The day I took my daughter for a check-up, Diego Powell, who had been away on a business trip for several days, came to pick us up.
As soon as he saw us, he pulled both me and our daughter into his arms.
A faint, unfamiliar scent clung to him, brushing past my nose.
Our daughter nestled against his chest, giggling as she played with him.
I watched them with a smile until we got into the car.
That was when I saw the woman seated in the back.
——
She had a delicate, round face and wore a smart, tailored suit.
With a sweet smile, she greeted me. "Hello, sister-in-law. I’m Courtney Edwards, newly assigned to the Powell Corporation’s secretary's office."
I turned toward Diego. His tone was steady. "She was just on the way, so I gave her a ride."
But since when did the high-ranking CEO of Powell Corporation chauffeur a subordinate himself?
And more importantly, during the time meant for picking up his wife and daughter?
Courtney offered a gentle, apologetic smile. “Please don’t misunderstand, sister-in-law. I just wanted to take this chance to apologize.”
She handed me a gift bag. Inside was a brand-new tube of the hand cream I often used.
“These past few days, I was on a business trip with President Powell. I forgot my hand cream and happened to find it in his car. I used it all by accident. This is a replacement. I hope you don’t mind.”
I didn’t reach for it right away.
Awkwardness flickered across her face. Instinctively, her eyes turned to him, seeking reassurance.
“Take it,” Diego said, voice calm but firm.
I accepted it without a word and placed it aside.
Our daughter sat quietly in the car seat, studying this new "auntie" with wide, curious eyes. Her gaze lit up at the candy in Courtney’s hand.
Just as Courtney began unwrapping it, I finally spoke.
“She just saw the dentist. No candy.”
“This is imported,” Courtney replied with a smile. “It’s not low quality. You don’t have to worry.”
“Imported or not, it’s still candy, isn’t it?”
Diego, focused on the road, suddenly frowned. “Kelly, she meant well.”
I fell silent, but our daughter, always thoughtful, waved her hand.
“I’ll listen to Mommy. I won’t eat it.”
Courtney withdrew her hand, a trace of awkwardness flickering in her eyes.
The car soon pulled up to an old residential area. She stepped out and apologized once more.
I simply gave a polite nod.
As we continued toward home, Diego’s tone softened.
“Don’t be mad. She’s just a young girl, new at work, trying too hard to prove herself. When she digs her heels in, even I can’t change her mind.”
He chuckled lightly, a smile touching his eyes.
“She’s got spirit.”
Just as the car stopped in front of our house, he suddenly leaned over and kissed my cheek.
I didn’t move away.
From the back seat, our daughter piped up, “Mommy, Aunt Courtney smells really nice. She smells like Daddy.”
Diego’s smile froze in an instant.
I smiled as if nothing had happened. “Of course, Daddy’s car smells like him. What does that have to do with the auntie?”
“Oh.” She blinked, half-understanding.
I stepped out and carried her into my arms.
Looking up, Diego spoke in a flat tone, “If raising Madeline feels too much for you, I can hire professionals. She’s the pearl of the Powell family. Your carelessness can’t taint her.”
From the moment I married into this family, I had learned to stomach the cold indifference of the man beside me.
He had kept mistresses before. One-night stands, too.
The year our daughter was born, I lost control just once.
That was the first time I saw him truly enraged. His face went rigid, cold enough to pierce through flesh.
“Kelly, don’t forget, whatever I’ve given you, I can take away at any time.”
I thought of our daughter’s future. And in the end, that storm never even reached the shore.
It ended before it began, quiet as a whisper.
