Chapter 4

When Vivian first applied for a job at my company, she was at her absolute lowest.

It was freezing outside, and she showed up for the interview in a painfully thin coat.

She was shivering so hard her nose was red.

She actually didn't perform well in the interview, but I hired her anyway.

Maybe it was because she opened up about her family’s financial ruin, and how she was working to support her parents.

It made me believe she was a kind, filial woman.

Once she started, I advanced her a month's salary so she could buy a proper winter coat.

She didn't just buy a coat, though. She also bought a small succulent for my desk.

I kept that plant on my desk, watering it and watching it grow.

And Vivian became warmer and more attentive toward me every day.

Even though we had a nine-year age gap, and even though my friends warned me, I was blinded by love.

When you're in love, every obstacle just feels like a romantic challenge.

"Us against the world" sounded incredibly romantic.

In truth, my parents strongly opposed the match.

I told Vivian about their disapproval.

One rainy night, Vivian stood outside my apartment building without an umbrella, holding a handmade sign.

It read: *“Arthur, I love you.”*

Seeing her shivering in the downpour, my heart melted.

Ignoring my parents' warnings, I ran down and held her tight in the rain. At that moment, I was so sure of our love.

But now, I had to wonder. Was her grand gesture back then out of love, or was it just a desperate play to secure her financial future?

After we married, she worked hard, even suggesting that I should retire early and let her run the company.

I actually considered it.

But while she had ambition, her business decisions were too idealistic.

She was snobbish with clients and struggled to maintain long-term professional relationships.

So, after letting her try for a while, I took back the reins.

She was deeply unhappy about it and gave me the silent treatment for weeks.

To make it up to her, I bought her an apartment right next to the office.

We lived in my house, which my parents had bought for us, so Vivian’s name wasn't on the deed.

After that fight, I bought the apartment solely in her name.

She claimed she stayed there on nights she had to work late.

I used to visit her there, but she told me she was worried about office gossip, so she asked me to stop coming.

The next time I went, the locks had been changed.

Her excuse was that she lost her keys and had to replace the lock.

But she never offered to give me a copy of the new key.

Now I knew why. That apartment was her and Simon’s secret love nest.

To think that while I was pulling all-nighters at the office to secure our future, she was in that bed with Simon. It made me shake with pure rage.

I will not accept this betrayal.

I will make sure she understands that every action has its consequences.

I hired a locksmith to discreetly make me a key to the apartment.

I unlocked the door, and sure enough, it looked like a second home.

There were matching couples' toothbrushes, male underwear, and in the closet hung the elegant designer dress Vivian had worn to the school field day.

This was their secret sanctuary.

Putting on shoe covers and gloves, I carefully installed a tiny, hidden camera inside the bedroom ceiling smoke detector.