Chapter 1

To go on a summer vacation with my husband and daughter, I barely slept three or four hours a night for half a month.

I worked myself to the bone to finish everything and take time off.

I also wanted to create the perfect itinerary for our family trip.

But I never imagined my husband, Ryan, would give my meticulously planned itinerary to his female colleague.

And then take our daughter, Daisy, and that colleague on the trip instead.

After they returned from their "happy family" vacation, Ryan couldn't care less about my feelings. He just thought I was being unreasonable.

Even Daisy started begging for his colleague to be her mom.

That was it. I was completely done. I filed for divorce.

A few days before their trip, I noticed Ryan’s suitcase was already packed. On his desk, I found a printed document. I picked it up casually and opened it.

It was my travel itinerary, the one I’d poured my heart and soul into creating. The cover had been edited. Another name was written on it: Mia.

Mia was Ryan’s colleague.

I immediately confronted Ryan. He just brushed it off, totally nonchalant.

“Oh, Mia has always wanted to go to that place.”

“I saw your itinerary was really good, so I let her use it as a reference.”

I bit back my fury. “A ‘reference,’ huh?”

“Then why are all the hotel booking details exactly the same?”

“Even my personal notes are printed on it?”

“And the date is tomorrow?!”

Ryan still looked bored. “Well, she can stay at that hotel, too.”

Daisy, hearing us, ran over and chimed in. “Mom, why are you so stingy?”

“Isn’t it okay for Aunt Mia to use it?”

For the sake of family peace, I swallowed my anger.

The next day, I woke up to find Ryan and Daisy gone. I called Ryan’s phone over and over, but it kept going straight to voicemail. On the twelfth try, someone finally picked up.

“Hello? Who is this? What do you want with Mr. Ryan?”

It was a woman’s voice.

“Who are you? Why do you have my husband’s phone?”

“Oh, it’s you, Scarlett. It’s Mia!”

“Where’s Ryan right now? Is Daisy with him?”

Mia chuckled softly a few times. “Ryan took Daisy and me on vacation.”

“You don’t mind, do you, Scarlett?”

A lightning bolt struck me. Everything suddenly made sense. The printed itinerary on the desk yesterday. The suitcase packed in advance.

I was left alone in the empty house. Looking at the itinerary I’d made on my laptop, my heart twisted in agony.

After that, Ryan’s phone went straight to voicemail again.

I called Daisy’s smartwatch. Each time, Daisy would just say a few quick words and then rush off to play.

Over the next few days, I kept checking Ins. It was flooded with Mia’s travel photos and videos. I saw pictures of Daisy, her smile radiant, holding Ryan’s hand in one and Mia’s in the other. My emotions were a mess.

There was Mia holding Daisy on a carousel ride. That was supposed to be *my* special note in the itinerary, that *I* would hold Daisy on the carousel.

The three of them looked like the perfect happy family, eating together in the restaurant I had carefully picked out. In one video, Daisy even thoughtfully picked up some food for Mia.

Ryan gazed at them both with such tender affection.

It wasn't until the last day of their trip that a mutual friend of mine and Ryan’s sent me a screenshot.

“Scarlett, what’s going on?”

“Ryan and Daisy are out traveling with another woman?”

It was Ryan’s Ins post, a photo dump, a grid of nine perfect shots. But I couldn’t see Ryan’s posts on my own feed. He had blocked me.

Every photo in that grid radiated pure bliss. The caption read:

“Perfect vacation, thanks to Tour Guide Mia for the company.”

In the center of the grid was a standalone photo of the three of them together. Below it were comments from friends:

“Summer trip for the family of three, how lucky!”

“Ryan, your family life is truly blessed!”

“You guys are having too much fun!”

Ryan replied to every comment, thanking them. He clarified nothing.