Chapter 1

To appease his assistant Yvonne, my husband Sebastian demoted me to cleaning toilets.

From that day on, I avoided him completely.

When he woke up in the morning, I no longer helped him with his tie.

When he worked late into the night, I no longer prepared his reports.

Even when I caught him leaving a love hotel with Yvonne, I didn't say a word.

I just quietly left.

One day, Sebastian swallowed his pride and came to find me, watching as I knelt on the floor scraping off chewing gum.

"River, you don't actually have to degrade yourself like this. Putting you on janitorial duty was just for show. Once Yvonne calms down, I'll move you back to your VP position."

I braced myself on my aching legs and stood up, carrying the dirty water bucket in silence.

Today marked the thousandth day I'd spent chasing after Sebastian, and it would be my last.

He had no idea I'd already accepted a job offer worth millions a year.

Seeing my silence, Sebastian pressed his lips together tightly.

He seemed to be trying to pacify a sulking child—giving a slap followed by candy, thinking everything could just be smoothed over.

"It's your birthday today, so stop being mad at me. I've prepared a surprise for you tonight."

In seven years together, Sebastian had never once remembered my birthday.

Every time I bought a cake, he would look surprised and ask what special occasion it was.

But Yvonne had only been working here for two weeks, and Sebastian could clearly remember her cycle, her birthday, and exactly how many days she'd been on staff.

Now that I'd stopped loving him, he suddenly cared.

Sebastian raised his hand to pat my head, but when he heard a cough, he pulled his hand back in panic.

Yvonne walked up to me, pulled out a bottle of alcohol spray from her bag with disgust, and sprayed it right in my face.

"River, you work in sanitation now. You're absolutely filthy."

"Mr. Harrison is a gentleman. Please disinfect yourself before getting close to him."

She moved too quickly for me to dodge.

The alcohol spray got in my eyes, and the pain made me instinctively rub them.

The water bucket fell to the ground with a crash, accompanied by Yvonne's hysterical screaming.

"Call security to disinfect this area! The dirty water splashed on Mr. Harrison's pants. What if he gets infected and falls ill?"

Sebastian smiled indulgently and teased Yvonne.

"I'm not as delicate as you."

Yvonne pouted in protest, standing on her tiptoes to cup Sebastian's face.

"Who says I'm delicate? Last time you ate spicy noodles and got gastroenteritis, I was the one who carried you to the hospital."

The two of them flirted, completely oblivious to the fact that I'd been tripped by the water bucket.

I sat slumped in the cold, dirty water, remembering the slap I'd given Yvonne.

That day, I'd helped Sebastian secure an international contract. He'd gotten a stomachache from drinking.

I went to the nearest pharmacy to buy medicine. When I rushed back to the restaurant with the medication, gasping for breath, he was already gone.

The news had just reported that a murderer was on the loose in that area.

I panicked and called the police, crying as I searched every street for Sebastian, but I couldn't find him anywhere.

Until the hospital called me.

I ran to the hospital, thinking that if something had really happened to Sebastian, I would die with him.

But when I pushed open the hospital room door, I saw Sebastian holding Yvonne and comforting her.

Yvonne was crying her eyes out, blaming herself for taking Sebastian to eat spicy noodles.

I lost my mind and slapped Yvonne hard across the face.

Sebastian's expression turned frighteningly cold. He immediately contacted HR to transfer me to janitorial services.

At that moment, I demanded like a madwoman whether Sebastian had fallen for someone else.

He was too busy comforting Yvonne to answer.

But I already knew the answer.