Chapter 1

In the sixth year of our marriage,I started planting women around my husband.

Sexy bombshells, cute ingénues, aloof ice queens—I tried every type.

None of them moved the needle.

I exhaled in relief.

"You can stop testing him," my best friend reassured me. "Adrian doesn't not love you—he's just incapable of falling in love with anyone."

"At least he treats you well. That proves you're special to him."

My heart, which had been gripped by panic over love that never came, finally settled.

Until the day I went to the office to find Adrian.

I pushed open the door to his office and nearly collided with a girl on her way out.

She looked ordinary enough—short hair, a faint scent of strawberries clinging to her.

But this office—I'd never been allowed past the threshold whenever I needed to see Adrian. She'd been permitted inside.

Something clicked.

On the other end of the phone, Jane was still talking: "You booked the candlelit dinner for the anniversary, right?"

"Full glam tonight, okay? That dress we picked out—the red one—you're going to kill in it. And don't forget the perfume trick with the bra straps...Oh, what were you about to say?"

I stared at the girl.

She was nibbling on the snacks I'd packed for Adrian, looking perfectly at ease.

"Nothing," I said.

"It's just... I think I want a divorce."

...

Silence on the other end. A few seconds.

Jane's voice came back, shocked: "What happened?"

"Nancy, don't give up! As long as you keep catering to Adrian's preferences, he'll come around eventually!"

For six years, I'd kept the long black hair Adrian liked.

I'd transformed my entire style into the sexy look Adrian preferred.

I wore the perfume he liked, said the things he wanted to hear.

Again and again I'd molded myself to his tastes, turned myself into his accessory.

"There's a girl around Adrian," I said. The words came out and I realized my voice had gone hoarse.

"He's never done this before. Every other time I planted someone near him, he'd report back within hours—name, photo, everything. But this girl... he never said a word."

In the past, whenever I planted someone around Adrian, it took him less than half a day to report it to me—send me their information, hold nothing back.

But this girl today—Adrian had never mentioned her.

I had no idea when she'd appeared.

Even less idea what she was to him.

I followed the direction the girl had gone.

My heart hammered the entire way. I could only console myself that she was a new hire, that Adrian simply hadn't found the time to tell me yet.

Adrian would never fall for anyone.

"Mr. Mercer, I think I did a pretty good job on this assignment."

"Would you consider making me a permanent employee?"

In the conference room, Adrian was organizing files.

The girl sat in the chair beside him, hands folded on her knees, watching him with an obedient expression.

Adrian's face was expressionless.

He finished sorting the documents and placed them in front of her.

"Go file these."

She did as she was told.

The cabinet was tall. She rose onto her tiptoes, struggling to slide the folder in, nearly tripping over the cabinet's base.

Adrian watched her back and suddenly laughed.

I stared at that smile, frozen.

So he could laugh after all.

The moment the girl turned around, he wiped the smile away, as if nothing had happened.

"I can't walk you to the station tonight—my wife's waiting for me at dinner."

Adrian stood.

"I'll let HR know to process your full-time offer tomorrow."

He paused, then continued.

"The company can give you a housing stipend. You could chip in a little extra and rent a place nearby. Living out in the suburbs isn't safe."

A flicker of embarrassment crossed the girl's face.

She smiled brightly. "It's fine, I'm used to it."

Adrian must have seen that her budget wasn't enough.

He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and said, "I've applied for company housing for you."

"Bayamon Residences. Not far from here—ten-minute walk."

The girl's eyes went wide. She couldn't help gasping: "Bayamon Residences?!"

"This company is amazing!"

A second later, my phone screen lit up.

Adrian: Sold the Bayamon Residences unit. I'll transfer the money to you shortly.

I recognized every word.

Strung together, they made no sense.

All I knew was that this was the first time Adrian had ever lied to me.

The apartment I had personally selected—nearly six million dollars—had just become "company housing, free of charge."

"Go ahead and eat first. I'll bring you the key when I get a chance."

Adrian glanced at his watch.

"I'm heading out."

I ducked into a corner.

After the elevator doors closed, the girl burst into happy laughter inside the conference room, calling a friend to share the news.

"My boss is so nice."

"He takes care of food and housing, he's gorgeous, he has such a good temper—he even worked on this project with me personally..."

The sounds around me blurred.

My mind went blank.

Faintly, I heard her friend say: "Do you think he might like you?"

Like.

What a foreign word.

I'd chased it for six years and never even grazed its edges.

"No way," the girl said. "He's married."

"He said today is their fifth wedding anniversary."

It was our sixth.

Adrian couldn't even get that right.

Which only proved he didn't love me at all.

Whether I'd been by his side five years or six made no difference in his heart.

I was tired.

On this road of endlessly chasing Adrian, I didn't want to walk anymore.