Chapter 1

1

It was the seventh year of my marriage to Silas Hawthorne.

After his thirty-second mistress showed up at my door, I finally decided to give up on him.

I chose to sign myself over to a top-secret government project and vanish from his world forever.

But then he lost his mind, tearing the world apart just to find me.

"Lyra, I was wrong. Please, just come home," he pleaded.

In the past, a single soft word from him would have made me run back.

Unfortunately for him, this time, he was destined to be disappointed.

......

When Silas's thirty-second mistress arrived, I was in the middle of preparing dinner for him.

The girl in front of me couldn't have been older than twenty. She was young, beautiful, and wearing a triumphant smile.

She glanced at me with pure disdain and said, "So, you're the Mrs. Hawthorne? I'm Summer. I'm Silas's girlfriend―his real soulmate."

She looked at the apron I was wearing and couldn't help but sneer. "I didn't realize the Hawthornes were too poor to hire a maid. But I guess that's the difference between being loved and being tolerated."

"Silas never lets me step foot in the kitchen. He says the grease and smoke would ruin my skin."

My gaze fell on Summer's pale, delicate hands. Hearing her words, my mind drifted for a split second.

A sharp, stinging pain shot through my finger.

I snapped back to reality to find my finger dripping with blood from a slip of the knife.

Summer saw my distracted state and laughed even harder.

She said in a voice like honey, "They say the one who isn't loved is the true intruder. Silas and I are in love. You're nothing but a legal obligation to him."

As she spoke, she gently placed her hand over her lower stomach.

Her eyes were sparkling with a hidden secret.

I suddenly felt like laughing.

You see, Silas's previous thirty-one mistresses all came to me under the banner of true love.

But after they made their move, Silas had discarded every single one of them without hesitation.

I expected this time to be no different. Yet, as I looked at Summer, a strange sense of unease settled in my chest. It felt like something was spinning out of control.

Seeing no reaction from me, Summer grew agitated. "Lyra! You're just an old woman. Why are you still clinging to Silas like a leech? Don't you realize you're just a burden to him?"

"You have no career, no talent, and you can't even produce an heir!"

She pulled up her chat logs with Silas and shoved the screen in my face.

I stared at the screen, reading their sweet, intimate messages.

My mind went completely blank.

It turned out Silas could be incredibly attentive. He reminded her to eat breakfast and told her to go to bed early.

He shared mundane things with Summer―a funny joke, or a stray cat he saw on the street.

Summer pulled her phone back and walked away in her designer heels.

Ignoring the blood on my hand, I pulled out my own phone.

I looked at my chat history with Silas.

It was always me talking. Silas only ever replied with short, cold phrases like "Okay," "Fine," or "Got it."

I let out a silent, bitter laugh.

I dialed Silas's number.

The call connected almost instantly.

Silas's cold, detached voice came through the line. "Is there something you need?"

Hearing his voice still made my heart ache with a sense of grievance.

I told him about Summer showing up at the house.

There was a sudden hitch in his breathing on the other end. After a long silence, his voice grew urgent.

"Summer is just a kid. I'll talk to her later. Don't you dare do anything to her."

Hearing his words, my heart slowly sank into a cold abyss.

I had known Silas for so many years and loved him for just as long.

How could I not realize that his heart had finally settled on Summer?

I looked at the charred, ruined food in the pan and smiled miserably.

I should have realized it sooner.

My marriage to Silas Hawthorne had officially reached its dead end.