Chapter 3

Thank God, I got his credentials.

I could logged into Edward's banking account through my computer. Clicking through it, I found dozens of massive transactions. The memo attached to every single one was a sweet love note to Cassandra.

[Happy 3rd Anniversary, my Cassie. Love you always.]

[Can't forget a Children's Day present for my little Cassie.]

[Today is the anniversary of the first time we held hands. My Cassie deserves a gift for that, too.]

My heard ached every time I finished reading those notes. I remembered our own anniversary. Edward had stared at the modest cake I bought and scolded me, "The money you spent on this cake could have fed us for days."

Cassandra’s everyday life was something I could only dream of.

By the time Edward came back, I had already printed out the divorce agreement and left it on the table.

"Wen, why the long face?" he asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. "Look what I brought you. A slice of cake."

I looked up to see a beautifully decorated piece of cake. It looked almost exactly like the one Cassandra had just posted on her social media.

The only difference? The strawberry on the side was missing.

It was Cassandra’s leftovers.

A sudden, violent wave of nausea hit my stomach. I soon leaned over the trash can and began to throw up dryly.

Edward’s eyes instantly lit up. "Wen... am I going to be a dad?"

I ignored him and simply pointed at the divorce agreement on the table.

Edward glanced down and picked up the document. After a long pause, he let out a scoffing laugh. "Oh come on, Wen. Since when did you learn to play hard to get?"

"You faked that puke to let me know you're pregnant with my child. Then, you use a divorce paper to manipulate me into chasing you? Since when did you got this clever?"

I forced down the sickness in my throat and denied it. "I'm not pregnant. I just think you're disgusting."

Edward treated it like a passing tantrum. He sighed heavily. "For the baby's sake, I won't argue with you."

He crouched down, patted my head, and offered me a condescending way out. "I was wrong, Wen. I shouldn't have kept things from you. But you're not losing out here. This is basically like winning the lottery."

As if suddenly remembering something, he added, "Cassandra is just a pet bird I keep on the side. It's not like I'm going to get serious with her."

"You have to understand me. In my social circle, what successful man doesn't have a woman on the side? Even emperors of the past had thousands of concubines. I only have one side chick. You should be grateful for it."

His tone was incredibly affectionate, yet the words coming out of his mouth were utterly unbelievable. Right in front of me, he tore the divorce agreement to shreds.

"Wendy, I am not divorcing you. Get some rest. I have plans with Cassandra." Edward grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "Wen, I won't be coming home tonight. I hope you'll have figured things out by the time I'm back tomorrow."

I didn't even try to stop him.

Our relationship had completely rotted from the inside out. I refused to swallow my pride and spend the rest of my life trapped in a hollow, fake marriage.

After Edward left, I gathered up every single gift he had ever given me and took them to a pawn shop. Most of them were just cheap silver jewelry, not worth much. But since I had decided to leave, I was going to take every single penny that belonged to me.

The pawn shop owner smiled warmly when he saw me carrying bags of items. He took them from my hands and got to work.

As the minutes ticked by, his expression grew darker and darker.

"Miss, not a single one of these accessories is real."

The owner's words were mind blowing beyond my comprehension at first. I couldn't believe my ears.

What?

Even these cheap trinkets were fake?

Acting on a sudden impulse, I took off the plain silver band on my finger. "Then, could you take a look at this one too?"

The owner frowned and shook his head. "Miss, this is probably just a freebie that came with some couple's gift set. A little while ago, a young lady came in here with a whole bunch of rings exactly like this one. Not one of them was genuine."

In the end, the old man still took the ring to his work table and appraise it properly. When I saw the look of pity in his eyes as he walked back out, my heart instantly sank to the bottom of my stomach.

Even the silver ring Edward used to propose to me was a fake.