Chapter 1

Austin Lockhart called as soon as he received the text message from me.

"Serena Jacobson, you've got it all wrong. I only helped Leticia because she was feeling dizzy from low blood sugar."

"Is that so?" I asked faintly. "You must be such a gentleman."

"Wait for me in the car. I'll be right back." Austin replied.

I then hung up and closed my eyes in the car.

A while later, Austin was back. One side of his face still had a pink hue to it, and the corner of his mouth was still bleeding. He probably got bitten by Leticia when he forcefully kissed her or something.

I handed him a paper napkin. "The corner of your mouth's bleeding."

Austin looked at himself in the mirror and chuckled softly, pretending to be calm.

"I must have knocked against something just now." This wasn't the first time he was lying to me. He would always give me that sheepish grin whenever he felt guilty about something.

"Probably against Leticia's teeth. Right?"

Austin froze for a second. Then, a little miffed, he replied, "Rena, don't be so harsh. I've already told you that Leticia felt dizzy just now because of her low blood sugar, and all I did was help her up. It's not what you think it is."

I didn't bother listening to him anymore and closed my eyes again to rest.

After reaching home, Austin headed straight for the shower. However, the phone he'd set down on the table suddenly dinged and lit up with a text message notification.

It was a message from Leticia. The message preview showed on the lock screen. It was a hotel location pin.

I glanced briefly at the screen and didn't even bother touching it.

Austin's phone passcode used to be my birthday. But ever since he had developed a crush on the new intern at work, that passcode no longer worked.

I used my connections and got the intern fired. However, since then, Austin's behavior toward me began to change.

I didn't think that his first love would suddenly pop out again, right after I'd just gotten rid of the intern.

They said that a man would either never lie to you, or lie to you an infinite number of times. I guess it was true.

Suddenly, I felt exhausted. I napped on the couch for a bit. Austin then came out of the shower with his night robe wrapped around his body.

He seemed obviously anxious when he came to retrieve his phone. He cast a suspicious glance my way before testing the waters. "It's late. Why are you still sitting here?"

"I'm tired. I just napped for a little bit."

Austin only started calming down after realizing that my emotions were still in check and I didn't seem agitated or mad at anything. He unlocked his phone.

After reading the text message from Leticia, I could see the corners of his mouth lifting up in glee. "Rena, something urgent came up at the company. I have to rush over."

"Okay."

It seemed that he was still uncertain if I had bought his cover story. So, he explained himself further. "Something went wrong with the production department. They told me to hurry there as soon as possible."

As he explained, he was already hurrying back to his wardrobe and pulling on a fresh outfit. He slowly walked toward me when he came back out, fully dressed, and saw that I was still rooted to the couch. "Sleep earlier tonight, Rena. I'll give you a call when I've reached the office."

I rubbed my eyes tiredly. I just didn't know how long I had to continue playing along with him. I stood up and took the coat from the back of the couch before handing it to him. "It's chilly. Wear a coat when you're out."

Austin looked at me, a hint of suspicion in his eyes. It wasn't until a long while later that he finally took the coat from me. "Rena."

He suddenly grabbed me and tugged me against his chest, looking touched. "Wait for me at home, okay?"

He seemed like he wanted to say something more, but I interrupted him first. "Alright, alright. Hurry along now."

I put the coat on for him and straightened up his collar, just like how I did every morning when seeing him off for work. I knew very well that our marriage was over from the moment he stepped out of the door that night.