Chapter 3

Edward paused in surprise and pursed his lips. He stared ahead of him but ultimately said nothing.

Macie listened to the conversation between him and Sharon. A mocking smile was played on her lips. She might be Edward's legal spouse, but in reality, she felt like the third wheel between Edward and Sharon.

Edward walked on while Sharon trotted beside him. Macie did not want to interact with Sharon, but that didn't stop the latter from stirring up trouble.

"May, it must have hurt. I'm so sorry. Edward had sent me to the hospital first because he was worried about the impact on my career. I hope you don't blame him," Sharon said.

Smirking, Macie replied flatly, "I don't blame you. You're the most important person to him."

Although Macie was speaking the truth, it sounded like she was taking a jab at Edward.

Displeased, he fired back, "What's with that tone? Even if Sharon was the one who lost her grip on the container, you were also responsible for not securing the lid."

Macie didn't bother to argue with him. He wouldn't believe her anyway. She simply looked at him with vacant eyes.

Edward met her calm gaze. For some reason, she seemed rather cold and stubborn.

"Alright. It's all in the past. I'm not that badly hurt, so Edward, don't blame May anymore," Sharon chimed in at the right time, sounding gracious. "May is injured. You shouldn't be yelling at her."

Macie nearly barfed from listening to Sharon's remarks. She couldn't believe that Sharon had painted her—the victim—as the perpetrator. Not only that, but Sharon had benevolently "forgiven" her and made such bold statements.

"Just be careful in the future," Edward said to Macie. The latter smirked at the mention of the future. She knew that there wouldn't be a next time.

When they arrived at the side of the street, they heard a yelp. Edward turned around and saw Sharon collapsed on the floor. She held her ankle with a grimace.

"Sharon!" Edward called out to her worriedly.

He released Macie without a second thought. She fell onto the floor and inhaled sharply from the sudden pain.

Meanwhile, Edward had nervously run toward Sharon. He immediately carried her to the emergency department.

However, he turned around after running a few steps. He watched as Macie struggled to get up from the floor.

He furrowed his brows. At the same time, Sharon started sobbing.

"It hurts! I think I twisted my ankle! What do I do? I'm supposed to walk at a show the day after tomorrow!"

"Don't worry. I'll get you medical attention right now." With that, Edward tore his gaze from Macie and left without looking back again.

After he was gone, Macie helped herself up after much struggling. She couldn't even stand up straight due to the pain.

Nevertheless, she did not look at Edward and Sharon. With tears in her eyes, she hailed a cab.

When she entered the cab, she stared at her bleeding toe that had hit a slate when she fell. Not only did her foot hurt, but so did the base of her spine. Her elbows were also badly scraped.

She wiped the blood away with a napkin as tears fell down her cheeks. She bit her tongue and sobbed without letting out a sound.

She thought, "It's the final month. After this, I'm free."

Her phone buzzed from an incoming text. It was from the same unknown number.

"Sorry, May. Edward is with me to get my leg checked out. He's dumped you again. This time, he might spend a little more time with me. I hope you don't mind."

Macie skimmed through the text and ignored it.

After two years apart, Edward still couldn't shake off his feelings for Sharon. As long as she was around, he'd choose her without hesitation.

Macie switched to her messaging app and saw the text from Julian Atkins, her college senior. He wanted to know when she would be back in the country.

In truth, she had kept her marriage a secret. She told Julian she had moved abroad, though she had lived in Williamford all along.

Williamford was not a metropolis, but it wasn't exactly a town. The public had caught wind of Edward's marriage, but no one knew the name of his wife, which was what he had requested.

In the past two years, Macie had been living her life solely for Edward. She never showed up in public and would only travel between her home and his office.

"I'll be back in a month. Please wait while I tie up some loose ends," she texted Julian.

She needed to tie up her loose ends with Edward.

Julian replied in no time, promising to hire her as a director in his company. She agreed to join his company but turned down his offer to be a director. After all, she had married Edward straight out of college and lived as a stay-at-home wife—no, more like a full-time housekeeper.

She had to revisit the knowledge she picked up in college, or she might struggle to take up the most basic tasks.

"Don't say that! You're way too talented even to be a director. Remember how you scored a full-ride scholarship every year in college? You led a team on your own in your sophomore year and won gold in an entrepreneurship contest. Macie, you're amazing."

Macie stared at Julian's text and spaced out. She was transported back to her college times in that instant.

She had always been a top student and led her team to win many prizes. It was during that time that she became acquainted with Yosef.

She stared at the adjective "amazing" and felt like lightning struck her.

Macie was indeed amazing. Even if she hadn't established a company with Julian, she would have ended up in senior management of a prestigious company.

But what had she done to herself in the past two years? She humbled herself for love, giving up her sense of self and pride.

Her current self felt more like a stranger who had no shame.

After she replied to Julian, she turned off her phone with the shattered screen and got some shut eye in the cab.

Memories flashed in her mind. She recalled how Julian had founded a business with her. To attract investors, she reached out to Yosef. Yosef agreed to invest in her startup on the condition that she marry Edward, as Yosef didn't want Sharon as a granddaughter-in-law.

Macie saw the offer as a windfall and lost her sense of judgment. She had had a crush on Edward since high school, and her feelings had never changed, even after he started dating Sharon.

She realized that she was greedy. She wanted Yosef's investment and Edward's love, so she agreed to Yosef's condition.

But now, she regretted her decision to no end. After all, there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

It turned out that Macie had paid dearly for the seemingly good deal.