Chapter 2

To my surprise, he didn't even look at the documents. His brow furrowed in immediate irritation.

"Why are you investigating her? How many times, Aurora? Seraphina is just an assistant. She means nothing."

"If she means nothing," I shot back, "fire her. I won't have a 'nothing' woman casting a shadow over my marriage. Remember who funded this company of yours."

At that, Adam snapped.

"There it is. The golden ticket. Do you have to hold it over my head every day? You think being my savior gives you the right to control my every move."

I didn't back down. "My line is infidelity, Adam. Fire her. Or I will."

Adam shook with rage. He ripped off his tie, glaring at me as if I were the enemy.

"Fine, you win. I'll fire her tomorrow."

Then he kicked the table, turned, and stormed upstairs without another look.

The moment he disappeared, the tears I'd held back finally fell. Then my body gave out, and I collapsed into the sofa.

Seraphina had only been at the company for a few days, yet Adam was already a stranger.

That night, he didn't come to our bedroom. He slept in the guest room.

It was a stark break from his old routine. Every night, his first stop was our room for a kiss-first for Celeste, then for me.

And he would gently say to me, "My love, you must be exhausted."

Then he'd hold Celeste in his arms.

"Our precious girl is just too adorable."

Now, because I'd dared to look into Seraphina, he wouldn't even look at our daughter.

He wouldn't even come home to our room.

My heart ached for Adam all night, and even in the middle of the night, my C-section incision throbbed faintly.

Celeste also cried non-stop all night for some unknown reason.

Rachel, the nanny, didn't sleep a wink that night because of Celeste and me.

But Adam never came to check on us.

Still, the outcome was positive. Early the next morning, I received a call from HR, telling me that Adam had fired Seraphina.

I let out a long sigh of relief. By mid-afternoon, I SnapChatted Adam, asking him to come home for dinner.

I told him I'd asked Rachel to make his favorite paella.

I desperately wanted to mend things between Adam and me, and I was genuinely convinced that Adam had just momentarily lost his way in our marriage. I even thought Seraphina was insignificant.

But to my surprise, Adam didn't reply to my message until eight o'clock that night.

My brow furrowed, and I called Adam, but it went straight to voicemail.

It wasn't until 11 PM that he finally messaged me.

"Sleeping at a hotel tonight. Not coming home."