I had almost finished preparing the food when Matthew returned with our daughter. Ava ran in, exclaiming in her sweet and childish voice, “Mommy, I’m back! Daddy picked me up!”Her adorable voice brought tears to my eyes, but I suppressed my emotions. "I got you some pineapples. They’re your favorite, right?""Oh! Mommy, you're the best! I can’t wait to eat them" She ran out and headed to Matthew, saying, "Daddy, I want to eat pineapples!""You can have a small piece for now. You can have more after dinner, okay?" Matthew washed his hands and took a small piece to hand to our eager little girl. Then he squeezed into the tiny kitchen and hugged me from behind. "Why did you make so much food?"I felt terrible because this once-happy family of three was now on the verge of collapsing."You just came back from a business trip. You must be tired." I forced a smile and asked, "Were you busy today?"He hummed a reply, and my heart immediately sank. I playfully nudged him with my elbow.
I forced myself out of bed the following day. The dark circles around my eyes were horrible, and Matthew noticed them. He asked in surprise, “The following day, I forced myself out of bed. My dark circles were horrible. Matthew saw my haggard face and asked in surprise, "Are you sick, Coco? Why do you look so pale?""You kept me up all night," I retorted, not in the mood for pleasantries.He was stunned but hugged me with a shy grin. "No more drinking for you. Exercise is better instead since it helps with sleep."I didn't know why, but my stomach churned when I heard his words. I rushed to the bathroom, vomiting and crying.Matthew rushed in behind me and patted my back. "What's wrong with you? Maybe I should take you to the hospital."I pushed him away and lied, "It's nothing. I just didn't sleep well. You should take Ava to kindergarten. I'll be fine once I rest a bit more."He lifted and laid me back on the bed, pulling the blanket over me. "Then get some sleep while I se
I smiled bitterly, replied, “Okay,” and then hung up. Ivanna had become a conniving woman in my eyes. She had pretended to be sincere in advising me to reflect on my values, but now she mocked me in front of my husband.I finally realized how unpredictable people could be. No wonder she tried to probe me by claiming to have seen Matthew. It became evident that it was because of her guilty conscience.Matthew had said it had been long since he saw Ivanna. I felt heartbroken that he had deceived me like that. I invested myself in Ivanna and Matthew in this unfamiliar city, and they betrayed me. I didn’t know who to trust anymore.I kept staring at the window before calling Matthew. As I suspected, his response matched Ivanna’s.I was outraged and rushed to the cafe, but my phone rang as I entered. I received a call from the kindergarten teacher, saying that Ava had fallen off the slide and got sent to the hospital. The news terrified me, and I quickly hailed a cab to the hospital.O
Before I could answer, Matthew explained, "She's not feeling well."He touched my shoulder gently and said, "Don't worry, honey. The doctor said it wasn’t serious. We can go home once Ava's passed the observation period."Home?! That word was a trigger for me. I got up and pushed Matthew away before running out of the ward, sobbing. The cracks in this family were already showing, and I knew it might shatter at any moment. Now, Ava's future stepmother was here, flaunting around me.Ivanna followed me as I rushed out, and Ava started crying again."Coco, what's wrong with you? Don't scare Ava like that." Ivanna grabbed my arm, trying to console me. "Hold it in for a while. The kid is more important.""Hold it in? How can I?!” I roared and glared at Ivanna.I realized I had lost control and tried to collect myself, but I was trembling. My mouth twitched as I said, "You should go back! We're fine. Since you’re so busy, you don't have to delay your work for us!" Afterward, I brush
Ava seemed to cling to me more after the fall. She remained glued to me, and I could not move without her, which drove me crazy at times. Meanwhile, Matthew didn’t give me space to figure things out.His work hours were punctual, and I had no room to pinpoint issues with him. Everything he brought back yielded no clues. I even began to question if I was hallucinating at times.After finally putting Ava to sleep at noon, I realized we were out of fresh vegetables and fruits at home. Since Ava was fast asleep, I knew I had to rush to the market before she woke up.The market was nearby, and I was too lazy to change my clothes, so I hurried out the door and aimed to return as quickly as possible. However, I was dumbfounded when I returned from buying groceries because I didn’t have my keys.I pondered for a while and smacked my forehead in frustration because I must’ve forgotten to bring them when I left. I decided to call Matthew, and he answered in a hushed tone. Afterward, I explai
I felt like lightning struck me when the smug receptionist addressed the person behind me as Mrs. Murphy. I felt rage bubbling inside me as I turned to see how Ivanna would react.How dare she strut around here, flaunting and pretending to be someone she wasn’t? My gaze was cold as I turned, expecting to see Ivanna. However, to my surprise, it was Melanie.Her outfit was vibrant and eye-catching as her blonde hair flowed down her shoulders. She wore exquisite makeup, which added a touch of allure to her otherwise unremarkable features.Melanie approached gracefully with a composed smile. When she was about to speak, she noticed me turning around, my anger evident. Her eyes widened in shock as she stood frozen, unable to process my unexpected appearance.I couldn’t help but smirk. I had to admit Melanie looked more like Mrs. Murphy while I resembled a nanny. Although I was speechless, I thought attire made a vast difference in appearance, and my casual home attire paled to her glamo
Neither I nor Melanie spoke in the elevator. She pouted and lowered her head while leaning against the elevator wall. Frankly, I couldn’t be bothered to engage with her. Although her brother often spoiled her, I never had the patience.When we reached Matthew's office, he was indeed in a meeting. One of his employees saw me and Melanie and called Matthew out. Matthew seemed shocked as his gaze shifted between our faces before stopping at me.After some thought, he asked, “What are you—”“Did I embarrass you? Why should I dress up since I only went to the market?” I interjected, knowing what he was about to say. Irritated, I retorted, “Pass me the keys. Ava’s still asleep.”Immediately after, Matthew rushed to his desk and retrieved the keys from his bag to hand them to me, saying, “Didn’t you ask Mel to send them to you?”I took the keys and glanced at a displeased Melanie. "Does she have the time to bring me the keys? Pretending to be Mrs. Murphy here seems more important than pa
"What's wrong?" Matthew looked at me with concern. "Are you tired? Maybe you should take a nap. I won't leave. I'll stay and play with Ava instead."I suppressed my emotions and nodded. “Yeah, I’m tired. You can entertain Ava while I rest.”Afterward, I placed the plate of fruits on the coffee table and said, “Give her something to eat. There’s more in the kitchen if those aren’t enough.”"Sure thing. You go rest. I'll take you both out for a meal once you’re up," Matthew said, picking up a fork to feed Ava.When I went to the bedroom to lie down, I felt suffocated as tears welled in my eyes. It seemed those two keys were an issue as Matthew rushed home just to take them back. I knew he wasn’t worried about Ava.Most knew a person’s conscience would be thrown out the window once they cheated. Also, I suspected those keys might have belonged to another woman’s house, so I instinctively thought of Ivanna.She had been doing well these past two years and no longer had to share a pla