Chapter 3

I scrolled through my photos, only to find that pictures of Liam and me together were painfully few. Finally, I picked a really old one.

I sent the photo to the group, claiming they were talking nonsense and that we were doing great!

Only then did they say they must have been mistaken, that it wasn't Liam, the campus king.

Everyone was curious about who this man in Stella’s post was.

Some guessed it was an old classmate who used to have a crush on her, others thought it was a younger guy.

After a long discussion, they all started tagging Stella, begging her to satisfy their curiosity.

Stella didn't pop up, but a few minutes later, Liam appeared in the group. He tagged Stella: "Am I someone to be ashamed of?"

He openly admitted they were together, completely tearing down my flimsy facade. He had abandoned me for Stella, again.

The group was flooded with congratulations: "Congrats to campus queen Stella and campus king Liam on rekindling your romance!"

Liam generously sent out a massive amount of cash to the whole group.

Only my former deskmate, Chloe, didn't grab any. Instead, she privately messaged me: "Audrey, sigh! You've been married for five years, and he still puts Stella first. Maybe it’s time to dump him! You deserve better!"

Yes, I deserve better! Dump him. I don't want him anymore.

I deleted every photo of him from my phone. I wanted to leave.

The next morning, I went to work alone.

I had just arrived, and Liam walked in right after me, with Stella. He probably couldn't bear to leave her alone at home after being apart for so long, so he brought her with him.

The moment she saw me, she grabbed my hand, acting all sweet. "Audrey, I'm so sorry. Last night, Liam and I hadn't seen each other in ages, and we drank too much, just messed around."

"He always looks out for me, you know? So he must have caused you some trouble. I'm really sorry, I’ve already told him off."

"And, Audrey, as a good friend, I truly want to thank you. Thank you for taking such good care of Liam all these years, really, thank you…"

She smiled at me, tears welling up in her eyes again.

I returned a polite smile. "No need to thank me. I'm his wife now; it’s my duty to take care of him."

"Stella, if you still consider me a friend, come directly to me if you’re in trouble…" My unspoken meaning was clear: stay away from Liam.

Her expression froze. She looked me up and down for a long moment.

"Audrey, you've had Liam for five years. Isn’t it time to give him back to me?"

"Liam and I are truly in love." With that, she knelt before me.

Her slender body knelt perfectly straight on the floor, her hands clutching the hem of my clothes, her eyes flashing with humble pleading.

I felt a surge of annoyance. I stepped back two paces and pulled my clothes away from her hands.

Maybe I used too much force; she stumbled back and fell, scraping her wrist.

Tearfully, she said, "Audrey, I’m sorry, but Liam and I are truly in love, everyone knows that. Can you please just let us be together?"

"You can hit me, scold me, anything! Go ahead! As long as it makes you feel better!"

She stood up and rushed at me, grabbing my hand and trying to slap her own face with it. In the struggle, I pushed her away, and she fell again.

Just my luck, Liam saw me push Stella. He quickly ran over, gently picking her up, his face filled with concern.

Seeing the blood on her wrist, he was furious. He glared at me, his voice icy. "Audrey Knight, did I give you permission to do this? How dare you lay a hand on her!"

Stella, her eyes filled with tears, clung to him and sobbed, "Liam, no, it wasn't her. I just fell." She was crying so beautifully, Liam was completely heartbroken.

He gently stroked her hair, comforting her.

"Stella, you're just too kind. I saw everything. Are you still going to cover for her out of some misguided sense of sisterhood?"

He turned to me, his attitude completely changed, looking as if he could devour me whole. "Audrey Knight, apologize to Stella!"

I met his gaze, my eyes cold, as if nothing concerned me. I turned to walk away.

Liam was enraged by my indifference. He took three quick steps and landed a solid slap across my face. It stung, but I stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.

I suddenly envied Stella so much. She had been gone for so long, yet Liam still loved her deeply.

He looked at the five-finger mark on my face, a little lost. It was my assistant, Maya, who couldn't take it anymore. She closed her eyes, pointing at me.

"Mr. Hayes! My boss is your wife! Are you blind? Hitting our boss for some green tea bitch!"

"What does our boss lack compared to that green tea bitch?"

"Have you forgotten how harmonious you were with our boss before? Forgotten how you said you wanted a simple family life with her, just the three of you?"

"The way you are now, our boss wouldn't even want to have your baby!"

"Apologize to her! Maybe she’ll still forgive you!"

I instinctively touched my stomach. My period hadn't come this month. Could I really be pregnant?

Liam scoffed, his gaze sweeping over me dismissively, devoid of any emotion. "Audrey, maybe I did like you these past few years, but now Stella's back."

"You know how much Stella means to me. Whether it's you, or anyone else, you all have to step aside."

I could feel the difference between love and not love, between liking and not liking.

He might have liked me once, but with Stella back, his entire heart had no room for me.

I stared at him, pulling the ring from my ring finger, slowly, deliberately. It was never truly mine; it was time to give it back to Stella.

Liam’s face turned stone cold. He watched in silence as I tossed the ring onto Stella.

Maya, my assistant, was furious. "Boss, why are you making it easy for that green tea bitch!"

Stella ignored Maya's outburst. She reached down and picked up the ring. She slipped it onto her own finger, and it fit perfectly.

With a delighted gasp, she showed it to Liam. She was so overjoyed she burst into tears, clinging to Liam and playfully whining, "Liam, this is the ring from before, right? Look, it’s back on my hand!"

Liam, I don't want you anymore.

Liam didn't answer, just stared at me. He knew how much I cherished that ring.

I didn't want to argue anymore.

Without looking at him, I turned and walked away. It took a long time for the ache in my heart to subside.

As lunchtime approached, my assistant, Maya, knocked on my office door, carrying my lunch.