Chapter 1

Forty minutes later, I was parked outside a villa surrounded by a wall of roses.

"Congratulations! You have arrived at Victor and Mia's secret castle! Your trip is complete," the nav system announced cheerfully.

Just as I was about to get out, I heard footsteps running toward the car.

A young woman darted out of the villa, heading straight for my window.

"Victor, you're here already?" she said, tapping on the glass. Her voice had a playful pout in it. "I'm not even ready for you..."

Then she saw me. Her face froze.

I sized her up. Early twenties, long blonde hair.

And her voice was the exact same one from the navigation system.

"Mrs. Ashford? What are you doing here?" She looked like a frightened little rabbit, but quickly calmed down and forced a shy smile.

I raised an eyebrow. "You know who I am?"

Mia nodded. "I'm Mia. A med student at Columbia. Mr. Ashford puts me through school, and... I've heard him mention you."

My eyes were locked on her. "Is that so? Then why is his car's home address set to this place?"

She suddenly realized what was going on, then self-consciously tugged at the hem of her dress.

"A few days ago, I had terrible stomach pains and called Mr. Ashford's assistant. His car broke down, so he borrowed Mr. Ashford's to take me to the hospital."

She pulled a hospital registration slip and call records.

The evidence looked solid.

But I knew Victor.

He was obsessive about his cars. He never let anyone touch them but me.

My gaze slowly moved from her face, which was filled with innocence, to her neck.

Around her neck hung a delicate platinum chain.

Suspended from the necklace was a rare padparadscha sapphire, surrounded by twelve pink diamonds.

And just like that, my heart turned to stone.

It was a one-of-a-kind piece I had designed myself and commissioned from Cartier.

There was only one in the world. I’d given it to Victor for his birthday. A few weeks ago, he told me he’d lost it.

"That's a beautiful necklace," I said softly. "A gift from your boyfriend?"

Mia instinctively covered it with her hand. "It was... it's..."

"What a coincidence," I said, my smile widening. "It looks exactly like the one my husband lost. Same color, same cut, and everything."

Mia went white as a sheet. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

I knew that was enough.

I started the car and left her standing there.

As soon as I was off the property, I called my assistant, Stella.

"I need you to look into a girl named Mia. Columbia Medical School. I want everything on her."

"Also, pull Victor's real itineraries and financials for the past year."

"And one last thing. Draft the divorce papers."

There were two seconds of silence on the other end, then a crisp, "Yes, Ma'am."

A few minutes later, Victor's name flashed on my screen.

I looked at the caller ID—"My Love"—and let out a bitter laugh.

"Felicity,what's wrong?" his voice came through the receiver, gentle as usual. "I heard you've been digging around. Is it because I've been busy with family business lately and haven't had time for you, so you're feeling insecure?"

He was worried I'd found something.

I suppressed my churning emotions and said calmly, "No, I just suddenly missed you."

He seemed to let out a breath of relief at my reply.

"I miss you too.I promise, as soon as I'm back from this trip, we'll go on that honeymoon we talked about. My little rose."

Before I could answer, I heard the sound of a shower running in the background.

Then, a woman’s voice, clear as day: "Baby, a little harder… that feels so good…"

A wave of nausea hit me.

I suddenly remembered the walls of roses outside the villa.

It turns out I was never his only rose.