Caleb, a man known for his unshakable self-control, played the role of a knight in shining armor. He settled a young woman into a suburban villa, paid off her debts, and opened a bakery for her, yet he never laid a finger on her. He just went over every day to eat a single meal. His friends couldn't understand why he would do such a thing. He said, "I'm just greedy for a half-day of peace. When I go back, I am still Sloane's perfect husband!" 01 That day, our daughter fell ill. As Caleb was heading downstairs, he asked casually, "Why hasn't Autumn left for school yet?" Our daughter, eating her breakfast, looked up. "Daddy, I'm sick!" Caleb froze, looking up at me. "What's wrong?" I said, "The flu. I'm taking her to the doctor in a bit." "Is it serious?" "It's fine. Her fever has already broken." Caleb nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. "Drive safe, then. Call me if you need anything." He kissed Autumn, said goodbye, and walked out the door. The nanny looked at me, hesitating to speak. I smiled and said nothing, just reminding Autumn to eat faster. I knew what she wanted to say. It was nothing more than: The child is sick, so why does her father seem completely unconcerned? He didn't even know until she was almost fully recovered? To any normal American family, this would seem completely dysfunctional. But I was already used to it. Used to it to the point of apathy. After packing our things, I drove Autumn to the clinic. We ran into a car accident halfway there. The engine of the car ahead suddenly blew out, causing a three-car pileup behind it. I was the fourth car. I braked in time and narrowly escaped the crash. I originally wanted to just turn the car around and leave. But I unexpectedly spotted Caleb's SUV—the one he claimed he lent to a friend. I had asked him before which friend it was. He said, "You don't know him." That answer was very clever. A friend I didn't know meant they weren't that close. If they weren't that close, why would he be generous enough to lend out his car long-term? But I didn't press the issue. I just played the part of the gullible, naive wife. Now, it seemed he had indeed lied. I clearly recognized the person getting out of that car. Even though we had only met once, I remembered her name perfectly—Piper! Piper anxiously checked the damage to the car, then pulled out her phone to make a call. Inexplicably, I felt that call was to Caleb. "Autumn, watch some cartoons on your iPad for a bit. We'll go to the clinic in a minute, okay?" My daughter nodded obediently. "Okay, Mommy!" I pulled over and waited. Less than half an hour later, a black Range Rover sped over. A man holding a jacket hurried out of the vehicle. Piper looked at him as if he were her savior, stumbling into his arms. The man caught her, draped his jacket over her shoulders, and ushered her into his own car. I had no interest in watching the rest. "Autumn, buckle up. We're going to the doctor now!" 02 I had only seen Piper once. But even before meeting her, I had heard her name. Her name was linked with Caleb's, dragging out a rather colorful piece of gossip in our elite Manhattan social circle. To be honest, it had been years since anyone dared to throw a woman at Caleb. First, Caleb had a flawless reputation for keeping his hands clean. Second, he and his wife were known to be deeply in love. Once, some smart-ass tried to test his limits. Caleb not only severed all business ties with him but also beat him to a pulp. "If my wife misunderstands, I'll beat you to death!" Because of that, things were quiet for many years. But recently, someone tried their luck again. "They probably figured you guys have been married for so long, and your kid is getting older. They thought Mr. Carter was getting lonely and needed a distraction. They bet on the wrong horse." The person telling me this was Mrs. Vance. She said that night was incredibly dramatic. A young bottle girl from the club was wrapped in a blanket and delivered to his hotel room, like some ancient emperor being presented with a concubine. They thought any normal man wouldn't be able to resist that kind of temptation. But Caleb walked out of the room in less than five minutes. His face was dark, radiating an icy, oppressive aura. "He called his own assistant first, had him buy the girl some clothes, and sent her home. Then he started settling the score." Rumor had it, he barged into that manager's room and beat him up. Then he called the cops, reporting prostitution, and had the guy arrested right there. Following that, he terminated all contracts with that company. Mrs. Vance spoke with a mix of envy and a sigh: "Caleb is truly devoted to you!" I smiled and exchanged pleasantries with her. But my heart sank a little. Devoted? Not necessarily! Caleb's outward attitude toward this kind of thing seemed the same as before. But he hid things from me. That point alone was abnormal. And then there was Caleb's attitude toward that girl. If it were the past, he wouldn't have stayed for five minutes, nor would he have had his personal assistant handle the "aftermath." So, I did a little digging into that girl. I discovered she had gone from a bottle girl at a club to suddenly becoming Caleb's new secretary. 03 When Caleb got home, I was still working in my home office. Having spent the whole day with Autumn, I was behind on a lot of things. "Still busy?" "Yeah!" "I'm heading to bed then!" "Wait for me in the living room after you shower!" I looked back at him. "We need to talk." Caleb instinctively frowned. The atmosphere instantly stagnated. He didn't say anything, just gave me a cold glance, closed the office door, and left. I didn't know if he would actually wait for me. He hated it when I used that tone with him. Just like he complained to his friends. Whenever I started a conversation like that, it was never a good thing. Today was obviously no exception. But I didn't want to fight with him, nor did I want to make a scene. So, when I finished working and came out, seeing him sitting in the living room, I asked, "Want a drink? We can chat." Caleb raised an eyebrow. "An interrogation?" I smiled. "Nothing that serious. Just a casual chat." His tense body relaxed. He stood up and took a small piece of cake out of the fridge. "I bought this for Autumn, but it looks like she missed out." He said, "You have a bad stomach. Eat something first, don't drink on an empty stomach." Actually, the vibe was pretty good at that moment. If we had just gone with the flow, we might have had a productive conversation. But that cake had to ruin it. Sure enough, I overestimated myself. "Where did you buy it?" I asked him. Caleb said, "A bakery I passed by on the way." "Isn't that Piper's place?" When Piper stepped out of that car, I knew Caleb hadn't kept his promise to me. After finding out Piper had become Caleb's secretary, I went to his office once. It was bad timing; Caleb wasn't there. I asked his assistant, "Where's Piper?" He stuttered, looking incredibly nervous. Later, I found her in Caleb's private lounge. She was curled up on the single bed, covered in the cashmere blanket I bought for Caleb, her face pale, looking sick. When she saw me, she panicked and scrambled up. I asked her, "Where's Caleb?" She bit her lip and said shyly, "It's my time of the month, and my stomach hurts. Mr. Carter went to buy me painkillers and a hot drink." I nodded. "Let's wait together, then!" Taking care of a woman on her period was something Caleb was very experienced at. Because since my very first period, he was the one making me ginger tea. He would even turn bright red going to the pharmacy to buy me pads. He knew exactly which painkillers worked best without upsetting the stomach. He also knew that women on their periods had bad appetites but loved sweets. So, he bought Piper the over-the-counter meds I usually took, along with a ginger tea and a slice of red velvet cake. I handed the items to Piper. "This medicine works okay. It's not as fast as prescription painkillers, but the side effects are minimal. If you really can't handle it, just take a sick day. The company offers that basic benefit, at least!" Piper nodded timidly. She glanced at Caleb, and seeing him silent, she left the room looking disheartened, taking the stuff with her. When the office door closed, Caleb called my name: "Sloane!" But I walked straight into the lounge, grabbed the cashmere blanket, and threw it into the trash can right in front of him. Caleb frowned. "You don't need to do that. I just felt sorry for her. There's nothing going on between us." "Who is she?" "The new secretary." "I'm asking you, who is she!" This time, Caleb went silent. After a long while, he told me the whole story about him and Piper. He said she was a pitiful girl who only agreed to that "delivery" setup because she needed to pay off her father's gambling debts. She dropped out of school young and couldn't find a decent job, so she sold liquor at a club and was constantly harassed. "I ran into her at the club that day. She was being forced to drink. She's so young, she should have a better life. Sloane, I only helped her out of pity!" Was that the truth? The suspicious part was that Caleb almost never went to clubs. Yet, after Piper was delivered to his room, he just happened to "bump into" her at a club? Was it really a coincidence, or did Caleb specifically go looking for her? It was quite intriguing to think about. But I didn't dig deeper. I just nodded. I told him, "Fire her. Find her a different job." Caleb didn't even hesitate. He agreed immediately. He said he wouldn't contact Piper anymore. He said he wouldn't betray me. I believed him. I never expected that he would not only house Piper in a suburban villa but also open a bakery for her. 04 My single sentence completely froze the room. Caleb's demeanor slowly changed. From scrutinizing to cold. "You investigated me?" He said, "Sloane, that poor girl has suffered enough. You doing this is completely out of line!" I sighed. "Caleb, you're panicking." Panic clouds judgment. "Otherwise, you'd know that if I hadn't found something, I wouldn't have done anything extra." I tapped my phone and pushed the dashcam footage from the car accident toward him. "It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. If she can drive your car, she definitely lives in your house. So where is she working now?" Caleb didn't click on the video. He just kept his eyes lowered. After a long time, he let out a heavy breath. "Whether you believe it or not, I haven't cheated, and I haven't betrayed you. I just pity her. Her place was constantly harassed by debt collectors. She had nowhere to go. She deserves a better job, not relying on selling herself for money. Sloane, these things mean nothing to us, but they can change a young girl's entire life." I had no patience for this. So I interrupted him: "Do you love her?" Caleb looked at me, his eyes filling with disappointment. "Is romance and sex all you see between men and women? Sloane, she and I are completely innocent. You shouldn't start rumors about a girl based on your own paranoid delusions." Caleb's words truly stunned me. I never thought he could utter something so... shamelessly self-righteous. I had always thought he was a smart man. The biggest advantage of a smart person is that you can communicate with them. We know what the other is trying to say, we understand each other perfectly, and things click. But since when had Caleb become someone I no longer recognized? His reaction completely missed my expectations. This would make the next steps very difficult. But the arrow was already nocked; I had to shoot. I couldn't let myself and my child fall into an even more humiliating situation. So I spoke decisively: "Caleb, let's get a divorce! Take your time to think about it. Once you've made up your mind, we can discuss the details." 05 I had realized very early on that getting a divorce is a huge hassle. Unless both parties reach a consensus, it's a protracted war of attrition. All along, I had never sensed any desire for divorce from Caleb. Until Piper appeared. He put so much thought and effort into a girl other than me for the first time. Knowing him, it was either he already caught feelings, or he was about to. So, I demanded he fire Piper. I thought he would refuse. But he agreed. Had I guessed wrong? Half a month ago, some friends came over, and they were talking in his study. One of them teased Caleb: "They say marriage is the graveyard of love. As the ultimate authority on this, how does it feel now?" Caleb chuckled. "I couldn't agree more!" "Oh?" his friend exclaimed. "What? Got the seven-year itch?" Caleb sighed. "Not exactly! It's just... if I had known married life was this boring, I would have played around for a few more years!" "Then why did you turn down that girl who stripped naked and sent herself to your room?" "That's a different matter entirely!" His friend disagreed. "What do you mean 'different matter'? As long as you hide it well, finding a little fun is no big deal!" This time, Caleb fell silent. After a long while, he said in a flat tone, "We'll see." Hearing those words, I turned away from the cracked door and left. Caleb was looking for some "fun." Whether it was because of that naked girl or the sheer boredom of married life, he wanted to step out. And I couldn't possibly wait until he actually cheated to get a divorce. So, before he crossed that line, I had to terminate this marriage. My demand for a divorce left Caleb silent for a long time. He just stared at me, like he was looking at an unreasonable child. It wasn't just him; I also thought of the past. That period when I frequently brought up divorce. Back then, I was anxious, miserable, and completely at a loss. I relieved my emotions through screaming matches, and I exploded by threatening divorce. But I didn't actually want a divorce. I just didn't know what else to do. My relationship with Caleb had hit a dead end, and I was just repeatedly smashing my head against a brick wall. Until my head was bloody and the wall finally broke. Caleb sighed. "Sloane, there is really nothing between me and Piper. If it bothers you, I'll try my best not to contact her. Just drop the divorce talk, I don't want to hear it." I sighed too. "Caleb, don't give me an answer right away. Think about it carefully. Do you really not want a divorce? Because right now, for you, the pros of divorce heavily outweigh the cons!" 06 That night, Caleb and I parted on bad terms. For the next consecutive week, he slept in the guest room, leaving early and coming home late, not saying a single word to me. Autumn smoothed out a crease in her storybook. "Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?" "What's wrong?" "I want to read this storybook with Daddy." "Can't Mommy read it with you?" The little girl looked at me. "But I want to read this one with Daddy!" My heart ached. It seemed I couldn't just passively wait anymore. Piper's villa wasn't far from ours. It was a property given to Caleb as collateral for a debt years ago. I went to the security office. Using the excuse of losing a valuable item, I requested to view the surveillance footage accompanied by a guard. Over the past week, without missing a single day, Caleb drove in every afternoon and left an hour or two later. Today, it hadn't even been an hour since he arrived. The front door had an electronic lock. I had long forgotten the passcode. I had to knock. The door opened quickly, and a bright, pretty little face peeked out. "Why are you so early today..." Seeing me, the smile froze on her face, and she stood rooted to the spot. Seeing her wearing an apron, I asked, "Cooking?" Piper tightly gripped the hem of her apron. "Mrs. Carter!" I nodded and stepped past her into the house. Piper followed me inside. She asked, "Mrs. Carter, can I help you with something?" "I'm sorry," I said. "I need to revoke the usage rights to this house. Will an hour be enough for you to pack your things? Do you need me to call a moving company for you? Oh, right, and that bakery—you can either return the startup capital to me, or I'll take the storefront back!" Piper's eyes widened. Her initial timidity transformed into anger. "What gives you the right?" I smiled. "Because these are marital assets." Piper's face darkened. She stepped back and shook her head. "Mrs. Carter, this is between Caleb and me. You have no right to interfere!" "Alright, then let's wait for him!" I found a spot and sat down, while Piper remained standing. After I don't know how long, she broke the silence. "Mrs. Carter, do you know how much Caleb hates going back to that house?" "Oh? How much?" She curled her lips into a mocking smile. She said, "He'd rather work overtime at the office or drink at a club. Do you know that every day when he gets home, he sits in his car and smokes for half an hour before going inside?" "Mrs. Carter, things between Caleb and me aren't as filthy as you think. He just wants to steal a half-day of peace here. The pressure on him is too much, and this place lets him relax. Are you going to strip him of his very last bit of personal space?" "Mrs. Carter, you make your husband dread going home. What a failure of a wife you must be!" "Did you hear that?" I suddenly spoke up. "What?" Piper looked confused. I held up my phone and spoke to the person on the other end of the line: "Caleb, did you hear what your little girl just said?" There was silence on the other end. I continued, "I can't imagine how devastated I would be hearing that if I were still deeply in love with you. But thankfully, I don't love you anymore. Caleb, I don't love you anymore. Let's finalize this divorce as soon as possible! I'll give you two days to think. If I don't get the answer I want, I'm filing a lawsuit!" 07 That day, Caleb ultimately didn't stay for dinner at Piper's. When he got back, not only Autumn but even the nanny was shocked and quickly cooked two extra dishes. At the dinner table, Autumn was very excited, chattering endlessly about her day at preschool. For once, Caleb didn't tell her "No talking at the dinner table." After dinner, we played games with Autumn together. She dragged Caleb to read that storybook she had been saving, and finally drifted off to sleep, completely satisfied. Coming out of Autumn's room, we instinctively went to the living room. This time, Caleb spoke first. "Sloane, there are some things I didn't know how to tell you, so letting it out to a passing acquaintance like Piper was easier. Sloane, there is really nothing between Piper and me. You can look at our relationship as an equal exchange. I give her help, and she acts as my emotional trash can, that's it. Sloane, I didn't want to bring my negative emotions home to you. I always thought, as long as I could steal a half-day of peace there, I'd still be Sloane's perfect husband when I got home." Men and women are seemingly never on the same frequency. Once, I desperately wanted to hear Caleb's true thoughts, but he was always so stingy with his words, even treating me like I was neurotic. But now, when he finally started bearing his soul, I only felt disgusted. "Caleb, can we skip the bullshit? What are your thoughts on the divorce?" My stubbornness made Caleb irritable. "Why does it have to be a divorce? Tell me what's wrong, and I'll fix it!" I couldn't understand him either. "Why won't you agree to a divorce? You heard Piper today. She definitely has those intentions. All it takes is piercing that thin veil, and the rest is inevitable. Doesn't your current life feel incredibly boring? Isn't divorce the best option?" My words were too blunt. A rare look of panic flashed across Caleb's face. He clenched his fists, looked away, and growled, "I never wanted a divorce!" I leaned back on the couch. "Then you really need to think hard about it! Caleb, our ties are deep. The relationship between our families, the business overlaps, various joint investments, and most importantly, me and Autumn. If we can split amicably, there's no need to tear each other apart. Otherwise, it will get very ugly. I'm suggesting this sincerely: if you want to step out, divorce me first." "I told you, I never wanted a divorce, and I won't cheat. Why don't you believe me?" My patience was running thin. "Tell me, what will it take for you to agree to a divorce?" Caleb gritted his teeth. "I'm not getting a divorce!" "Why?" "Because I love you!" Caleb's sudden outburst made me close my eyes in agony. I clenched my jaw. "Don't love me. I'm begging you, stop loving me!" Caleb and I were childhood sweethearts. From high school to walking down the aisle, we were each other's first loves and only loves. Along this journey, Caleb told me countless times that he loved me. The first time, it made my heart flutter. Subsequent times, it felt deeply romantic and tender. That feeling of holding the entire world in my hands had kept me intoxicated for a very long time. Until Caleb broke it all. Once, after getting drunk, he told me he still loved me, but he didn't love Autumn. "If it weren't for you, Autumn would mean absolutely nothing to me!" Was that supposed to be romantic? No, it made my blood run cold. If a person can't even love their own child, then they must only truly love themselves. "Caleb, actually, your current life—aside from being a bit boring—must be pretty comfortable for you. After all, I don't demand that you come home early, I don't demand your company, I don't track your whereabouts, and I don't interfere with your actions. You easily get to be the father of a five-year-old. You have a home, a wife, and a child, yet you don't have to sacrifice anything. So, after doing all those terrible things, you can still self-righteously say no to a divorce because you are the beneficiary of this arrangement, aren't you?" "Here we go again! Here we go again!" Caleb flared up. "Can we stick to the issue at hand? Do you have to dig up the past? Sloane, this is getting really tiring!" Stick to the issue? Fine! "Your desire to cheat is an established fact. If not Piper, it would be someone else. Your relationship with Piper has already crossed the line of normal boundaries. I have reasonable suspicion that you have already cheated!" "I haven't!" Caleb growled. I sneered. "I don't believe you!" "Then what do I have to do to make you believe me?!" "I won't believe anything you do!" Caleb glared at me furiously. "Sloane, you're being completely unreasonable!" I nodded. "So what? Caleb, since I've brought up divorce, I will get it done at any cost. You can take my words as a threat!" Caleb was expressionless. I continued, "Or let me be clearer. Your company is in a critical pre-IPO phase. You can consider which causes less damage: a massive scandal, or an amicable divorce!" At that moment, Caleb fell silent. I had said everything that needed to be said. The rest was up to Caleb. He seemed to stay up all night. When I went down to get water in the middle of the night, I could still see the light shining from under the study door. The next day, we took Autumn to preschool together. After Autumn walked inside, Caleb said to me, "I agree." "If this is what you want, I'll give it to you!"
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