Chapter 1

My daughter held up the sexy lace lingerie my husband's secretary had deliberately left in our house, looking at me with pure innocence.

"Mommy, what is this?"

My mind went completely blank, shame and fury crashing over me in waves.

I never imagined they would be this brazen.

Eight years of marriage, and Julian’s love for me had long since rotted away.

Time and time again, he brought other women home, testing my boundaries, and I turned a blind eye to all of it.

Except this time, he crossed the line.

For the sake of my daughter, I made up my mind to demand a divorce.

"Mommy, what is this?"

My daughter, Lily, stood in front of me holding a skimpy black lace slip, her big eyes full of innocence.

The moment I saw what was in her hands, my head buzzed, and my breath caught in my throat.

It was sexy lingerie.

Julian and I hadn't slept in the same bed in over a year. Where could a brand-new piece of lingerie have come from?

The answer was all too obvious.

My hands trembled as I snatched the lace slip from her grip, an overwhelming wave of humiliation and rage flooding my chest.

I despised Julian for cheating on me, but what made me hate him even more was that he actually let those women drag my daughter into their sick games!

I crouched down, struggling to find the words, trying my hardest to keep my voice steady.

"Lily, that's just some of Mommy's clothes. Can you go play in your room for a bit?"

Obediently clutching her teddy bear, she trotted back to her bedroom.

Holding the lingerie, the scene from two days ago flashed across my mind.

Julian had walked through the front door with his arm around his new secretary.

She was young, barely in her early twenties—the exact age I was when I first met Julian.

Her face was glowing with youthful radiance, a painful contrast to my hollow, sallow skin.

My heart had gone completely numb from years of his betrayals. Seeing him bring a new girl home barely even stung anymore.

Seeing me sitting silently on the couch, Julian frowned in annoyance.

"Clara, do you have to sit there looking like a piece of dead wood? You..."

My eyes were heavy with exhaustion. Hearing his words, my fingers tightened around the envelope holding my CT scan results.

Then, a faint, mocking smile touched my lips as I looked at the girl beside him.

"What? Is my just sitting here getting in your way now?"

Melanie bit her lip, shooting me a thinly veiled, provocative glance.

"Clara, please don't be mad. There's nothing going on between Julian and me. We just had some urgent company business to handle at home. Since you don't work, you probably don't know the kind of pressure he's under to provide for the family. Try to understand, okay?"

Handling business all the way into our master bedroom?

A bitter scoff escaped me. My gaze drifted to the man who had been by my side since I was twenty.

His face was cold and distant, showing no intention of defending me. The last flicker of light in my eyes died completely.

Whatever. What was I still hoping for? After all these years, I should have been used to it.

"Oh, of course I understand. After all, you're the eighth secretary he's brought home to 'handle business' with."

Melanie's face instantly drained of color. She looked at Julian, flustered.

Julian's expression darkened, furious.

Watching the two of them choke on their own medicine, I let out a dry laugh. But as I laughed, a scratchy itch rose in my throat, sending me into a fit of coughing.

Julian rolled his eyes, grabbed Melanie by the wrist, and slammed the bedroom door shut behind them.

"Just ignore the invalid. She's exhausting."

The moment the door slammed, tears streamed down my cheeks.

The suffocating weight in my chest made it nearly impossible to breathe.

I wasn't actually that strong. Julian's coldness over the years had simply forced me to learn how to weaponize my words just to protect myself.