Chapter 1

During the holiday, a hashtag related to honeymoon trips goes viral on social media.

The topic is, "How are you planning to spend your honeymoon?"

One of the threads that has the most replies reads, "I have to bring my mistress along, of course."

"Wow! That's crazy. Can you teach us how to pull that off?"

I frown as I scroll down the thread and find the reply.

"There are a lot of poor, female backpackers these days. As long as the mistress acts pitiful enough, you can pull the wool over your wife's eyes. And just like that, a couple's haven will become a world of three.

"My wife and I will be going on our honeymoon trip tomorrow. I'll give everyone live updates in this thread."

Feeling disgusted, I close the thread.

…

The next day, my husband, Sean Clifford, and I meet a poor, female backpacker on the road. She has no car, money, or any suitcases with her.

Sprawling herself across the windshield, she begs, "Can you give me a ride, sir? I have blisters all over my feet. I can't walk anymore."

Chapter 1

I looked at the woman standing outside the car. She had slightly curly hair that fell to her waist, and her makeup was exquisite. She had also doused herself in so much perfume that I felt like I was choking on the overwhelming scent.

She didn't look poor at all.

My husband, Sean Clifford, looked a little troubled as he glanced at me. "Sorry, but my wife and I are on our honeymoon trip. We just got married, so it would be inconvenient for us to bring you along."

The woman's demeanor turned even weaker and vulnerable, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I won't bother you, sir. I'll just sit quietly in the backseat and keep to myself.

"I've been waiting here for more than three hours. Your car is the only one that has passed by in that time. I won't know what to do if you don't help me. I don't want to spend the night here by myself."

I looked at the road we were on. It did look a little desolate.

Sean turned to look at him. "The sun is going to set soon, Maria," he said in a softened voice. "Leaving a young woman like her out in the wilderness like this…"

He let the rest of his sentence trail off into silence, but I understood what he was trying to say. "Get in the car," I told the woman.

A joyous expression appeared on the woman's face. She was about to pull open the backseat's door when she suddenly paused. She then ran over to the driver's side, where Sean was sitting. "I've had motion sickness ever since I was a child, sir. Can I sit in the front passenger's seat?"

Anger began to simmer within me. I assumed that Sean would reject her request and was caught off guard when he looked at me and suggested, "You should sit in the backseat, darling. We should help her as much as we can since we've decided to lend her our aid.

"We can't just stand by and do nothing if we already know that she gets motion sickness, right?"

I wondered if he had forgotten that I had taken some motion sickness medicine right before getting into the car. I inhaled deeply. I felt incredibly upset, but I still got out of the car.

The woman looked at Sean again and said, "It's really cold, sir. Can you lend me your jacket? I forgot to bring one with me."

"I have one. You can wear mine," I said as I offered my jacket to her.

However, the woman ignored me completely. "Is that okay, sir? I promise to keep it clean."

Sean didn't hesitate for even a second when he stripped off his jacket. "What are you saying? I don't think you're dirty. Here, go ahead and put it on. It'll be bad if you catch a cold."

"You're such a good man, sir. Why would someone like you get married so young?"

The woman then glanced at me. She didn't look apologetic in the slightest when she continued, "You won't get angry at me, will you, ma'am? I'm just joking around. I don't mean anything by it. I just want to praise your husband for being so nice."

I bit down on my lip as I listened to her blatantly insincere words. I was about to retort when Sean suddenly cut in, saying, "Of course, she's not angry. She's not that petty, right, darling?"

I was struck by the realization that something was amiss. Just then, I received a notification that the thread I had been reading earlier had a new update.

"I've successfully picked up my mistress. That stupid woman doesn't suspect a thing."

The new message immediately received hundreds of replies.

"Oh my God."

"You're truly a man amongst men," someone said, adding a sticker of a thumbs-up with his reply.

"Do you have the guts to be even more intimate with your mistress?"

As the other men urged him on, the person who posted the original post replied, "Just you wait."

Chapter 2

I frowned as I tightened my grip on my phone.

"What are you looking at, darling?" Sean asked. "You looked really engrossed in it."

I looked up to see Sean looking at me. Only then did I realize that the car had stopped in front of a hotel. I quickly locked the phone, saying, "Nothing much. I was just aimlessly scrolling through my phone because I was bored."

"It's getting late," Sean mentioned with a smile. "You'll strain your eyes if you look at your phone in the dark. Let's get out of the car. Since we've arrived at the hotel, we can rest."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I drank in his familiar and gentle expression. Sean had treated me well ever since we got together. He was a thoughtful and caring man, so it made sense that he would take care of the woman we picked up, unwilling to abandon her to fend for herself in the wilderness.

I smiled, replying, "Okay, but I might be a little dizzy—"

The woman interrupted me before I could finish my sentence. "Sir, my feet hurt a lot. I can't walk up the stairs," she whined after getting out of the car.

Sean immediately picked her up. "I'll carry you."

The smile on my face stiffened. He didn't spare a single glance back at me as he turned, cradling the woman in his arms. I could feel my heart throbbing painfully in my chest as I watched his retreating back.

I saw the receptionists manning the front desk smile at Sean and the woman as I stepped through the front doors, dragging our heavy suitcases with me.

"Are you here for your honeymoon? How sweet!"

Shockingly, neither Sean nor the woman corrected the receptionist.

Sean hummed in response and cradled the woman. "We'd like to reserve a room under Felicity Lincoln and Sean Clifford."

I was stunned by his words. So, the poor backpacker's name was Felicity Lincoln. However, I was 100% sure that Felicity hadn't mentioned her name at all during the car ride. How did he know her name?

I hadn't recovered from the nauseous feeling brought about by my motion sickness yet and was nearly overwhelmed with the urge to throw up.

"Miss, are you together with this couple? Are you their caretaker? I can reserve a standard room for you."

Powering through the uncomfortable feeling in my chest, I looked at the receptionists and answered, "I want a luxury suite."

"Many of our standard rooms are still available, miss. You don't need to reserve a luxury suite," one of the receptionists replied.

"She's right," the other receptionist added. "Most of our guests go for the standard rooms, especially if they're just caretakers."

My temper exploded as I took in the way she looked at me, her eyes filled with disdain. I placed the suitcases on the floor and stepped forward. "I'm only going to say this one more time. I want the luxury suite—the same type that those two people reserved earlier. Do you understand what I'm saying? Or should I call your manager and repeat myself to them?"

The receptionists were stunned and didn't dare say another word. They hastily processed the reservation and handed the keycard to me.

I stared at them without moving a muscle as I accepted the keycard. "Also, I'm the actual wife of that man just now."

I was filled with rage as I headed toward my suite, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. Just then, I received a notification that thread had been updated again.

"I'm staying in the same room as my mistress."

The person had also attached a photo with the message. I felt my heart plummet into my gut as I stared at the photo. It showed a hotel—the very same hotel that Sean, the woman, and I had just checked into.

The new update received countless replies in a matter of seconds.

"Oh my God. You're amazing."

"How on earth did you pull this off? Isn't your wife even a little bit suspicious?"

"Suspicious?" the person answered. "Even if she suspects that something's amiss, I have my ways to convince her that nothing's wrong. Watch closely. I'm only going to teach you my ways once."

He then sent a photo of a message he had prepared beforehand.

"I won't be returning to our room tonight. We should take responsibility for her till the end since we decided to pick her up in the first place, right?"

"Nice work!"

"That's ingenious! Can you take me on as your apprentice? I want to learn from you!"

…

Disgust churned in my stomach as I scrolled through the comments that were expressing their admiration. A few seconds later, I received a message on my phone.

"Darling, Felicity has nyctophobia. I won't be returning to our room tonight. We should take responsibility for her till the end since we decided to pick her up in the first place, right?"

Chapter 3

I received another message from Sean after the first one. It read, "I'll buy you a present tomorrow, okay, sweetie?"

There was suddenly a deafening clap of thunder outside. Shocked, I hastily covered my ears as tears began to stream down my face. Unwilling to give up just yet, I typed out a reply to Sean's message.

"There's thunder outside. Can you accompany me, please?"

Sean only took seconds to reply. "What's so scary about thunder? You're a grown woman now. Be good, sweetie. Go to sleep soon."

My nails had turned white from how hard I was gripping my phone. I sat in a daze on the bed for a long moment before I called the front desk.

"Hello? It's me, Mr. Clifford and Ms. Lincoln's caretaker. I need to deliver something to them, so can you tell me their room number?"

I could hear the receptionists whispering among themselves after the words left my lips. Their voices were colored with mocking.

"Didn't she say that she's Mr. Clifford's wife? Why is she admitting that she's actually their caretaker now?"

"Maybe she couldn't keep up the lie anymore. After all, no man would be daring enough to carry another woman into a hotel while his wife watches. He even reserved a room just for himself and the other woman."

"Only if his wife is an idiot."

I became deaf to everything else around me except for their mocking words. I clutched my phone in a death grip as the receptionists told me Sean and Felicity's room number.

The suite's door wasn't soundproof. I could hear Felicity's petulant voice coming through it when I stood in front of it.

"You're not going to go to your wife even though she's scared of thunder?" she asked.

Sean sounded impatient when he replied, "Do you really believe that she's scared of thunder? It's ridiculous when she's already an adult. She's always like this. I'm sick of dealing with her nonsense."

Felicity smiled and mentioned, "But I'm still afraid of the dark."

"That's different. I like you so much, and I'll keep liking you no matter what you're afraid of," he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

I bit down hard on my lip as I stood outside the door. Sounds of heavy breathing began to resound from the room.

"Who do you like better?" Felicity asked. "Me or her?"

Sean let out a deep chuckle. "Do you still need to ask? If I had met you first, I would never have married her.

"Why don't you have any confidence in yourself? She has no right to compare herself to you. She's nothing but an infertile and defective product, after all. We've been together for so long, but she can't even get pregnant."

Intense noises began to fill the suite.

"How long have you been holding it in?" Felicity asked through ragged breaths. "You're amazing, Sean."

Sean's voice sounded hoarse when he replied, "Doing it with her is like doing it with a wooden plank. I don't get excited at all. If I was not responsible for her because we're married, I would rather take care of it myself than touch her."

His cold and mocking words were like sharp icicles, stabbing into my heart and freezing my entire body. We had been together for so many years. Every time we were intimate with each other instantly felt like a huge joke now.

I covered my eyes and leaned back against the wall. A long time passed before I grabbed my phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Is this Mr. Stone? Please prepare the necessary documents for me. I want to file for divorce."

…

The next day, when Sean returned to our suite, the lovebite on his neck couldn't be any more obvious. Had he given up on pretending altogether?

"How did you sleep last night, darling?" he asked as he strolled over to me, wanting to hug me.

"Don't touch me," I hissed coldly.

Sean was stunned for a moment before asking, "What's wrong? Are you angry, or are you jealous? Here, let me kiss your anger away."

He wrapped his hand around me, but I swiftly knocked it away. I felt disgusted just thinking about where his mouth could have been.

Sean's expression twisted. "What do you think you're doing, Maria? Are you so bored that you're trying to stir up trouble on purpose?"

I barked out a condescending laugh.

"What's wrong with accompanying a woman who's scared and alone?" he asked, his expression dark. "Don't you feel sorry for her at all? When did you become such a heartless person?"

He then kicked the door open and left.

My heart felt like it was freezing over as I watched Sean's retreating back. He disappeared for the rest of the day.

…

When night fell, my phone chimed. I looked at the screen and noticed that I had received a friend request from Felicity.

I frowned as I wondered what she was up to.

Chapter 4

Felicity sent a video to me immediately after I accepted her friend request.

In the video, Sean and Felicity had been stopped on the street for an impromptu interview and asked to take part in a couple's challenge. He grabbed her and kissed her deeply.

The streets were packed with people celebrating holiday. They began to hoot and holler when they realized what was going on.

"Kissing each other on the lips isn't challenging at all! You should ask him to kiss her feet."

"Kiss her feet!"

"That's going overboard," Felicity mumbled, pretending to be embarrassed.

Sean was a germophobe. He would ask me to gargle mouthwash and chew gum every time before we kissed. However, at that moment, he didn't hesitate for even a second before he lifted Felicity's foot and kissed it.

The crowd erupted in raucous cheers. "Now that's true love!"

"What a loving couple! I officially declare both of you as the sweetest couple here!"

I felt sick to my stomach. I had loved Sean for so many years, but at that moment, I felt as if I had never truly known him.

I wasn't sure whether it was because of my chaotic emotions or if I was still feeling dizzy from sitting in the backseat yesterday, but excruciating pain suddenly began to radiate from my stomach. The pain was so overwhelming that I felt like I was being torn apart.

Powering through the unbearable pain, I called Sean. "Take me to the hospital, please. My stomach hurts so much. I feel like I'm going to die."

Sean scoffed. "Crawling back to beg me for help now, huh? Weren't you giving me attitude just earlier?"

The color had completely drained from my lips. "I was wrong. Please take me to the hospital first," I begged.

"You're just having a stomachache, right? You can't go on a vacation if your body is so delicate. Call a cab to take you to the hospital. I'm busy now."

He hung up after saying his piece, but seconds before the line disconnected, I heard Felicity's coquettish voice echo from the receiver.

"It's our turn to enter the haunted house, Sean. Let's go in now! I'm so excited just thinking about what we'll see inside!"

"That's what I love about you," Sean replied in a deep voice. "You're not like a certain someone who pretends to be weak just because her stomach is hurting. It's ridiculous how she really treats herself like a princess."

His words were like heavy rocks, crushing my chest.

…

When I regained consciousness again, I realized that I was already in the hospital. The doctor, who was standing nearby, looked extremely apologetic when he said, "I'm so sorry, Ms. Norton. We weren't able to save the baby."

I felt as if I had been struck by lightning as I processed his words. My eyes reddened as I grabbed the doctor's sleeve. "What baby? Whose baby are you talking about?"

The doctor pinned me with a shocked stare. "You didn't know? You were three months pregnant. The excessive stress you experienced affected the baby. It was too late for us to save it by the time you got to the hospital."

I stared at the doctor with wide eyes, stunned. I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face, no matter how hard I tried.

I had always loved children. However, even though I had been with Sean for a long time, I couldn't get pregnant no matter how many times we tried.

"Why… Why did this have to happen now?" I murmured, placing my hand on my stomach as tears dripped from my eyes.

My phone chimed just then. Sean had sent me a message that read, "Felicity's foot injury took a turn for the worse. I'm going to send her back home first. You can call a cab to send you home."

Immediately after I got the message, I received a notification that Felicity had updated her social media. Her new post was filled with photos of Sean hugging her as they took pictures at all the different places they visited.

The caption read, "A person who loves you will always love you, no matter what happens. A person who doesn't love you won't return your love even if you die of pain."

I dug my nails deeply into the flesh of my palm as I read her caption. She was right. Sometimes, a person was able to tell whether they were loved or unloved with just a single glance.

I started laughing and kept laughing even as tears streamed down my face. I wasn't crying because of Sean. Instead, I was crying at my stupidity for not seeing Sean for who he really was, despite being with him for so long.

"Are you alright, Ms. Norton?" the doctor asked.

I lifted my head and looked at him. "I'm fine. Where's my baby? Can I take it with me?"

"You can. But it might remind you of sadness. Why do you want to take it away?"

I looked out the window in the direction that Sean had left. "I want to give it to my husband, of course. It'll be my grand divorce present for him. Please wish me a happy divorce."