Chapter 3

Daniel’s pupils constricted violently, his eyes flashing with panic, but it was quickly replaced by explosive anger.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

He grabbed my hand and violently threw it away.

"Evelyn, I think you really *are* crazy!"

"Whether I'm crazy or not, you know best."

I looked at him coldly.

"Daniel, stop acting. It's disgusting."

He stared at me intently, his chest heaving.

After a long moment, he suddenly laughed, a cruel, mocking edge in his voice.

"Fine. So what if I still think about Chloe? What are you going to do about it?"

He spread his hands, a defiant, 'what can you do to me?' look on his face.

"Evelyn, we've been married for twenty years. Do you have any proof?"

"Without proof, you can scream it to the high heavens, it won't matter."

"As for money, you won't get a single penny."

"And Leo? He's certainly not going with a crazy woman like you."

This was the man I had shared my bed with for twenty years.

I looked at him, my heart growing colder with each passing second.

"Proof?"

I let out a soft laugh.

"You'll have it soon enough."

My phone rang just then.

It was an unknown number.

I answered it in front of Daniel, putting it on speaker.

A soft, somewhat delicate female voice came from the other end.

"Is this Evelyn? Evelyn, dear?"

Daniel's face turned ashen the moment he heard the voice.

I raised an eyebrow, looking at him.

He avoided my gaze, unable to meet my eyes.

"This is Evelyn. Who is this?"

I asked, feigning calmness.

"It's Chloe Miller."

The woman on the phone giggled.

"Daniel hasn't mentioned me to you?"

"Oh?"

I drew out the word, asking with feigned interest.

"How should he mention you to me?"

"Are you his white moonlight, or the one that left an indelible mark on his soul?"

Chloe seemed surprised by my directness, paused for a second, then laughed even harder.

"Evelyn, you're so funny."

"I'm not calling for any particular reason, just wanted to give you some advice."

"Daniel is a sentimental man, he's been through a lot."

"If my family hadn't had problems back then, we would have been married years ago. You wouldn't have even been in the picture."

"Honestly, you were just... a substitute."

"Now that I'm back, it's time for him to get back on the right track, back to me."

"Evelyn, you're a smart woman. I'm sure you know what to do, right?"

"Holding onto something that doesn't belong to you can be quite difficult."

"Oh, and by the way,"

She said, as if suddenly remembering, her voice dripping with triumph.

"That old mug Daniel threw away? It was the first gift I ever gave him."

"He said that looking at that mug was like looking at me."

"Now that I'm back, of course, he had to throw out the old one and replace it with the new one I bought him."

"He said it's 'out with the old, in with the new'."

I could clearly see the vein throbbing in Daniel's forehead.

His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white.

"Chloe! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Daniel finally couldn't hold back and roared into the phone.

"Daniel, don't be mean to me."

Chloe's voice turned wounded and resentful.

"I'm just helping you say what you're too afraid to say."

"Aren't you tired of this old and boring wife?"

"You told me she was dull and uninteresting, like plain tap water, and that I was the fiery liquor that made you feel alive."

"Daniel, will you choose the plain water or the fiery liquor?"

With that, she hung up.

I folded my arms, watching Daniel, composed and at ease.

"Now, do I need to find evidence?"

His face cycled through red, then white, a truly spectacular display.

He suddenly lunged forward, snatching my phone and slamming it to the ground.

The screen instantly shattered into a spiderweb of cracks.

"Crazy!"

"You're both crazy!"

He paced the room like a caged animal, agitated, before stopping in front of me, his eyes bloodshot.

"Evelyn, that woman is insane!"

"She just wants to destroy our family!"

"You can't believe her!"

"Oh really?"

I countered.

"So 'out with the old, in with the new' and 'plain tap water versus fiery liquor' – she made all that up too?"

Daniel's body froze.

"That was... that was just her trying to get a rise out of you..."

Daniel’s gaze darted around, concocting a lie that wouldn't convince even himself.