Chapter 2

I dragged my feet and didn't go home until midnight.

Seeing Ethan standing at the door, I felt an inexplicable bitterness in my chest.

He was pacing around anxiously, smoking a cigarette. The moment he saw me, he rushed over.

"Why didn't you answer my calls? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

In the past, I always told him where I was going.

He used to say I was his only wife, and he couldn't afford any risk of losing me.

I believed him.

After the miscarriage, I suffered from severe insomnia and started seeing a therapist.

Ethan would always ask for my appointment times in advance and arrange for a driver to drop me off and pick me up.

One day, the therapist had an emergency and ended the session early. I didn't tell Ethan.

I wanted some time to myself for once.

But at a restaurant down the street, I ran into Ethan having lunch with Melanie. The atmosphere between them was incredibly warm and cozy.

During that period, Ethan claimed he was too busy to have lunch with me, though he made sure the housekeeper cooked all my favorite meals.

It was also during that time that I made my first wish on the clover necklace.

I didn't disturb them. I just sat at an inconspicuous corner table.

They were completely in their own world. It wasn't until Melanie finished eating and wiped her mouth that she finally spotted me.

Ethan came straight to my table.

The first thing he said was:

"What kind of compensation will finally satisfy you? Why are you stalking her?"

"Chloe, Melanie's grandfather is in critical condition. He's literally fighting for his life in the hospital. Can you please stop provoking her?"

The sudden accusation left me utterly speechless.

To this day, I still couldn't understand what I had done wrong.

My "reporting in" was merely a schedule he used to comfortably visit Melanie.

A cold breeze blew past, snapping me back to reality.

I looked at the man in front of me.

He claimed he had been waiting for me, yet he was fully dressed and had even changed into a fresh outfit, ready to go out.

Seeing me silent, he gently pulled my arm.

"I asked you a question. Why are you back so late?"

He frowned, looking genuinely worried.

I just smiled and asked,

"Do you have to go out again?"

Ethan stiffened, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"I didn't finish dealing with some work this afternoon. There's a morning meeting tomorrow, so I need to go to the office and prep."

He took my hand:

"Chloe, don't do this next time, okay? I don't mind you going out, but at least let me know where you are."

In truth, I knew his flight had landed early this morning and there was absolutely nothing urgent at his company.

He would rather sit there all afternoon than admit he had lied about his flight time.

"So you know my whereabouts and can time your visits to Melanie perfectly?"

I felt so exhausted.

Exhausted from maintaining this illusion of peace, and even more exhausted from lying to myself that nothing was going on between him and Melanie.

My words hit Ethan's sore spot.

He looked at me with instant suspicion.

"Did you stalk me again?"

"Melanie said someone took photos of her today. Was that you?"

He suddenly grew agitated, pulling me toward his car, claiming he was taking me to the police station.

"You've really lost your mind! Her grandfather just passed away, and she's extremely fragile. If I hadn't been with her these past few days, she might have done something reckless!"

"Do you have any idea how much those photos affected her? She's been crying nonstop. I've wasted so much time waiting for you to apologize!"

With one sentence, he let slip what he had actually been doing during his "business trip."

He didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was heading out tonight just to see Melanie.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ethan realized his mistake.

But he kept his face rigid:

"She already called the police. You're going to apologize to her right now and sign a statement. As long as I'm here, we can put an end to this."

He instinctively assumed I was the one who took the photos.

He didn't even ask how I was holding up after my miscarriage.

The moment we arrived at the police precinct, Melanie threw herself into his arms, sobbing.

Ethan's assistant was already waiting there.

He held her comfortingly and told the officer:

"I've found the person who was stalking her. Our demand is a public apology. If she does it again, we want her detained. No settlement next time!"

The officer, probably annoyed by Melanie's hysterics in the middle of the night, spoke to me in a rather harsh tone:

"Ma'am, why on earth would you stalk someone like a creep? This lady's husband is being kind enough to offer a settlement. If there's a next time, it won't be this easy!"

The officer slid a statement of apology and a settlement agreement in front of me:

"Write down your statement, and sign here. Do you have any family members we can call to witness and supervise this?"

I glanced at Ethan, who was being mistaken for Melanie's husband.

He didn't correct the officer, nor did he look at me.

I smiled and shook my head:

"I'm not signing any of this. Because I didn't take those photos."

"And I don't have any family."