Chapter 1

Two incidents happened on the day Macie Smith decided to get a divorce.

Firstly, Edward Fowler's first love, Sharon Emerson, returned to the country. To celebrate the occasion, he spent a fortune to rent a cruise, where he spent two wild days and nights with her.

The media widely covered the rumors of them potentially getting back together.

Secondly, Macie had accepted the invitation of a college senior to rejoin the company they had founded before as a director.

She would leave this place after a month.

Naturally, no one cared about her plans. To Edward, she was akin to a maid who had married into the Fowler family.

During this time, Macie quietly removed all traces of her in the Fowler residence. She bought a flight ticket out of the city without anyone knowing.

In three days, nothing here would concern her anymore. She and Edward would become strangers.

…

"I need two portions of soup. Get it delivered now."

A text notification popped up on Macie's phone. She frowned at Edward's authoritative tone as she clutched her phone tighter.

It was 9:40 pm at that moment. Edward was attending a welcome-back party he had thrown for Sharon.

In the past, Edward had never asked Macie to deliver any food. He'd take his meals at home because he didn't want to go out with his wife in public out of embarrassment. He refused to acknowledge her existence.

If this had happened in the past, Macie would have happily assumed that Edward was acknowledging her. But now, she knew that he had only reached out for Sharon's sake because he had requested two portions of soup.

It turned out that Edward would do anything for his true love, including publicly acknowledging his legal spouse, whom he treated with disdain.

With her arms hanging limply at her sides, she made her way to the kitchen to prepare the soup. When she checked the countdown timer on her phone, she realized that she had only 29 days left before her contract with Edward's grandpa, Yosef Fowler, would end.

Once the contract was up, she would be free.

In the two years she spent with Edward, she did not manage to win his heart. At the end of the day, she was being delusional.

She did not have any strength left within to love him.

In her final month with Edward, she'd fulfill her duties as his wife. The soup bubbled in the pot. It was one of her best recipes, as she had made it multiple times for him in the last two years.

Her eyes wandered elsewhere. She felt a peaceful sadness in her chest.

Half an hour later, Macie carried a thermos container with two portions of soup and took a cab to Hollinger Hotel.

She sat quietly in the cab while reading the text from an unknown number in the morning.

"May, remember me? It's Sharon! I'm back in the country. I'm so glad I could see you again, even though you've taken Edward from me.

"Anyway, we're still friends. Let's meet for dinner."

Edward had never once mentioned the welcome-home party to Macie. She only knew about it because of the text invitation from Sharon.

She smirked at Sharon's fake generosity.

She couldn't believe Sharon dared to accuse her of snatching Edward. In fact, it was Sharon who took the ten million dollars from Yosef in exchange for leaving the country.

So, she had no right to accuse Macie of taking Edward from her.

Macie admitted that she was indeed greedy. She had taken the opportunity to be with Edward, but she had never once come between him and Sharon.

As for generosity…

The old Macie would have believed that Sharon was kind and harmless. However, Macie had come to understand the truth in high school. By then, it was too late. She had been socially ostracized and bullied, all because of Sharon.

Their high school classmates happened to be at the welcome-home party, including some of Macie's "good friends" from the past. She figured that they were undoubtedly on Sharon's side.

Macie had no intention to attend the party because she knew that it'd be a trap. She didn't want to meet her old classmates, who disgusted her. She planned to drop off the soup and leave.

She braced herself and took a deep breath when she arrived at their private dining room door. Then, she knocked.

Someone answered the door in seconds. Macie handed out the thermos container, only to realize that Sharon had opened the door instead of Edward. Sharon was dressed in a white gown.

"May, you're here! Come on in. Everyone's waiting for you." Sharon flashed a wide smile. Her makeup was flawless, befitting a princess.

Before this, Macie had seen Sharon's necklace—the Blue Ocean—at home. Edward won it in an auction the day before yesterday. As expected, he had bought it for Sharon.

"It's fine. I'm just here to deliver the soup," Macie replied flatly, her face devoid of emotions.

"Macie, have we drifted apart after two years of not seeing each other? Didn't I say that I no longer blame you for taking Edward from me?" Sharon bit her lips and started playing the victim.

Macie had enough of Sharon's act. She turned aside and tried to place the soup in the room. But Sharon stopped her by putting a hand on the lid of the container. Sharon's thumb wiggled a little.

Then, she told Macie, "If you really do not want to be at the party, I'll take this soup to Edward for you."

Frowning, Macie was puzzled by Sharon's decision. Regardless, she handed Sharon the soup since she had no intention of attending the party.

During that moment, Sharon failed to secure the soup container, causing it to crash onto the floor. Since the lid was already open, the hot soup spilled everywhere. At the same time, Sharon took a step backward and screamed, "Ouch! It hurts! My leg—"

Her scream attracted the attention of all the guests in the room. Edward marched over while Sharon started to weep.

"Macie, why didn't you seal the container better? Can't you even do this right?" Edward half-crouched on the floor and took off his jacket. He used it to wipe the soup off Sharon's shin. At the same time, he lambasted Macie for the "mistake".

"I—"

Before Macie could defend herself, Sharon cut her off. "Edward, please don't blame May for the accident. It was my fault for not holding the container right."

Edward cast a glance at the container that rested beside them. He picked up the lid and glared at Macie.

"The lid is in perfect condition. It didn't even crack. So, was it Sharon who didn't hold it right, or did you unlock the lid on purpose before handing it over?"

Macie looked down at the container, stunned.

The container was of good quality. Its lid couldn't have been unlocked just from being dropped onto the floor. But the lid was indeed open without any signs of cracking.

"I did not loosen the lid in advance. How would I have otherwise transported it?" she argued.

"I don't care! You did it on purpose. What more do you have to say?" Edward stared coldly at Macie.

In his eyes, Macie was just a woman who'd go to great lengths to marry into wealth. He had no idea how she managed to convince Yosef to agree to the marriage and kick Sharon out of the country. He wondered how Macie had forced him to marry her.

Hence, he would never trust her.

After throwing out the lid, he turned around to lift Sharon from the floor. It was then that he saw the huge area of burn on the top of Macie's foot from the corner of his eye.

Macie, too, had been scalded by the hot soup. Her injury looked much worse than Sharon's.

Edward furrowed his brows. A fleeting thought flashed across his mind, but he eventually stood up without saying a single word.

He didn't care if Macie was hurt more. He felt that she deserved it as karmic retribution for trying to hurt others.

When he carried Sharon, she wrapped her arms around his neck, looking shy and concerned. "Edward, May is…"

"Don't worry about her. She's not going to die. She'll get herself to the hospital," Edward said emotionlessly. "But you're a model. The burn on your leg is a serious matter."