Chapter 2

Xavier left.

He got the information he wanted from me and rushed out of the room without stopping.

I clearly saw the joy of relief on his face in that instant.

My husband has already gone mad for another woman.

I wipe away my tears and immediately contact my parents, preparing to move out overnight.

I thought my father would scold me, but he just comforts me, his aging voice choked with sobs:

"Our little Aria has suffered. Dad doesn't blame you. Let's just leave."

After hanging up the phone, guilt and despair overwhelm me.

Xavier and I fell in love in college and got married right after graduation.

The Sullivan family is wealthy and powerful. For my father, marrying into the Sullivan family was something he never dared to dream of before.

He had his concerns, worried I might be bullied.

My family has no status, no one to stand up for me.

Back then, I confidently told my father that Xavier loved me so much, he would never let me suffer.

He would prepare gifts for me on every holiday, generously introduce me to all kinds of friends.

When we were apart, he would say he missed me countless times every day, get jealous if others looked at me too long, his eyes turning red with anger.

He once said: "Aria, you know, everyone in the Sullivan family is a twisted monster. Only you have taught me what love is."

Xavier was insecure, always needing reassurance of my love over and over.

I could only hold him tenderly, again and again, until he fell asleep quietly in my arms.

I thought we would be like this until we grew old together, so when his affection dropped off a cliff, I panicked immediately.

Mia Parker was a fresh college graduate.

The first time I heard her name was from Xavier's secretary.

The secretary said, "Young girls these days have no creativity. The whole 'throw coffee on the boss' routine is so outdated."

I listened to it as a joke and didn't pay much attention.

But not long after, Mia became Xavier's personal assistant, breaking all precedent.

He would take Mia horseback riding. When Mia couldn't ride, Xavier would hold her in front of him, the two of them slowly trotting on one horse.

Mia didn't understand the social graces of the business world.

Xavier patiently guided her, even personally teaching her how to brew tea.

Some tactless business partners made jokes about Mia.

Xavier, usually calm and composed, immediately sent that person to the hospital with a beating.

Xavier didn't seem to have any intention of hiding it.

His fondness for Mia was known to all.

By the time the news reached my ears, the two were already holding hands at various banquets, kissing amid others' teasing remarks.

Looking at the photos others sent me, I got angry at Xavier for the first time.

Xavier just sat in his executive chair, silently watching me.

His eyes seemed to say I was making a fuss over nothing.

"Aria, you're almost thirty. Why fight with a young girl?"

"When you were in your early twenties, I doted on you the same way, didn't I?"

At that moment, I felt like I'd fallen into an icy abyss.

I finally understood. Xavier's love was very singular.

He only loved young women, and I had passed that stage.

I originally wanted to just get a divorce, but then I found out I was pregnant.

I wanted to make one last effort for my child and family, so I had my father find some people to send Mia abroad.

The result was predictable.

Nine years of love, and I turned out to be nothing to Xavier.

I lost everything.