My husband was working out of state and had to stay in the office over the holidays. I decided to buy a plane ticket and surprise him. But the only seats left were in first class. Looking at the four-figure price tag, I gritted my teeth and spent a year’s worth of my savings. When I boarded, I didn’t even know how to pull out the tray table. The wealthy woman sitting next to me sneered. "Never flown first class before?" I forced a polite smile. "I'm sorry. You must be an executive, right? You carry yourself with such elegance." "No," she said. "My sugar daddy is a CEO. Whenever I travel, if it's not first class, he charters a private jet for me." I was stunned. "A sugar daddy? That must be hard to find." "Not really. I work for him. I make mistakes all the time and cost him a ton of money. Every time he scolds me, I cry... and, well, you know how it goes." "What a coincidence. My husband also has a female coworker who's always making mistakes." "You're married?" She looked me up and down. "My sugar daddy has a wife about your age, too. "But he says he got sick of her a long time ago. Said touching her feels like nothing, not even as exciting as when I toss my hair. "I told him I wanted to see him for the holidays, and look—he just told his old wife he had to work overtime." I stared at the diamond ring on her finger. It was identical to my lost wedding ring. I froze. Wait—wasn't Arthur Vance just a junior employee? When did he become a CEO? ... I stared at her ring finger. "But your ring... that's a wedding band, isn't it? Did you and your sugar daddy get married?" "Oh, this?" Chloe Sterling admired the diamond ring. "I made him take it from his wife." I sat there, stunned. "I wasn't planning on making things difficult for the wife. But who told her to suddenly have a miscarriage on my birthday, making him go to the hospital to take care of her? "I had to spend my birthday all by myself." My hand instinctively moved to my lower stomach. I suddenly recalled that freezing winter. The path home from the grocery store was covered in thick ice. Arthur’s salary was meager. Even a bicycle was a luxury for us. I slipped and fell hard. My three-month-old baby turned into a pool of blood... That day, Arthur dropped all his work and stayed by my side for three days and three nights. But when I woke up, my ring had vanished along with my child. Arthur held me tight. "It's okay. We'll have another baby. And the ring... I'll have a new one made for you." I shook my head, crying. "Didn't you say your company is doing layoffs? We need to save money. When you make it big one day, then you can buy me a new one." His eyes were red, tears welling up as he looked at me. "I'm sorry. It's my fault I haven't made enough money. It's my fault I haven't given you a good life." I had just shaken my head. Beside me, Chloe was still admiring the diamond ring. I asked, "So, you made him take his wife's ring and give it to you?" "Yeah. Actually, he refused at first. He said he'd buy me a more expensive one." Chloe tilted her hand side to side, watching the diamond catch the light. "But the only reason that old woman is so arrogant is because she's his wife, right? "If I didn't punish her a little, she'd end up walking all over me." I gritted my teeth. "To be honest, compared to the other things he's bought me, this ring is cheap. "But at the end of the day, it's still a wedding ring." Chloe smiled at me. "If a woman ends up like that old hag, her life is basically hopeless." I clenched the hem of my shirt and forced a smile. "If your sugar daddy is so willing to spend money on you, he must spend a lot to keep his wife quiet, right?" Chloe laughed. She leaned in close and whispered. "Let me tell you a secret. That old woman doesn't even know he's a CEO yet." "Why?" Chloe admired her diamond-encrusted manicure. "Because there's no point. She already wasted her youth helping him build his career. "If you were a man who finally got rich, and you saw your wife was old and fading, would you still spend money on her? It's not like spending money is going to bring her youth back." My slightly haggard face reflected in the window. Chloe leaned toward me. "Hey, even though you're older than me, you still have some looks left. Since we're sitting next to each other, let me give you some advice. "Women need to get Botox and beauty treatments. Your skin is looking a bit dry. I bet your husband doesn't show much interest in you, does he?" I stared at her, not saying a word. Her skin was flawless, glowing with youth. I used to look exactly like her. Actually... I was prettier than her. Ten years of weathering the storms in cheap, drafty apartments had taken their toll. When I looked at my old photos now, I barely recognized myself. "Those treatments... they're very expensive." "So what?" Chloe shrugged. "My sugar daddy gives me fifty thousand dollars a month for living expenses, and he reimburses me for all my beauty treatments on top of that." Looking at the tiny rhinestones decorating Chloe's sharp eyeliner. My hands, gripping my shirt, began to tremble. "How many years... have you been his canary?" "Since June 12th, 2023. Why?" My hands shook even harder. June 12th, 2023. The day my mother died. That day, my mother needed fifty thousand dollars for surgery. I remember it vividly. Arthur begged everyone he knew and emptied his own savings account. He managed to scrape together thirty-five thousand for me. It was almost everything he had saved since he started working. Despite working myself to the bone, I only managed to borrow another eight thousand. My mother passed away. That day, he held me tight, tears streaming down his face. "I'm so sorry. I'm a piece of trash. I couldn't even earn enough for your mom's medical bills! You've suffered so much being with me..." My heart felt like it was being sliced open. But I still wiped away his tears. "I'm so grateful you managed to get thirty-five thousand. "Mom said you did your best. She didn't blame you, and I don't either... It's my fault I couldn't get the remaining fifteen thousand..." His tears fell onto the back of my hand. He gripped my hand tightly. "Maya, just wait a little longer. Please, just wait... I promise I won't let us live like this anymore..." I nodded through my tears. Fifty thousand dollars... He had the money all along. "You know what's crazy? That woman's mother needed exactly fifty thousand dollars for a surgery that same month." I looked at Chloe. She winked her left eye at me. "He was actually going to give it to her." My breath caught in my throat. "Did he give it to you for living expenses instead?" "No. He's rich. He gave me fifty grand, but he still had plenty more." "Then why didn't he give it to his wife's mother?" "Because..." Chloe rested her chin on her hand. "I told him that once her mother died, that woman wouldn't have any family left. Then, even if she found out he was keeping me on the side, she wouldn't dare say a word." I gritted my teeth so hard they felt like they would shatter. "Plus, I had my eye on a new Chanel bag that month. It was exactly fifty thousand." I stared at her, my eyes burning. "Aren't you afraid his wife will find out what you did?" "Please. I'm a genius." Chloe laughed. "I gave him the idea. I told him to give her thirty-five thousand and pretend it was his entire life savings. His wife would just think her husband did his absolute best, and she'd never suspect he was hiding someone else!" Saying this, her expression soured a bit. "The annoying part is, the reason he finally agreed to do it was to make sure the old woman wouldn't leave him if I ever got discovered. "Ugh, that old hag has such good luck." Smack! A slap landed squarely on Chloe's face without warning. "Are you insane?!" Chloe's drink spilled everywhere. A flight attendant rushed over to help her clean up. Chloe was furious. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" "Are all mistresses this arrogant these days?!" I was shaking with rage. The flight attendant quickly separated us. She moved Chloe to an empty seat further away and spoke to her in a soothing voice. Finally, Chloe calmed down slightly. Wiping her hands with the towel the flight attendant gave her, she shot me a disdainful glare. "I am so sick of self-righteous people like you. Always screaming 'mistress, mistress.' Let's be honest... "Hah. You're just mad because you're old and can't attract a man anymore, right? "If you were young again, you'd be throwing yourself at rich men faster than anyone else!" "You—!" The flight attendant quickly grabbed my arm as I started to lunge. I didn't want to cause trouble for the crew, so I gritted my teeth and sat back down. Chloe looked me up and down with utter contempt. "Let me tell you the truth. You haven't been young for a long time. I bet your husband is seeing someone else, too. "If you don't believe me, go check his phone. A woman who looks like you... no man would want to come home to that." Splash! I threw the fresh drink the flight attendant had just brought me right into her face. Chloe shrieked. The flight attendants scrambled to get between us. The purser forced a polite smile. "Ms. Hayes, this woman is a very important guest. Please calm down. How about I bring you some fresh fruit to help you relax?" "Important guest?" I ground my teeth. The purser leaned in and whispered softly. "She is with Mr. Vance, the CEO of Vance Enterprises. It's for your own good to avoid her. Mr. Vance is very protective of her." I let out a bitter laugh. The plane landed at the layover airport. Neither Chloe nor I were disembarking. We were allowed to take our phones off airplane mode. I sent Arthur a text: [Where are you?] He sent back a photo of his office cubicle: [Making money for my wife.] [Are you making it for me, or for someone else?] No reply. I sent a question mark. A second later, a familiar voice drifted over from Chloe's seat. "Someone threw juice on you? Who dares treat my Chloe like that?" "Some crazy old woman! Ugh, it's all your fault! If you were here, she never would have dared to do that to me!" "Okay, okay... it's my fault." [Transfer Received: $50,000] A robotic notification chimed from Chloe's phone. Arthur's voice was gentle: "Go buy yourself something pretty." I gripped the hem of my shirt. The smile on Chloe's face was fleeting. She immediately pouted. "Hmph! Not good enough. You told me you missed me and wanted to spend New Year's with me! If you hadn't said that, I wouldn't have gotten on this plane and met that lunatic! "No amount of money can fix this! Hmph!" Arthur wasn't angry. Instead, he sounded amused, his tone lightening up. "Then, what about the new villa your husband bought for you?" Chloe's eyes widened slightly. "Is my Chloe smiling now? Are you happy?" "I am not!" Chloe pouted again. "But... hmph, I'll give you a chance. Only because I love you." "Good~ I'll make it up to you tonight, okay?" "Three hours, not a second less!" "I'll give you the whole night." My hand, hidden inside my sleeve, trembled violently. I remembered when he was transferred to the East Coast branch. Whenever we saw each other, we rarely went past hugging and kissing. Every time I initiated anything more, he would sigh. "I've been working so hard, I'm just exhausted. Can we wait until I've rested up?" But before he was ever "rested up," he was already gone again. The plane was preparing for takeoff. Chloe kissed the camera and ended the video call. At that exact moment, Arthur sent me a text: [Why doesn't my wife believe me anymore? Are you sad that I have to work overtime and can't be with you for New Year's? [When I get home after the holidays, I'll take you to that hot pot place you love, okay?] The plane took off. A flight attendant walked up to Chloe's new seat carrying a black, gold-stamped gift box. "Ms. Sterling, a gentleman asked us to bring this to you." "Oh my god! The Prada necklace! How did he know I've been eyeing this?!" The flight attendant smiled and handed her a card. "Mr. Vance also asked us to pass along a message: "He hopes Ms. Sterling won't let the background noise bother her. Be brave, be yourself, and ignore all obstacles. "Because Mr. Vance will always stand behind you, and he will always love you." I looked down at the text Arthur had just sent me, and closed my eyes. "Ms. Hayes, Mr. Vance asked us to give this diamond to you." The purser handed me a loose diamond. I frowned. "For me?"