Celine's tone was firm and unquestionable. Anyone who heard it would be convinced that she would definitely fire Jericho after three months.
But when the three months were up, not only was Jericho not fired, he got promoted with a raise and even started driving a supercar.
I casually took down the wedding photo. My phone buzzed.
It was a voice message from Jericho. When I played it, all I could hear were sounds of pleasure and gasping. I couldn't be more familiar with that voice, it belonged to Celine.
Immediately, another message followed: [Ruben, I saw you in the office earlier. Are you surprised? Did it make you shock?]
My fingers trembled slightly. In my daze, a text from Celine came through: [Honey, I might be home late tonight. You and Mom and Dad should go ahead and eat dinner. Don't wait for me. Eat well and rest up, okay? Love you.] She even sent a kiss emoji.
Celine thought she could fool me flawlessly. But I had no intention of exposing her.
I called my assistant to inquire about divorce proceedings and instructed him to freeze the assets supporting Celine's company.
"Mr. Caresso, freezing the assets will take five days to process," he said.
Though I couldn't wait, I could only endure, "Alright. In the meantime, book me a flight and visa for five days from now to any random country." A destination even I didn't know, where no one could find me.
That night, I left that cold house and returned to the Caresso Family mansion to spend the New Year with my parents and join in the New Year's Eve countdown.
The warmth of my parents' care and the festive cheer slightly alleviated the darkness in my heart.
It wasn't until dawn that Celine called, "Honey, where are you? I came home and you're not here. Your baby misses you."
'Baby' had always been my term of endearment for her. It used to sound sweet and blissful, but now it made me feel nothing but disgust.
I only replied: [I'm on my way home.]
The moment I saw Celine, I had mixed emotions. Though she wore makeup deliberately, it couldn't hide the lingering flush on her face.
"Honey! I missed you so much. You're finally back." She jumped into my arms, as excited as a schoolgirl in love for the first time.
A strong, suffocating scent of perfume invaded my nose, making my stomach churn. Beneath the strong perfume, there was a faint smell of some privet flowers.
I glanced at her inside-out stockings and immediately guessed that she had just experienced an intense encounter moments before.
Celine thought she had disguised everything well, but I still caught the faint trace of uneasiness behind her innocent smile.
Feeling the awkward tension, I forced a smile, "Why have you been so busy lately?"
Celine froze for a second, clearly not expecting such a question from me, "Yeah, with employees on holiday, I have to handle some things myself." She answered without hesitation.
I couldn't help but chuckle. By "hands-on," she meant being on top of her assistant, right?
Seeing my laughter, Celine visibly tensed. She quickly clung to my arm, trying to change the subject, "We haven't seen each other all day. Did you miss me?"
I glanced at her without showing emotion and deliberately nodded. How could I not think about her? Every hour, I was thinking about how to divorce her.
When we got home, Celine took off her coat and sat on the couch. I wanted to watch TV and reached for the remote under her. Celine jumped away as if she was facing a formidable enemy.
Seeing my surprised expression, she immediately switched to a dejected look, "Sorry, honey. I've started my period. I'm afraid I won't be able to give it to you this week. Also, I've had some discomfort in my lower abdomen lately, so you'll need to bear with it for a while."
