After getting married, Winter Adeline had stopped taking on cleaning jobs. But this time she said yes, only because the middle-aged ex-coworker asking for help had always been kind to her.
She never expected to walk into the villa and find her husband, who was supposed to be away on a business trip, sitting there.
"Cassian, how do I look in this outfit?"
The woman on the sofa was bundled in layers, the way new mothers often were during recovery after childbirth.
Cassian let out a soft sigh and sat beside her. "You look great in anything, but put your socks on first."
He took her foot in his hands and slid the socks on with gentle care. Then his touch lingered, drifting upward over her hips, along her waist, until his hand slipped beneath her sweater. Then, their lips met.
Behind them, Winter, who was wearing a mask, stood frozen. The bucket of water in her hands tipped and spilled across the floor.
Both of them turned, startled, but instead of snapping at her, Cassian asked kindly if she was all right.
She shook her head, trembling. Before he could say anything else, she grabbed the bucket and hurried into the bathroom.
Leaning against the doorframe, numb, she fumbled for her phone in the pocket of her cleaning uniform.
Her voice shook as she asked, "Cassian, where are you right now?"
His voice came first from outside the bathroom door, then again, through the phone.
"What’s wrong, sweetheart? I’m on a business trip. I’ll be home in two days."
"I can’t talk right now because the client’s rushing me. I brought you that tie-dye scarf you liked. Just wait for me, okay?"
The call clicked off. Tears blurred her vision.
There was no client. She recognized that voice in the background, Yvonne Harris.
So, when he had said he would be gone for a month on business, what he really meant was that he would be here, playing the doting husband to Yvonne, his ex-wife, during her recovery.
The low murmur of flirtation outside the bathroom seeped into her ears. Her heart felt torn apart.
What was even more frustrating was that she didn't even have the luxury to fall apart.
A message from the housekeeper popped up. [My boss is disappointed and wants to file a complaint.]
She wiped her face quickly, refilled the bucket and stepped back out.
The woman on the sofa was gone. Yvonne had left.
Winter kept her head down, dropping to her knees to mop up the spilled water.
Until the conversation overhead made her freeze in place.
"Are you really going to divorce Winter, Cassian?"
Cassian handed over a glass of water.
"Yeah. It’s the third thing Yvonne asked for. I agreed a long time ago. Winter knows."
Yohan shifted uneasily. "Does she know you’re divorcing her just to remarry Yvonne? If she finds out, it’ll break her."
Cassian paused for a moment. "She won’t find out. I won’t let her. Besides, Yvonne just needs my name in the father’s box on the kid’s birth certificate. Once that’s done, I’ll marry Winter again."
Yohan hesitated for a moment.
"Cassian, will you really? Or let me put it another way. Do you still love Winter?"
The man remained silent, not answering either question.
That silence hit Winter like a blast of winter air—cold enough to seep into her bones.
"I can see it, Cassian. You’re different with Yvonne now. You’ve got a kid with her, you’re about to remarry her… but what’s left for Winter?"
The question seemed to rattle him. He remained quiet for a long time before finally giving an answer.
"I will marry her again. She’s been with me for ten years. I owe her. Taking care of her for the rest of her life… that’s my responsibility."
A debt. A duty. But not love.
Winter twisted the rag in her hands until no more water dripped from it. Then she fled, back into the bathroom.
She pressed her palm over her mouth so her sobs wouldn’t escape.
Outside the door, their voices carried on and each word cut deeper.
She had never imagined a simple part-time cleaning job would strip the truth bare.
It turned out that Cassian didn’t love her anymore and that she had been fooling herself into thinking they would find their way back.
Her parents had died when she was young, leaving her to be raised by her uncle’s family.
At sixteen, her uncle had tried to undress her more than once. She had tried to run away again and again, but he always caught her and dragged her back.
One afternoon, she climbed to the roof of the school, ready to jump—until Cassian Luke pulled her down to save her life.
She couldn’t break free from his grip, so she told him everything, hoping he would help her escape.
He said back then, "Then come with me. I promise I’ll go hungry before I ever let you starve."
With nowhere else to go, she left school and followed him to Melbourne to make a living.
And yes, she never went hungry again.
At twenty-two, while filing documents for Cassian’s small company, she was cornered by a rich brat.
She called the police for help, but the scandal nearly bankrupted Cassian’s business.
In the end, to save the company, he accepted Yvonne’s offer.
The Harris Family was one of the most powerful in the city and with their backing, his company bounced back fast.
The night before his wedding to Yvonne, he held Winter in his arms and cried until dawn.
He had assured, "Don’t worry, Winter. I don’t love her. Three years from now, I’ll find a way to divorce her and marry you."
Because she blamed herself for putting him in that position, she couldn't bring herself to walk away.
From that night on, she wasn't his partner anymore—and became his caged bird.
Because of the Harris Family’s conditions, she had to step down from Cassian’s company.
She didn’t want to live off him, but without a degree, the best she could find were odd jobs. Eventually, she started cleaning houses.
Three years later, he kept his word. He divorced Yvonne and gave Winter a lavish wedding.
However, the price for that wedding had been agreed to on three demands from Yvonne.
The first was a child, even if it meant IVF. This, Cassian refused.
It wasn't until today that Winter finally understood that he had rejected the IVF part. In fact, he had been willing to have a child with her all along.
The second demand was a villa and he bought it for Yvonne.
Meanwhile, after the divorce, Winter and Cassian stayed in the same cramped rental apartment they had always shared.
The third condition… she only learned about it today. It was a divorce.
A month ago, Cassian had told her the company was in trouble and he didn’t want her dragged into the fallout, so he said they should divorce for now.
When it came to Cassian, she never questioned, as she had always trusted him completely.
And so, she signed without hesitation. The mandatory waiting period was almost up.
Now she knew it had all been a lie.
Now she understood that his gentleness, his easy agreement to whatever she wanted—they weren’t signs of love, but of obligation.
Ten years together and not once had he told her he loved her.
He had spent three years spending his time with the woman he truly loved and what was left for her was a sense of duty.
Yes, Cassian was a man who kept his promises, but love was never one of them.
The realization felt like someone had torn her heart in two. Tears splashed at her feet.
She lifted her head, searching for air, but every breath only tightened the ache.
Perhaps it had all been a mistake—from the very moment he had pulled her back from that rooftop.
She couldn’t remember how she got through the rest of her three-hour shift. The second she stepped outside the villa, she staggered to the trash bin and threw up.
Her knuckles went white around the rim of the bin and she noticed blood in the saliva.
She took a taxi back to her apartment with thoughts spinning in her head. Then she picked up her phone.
"Tanya, I’m coming to stay with you in Mapleton Village."
Her friend’s voice instantly brightened. "What? Are you for real?"
And before she could answer, Tanya went on, "Well, either way, I’m done caring about Cassian. I’ll take five days off and come get you."
The warmth of true friendship hit her like sunlight breaking through clouds. A faint smile tugged at her lips. "All right. Don’t worry about him."
Because in Cassian’s eyes, she wasn’t his safe harbor anymore—just an anchor, dragging him down.
Maybe letting go would lift the weight from his shoulders.
And maybe, that would be the last gift she could give him.
