All Chapters of Five Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Had the man she'd loved for so many years and the marriage she'd guarded through every humiliation finally become tainted?"You didn't think I'd call?" Vance glanced at Desmond and gritted his teeth. "I'm your husband. Who else would call you, if not me?"Rebecca shook her head and stood up slowly, relying on the barre for support. "Who knows? I don't have any ex-boyfriends, after all."His expression darkened immediately, his brows knitting together in irritation. "Rebecca..."From the floor, she picked up a pack of wet wipes and, despite her limp, walked calmly over to him. She drew out a single wipe, gently dabbed his neck to remove the traces of lipstick, and then stuffed the stained wipe into his shirt pocket."Josette made coq au vin. It smells amazing. Time for dinner." She turned away, then glanced back over her shoulder and added, "You might want to change that shirt or at least wash it before coming inside, so she won't ask. Of course, if you don't care about explaining

The ring Vance was now wearing was a simple silver band."It's just something I put on for fun. There's no need to make a big deal out of it," he said nonchalantly, making no move to remove it.Rebecca snorted, choosing not to dwell on it. She remembered vividly the moment he had taken off his wedding ring, claiming that the company had business to discuss and that wearing a ring didn't convey sufficient seriousness.Was there really any business deal in the world that couldn't be closed because of wedding rings? Or was it the other way around?She knew the answer now. But back then, before she endured the harsh blows of marriage, she had still harbored illusions and hopes.Perhaps the mention of the ring stirred guilt in him, as he shifted from his earlier accusatory tone to a much softer one."I'm doing this for you. I can confidently say that no other man in this world would treat you as well as I do," he said. "Sure, I have my flaws and shortcomings, but I am sincere with you

There might have been such an instance.Back in high school, Rebecca had secretly harbored a crush on Vance, but she lacked the courage to approach him to ask about homework. If she had done so, it must have been under some specific, unavoidable circumstance.He seemed to find the memory quite intriguing. "Do you remember what the situation was when you came to ask me? I recall that you didn't talk much back then. You were very quiet and reserved."She didn't see any value in reminiscing about it. "I don't remember."With their marriage having deteriorated to this point, what was the point of recalling those youthful days now? If he was into nostalgia, wasn't Catherine enough for him to pine over already?"How about I teach you?" He shook the workbook in his hand. "Although I've set aside textbooks for a long time, I can still manage to tutor you."As he flipped the pages, Rebecca noticed that the silver ring on his left ring finger was gone.As for whether he could teach her no

The first page of the notebook was titled: [100 Little Things About Cathy].And the first item was her birthday—May 16th.Rebecca's hand loosened, and the notebook dropped to the floor. The code for their front door was 52516, and the safe's combination was 0516. So, for five years, she had been living in Vance and Catherine's home.Suddenly, the air in the room seemed to become thin and suffocating. She pressed her hand against her chest, gasping for breath, but it wouldn't come easily."Ma'am?" Nancy called out from outside, snapping her back."What's up?" She crouched down to pick up the notebook and spotted the second line: [Have one or more houses she loves, with the password set to her birthday.]She no longer wanted to read further and shoved the notebook back into the safe, restoring everything to its original state.Nancy waited at the bedroom door. "Mr. Bradford had the driver drop off some fresh crabs. How would you like them prepared?""Make them spicy," Rebecca sai

Vance's face darkened. "You serious?""Yeah." Rebecca wasn't joking, jealous, or throwing a fit."Fine!" he huffed. "Don't come crying later!"He returned to the counter and pointed at the watches. "I'll take them all!"By then, Vivian had pieced it together that Rebecca was this guy's wife and that the pretentious woman earlier was the side piece.She closed the display case door. "I'm sorry, sir, but they're not for sale."Vance never expected to be rebuffed by a store clerk. For the first time, he asserted his status. "Believe it or not, I could buy this whole shop out from under you right now.""Oh, I'd rather go bankrupt than sell. I may be insignificant, but I don't want anything from my store to end up with a homewrecker," she said defiantly.Vance was infuriated.Lest things get out of hand, Rebecca stepped in. "You're being silly. Sell them to him... at a high price. Scumbags like him have money to burn anyway. Feel free to rip him off."Vance clenched his teeth. "Sc