Chapter 1
Daphne massaged her aching shoulders and saved the last streaming data report.
The blue glow from the computer screen was particularly harsh against the 2 a.m. darkness, casting shadows under her eyes.
The clock on the wall ticked softly, juxtaposed with the noise of her husband and his team celebrating in the living room—tonight, Asher Lewis’s stream hit over 500,000 viewers, marking a new milestone.
She stretched her stiff neck, hearing the crack of overworked joints. After working sixteen hours straight, her vision was starting to blur.
Daphne took off her glasses and pressed her fingers to her temples where a pulse throbbed in sync with her heartbeat.
“Daphne, come out! We ordered some late-night snacks!”
Asher Lewis’s voice carried through the door, full of excitement and that familiar, upbeat tone he used while streaming. His carefully adjusted voice could naturally endear listeners.
Over the past three years, she had seen her husband grow from a streamer with only a few hundred followers to a major influencer on the platform.
Daphne tidied her disheveled hair in front of the vanity mirror.
The woman in the mirror was twenty-eight, with fine lines already forming at the corners of her eyes—a consequence of three years of late nights managing Asher’s data.
She picked up a comb and noticed that her wedding ring was missing from her right ring finger—likely removed to avoid scratching the keyboard.
The simple platinum band lay quietly beside the keyboard, gleaming coldly under the desk lamp.
She hesitated for a moment but ultimately left it off. After applying a bit of lipstick to brighten her complexion, she took a deep breath and opened the door with a practiced, gentle smile.
“Congratulations, another record broken,” she said, approaching Asher and naturally taking the half-empty beer can from his hand.
“Drink less, you have an early stream tomorrow.”
Asher smelled faintly of cologne, a birthday gift from her last year. He wore a white turtleneck sweater reserved for the Streaming Room, making his skin appear even fresher.
At thirty-two, he looked much younger than his age, with barely any wrinkles at the corners of his eyes—after all, he never had to stare at a computer screen for long hours like she did.
“With you supporting me, I’m not afraid of anything.”
His voice was as smooth as silk, matching the “charming and single guy” persona he had for his audience. Daphne could feel envious glances from a few young interns.
Jack, the assistant, joked, “Asher is so good to Daphne! We’re all jealous.”
For a fleeting moment, Asher’s expression faltered. Daphne noticed his gaze briefly flick over the interns holding up their phones to take pictures, then he casually laughed it off: “Daphne is my most important partner. Without her, there would be no me today.”