Chapter 1 Chapter 1

I went to take a shower after dinner. It was then that I suddenly saw a weird palm print on the glass window. Someone must have left that palm print behind with their soapy hand while taking a shower. The print was quite faint and white against the shiny glass on the window. It was obviously a woman's handprint, and it wasn't mine. My hand was a little bigger than this. So I couldn't have been the one who put it there. It couldn't have been my daughter, Bella Quinton, either. She had tiny hands and wasn't even tall enough to reach that spot yet. Also, it definitely did not belong to my husband, Rory Quinton. If that was the case, what kind of woman would have used the shower in my home, and why would she even do so? I kept telling myself that I shouldn't overthink things. Despite that, I just couldn't help combing through the bathroom in search of more clues. I didn't notice any other weird prints in the bathroom. However, I did smell an unusual fragrance that smelled like perfume. It was quite different from the scent of the body wash that we usually used. In addition to that, the trash in the bathroom bin had been taken out. I remember there being some trash in the plastic bag in the bin this morning—it was gone now. But Rory was the lazy kind who wouldn't take out the trash unless I told him to do it. After I took my shower, I asked Rory if anyone else had used our shower today. He was in the midst of gaming and answered me without even looking up. "No," he replied without hesitation. "Really? But it feels like someone used it earlier," I said casually, observing Rory's reaction. "Oh, come to think about it, the delivery guy came in the afternoon and asked if he could use the toilet," Rory answered, sounding a little anxious. He spoke very quickly. It was obvious that he was lying. "Really? And he even took a shower?" I asked. I then saw Rory frowning impatiently. "Who'd go and shower in the middle of the day? Maybe he just had a look because he was curious. You know that our jacuzzi bathtub is pretty cool," he said with a dry laugh. Then, Rory turned off the computer and went into the bedroom to grab a set of fresh clothes to shower. Rory wasn't wrong. We had a huge jacuzzi bathtub in our bathroom. Rory and I had chosen it together. He'd always paid more attention to his quality of life. As I thought more about it, it figured that perhaps the handprint on the window was slightly smaller than ours because it had somehow shrunk while drying out. I thought that I must be overthinking it. How could I suspect my husband of cheating on me just because a weird handprint had appeared in the bathroom? However, I couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that had been gnawing at me lately. I kept thinking about how my relationship with Rory seemed to have become somewhat dry recently. Things had been like this for quite a few days. I figured that it must also have something to do with Rory's attitude. He seemed to be acting a lot colder toward me as of late. In the past, he'd usually accompany me for a night stroll in the nearby vicinity to exercise and chat about our company's latest developments. Now, however, he kept staying at home to play games on his computer while I went out alone with Bella instead. On top of that, he'd also forgotten about our wedding anniversary. He hadn't just forgotten to surprise me—he'd even left for a business trip on the same day. But when I'd asked him for details on the trip, he'd told me that he'd mistaken the date and had gone drinking with his old friends after coincidentally running into them. I hadn't probed any further into it. After all, Rory still cared about me and often bought me makeup as gifts. Alas, he kept buying me makeup from brands I didn't use. I was even allergic to a few of them, but I'd chalked the incidents up to guys being guys and not knowing any better. All in all, I just thought that I was simply overreacting. Maybe my mind had just started wandering off on its own because I'd been a little too exhausted lately.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

As I headed out for work the next day, I bumped into Mia Fontana, our new neighbor, in the elevator. She was a pretty young woman with a very sweet and demure voice. She was wearing a floral dress with an exquisite sling bag over her shoulder. She looked young, fresh, and very likable in general. I had a good impression of Mia because she was often very warm and welcoming with her greetings. Today was no exception. She smiled widely at me and greeted me. "Morning, Gaby!" I stood next to her and returned her smile. Just as she lowered her head, her long hair fell slightly to the front, and I caught a whiff of a very familiar scent from it. I was very shocked. Wasn't this the scent I'd smelled in my bathroom just yesterday? My smile froze on my face. I looked at Mia's clean makeup look and did my best to suppress my emotions. Then, I pretended to ask casually, "Mia, Rory said that the heater at your place broke down last night. Did you use the shower in my house?""Me? Oh, I didn't. I just used the toilet," Mia answered calmly. However, I could see that she was fidgeting with the chains on her bag. She looked very anxious, and I could even see beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She quickly took out her compact powder to touch up her makeup. I immediately recognized the Dior makeup she was using on her face. Hadn't Rory suddenly gifted me makeup from the same brand just the other day? I remember coming home that day just as the parcel was being delivered. I opened it up and saw that it was a pile of Dior makeup. I didn't use makeup from Dior, so I was confused as to who would have bought them. Rory had then rushed out rather anxiously from the bathroom, explaining that the gifts were meant for me. He'd claimed that he'd been trying to make it up to me for forgetting our wedding anniversary before. Now that I thought back to it, it seemed as though the makeup Rory had bought had never been supposed to be mine after all. I deduced that the person who'd used our bathroom hadn't been some random deliveryman but Mia, our neighbor. If Mia had only wanted to use the toilet, why had Rory felt the need to lie to me about it? It seemed as though there was more to this than I'd thought after all. The handprint must have belonged to Mia. Given how she was acting so anxious now, it wasn't hard to gauge that she must be having some sort of unspeakable relationship with Rory. After stepping out of the elevator, Mia waved goodbye to me rather stiffly and awkwardly. I noticed that one of the clasps of the keychain on her bag was missing, so it was hanging lopsided. She didn't seem to have noticed, however. The clasp looked familiar. I felt as though I'd seen it somewhere before, but I couldn't recall when or where. Maybe it was similar to a shirt button or clasp I'd bought before. I shook my head, not wanting to pursue it any further. The scent of her perfume was more intriguing to me. I wondered again if the perfume scent was a common scent. Maybe it was such a popular scent that many people used it. I couldn't be sure that it had been Mia. I was worried that I was mistaken—if so, I would be accidentally accusing someone innocent and wasting all of my time on her. So, once I was done with work, I went to a huge perfume shop and asked the salesperson for some samples. After browsing the shop and testing several perfumes, I still couldn't find what I was looking for, so I headed straight home As soon as I got home, I suddenly remembered the clasp I'd seen on Mia's bag this morning. I'd seen its missing pair somewhere in our bedroom before. However, I hadn't paid much attention to it in the past, so it could have rolled under the bed and gotten lost. In fact, it might still be there. So, while Rory took Bella out for their nightly stroll, I dived under the bed and searched everywhere for the clasp. There was a thin layer of dust on the clasp when I finally found it. It was the final nail in the coffin—undeniable proof that Rory was cheating on me with Mia. The truth hit me like a blow, and I collapsed onto the bed, utterly drained.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

I'd met Rory while we'd both been in college. We'd dated for two years and gotten married after graduating. Five years had passed since then, and we also had a five-year-old daughter. I'd never thought he would betray me and our marriage now. Rory and I had been dirt poor when we'd gotten married after graduation. We'd founded a clothing company together afterward. Things had started out rough, but gradually, our effort began to pay off. We now owned a house and a car, and we even had plenty of savings. No one would be able to understand all the hardships we'd been through to get to where we were today. I thought that life had finally been getting better, but it turned out that someone had secretly been stealing the sweet fruits of my labor from me. I'd be damned if I let anyone ruin things for me and walk away scot-free! Just as I was clutching the clasp in my hand and cursing madly at Rory, Bella suddenly appeared and ran up to me with a curious look on her face. Maybe the scary look on my face had terrified her, because she called out to me very timidly and in a soft, hushed voice. "Mommy…" I snapped back to my senses, realizing that my hateful self wasn't good for a growing and actively learning child. Bella was supposed to grow up surrounded by her parents' love and care. How could I possibly let her witness her parents' relationship getting ruined? I calmed myself down and hugged Bella tightly while comforting her. Maybe I shouldn't divorce Rory just yet. I didn't want Bella to grow up in a single-parent family. After all, I'd grown up in a single-parent family myself, and I knew how much pain and hardship came with that label. When I'd been in middle school, Dad had had an affair and divorced Mom before abandoning us. I'd become a laughingstock and had often been the target of many bullies at school. They had gossiped about me behind my back and left nasty messages on my desk. To them, I'd been nothing more than an easy target. When I'd gone back home, I'd been faced with Mom's wrath and resentment. I didn't want my daughter to go through anything like that. So, to keep my family from crumbling apart, I decided that I should set up a meeting with the homewrecker herself. I got a private investigator to keep an eye on Mia. They took photos of her going out with Rory and sent them to me. I also installed a tiny camera in the corner of our bedroom. A few days later, the camera footage showed two distinctive shadows rolling under the sheets. Rory was panting rather aggressively above Mia's body while she stared dreamily at him, trying to catch her breath. I was so angry that I turned off the camera at once. While Rory was on a business trip during the weekend, I decided to meet up with Mia and lay down my cards. I showed her the photos I had of her and then told her that I didn't mind paying her if she would stay away from my husband. Mia was a young and pretty woman, after all, and she wouldn't have any trouble finding other single men within her league. However, she just had to choose to have an affair with a married man. Maybe she'd just been led astray. Maybe she would finally stay away if I gave her some money. I forced down the anger in my throat and said, "I'll give you 100 thousand dollars if you'll stay away from Rory and start afresh somewhere else. It's better than being a homewrecking mistress like you are now." I pushed the money toward her. Mia looked at me with tears in her eyes. I thought she'd take the money and leave, but to my surprise, she suddenly laughed and pushed the money back toward me. "I don't want your money. What Rory and I have is true love. He even promised me he'd marry me!" Mia said, suddenly showing off the ring Rory had bought her. The diamond on her ring even looked larger than the one on my own wedding ring. I scoffed and delivered a tight slap to her smug little face. She knew she was the mistress here, but she didn't care. I hated shameless people like her the most. I'd initially thought she'd just been lured into this unknowingly, but now it seemed that she'd known what she'd been doing all along. She said she was in love with Rory, but I knew she was simply staying for the benefits. I'd completely underestimated her. No wonder she hadn't even spared a glance at the 100 thousand dollars I'd offered her.