Chapter 1
When I pushed the divorce agreement in front of Jack, it had only been 40 minutes since he told me about his affair and asked for a divorce.
As requested, the house, car, and custody of our child would all go to me.
He would give me a one-time payment of $2 million for compensation and child support.
After that, our child and I would no longer bother him.
At that moment, Jack was in the middle of a conference call. He glanced down, saw the words “Divorce Agreement,” and his expression flickered almost imperceptibly.
Then he nodded, indicating he understood.
I left the room.
To save time for both of us, I packed up all of Jack’s clothes and belongings. Three full suitcases. Afraid I might have missed something, I even included his childhood photos from the attic.
Finally, I saw our wedding photo in the corner.
In the photo, Jack looked handsome and dashing, while I smiled sweetly. We were embracing without a care in the world under the sunlight.
That was when he would always hold me close and whisper, “Honey, I love you so much. I’m so lucky to have married you.”
Jack and I met in college. When we first met, he was still a poor boy wearing worn-out canvas shoes.
I had plenty of suitors back then, but I fell for Jack at first sight.
He was calm, kind, and good-looking. He had countless qualities I admired.
We got married right after graduation, and he started a company with his friends.
After I got pregnant, I became a full-time housewife.
I devoted myself entirely to taking care of Jack and our family.
As the business grew, Jack’s social obligations and drinking events increased.
In between my busy daily routines, I made time to work out and learn about makeup and fashion.
Jack didn’t disappoint either. No matter how busy he was, he would come home to look after our child and cook.
He also helped me handle the relationship with his mother.
In others’ eyes, we were the model couple, the model family.
I’m not sure when it started, but Jack began scheduling meetings in the evenings.
Sometimes when work got busy, he would stay out all night.
Friends joked that I should keep a closer eye on him in case anything happened.
I laughed it off, saying it wouldn’t, but I still felt uneasy.
I brought them late-night snacks a few times.
Nothing seemed amiss. A group of people in meetings, with that woman just waiting at the reception desk.
Her name was Rachel. In her early forties, not very tall, on the thin side, with short hair. She looked rather plain, but her voice was unexpectedly gentle, unlike her appearance.
She smiled and greeted me.
All these years, I had imagined this day might come.
I thought it might be a pretty secretary at the company, or a fresh-faced college student, or maybe a powerful female CEO they worked with.
I never expected it would be Rachel, the receptionist.
I heard she had been married before, but her husband cheated and they divorced.
This was her first job after the divorce, and she cherished it greatly.
She would come to the office early, learn everyone’s little habits, and occasionally make some pastries.
Some colleagues even ordered lunch from her for convenience.
When I found out, I told Jack to look after her a bit, since she was having a tough time.
Jack always responded coolly.
“The company isn’t a place for sentiment. I’ve already advised her not to engage in transactions outside of work.”
At the time, I teased Jack for being an unsympathetic boss.
Now that I think about it, he was probably upset that Rachel had to make extra food for colleagues after work every day.
As for why Jack chose today to ask for a divorce.
I had just made him a hangover soup as usual this morning after he came home drunk.
He looked at the soup in front of him, sighed, and pushed it away slightly. After a long silence, he suddenly looked up at me, his eyes weary, and asked if we could get divorced.
He confessed that he had been having an affair for six months, sneaking off to hotels every time he worked late.
My heart trembled like a sieve, as I struggled to control myself.
I asked who it was.
When he said Rachel’s name, I even doubted I had heard correctly.
A sense of helplessness washed over me.
Cold and chilling.