Chapter 3

3

But the moment I stepped out of the building, Beckett came chasing after me.

His voice was full of panic as he asked why I left without seeing him, acting like we hadn't seen each other in years.

I looked up at him with cold eyes.

"It's nothing. You just looked busy, and I didn't want to bother you."

"How could work be more important than my wife? I just cleared my whole afternoon schedule so I can focus entirely on you today."

"By the way, didn't you say you didn't like yesterday's gift? I pre-ordered a custom jewelry set for you to check out."

At the mention of gifts, my chest tightened with sharp pain.

I couldn't stop thinking about those two identical jade amulets.

I had zero interest, but before I could refuse, he was already steering me into his car.

The car navigated familiar streets and pulled up to a high-end jewelry boutique.

As soon as the clerk saw Beckett, she eagerly pulled a complete set of jewelry from the safe.

Under Beckett's approving gaze, a nine-hundred-thousand-dollar necklace was clasped around my neck.

"Mr. Wright, you have incredible taste! This design is our latest release for the year."

"We only made one physical piece from each sketch, so it is absolutely one-of-a-kind. You'll never see anyone else wearing it."

Beckett didn't know much about jewelry, but the phrase "one-of-a-kind" instantly caught his attention.

"Hazel, let's take this one. I want the whole world to know that you are forever one-of-a-kind to me."

"You deserve the best, and nothing less."

His sudden romantic confession made the clerks swoon with envy.

They gushed over how deeply in love we still were after so many years of marriage.

I lowered my eyes, watching him slowly slide the ring onto my middle finger, and gave a faint nod.

"Whatever you decide is fine."

After all, I would be giving all of this back to him in the end anyway.

In the past, Beckett would have immediately noticed that something was wrong with me.

But right now, his phone screen kept lighting up with calls from the same number.

Even with a brief glance, I instantly recognized the caller ID.

It read: baby Summer.

"Hazel... um, it looks like there's a contract detail I need to finalize for the office. I'm going to take this call real quick."

Beckett looked awkward, instinctively shielding his phone screen against his chest.

I stayed silent, letting him put on his little show.

He pretended to talk business for a second before retreating to a far corner of the store.

He was definitely being cautious.

Too bad he forgot that he used to never need the word "cautious" when it came to me.

"Mrs. Wright, you are so lucky! I remember Mr. Wright just came in a few days ago to order a custom ring, and now he's buying you more jewelry!"

"We are all so jealous! We packed the set for you. Should we send it to the same address as last time?"

The clerk leaned in with a bright smile, but was met with my confused stare.

"Ring?"

The air in the room instantly froze.

Seeing the tension, her coworker quickly jumped in to smooth things over, laughing nervously as she pulled her away.

"We have so many customers coming and going, she just got confused. So sorry about that!"

"Mrs. Wright, please just fill out the shipping address here."

Even though I already knew Beckett was cheating, my hand still trembled as I signed the receipt.

I didn't expect their relationship to have already reached the ring stage.

So what did that make our marriage and the vows we sealed with rings?

A complete joke.

I silently filled out the form, and the two clerks used the excuse of packaging the items to hide behind the counter.

Their voices were low, but still loud enough for me to hear.

"I told you to keep your mouth shut! You really messed up this time."

"I just read the news and thought Mr. Wright was totally devoted. I didn't think he would do something like that..."

"Ugh, whatever."

The second clerk sounded totally unfazed, as if she had seen this kind of dirty secret a million times.

"It's totally normal for rich and powerful men like them to have side chicks and mistresses."

"You're not a kid anymore. Do you really still believe in those happily-ever-after fairy tales?"

She was right. I wasn't a kid anymore.

Why was I still foolish enough to believe in fairy tales?