Chapter 2

He truly meant what he said.

The message he just sent said if I came late, the food would be gone.

Sure enough, when I got home, the dining table was already a mess, with every dish completely cleaned out.

Lily beside him put on an innocent expression and said pitifully to me.

"I'm so sorry, I was just too hungry, so I couldn't help eating first."

She sure could eat---she'd rather stuff herself than leave anything for me.

Even I, slow as I was, could tell she was provoking me.

In that instant, I felt my blood boiling, my hands clenched into fists, sharp nails digging deep into my palms.

Lily and Marcus were childhood sweethearts.

So in Marcus's eyes, she was always his top priority.

Actually, in the beginning, the journey of getting to know, falling in love with, and loving Marcus had all gone smoothly.

We didn't argue much.

Even when we did, Marcus was always the first to apologize and comfort me.

Regardless of whose fault it was, he would immediately take all the responsibility.

Even Maya envied me more than once for finding a man like Marcus who doted on me so much.

But that envy ended half a year ago.

Ever since Lily appeared, his affection shifted to another person.

"Emma, why are you only getting back now? Didn't I remind you early on?"

Marcus walked out of the kitchen.

When he saw me, he frowned.

In his memory, as soon as I received his messages, I would rush home desperately.

"Something came up on the road. I got back late."

"What was so important that you missed dinner?"

His tone was flat, but carried a hint of interrogation.

I wasn't planning to tell him anything about the marriage.

Since I'd already decided to leave, from now on Marcus was just a stranger to me.

I came back this time mainly for my belongings.

"Nothing much. The company asked me to go on a business trip. I came back to pack."

Without waiting for Marcus's reaction, I walked straight toward the bedroom.

But the moment I opened the bedroom door, I was shocked by what I saw.

The bed I'd neatly made before leaving was now messy, with dried white stains and water marks on it.

The closet had also been rummaged through.

Since I was leaving anyway, I could actually not care about all this.

But on the nightstand, the handmade high-rise building toy my grandfather had given me was broken in half.

Scattered fragments covered the floor.

I couldn't hold back anymore and called out Marcus's name directly.

"Who came into this bedroom? Who knocked over my things!"

Marcus walked in, first frowning, then quickly relaxing.

He spoke in a completely indifferent tone.

"It's just a handmade item. I'll have someone put it back together for you later."

I froze for a moment.

That indifferent tone made it clear I didn't matter to him at all.

And because of that sentence, I knew it was definitely Lily who broke it.

Only she deserved Marcus's desperate protection.

"It was Lily who broke it, wasn't it?"

My plain statement was like igniting Marcus's powder keg.

He immediately glared at me, then questioned me.

"Do you have proof it was Lily? Maybe it just wasn't installed properly and fell down by itself!"

"Emma, don't just open your mouth and falsely accuse people. Before you say it was Lily, at least show some evidence, or I'll sue you for defamation!"

The soft flesh in my mouth was nearly bitten through.

A strong taste of blood filled my entire mouth.

He really could protect her.

Just one sentence from me, and I was charged with defamation.

But Marcus from six months ago wasn't like this.

The day I truly fell in love with him was on a rainy night.

I'd been in a car accident.

He ran all the way to the accident site without even carrying an umbrella.

That day, this man who was always polite and proper shed all his restraints for me, shouting on the roadside and getting into a fistfight with the driver who hit me.

So why has this person changed now?