Chapter 1

Once I realized Carter Gallagher’s feelings had shifted, I began to distance myself from him.

He favored the clothes that Juniper Bell chose for him, so I packed up all the clothes I had previously bought him and sent them away.

He enjoyed cleaning up Juniper’s messes, so I had my company withdraw from any collaborations with his.

Eventually, our two companies ceased all business dealings.

I also disentangled myself from any financial ties with Carter.

After gathering evidence of his infidelity, I presented him with a divorce agreement.

Only then did he begin to panic.

His company was on the verge of bankruptcy.

“Carter, try this on! You always wear those black and white clothes; it makes you look so old,” Juniper said, holding up the garment.

She gave me a smug glance.

I sat quietly on the nearby sofa, watching their flirtatious display.

Carter’s discarded jacket carried a faint, sweet fragrance.

A smudge of red lipstick was visible on the collar.

It was the exact shade as Juniper’s.

A sharp pain twisted in my heart.

This man, who had sworn to love me forever, had changed.

Today marked our third wedding anniversary.

I was at the office signing a contract when he called me to meet him at the mall.

I had hoped it was a surprise he had planned.

Instead, he wanted me to watch him flirt with Juniper and foot the bill.

Juniper was the widow of his deceased brother.

After his brother’s untimely death, Carter had taken Juniper into his home under the guise of looking after her.

We had argued and fought about it.

But in the end, I always gave in.

Each time, he would coldly berate me.

“Larkin Baker, I didn’t realize you were such a cold and heartless person. Juniper is my sister-in-law. Now that my brother is gone, I have a responsibility to care for her, especially since she is carrying the Gallagher bloodline.”

His words made me feel worthless.

Even my inability to give him a child in three years became my fault.

“If you could just get pregnant, would I even care about her child?”

But I knew he wasn’t interested in the child.

He was interested in Juniper.

Every argument I had with Carter was because of her.

Once, she decided to watch TV in the study.

She even started eating hot pot on the desk.

The grease stained everything.

A multi-million dollar contract was ruined when she used it as a coaster.

Before I could say anything, she was crying and complaining to Carter.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t see the contract.”

Carter immediately took the blame, reprimanding me with impatience.

“It’s just a contract, you can get another one signed. If Juniper gets upset, I’ll deal with you!”

He never stood up for me, but he doted on Juniper.

He didn’t know that redoing that multi-million dollar contract caused me to drink so much that I nearly had a stomach hemorrhage.

When I got home from the after-work event, I had to bring Juniper some beignets from New Orleans.

Carter, seeing her happy smile, nodded at me approvingly.

“That’s more like it. That’s my good wife.”

I had less and less standing in that house.

Juniper, on the other hand, became more and more presumptuous.

Until yesterday, when I came home from work and found her sauntering out of mine and Carter’s bedroom, a faint red mark on her neck.

“Honey, you’re really useless. You can’t even hold onto such a good man. Maybe you should just let me have him.”

I watched her leave, paralyzed.

I walked into the bedroom to find the bed a mess.

Carter was frantically cleaning up.

Seeing me, he stammered, trying to explain.

“Honey…don’t get the wrong idea… Juniper said she wasn’t feeling well, so I just gave her a massage. Nothing happened.”

“You know she’s pregnant, so we couldn’t do anything.”

I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes.

Carter had a habit that only I knew about.

He always stammered when he lied.

So I knew he was lying to me.

This man’s feelings had changed.

“Honey, what are you thinking about?”

A hand waved in front of my face.

Carter, dressed in vibrant clothes, stood before me.

He spun around, looking at me with pride.

“Honey, do you like this outfit? Juniper picked it out for me. She said it matches her clothes too.”

I looked at him.

If he hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have noticed.

Their clothes were practically a couple’s set.

The same colors, similar patterns.

The bustling shop fell silent.

Carter seemed to realize the implications of his words and quickly tried to cover up.

“I…I mean…I picked out something for you too. Try it on. It goes with mine.”

He rushed back into the store, returning with a floral miniskirt.

Carter wore an excited smile.

“Honey, what do you think of this skirt? I picked it out especially for you.”

I didn’t move from the sofa, letting out a heavy sigh.

Even though I knew his feelings had changed and he had forgotten everything about me, my heart still ached.

He had picked out a miniskirt for me…

Hesitating, I was about to accept it, when Juniper stepped forward, wrapping her arm around his.

Even in front of me, she didn’t try to hide anything.

She looked at me with feigned envy.

“Honey, you’re so lucky. You married such a thoughtful man. He even remembered your third anniversary and picked out such a beautiful skirt for you.”

“He’s nothing like his brother, who couldn’t remember anything and left us orphans in this world, all alone.”

“Since you like it so much, you can have it. I don’t like it, so no thanks,” I said.

Hearing my rejection, Carter’s excited expression turned dark.

He glanced at me coldly.

“If you don’t like it, fine. Juniper, you can have the skirt. Consider it a gift from me.”

He handed the skirt to Juniper.

By chance, it was the perfect size for her.

Juniper put on the skirt, her pale cheeks flushing red.

She thanked Carter in a sweet voice and scolded me.

“Honey, even if you don’t like the skirt, don’t dismiss Carter’s kind intentions. You’re embarrassing him.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I left the store without a word.

Before I could get far, Carter grabbed me.

Frowning, he struggled to control his anger.

“Larkin, today is our anniversary. What’s wrong with you?”

“I buy you clothes and you refuse them, then you storm off!”

I looked at him calmly.

“Buying clothes means buying a miniskirt? Have you forgotten about the accident last month that made me afraid to wear miniskirts?”

Carter seemed to remember something, a flicker of regret in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, honey. I forgot.”

His simple words weighed heavily on my chest.

I was so insignificant to him.

So easily forgotten.

At his birthday party last month, a champagne tower collapsed.

Carter had pushed me onto the ground covered in shattered glass to save Juniper.

My legs were covered in cuts, and even though they had healed, they were still scarred.

I was too scared to wear miniskirts.

The scars were always visible, and I imagined people were always laughing at me.

I couldn’t even hold onto my own husband.

But I had come to my senses.

If a man needed to be held onto, I didn’t want him.

Carter suddenly hugged me tightly, his voice filled with concern.

“I know there have been misunderstandings between us lately, but believe me, I haven’t betrayed you.”

“I just wanted to make it up to you today. Juniper has made you feel wronged these past few days, and it’s all my fault.”

“But she’s carrying our child, so I can’t ignore her. Honey, you understand, right?”

“Don’t be angry. It’s our anniversary, and I made reservations at the hotel. All your favorite dishes.”

Carter still managed to drag me to the hotel restaurant.

When I opened the door to the private room, I found Juniper already inside.

Before we could even enter, she rushed up to Carter, looking pitiful.

“Carter, I’m a pregnant woman and I was too scared to be alone at home, so I came uninvited. I hope I’m not intruding.”

I wanted to say that she was intruding.

But Carter quickly responded.

“You’re not intruding. It’ll be more fun with you here. I thought it would be boring with just me and Larkin.”

Juniper quickly took on the role of hostess.

After Carter sat down, she sat next to him.

I hesitated, then sat across from Carter.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the waiter interrupted as he brought out the dishes.

Platters of seafood covered the table.

I was allergic to seafood.

Looking at the masses of shrimp and crab, I didn’t know what to eat.

I looked at Carter coldly.

“This is what you call my favorite food?”

I laughed mockingly.

I didn’t know why I had still held onto hope for this man.

A hint of panic flashed across Carter’s face, and he quickly called over the waiter to demand answers.

“What’s going on? I didn’t order these dishes.”

Juniper said with a pained expression.

“Carter, don’t be angry. I wanted to eat seafood. It’s been so long since I’ve had it. Blame me.”

He waved his hand.

“It’s okay. As long as you want to eat it, you can eat as much as you want.”

Carter put on gloves and began peeling shrimp for Juniper.

He had completely forgotten about me.

“What about Larkin? I can order something else.”

Carter put the shrimp meat into Juniper’s bowl.

He also shelled a crab, leaving the crab roe.

Then he glanced at me.

“She can eat whatever she wants. She knows how to take care of herself.”

Honestly, even though I had decided to leave Carter, I still felt sick.

I no longer had any expectations for him.

I ate a few bites of rice and excused myself to go to the restroom.

After I returned home, I dug out all the clothes I had bought for Carter over the years.

I packed them up and called a delivery service to take them away.

I was carrying out the last package when Carter and Juniper returned.

Seeing the deliveryman with a large bag of clothes, Carter’s face changed.

“What are you doing? Why are you taking so many clothes?”

After I sent the deliveryman away, I calmly said to Carter.

“You bought so many clothes today, so I’m sending away the old ones. Otherwise, there won’t be enough room in the closet.”

“The closet has a lot of space now, so you can put the clothes Juniper buys for you in there.”

My words lowered Carter’s guard.

He hugged me tightly, saying that I was so good to him.

Back in the bedroom, he hung up the clothes Juniper had picked out for him in the closet.

He didn’t notice that every single item I had bought him was gone.

He continued to babble.

“I still need a windbreaker. I’ll go shopping with Juniper again soon to buy some more clothes.”

I watched him quietly as he got excited. I began to review the contracts with his small company on my phone.

Carter and I met at a trade fair.

We began to have contact because of a business deal.

Over the years, my company has grown, but his has declined.

For the past three years, if my company hadn’t given him many contracts, his would have gone bankrupt.

The next morning, I went to work.

I reviewed contracts all morning, and Carter called me at noon.

I hesitated for a few seconds before answering.

“Honey, I have a very important contract today, but where’s the suit you bought me? I can’t find it.”

I listened to him calmly.

“You sent it away yesterday. You can wear the clothes Juniper bought you from now on.”

I hung up before Carter could respond.

The secretary walked in with a document.

“Ms. Baker, Juniper Bell hasn’t been to work for half a month. What should we do?”

I casually flipped through Juniper’s resume.

She graduated from a no-name domestic university. If it weren’t for Carter, she never would have gotten into my company.

Now she was skipping work and not coming to the office at all.

I looked at the secretary.

“Tell her she doesn’t need to come back. We’ll give her the severance she’s owed.”

The secretary sighed in relief.

After finishing work, I had time to check my phone.

I found many missed calls from Carter.

I knew what he wanted.

When I got home, I could hear Carter yelling and Juniper crying.

“I just missed a few days of work, and they fired me! I wasn’t feeling well because I’m pregnant!”

“Don’t worry, Juniper. I’ll have Larkin hire you back. You’re pregnant, so you should be treated well!”

I took a deep breath.

I looked at the shopping bags scattered on the floor.

How could she go shopping all day if she wasn’t feeling well?

I opened the door, and Carter stormed toward me.

“Larkin, you know they’re being unfair! Why did they fire Juniper? They need to fire the people responsible!”

“Because she hasn’t been to work for half a month! I told them to fire her! They’re following my orders!”

Carter hesitated, then turned to me.

“Larkin, you know Juniper can’t work because she’s pregnant! Why would you fire her? And what did you mean about my clothes? Why did you send them away? If Juniper hadn’t bought me clothes, I would have been embarrassed in front of my business partners.”

I rubbed my temples.

Somewhere along the line, nine and a half out of every ten sentences he spoke were about Juniper.

His affection for Juniper was beyond what I could imagine.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? You know you’re wrong, so let Juniper come back to your company tomorrow. I forgive you for the clothes.”

I didn’t bother to listen to him.

“Do whatever you want. If you want to work at my company, go through the proper channels,” I said.

When I went back to the bedroom, I could hear Juniper crying.

“I see that Larkin doesn’t want me here. I’ll leave. I’ll move out so she doesn’t have to see me.”

“Since Larkin’s company doesn’t want you, you can work at my company!”

“Larkin, don’t think your company is the only one that makes money!”

A few days after she started working at Carter’s company, I heard good news.

The important contract fell through because of Juniper.

When Carter came to me, I was talking to Mr. Wang from that company.

“In that case, we’ll withdraw from the partnership.”

Right after I hung up, Carter asked me to give him some contracts.

“You’re so stubborn. You won’t even let Juniper apologize to Mr. Wang!”

Carter’s face changed colors.

I knew Carter didn’t want to ask me, but if he lost this contract, his company might not survive the winter.

“Larkin, I don’t know what to do. All my employees will be out of jobs.”

I smiled, pulled out an agreement, and said meaningfully.

“Sign this agreement, and you can have a contract.”

Carter’s eyes lit up.

He didn’t hesitate to flip open the agreement and sign it.

“Which company is this contract for?”

I took the agreement.

“Contract? What contract?”

“This is a divorce agreement!”