Chapter 1

I scrolled past a post.

"What's the most thrilling thing couples do?"

I paused for a moment, about to type: "We both grew up in the foster care system, and at 18..."

But a shocking comment suddenly caught my eye.

"I'm his intern, and now I'm his mistress."

"We're true love. He'd do anything for me..."

"The most thrilling thing, you ask? His wife has a unique condition. Whenever she gets emotional and feverish, cherry blossom-like red marks appear on her skin."

"He always says he loves watching her 'bloom' for him, but he's actually making bets with me on how long those marks will take to fade."

"The most exciting part is, whenever his wife is most emotional, her skin covered in the fullest 'bloom,' he'll quietly pull back the curtains, letting me watch everything clearly from outside the window."

I looked down at the cherry blossom-like red marks still visible on my own skin.

My blood instantly froze.

The comments section exploded with outrage, netizens expressing their condemnation.

But the woman remained completely unfazed, her replies brimming with blatant pride.

Someone asked, "Watching from outside? Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"

She instantly replied, "His penthouse apartment has floor-to-ceiling windows leading out to a small balcony. No one goes out there but him. His wife thinks it's reflective glass and that you can't see anything from outside, tee hee."

"Haha, she looks so pathetic and funny crying and calling his name when she's emotional."

"Can't chat anymore, I'm going to put on his favorite white T-shirt now. He said it's a reward for me guessing correctly how long the marks would take to fade last night."

My fingers clutched the phone until they were white, a cold dread seizing my heart.

Last night, Ethan said a company project was wrapping up and we should celebrate.

He prepared a candlelit dinner, uncorked an expensive red wine.

In the throes of passion, he carried me to the giant floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside were the city's dazzling lights.

He whispered, "Mia, look at all these city lights. They don't hold a candle to even a fraction of the cherry blossoms blooming on your skin for me."

I was so touched I couldn't think straight.

Now, remembering it, my stomach churned with nausea.

All those words of love I thought were for me were actually meant for someone else outside that window.

Calming myself, I followed the woman's account, then sent Ethan a message.

"Ethan, are you still working late tonight?"

He replied almost immediately: "Yeah, still some loose ends to tie up with the project. What's up?"

I didn't reply again, instead heading straight downstairs to the security office.

Our years of shared history couldn't be dismissed by a single anonymous post.

The security guard on duty, Carl, looked surprised when he saw me. "Mrs. Ethan, what brings you down so late?"

I forced a stiff smile. "I suspect someone might have tried to climb onto our balcony last night. Could you help me pull up the surveillance footage from outside our balcony between ten and twelve last night?"

Carl nodded, immediately bringing up the footage. "Of course."

But I caught a flicker of something in his eyes.

Just as I expected.

On the monitor, everything appeared normal.

"Could you also pull up the footage from the main entrance?" I asked.

His hand trembled slightly, but after a moment's hesitation, he clicked.

A slender figure, dressed in a white shirt and short skirt, furtively appeared at the main entrance.

That face, I knew all too well.

It was Chloe, the intern Ethan had hired six months ago.

The tension that had coiled in me finally snapped.

A tidal wave of hurt, anger, and disgust instantly washed over me.

My first instinct was to confront him.

But my feet were rooted to the spot.

"Don't do anything rash."

A deep male voice came from behind me.

I spun around. Liam was standing there, a box of medicine in his hand. I hadn't even noticed him.

"You have a sensitive stomach. Don't drink cold water this late."

He handed me the medicine and a glass of warm water, his eyes full of concern.

I fought desperately to suppress my trembling, just to keep the tears from falling.

"I'm fine, just feeling a little unwell. I should go."

Without waiting for Liam's reaction, I turned and ran.

Back home, I locked myself in the bathroom.

I turned on the shower, letting the ice-cold water pour over my head.

My phone buzzed. It was a new post from Chloe.