Chapter 3

Vincent didn't come home until noon the next day.

When he saw me, he immediately walked forward to hold me in his arms.

"Sorry, Elara. Yesterday was my fault."

Up close, I could even smell the strong perfume on him.

And the obvious kiss marks on his neck.

I turned away, avoiding Vincent's gesture, and said softly, "You smell like alcohol. Go take a shower."

Vincent paused, then laughed.

"Okay, okay, I'm bothering Elara. My fault."

"Here, this is your anniversary gift. See if you like it."

Vincent pulled out a box from his pocket containing a ruby ring.

Since we got married, he often gave me gifts.

I often told him he was wasteful.

But Vincent said giving his wife gifts was his duty as a husband.

Looking back now, perhaps it wasn't just duty, but also an element of atonement.

I forced a smile and accepted the gift.

"Thank you. I love it."

"No need to thank me."

"Oh, Elara, today... Mr. Hartwell is hosting a charity gala. Will you come with me?"

Vincent looked at me with some concern, worried that this would remind me of bad memories.

In my memory, Mom and Dad used to love me dearly.

Until the kidnapping three years ago, which made me see the truth.

What they loved was the praised Miss Hartwell.

Not the flawed Elara.

"Okay."

Hearing my answer, Vincent let out a long breath and patted my head.

"I knew it. My Elara is the strongest person."

While Vincent was showering, I secretly took his phone from the table.

Vincent told me his phone password on our first day of marriage.

But in these three years, I trusted him too much and never looked at it once.

I didn't know that for these three years, he had never stopped contacting Sienna.

I scrolled through their chat records page by page, not missing a single sentence, and photographed them all.

Due to time constraints, I didn't examine the meaning of each sentence. Just before the water stopped, I put the phone back.

Vincent noticed the missing wedding photo, but I brushed it off saying the photo accidentally fell.

He didn't ask further, only saying we'd take better photos together later.

I looked at Vincent's smile, but my heart couldn't help feeling sour.

Later?

How much time did we have left?

I hadn't attended such a gala in three years.

The moment I appeared on Vincent's arm, I felt many eyes on me.

Some pitying, some curious, some gossiping and mocking.

Vincent patted the back of my hand and said softly:

"Don't be afraid, Elara. I'm here."

I looked at his profile, wondering at that moment what he was thinking when he, as the mastermind, said such things.

"Elara, Vincent, you're finally here."

"Elara, I haven't seen you in so long."

Sienna walked over holding Ethan's hand.

Ethan looked at me with some embarrassment, but I only glanced at him once before looking away.

Sienna smiled.

"Since getting married, you rarely go out."

"Are you still worried about what happened three years ago?"

"After all, what happened wasn't your fault. You were the victim too. You don't need to be so cautious."

With seemingly innocent words, Sienna instantly tore through the protective membrane I had wrapped around myself.

Vincent's body stiffened for a moment.

Ethan tugged at Sienna's arm, signaling her to stop.

But Sienna continued softly:

"Or are you still bothered by the fact that Ethan and I got married three years ago?"