Chapter 3

That doll was a one-of-a-kind collector's piece, completely irreplaceable.

That was why I had bid $700,000 to win it at the charity auction.

Yet here it was, crumpled and soiled with dirty, questionable fluid, emitting a sickeningly familiar scent.

Seeing my prized possession desecrated like trash sent blood rushing to my head. But underneath the fury, shock set in.

Only Caleb and I had keys to this place. Even the cleaning staff would never dare touch it.

A sickening realization formed in my mind, though a part of me still refused to believe it.

I dialed Caleb’s number on the spot.

"Care to explain why my doll in the bedroom looks like this?"

"Looks like what?"

"Do I need to spell it out? It's covered in disgusting stains. Who did this?"

He went dead silent for a few seconds.

When he spoke again, his tone was rushed and flustered.

"We had painters touching up the walls last week. Maybe a worker accidentally spilled some adhesive on it."

"The renovations were finished months ago!"

Hearing my voice rise, he realized my rage was off the charts.

"It was an emergency repair. Stay there, I'm heading back right now to explain."

Fine. Let's see what pathetic story you come up with.

Twenty minutes later, Caleb showed up with a maintenance worker in tow.

Usually, whenever we had a fight, he would take hours to text back.

He had always put work above everything, yet today he had dropped a meeting just to rush home and give me an alibi.

The worker claimed there had been a pipe leak, pulling up an invoice on his phone as proof.

Looking at the transaction and Caleb's dead-serious expression, my suspicions began to waver.

Noticing me calm down, Caleb quickly reverted to his usual authoritative self.

"I need to get back to the office now. I was supposed to be running a meeting, and this threw off my whole schedule."

"That's fine. I'll ride back with you. We can grab dinner after you finish."

While waiting for him by the office coffee bar, a couple of curious colleagues asked when they’d be getting their wedding invites.

I smiled, telling them they were on the guest list. I didn't catch the venomous glare Brooke shot me from across the room.

"Ding."

My phone vibrated with a series of anonymous texts.

"Chloe, Caleb told me that doll is your absolute favorite. So I left a special little surprise on it. Did you find it?"

"By the way, Caleb took me on your bridal bed so many times that night..."

My vision blurred with fury. Even through the screen, I could picture Brooke’s smug, gloating smirk.

Just as I took a step toward her office to drag her out, a text from Caleb popped up:

"Brooke is brand new to the team, so I need to mentor her personally. Let's push back the wedding date. I know you'll understand."

"Her apartment is over two miles away, so I invited her to stay in our guest room. You're always so mature and practical, I'm sure you won't mind."

I marched straight over, kicked Brooke’s office door wide open, and texted Caleb:

"I'm in Brooke's office. Get down here right now."