Chapter 1

I was scrolling through a post, and the description felt like a mirror image of my life.

"He works late until ten every night, smells like a strange perfume, and changed his phone password."

The comment section was filled with people telling the author to run.

With trembling hands, I kept scrolling.

Until I saw the latest update from the author: "Thank you for the concern, everyone. Today is our third anniversary, and he has a surprise ready for me."

Meanwhile, my husband was currently in the kitchen, cooking our anniversary dinner.

A sudden chill crawled up my spine.

The light from my phone screen cast a ghostly glow on my face in the dimly lit living room.

My thumb swiped mindlessly until a title caught my eye: *Three Years of Marriage, and He’s Changed.*

Impulsively, I tapped on it. The very first line made my heart skip a beat.

"He works late until ten every night. When he comes home, he carries a sweet, unfamiliar perfume scent that makes my head spin. He even changed his phone password. It's no longer our anniversary."

My blood rushed to my head, then drained just as quickly, leaving behind a cold, numb sensation.

I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles turned white.

Lately, Liam had indeed been saying his company projects were keeping him busy. And when he came home, he often carried a sweet, floral-fruity scent... a perfume I never used.

I had thought I was just being paranoid.

Holding my breath, my trembling fingers scrolled down. The comment section was lively, filled with unanimous warnings:

"Girl, run! This is a classic textbook case!"

"Don't hesitate. Start gathering evidence!"

"I feel so bad for you. Dump him!"

"Perfume smell + password change = he's cheating. Period."

Every single comment felt like a block of ice slamming onto my heart.

Yes, with such obvious signs, how could I... how could I still hold onto such ridiculous hope?

My throat tightened. Almost self-destructively, I kept pulling the screen down, desperate to reach the end of the post.

And then, I saw the author’s latest reply from just a few minutes ago:

"Thanks for the concern, everyone. But maybe I’m just being too sensitive. Today is our third wedding anniversary. He just mysteriously told me he’s cooking dinner tonight to give me a surprise."

Our third wedding anniversary.

Those words felt like a poisoned dagger stabbing straight into my eyes.

Today was also my third wedding anniversary with Liam.

Almost at the same moment, a soft clatter came from the kitchen—the sound of a spatula hitting the pan.

Then came Liam’s cheerful voice, slightly muffled through the sliding glass door: "Chloe, just a little longer! It's almost ready! I'm going to show off my chef skills tonight!"

I turned my head stiffly.

Through the glass, I could see his tall, familiar figure busy at work.

The rich aroma of steak seared in butter drifted through the air—my absolute favorite.

Yet, the palm gripping my phone was slick with cold sweat.

No... something was wrong.

I whipped my head back and stared intensely at the author's username on the screen.

It was just a random string of letters and numbers, completely unremarkable.

But in the corner of the profile picture, there was a tiny, uncropped hint of a light-blue wavy border. It struck my brain like a bolt of lightning.

I was the one who helped her set up that specific border.

She had laughed and said back then, "This color is our little secret. Only you and I know it."

This account... belonged to Vanessa.

Vanessa. My one and only best friend.

My heart felt like it was grabbed by an invisible hand and wrung dry. The pain was so intense I could barely breathe.

My vision blurred, and a loud buzzing filled my ears. Every sound from the kitchen felt distant and distorted.

Liam was in the kitchen, preparing our third-anniversary dinner.

Vanessa was posting on Whisper, describing a cheating husband, and claiming "he" was preparing a surprise for their third anniversary today.

The late nights, the strange perfume, the changed password...

Every single memory flashed before my eyes, perfectly aligning with every word in Vanessa's post.

It wasn't a coincidence.

Absolutely not.

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### Chapter 2