Chapter 1

New Year's Eve, two in the morning, I rushed home through the snow.

The moment I pulled back the covers, a strong scent of perfume hit me in the face.

This wasn't my perfume.

Then I felt something sticky on the bed, and beside the pillow lay a long strand of blonde hair.

I stared at my sleeping husband, Warren. He suddenly jerked awake, stammering:

"You... how did you get back early?"

I forced down my nausea and didn't lose my temper.

Instead, I sent a message to that college girl I'd been supporting for four years, who was currently sleeping in the guest room:

[Are you asleep? I prepared a New Year's gift for you—fifty thousand in cash]

My phone vibrated. Mia's message popped up immediately.

[Thank you! I just woke up, Happy New Year!]

Just woke up?

Two minutes ago, I clearly heard sounds of someone getting dressed and coughing from the guest room next door.

For fifty thousand dollars, she wouldn't even bother pretending.

I left the bedroom. Warren sprang up instantly, reaching out to grab me:

"Honey, where are you going this late?"

His palm was covered in cold sweat. The feeling reminded me of the bed sheets I'd just touched.

"To give Mia her gift."

I avoided his hand and grabbed a stack of cash from the nightstand.

"It's New Year's. Of course I should give a gift."

Warren's face turned pale, his eyes darting toward the door:

"You could give it to her tomorrow... she must be sleeping..."

"She's awake. She just replied to my message."

I ignored his attempt to stop me and pulled open the door.

Walking through the hallway, I found the guest room door slightly ajar.

I pushed it open. A wave of cheap perfume hit me, mixed with the smell of bodily fluids after sex.

Mia was wearing a silk nightgown I'd bought last year, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Seeing me come in, there was no shame on her face. Instead, a trace of a smile appeared:

"Hey, why are you back so late?"

The sheets were rumpled, there was an indentation on the pillow, and a half-full glass of water sat on the nightstand.

I walked to the bedside, looking at this girl we'd been supporting for four years.

Her face was indeed young, with an innocence that hadn't been beaten down by society yet.

"Take it."

I raised my hand and threw the fifty thousand dollars right at her face.

Bills flew through the air, landing on her hair, her shoulders, falling into her low-cut neckline.

Mia froze.

The next second, she crawled on the bed, picking up the money piece by piece and clutching it to her chest, her face all smiles:

"Thank you so much. You're so good to me."

As she bent down, her neckline slipped, revealing a small red mark on her chest.

I forced down the urge to tear these two apart.

"You're welcome. After all, some money isn't easy to earn—you have to trade your body for it."

Mia's movements paused. She looked up, her eyes venomous but quickly switching to innocent:

"What are you talking about? I'm using knowledge to change my destiny."

"Is that so?"

I glanced at the bed sheets.

"I think what you're learning isn't knowledge—it's positions."

With that, I turned and left without looking at her expression.

Back in the master bedroom, Warren stood by the window. He'd already rolled up the electric blanket into a ball.

"Honey, this blanket's a bit old. I just saw some dirty stuff on it. Let's get a new one tomorrow."

"Dirty stuff? It is pretty filthy."

I walked to the bed and yanked down the sheets, duvet cover, and pillow cores in one motion.

"Throw it all away. I don't like things other people have touched. Disgusting."

Warren didn't dare argue. He carried the pile of bedding out of the room.

Watching his back, I pulled out my phone and opened an app.

It was for the miniature cameras I'd installed earlier to observe the cleaning lady's work.

They happened to cover the blind spots in the living room and hallway.

On the screen, two people were tangled together, rolling from the living room into the master bedroom.

I expressionlessly saved the video.