Chapter 1 Discovering Betrayal
At around four in the morning, it was still raining heavily outside. Sharon Wright arrived at the mansion's entrance and entered the string of numbers sent to her, and then the door opened.
The living room lights were on, and from the entrance to the bedroom door, Alex Smith's formal clothes and Ava Kim's underwear were scattered, showing just how urgent Alex and Ava had been.
Seeing the torn red nightgown at the bedroom door, Sharon felt a sense of absurdity.
The distance from the entrance to the bedroom was only about fifteen feet, but Sharon felt as if she had exhausted all her strength. By the time she stood at the bedroom door, she felt a sense of dizziness. She slowly pushed open the ajar door with trembling hands.
On the disheveled bed, Alex and Ava lay naked and entwined, their heavy breaths filling the air. The lewd scene painfully pierced Sharon's eyes.
The two were so engrossed in their lovemaking that they didn't even notice Sharon standing at the door.
Sharon's palm, which was gripping the door frame, was marked with red indentations from the pressure.
She had been woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of thunder and rain. She habitually reached out to touch her husband Alex beside her, only to find the spot cold.
At that moment, she turned to check the time. It was 3:16 AM.
She thought Alex was still in the study working, so she got up, put on a robe, and went to the study. When she opened the door, she found it pitch black inside; Alex wasn't there. Just as she was puzzled, her phone suddenly buzzed, sounding particularly loud in the quiet night.
It was a friend request from a stranger. Sharon instinctively felt this friend request at this hour had something to do with Alex and might be malicious.
Just then, a clap of thunder outside startled Sharon, causing her to accidentally hit "decline".
Soon, several more messages came through.
[Still awake? Is it because your husband isn't by your side?]
[I'm scared because of the thunder and power outage, so he came over to keep me company.]
[Don't you want to know where your husband is right now?]
Seeing the continuous taunting messages, Sharon's hand holding the phone couldn't stop trembling.
After a long while, Sharon finally accepted the request.
As soon as she did, the other party sent an address and a string of numbers.
Sharon bit her lip, grabbed her car keys and drove straight there.
Then she saw this heartbreaking scene. She and Alex had been together for eight years, dating since school and then getting married, a couple envied by their friends.
Until today, she never expected betrayal from Alex, but he had indeed betrayed their relationship.
The reality woke her from the illusions Alex had woven and turned her still-surging love for Alex into a joke.
It turned out that no matter how perfect and sincere the wedding vows were, they couldn't withstand the fickleness of the human heart.
She felt disgusted and couldn't bear to watch any longer. She turned and stumbled towards the door, trembling as she started the car and drove away. Tears blurred her vision the entire time.
Earlier that night, while Alex was showering, Sharon had seen a message on his Facebook from someone named Ava: [My new nightgown seems a bit tight. Why don't you come over and see if it fits?]
Below the text was a selfie of Ava in a deep V red slip dress, her cleavage half-exposed, exuding extreme temptation.
Sharon couldn't help but scroll up and found that Alex and Ava's previous messages were all normal work exchanges, which made her frown. Sharon thought Ava had sent the message by mistake.
After Alex came out of the bathroom, his hot body pressed against hers, and he gently bit Sharon's earlobe.
Before Sharon could react, he scooped her up and placed her on the couch. His eyes, locked onto hers, seemed to hold a spark of fire. Her slightly flushed cheeks looked like ripe peaches under the light, tempting to be picked.
Just as Alex was about to kiss her, she suddenly pushed him away.
Sharon held his phone screen up to his face, asking him to explain.
Alex glanced at it, frowned, and immediately took the phone to make a call.
Soon, Ava answered, "Mr. Smith, what can I do for you?"
Alex's face was grim, and his voice was icy. "Ava, when did you switch careers to become a prostitute?"
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end before Ava's slightly panicked voice came through, "Mr. Smith, I'm sorry. Those two messages were meant for my boyfriend. I must have sent them to you by mistake."
Alex said coldly, "If it happens again, you may need to consider your position here!"
Alex hung up and looked at Sharon. His previously cold expression softened, even showing a hint of grievance.
Then, he grabbed her waist and kissed her.
Although the matter was explained, Sharon's mood was ruined. She pushed Alex away. Alex's eyes showed a flash of disappointment, but he didn't force her. He just said he was going to the study to work.
Sharon never expected that Alex, who was supposed to be working in the study, would be making love to Ava at this hour. She felt ridiculous, especially since she had been trying to conceive with Alex for three months.
Passing by a bar that was still open, Sharon parked and went inside.
By the time Sophie Lee arrived, Sharon had already downed two bottles of whiskey and was demanding more from the waiter, her eyes looking a bit dazed.
Sharon said, "Sophie, you're here."
Seeing Sharon like this, Sophie felt a pang of heartache. She sat down next to her and grabbed her swaying hand. "What happened? Did Alex really cheat?"
Sharon said, "I don't want to hear that name right now."
Sophie was stunned. She had been Sharon's college roommate and had witnessed Alex and Sharon's relationship from dating to marriage.
Over the years, Sophie had seen how good Alex was to Sharon, so her first reaction to hearing about Alex's infidelity was that there must be some misunderstanding.
Sharon downed another glass of whiskey, the heart-wrenching pain washing over her again. She also wished it were just a misunderstanding.
For so many years, she had never thought Alex would betray her. Watching him in bed with Ava felt like her heart being torn to shreds.
Choking back tears, Sharon took several swigs straight from the bottle, as if trying to drown her tears.
"Stop it; you've had enough," Sophie said, snatching the glass from her hand. "I just feel like he loved you so much. It doesn't seem like he would cheat. Could there be a misunderstanding?"
Sharon let out a cold laugh. "I saw it with my own eyes. Is that still a misunderstanding?"
The room fell silent. Seeing Sharon drink one glass after another as if she had a death wish, Sophie couldn't help but take the bottle from her hand. "It's not your fault. Why are you punishing yourself? What are you going to do next?"
Sharon replied, "Divorce. Just thinking about that scene makes me sick."