Chapter 2

Lincoln came home.

His expression was its usual cool indifference.

I still couldn't help but ask.

"Lincoln, you invested in our company?"

Lincoln looked up at the sound.

He met my eyes briefly, his expression bland, and hummed softly in acknowledgment.

I continued asking, "Why did you choose our company?"

I used a joking tone, "Will you give me special treatment?"

Lincoln's brow furrowed slightly, his expression serious.

There wasn't a trace of amusement in his eyes.

After a moment's thought, he said, "This was a decision by the company's senior management."

"The proposal isn't my decision alone."

The implication was that even being his wife didn't matter.

I didn't ask any more questions.

He was always this cold and distant, following his own rules and logic, never willing to make exceptions for me.

And I always humiliated myself hoping to become his exception.

Lincoln turned and left, entering his study.

The study door wasn't completely closed.

I could hear him talking on the phone.

The voice on the other end was Mia's.

Lincoln occasionally laughed softly in response to Mia.

After hanging up, he pushed open the study door.

He walked to the entryway and grabbed his coat from the rack.

Putting on his overcoat and changing into dress shoes.

He straightened up and said to me, "I have a business dinner tonight. I'm going out."

I nodded.

Lincoln was extremely handsome, with deep-set features, a high-bridged nose, and thin lips.

The dark overcoat over his perfectly fitted suit made his figure even more imposing.

He disappeared through the front door.

He came home very late that night.

The words I wanted to ask died in my throat after seeing the post Mia shared on social media.

Mia's post showed a group photo.

Four people in the photo: Mia, Lincoln, and two of their college classmates.

Seeing this photo, I realized I didn't need to ask that question.

I wanted to ask Lincoln if he would favor Mia. I knew he would.

I used to leave a light on for Lincoln when he came home late from business dinners.

After turning off the light, I slept soundly.

When I woke up, Lincoln and I didn't run into each other. We each went to our respective companies.

Everyone in our design department fawned over Mia, orbiting around her.

Everyone knew that without Mia, Lincoln wouldn't have chosen our company.

My conflict with Mia was my own business.

My colleagues only needed to care about their year-end bonuses and whether performance targets would be met.

Today Lincoln appeared at the company as the investor.

The director called Mia over.

When Mia returned, everyone's eyes were on her.

"Mia, is Mr. Lincoln intimidating?"

Mia's lips curved slightly, her answer vague and ambiguous.

"Mr. Lincoln and I have known each other for quite a while. He's not intimidating."

"Everyone can relax."

Several people exchanged glances and smiled knowingly.

I had already clicked the link and read through Mia and Lincoln's love story once.

If I weren't Lincoln's wife, I too would sigh about how beautiful young love was.

Unfortunately, reading the love story between Lincoln and Mia compiled by their college alumni, I could only feel heartache.

Mia still had a social media account from her college days that she hadn't deleted.

It was full of posts documenting their relationship.

I masochistically scrolled through all these posts.

The more I read, the more I realized Lincoln had truly loved her.

Lincoln would patiently read through each of her posts, then comment and like them.

And it was Lincoln who had pursued Mia first.

It took me a whole year to pursue Lincoln.

When I learned that Lincoln's ex-girlfriend was Mia, a flash of satisfaction crossed my mind—a sense of revenge against Mia.

But I quickly realized I had lost completely.

That Lincoln still had his ex-girlfriend in his heart was utter humiliation to me.

This let Mia gain another advantage over me.