed.

"Just a brother to her, huh?"

Yet another punch landed again.

"Her hubby, yeah?"

The punches kept coming.

"You pieces of shit! You really think you can play me for a fucking idiot?"

Allen didn't stop. Blow after blow fell on Jonah's face, leaving him bruised and swollen, blood pouring from his nose and mouth.

"I was wrong, Allen. Please stop—Argh!"

No sound could register in Allen's ears right now. He could only think of one thing—to vent his fury.

"Allen! Stop it!" Carina's anguished scream rang out from behind him.

But Allen showed no intention of stopping. On the contrary, his punches came faster.

The sickening sound of bones cracking echoed in the room. Jonah had become a bloody mess.

"Allen! Have you lost your mind? You're going to kill him!"

Fresh from the shower, Carina wore nothing but a bath towel. Large swaths of her pale skin were exposed. She rushed forward in a frenzy and flung herself in front of Jonah, shielding him from Allen's terrifying punches.

Jonah had completely passed out.

Allen stood there, his fists slick with blood. He stared at Carina as she protected her lover. The sheer absurdity of the situation made him snort. "So, Carina, this is the 'extremely important business trip' you told me about, huh? If I'd been just a little later, you two would've already been rolling in the sheets, yeah?"

Carina's face flushed at his accusation. "Just wait outside first, Allen. Let me get changed, and I'll explain things properly to you."

Her words only made the whole thing even more inconceivable to Allen.

"There's a man beneath you right now. You're not afraid of letting him see you naked, but you want your own husband to step out, huh? I never knew what a slut you were, Carina."

Carina felt even more humiliated. "Don't be so sensitive, Allen. Jonah's just a brother to me! I was about to leave for my business trip, but I heard he twisted his ankle. Since it was along the way, I dropped by to bring him some medical supplies."

"Oh? And bringing him medical supplies involves getting naked and taking a shower?" Allen sneered sarcastically. "What's next? Getting in bed and getting pregnant while you're at it?"

"Allen! What are you saying? You're disgusting!" Carina shrieked.

"I'm disgusting? At least I don't go out and find myself another 'wifey' while knowing I already have one. What about you?"

Carina looked panicked, as if she'd been caught in the act. "W-What are you talking about? I don't know what you mean by that."

"You seem to know what it meant when you called him hubby."

Allen unlocked his phone and thrust Jonah's Instagram story in front of her face.

"What? Regretting the vows already? Got your next target lined up?"

When Carina saw the suggestive Instagram stories and captions, her eyes widened, and her face turned pale.

"Here at the hotel with my wifey. Even though I can't marry you, taking you to bed is enough to satisfy me."

"Wifey is in the shower now. Once she's done, we'll get started on the fun."

Allen spoke up again. "You two must feel so sad that you can only get in bed with your beloved hubby and can't actually marry him, huh?"

"Allen… It's nothing like what he said. I'd never get in bed with him!" Carina did her best to keep her voice steady, but she dared not look Allen in the eye.

"I only used that term with him because of a game we played at the nightclub, where we had to give each other nicknames. It's just a nickname. It means nothing," she continued to insist.

"I really came over just to bring him some medical supplies. He was looking through my bag and ended up spilling the bone broth you made for me. It got all over me, so I had no choice but to take a shower."

"Then why didn't I know about that?" Allen questioned, which struck Carina dumb. "If you think these are all just insignificant little incidents, then why did you feel the need to hide them from me?"

"That's not what happened, Allen. I was just afraid you'd get angry. After all, you and Jonah don't get along. But I swear we would never do anything like that. He's just like a younger brother to me!"

"Do you think I'd believe you?" Allen retorted.

His piercing, unwavering gaze made Carina's eyes flicker with hurt. "We've been in a relationship for over a decade now, Allen. Don't you trust me? When have I ever lied to you? I already booked a flight, which leaves in an hour. You can see for yourself."

She pulled out her phone to show Allen her flight ticket.

"What's the point of showing me this now?"

Allen flicked her phone out of her hands. She was momentarily startled before getting angry herself. "What do you mean by that, Allen? I'm already explaining myself to you! What more do you want from me? I never did anything to betray you, so why are you still picking on me?"

"You think I'm picking on you?" Allen scoffed. "My wife goes behind my back, calls someone else her hubby, books a hotel room with him, and lets him post disgusting things like that. But I'm the one picking on you?"

However, after seeing the bloody and unconscious Jonah behind her, Carina became even more anxious and agitated.

"Allen, I'm begging you. Let me take Jon to the hospital first, okay? He's going to die! Once we get there, I'll explain everything clearly!"

"You lost your chance, Carina."

Allen grabbed a tissue from the table, wiped the blood from his hand, and turned to leave.

"Let's get a divorce."