Chapter 2

Chapter 2 It was him.

My mind went completely blank.

Noticing my pale, grim expression, Tyler took the hint and quietly stepped away.

My thoughts were a chaotic mess.

Did this mean that every single late night he ignored my calls, he was actually here, dancing with someone else?

Had they already taken things much further?

Seeing it with my own eyes made it impossible to stop my imagination from spiraling.

Faye returned to the table with an arm around two handsome guys, grinning proudly. "I know you're a loyal girl, so these two are all mine!"

The moment she saw my face, her smile vanished.

She quickly dismissed the two men and leaned across the table, asking what went wrong.

When I told her, Faye slammed her hand against the table in pure rage.

"What the hell! Eight years, and this is how he treats you? That cheating bastard!"

"I'm going down there right now to drag those two trash bags up here!"

I gripped her arm tightly to hold her back.

"Faye, please. I'm exhausted… Let's just go home."

Eight years was a lifetime.

We had been together since our senior year of high school, and more than half my memories revolved around him.

My mother passed away when I was young, and my father died of illness not long ago.

In my heart, Kaden was as close as actual family.

I refused to make a scene in a crowded club. At the very least, I wanted to preserve his final shred of dignity.

Knowing how stubborn I could be, Faye could only comfort me and drive me home.

Before leaving, she squeezed my shoulder with a solemn look.

"Babe, cut him loose clean. A scumbag like that doesn't deserve another second of your tears. Call me anytime, okay?"

I had gone out to cheer her up, but now she was the one consoling me.

That night, I didn't sleep a wink and smoked an entire pack of cigarettes on the balcony.

Early the next morning, Kaden returned from his alleged business trip.

He rolled his suitcase through the front door, offering me his usual affectionate smile before leaning down to kiss my cheek.

"Long time no see. Did you miss me?"

It was the same warm greeting, the same charming smile.

Yet the man standing before me felt like a complete stranger.

As he drew close, a faint scent of sweat, alcohol, and cloying feminine perfume seemed to cling to his skin.

The vivid image of him wrapped around another woman flashed through my mind, sending a wave of nausea through my body. I instinctively pushed him away.

My eyes immediately locked onto his collarbone, where a faint reddish mark was glaringly obvious.

"What's that on your neck?"

A flicker of panic flashed across Kaden's face, but he quickly covered it with a light chuckle as his hand brushed over it.

"Nothing, just a mosquito bite."

Watching his composed demeanor, my heart sank further, and I probed again.

"How did the meeting with the foreign investors go last night?"

"It went great," Kaden said with a light smile, sitting down beside me on the sofa.

"We were going over numbers until one in the morning. You know how those foreign partners are with time zones, which is why I missed your call."

"I wanted to call you back when we wrapped up, but it was way past midnight."

"I knew you had work today, so I couldn't bring myself to wake you."

As he spoke, he gently pinched my cheek.

"Is my girl upset with me?"

After eight years together, we knew each other inside and out.

He had immediately picked up on my cold mood.

And I could see through his guilty behavior even more clearly.

Normally, no matter what I asked, his answers were concise and direct, mirroring his sharp business style.

That long, rambling explanation just now reeked of overcompensation.

"Kaden."

"Do you still remember the promise we made when we first started dating?"

"Of course I do," Kaden replied softly.

"No matter what happens in the future, we always stay honest, never hide anything, and face everything together."

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest.

"I know I've been buried in work lately and neglected you. I'm sorry, sweetheart."

My emotions were tangled in knots.

We had weathered so much together since high school.

The company we had today was built from scratch with our bare hands, with him handling external expansion while I managed internal operations.

For seven or eight years, we were closer than blood.

Maybe… it was just a momentary lapse in judgment.

If he was willing to come clean right now, I was ready to give him one last chance.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"