Chapter 1

“Priscilla, please draft a divorce agreement for me.”

As soon as Eden said so, Priscilla, who was on the other end of the phone, felt her jaw drop.

“Eden, Cedric loves you! Both of you worked so hard to get to where you are today. Why the sudden divorce? Has there been some kind of misunderstanding?

“Besides, you two have been together for eleven years! Your son Mateo is seven years old! Are you sure you’re going to walk away from all of that?”

Eden stared outside her car window at the three figures strolling in parallel. A wry and cynical smile greeted her lips.

“Cedric has been cheating on me. With a model.

“For three years.”

The girl he was cheating on her with looked just like her. She was a model, the very occupation Cedric forbade Eden from in the past.

For the last three years, Cedric had been the girl’s benefactor. She lived just across the street from their house.

It was only yesterday when Eden caught on.

Priscilla was struck speechless on the phone. Meanwhile, Eden turned to look outside the window again.

The young model Amelie Hepburn was holding Mateo’s hand while strolling down the street. Both of them wore a beaming smile while Cedric followed behind the whole time.

He was nothing but agreeable and attentive. He would pay for everything before handing the shopping bags to his bodyguard.

Everything he did for Amelie was with a degree of tenderness that Eden never realized he had in him. She could feel something twitching inside her when she looked at his behavior.

Soon, hot tears streamed down her cheeks. She wiped them away candidly and waited until she had calmed herself down enough to stop sobbing before she made another phone call.

“Forget about hiring a new director for the orphanage, I prefer to do it myself.

“I’ll be there next month.”

With that, she rolled up the car window, hung up, and sped home.

When she got home, she found herself shivering uncontrollably. Even after she turned on the heater and snuggled under the covers, she could not stop shivering from the relentless cold.

Just as she felt herself slipping off to sleep, Cedric came home.

After entering the room, he cradled Eden into his arms from underneath the covers and frowned when he touched her forehead, “Why are you sleeping so early? You look pale. Are you feeling unwell?”

He proceeded to angle Eden’s face toward her and pressed their forehead together to check her temperature.

It was a familiar gesture for him. They had dated for four years and had been married for seven. He could sense the subtlest change in Eden’s mood and would look after her attentively every time.

This time was different. The moment Eden felt Cedric's temperature and caught a hint of his scent, she recoiled away from him instinctively.

By the time she realized what she had done, she saw Cedric staring at her with a confused look on his face.

“It's nothing.” She stammered and felt her voice coming out raspy, “I’m just a little tired.”

Cedric let the matter drop without giving it much thought, “Eat something before you sleep. I got you your favorite food.”

Then, she followed Cedric to the table to find that he had already opened the lid of each takeout container.

While reaching over for the spoon, the oversized clothes she wore accidentally clapped against Cedric's trench coat, which was hanging on the back of his chair.

The trench coat slipped off the chair and dropped to the ground with a thud. Then, a plastic bag fell from one of its pockets.

For a moment, it felt as if time came to a standstill.

It was as if something had cracked. Cedric’s relaxed mood took on a sudden, ominous transformation as he erupted with anger.

“Eden! What are you doing to my things?

“What happened to basic respect?! Even if we're married, you should have an idea of basic manners, shouldn’t you?”

Eden’s face turned so white it felt as if it could blend into the wall behind her. Before she could react, Cedric angrily snatched the condom from the floor.

Since he was so agitated, he accidentally knocked over the bowl of piping hot soup, which spilled all over Eden’s hand.

The air in the room was so cold it stung the throat. The only sounds that could be heard were Cedric's rapid breathing and Eden's barely audible gasps.

After what seemed like an eternity, Cedric seemed to realize he may have reacted dramatically and began to stammer an awkward explanation.

“It was a friend who slipped it into my pocket as a joke. I was worried you’d get the wrong idea, so I got a little agitated and raised my voice.

“Did you burn your hand? Let me see.”

The spilled soup had already cooled down by this point, leaving only a thin film of oil on her slightly reddened hand.

After a brief inspection, Cedric went straight for the cabinet to get the first-aid kit before carefully bandaging the burned spot. He did it with the same amount of attention he always did in the past whenever she accidentally got injured.

The only difference this time was that, before he had even finished treating the wound, his phone rang. The ringtone was a specially customized ringtone.

Then, the messages began pouring in as if there had been an emergency.

Eden could sense Cedric growing stiff. She did her best to conceal the bitter look in her eyes.

“Do you want to check the messages? Maybe it's something important.”

As soon as she gave the hint, Cedric reached for the phone with immediate relief.

His eyes lingered on the screen for a long time while his gaze slowly darkened. Suddenly, he exhaled before looking at Eden apologetically.

“Eden, there seems to be a problem with the birthday present I ordered for you. I’m going to have to speak to them tonight to hash things out. I’m sure you know how much I want you to have a truly special and precious present.

“The soup has cooled down, and the burn isn’t too bad. Take care of yourself, alright? I'll be back before you know it.”

With that, he shoved the cotton swab into Eden's hand before hurrying out of the house.

Before leaving, he took the trench coat.

Eden felt a faint burning sensation in her hand while she watched him depart. However, the pain in her hand was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart, like ten thousand needles stabbing at her.

After being with Cedric for eleven years, she knew him like the back of her hand.

Perhaps even he never realized his habit of speaking faster whenever he was lying.

Furthermore, he used the exact same excuse just yesterday. Perhaps love did have a way of making people lose their heads.

After she finished treating the burn, she had all but lost her appetite. She decided to check if Mateo was asleep.

When she approached the door, she heard an excited voice coming from inside, “Amelie, is Daddy there yet?

“Don’t you worry, I will be the protector of your love! I will make sure you and daddy can be happily in love together and chase away my useless mommy!”

Amelie cackled at Mateo’s innocent remark. Her grating laughter pierced into Eden’s ears and made her heart throb again.