By the time she arrived in Ashmore, it was late at night.
Vesper returned home, curled up on the sofa, and wept silently as memories of the past flooded her mind.
This place in Repulse Bay was bought with the first pot of gold Luke ever earned.
He had bought the thirteen-hundred-square-foot apartment two years ago, and the deed was in her name.
Luke had said he was grateful for her being with him when he had nothing, and that once he made more money, he would lay the best of everything at her feet.
He even transferred half of his company’s shares to her name, ignoring her objections.
He had once sworn under the stars and moon that he would never betray her.
But love is fickle. He had cheated on her in the end, breaking his vow.
She didn’t sleep all night. Only when the pale light of dawn broke did she move her stiff body and begin to pack.
She gathered all of Luke’s things and threw them into the storage room.
She changed the bedsheets and pillowcases in the bedroom, erasing every trace of his scent, before finally falling into a deep sleep.
She didn’t know how long she had slept when she sensed someone approaching, followed by warm breath tickling her ear.
"Vesper, I’m sorry. Yesterday, I shouldn’t have let my male pride get the best of me and said those bastard things just to piss you off."
The cloying scent of perfume filled her nostrils, and a powerful wave of nausea washed over her. Her eyes shot open. She shoved him away, and the sight of the telltale Crimson Trace exposed at his collar made her retch uncontrollably.
’Cheating so brazenly, and he doesn’t even bother to wipe his mouth clean when he comes back.’
’I don’t know if he’s just audacious or if he really thinks I can’t live without him.’
Luke’s face stiffened for a moment before he asked with gentle concern, "Where are you feeling unwell? Should I take you to the hospital?"
"BLECH—"
Another wave of nausea hit her.
Luke’s expression soured, his lips tightening into a thin line. "I’ve already fired Ivy. No one will come between us again."
"You could bear to?" Vesper looked up, her eyes full of scorn.
"She’s just an insignificant assistant. What’s there to be reluctant about?"
Luke pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the corner of her mouth, his tone coaxing. "Wife, don’t be angry anymore, okay?"
Vesper wasn’t buying it. She let out a sarcastic little laugh. "I’m not your wife. President Lockwood, you’d better not use that term so freely."
"You will be next week."
"If I recall correctly, didn’t President Lockwood say he was canceling the wedding?"
Luke frowned, his thin lips pressing into a straight line. His expression was one of helplessness. "How can you take words said in anger seriously? You once said that as long as I apologized first, you’d forgive me."
"Oh, you remember that? I also remember you saying you would never betray or fail me, or else you’d die without heirs and come to a bad end."
Perhaps when he made that vicious oath, Luke had truly loved her, wanting to be with her and only her for a lifetime.
But with the passage of time, that love had long since soured.
Luke’s gaze flickered, and he guiltily avoided her eyes. Just then, his ringing phone came to his rescue.
He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out his phone to look at the screen.
"I have a meeting at the company this afternoon. I’ll come back and make you dinner later."
After saying that, his steps were a mess; he practically fled in disarray.
Vesper curled her lip, her eyes flashing with utter ridicule.
...
In the afternoon, she contacted a real estate agent to come over and sell the property.
Then, she drove to the company.
Over the past three years, she had occasionally brought lunch for Luke, so everyone at the company knew her and knew their wedding was approaching.
The last time she had come to the company was three months ago.
She familiarly took the elevator upstairs.
The hallway leading to the president’s office was covered in a soft carpet, so her high heels made no sound as she walked.
Just as her hand landed on the doorknob, the faint sound of a girl’s kitten-like whimpers mixed with a man’s rough panting reached her ears.
Vesper’s fingertips froze, and the color drained from her face.
Her eyes burned, but no more tears would fall.
’A pathological liar. Utterly shameless.’
She pulled out her phone, opened the video recorder, and pushed the door open a crack. Inside the office, the two were locked in passionate combat, neither of them noticing the door.
Lost in a haze of passion, Ivy threw her head back and suddenly met the phone’s camera, letting out a shriek. Luke, who was in his final sprint, was so startled by the sudden cry that he went limp.
"Luke, someone’s filming us!"
In a panic, she grabbed some clothes to cover herself and shrank into Luke’s arms.
"Who?" Luke’s eyes were dark and his face was grim. His sharp gaze followed hers to the door.
The door swung open, and Vesper put her phone away, walking in slowly.
"Sorry to have disturbed your fun!"
"Vesper..."
Luke’s face changed drastically, his shock quickly turning to anger born of shame. "What are you doing here?"
The moment she saw her, Ivy flinched, shrinking further into Luke’s embrace. "Sister Vesper, you always show up so unexpectedly... President Lockwood and I are just comforting each other. You’re the only one he truly loves."
Vesper let out a cold laugh. "Luke, let’s talk."
"Fine. You, get out first."
Now that he was caught red-handed, Luke knew that any further excuses would be in vain.
Ten minutes later, Ivy was the first to come out.
Meeting Vesper’s cold gaze, she timidly shrank back.
"Sister Vesper, President Lockwood said you can go in."
"That anonymous text last night... you sent it to me, didn’t you?"
Ivy’s face paled slightly, her eyes darting around. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"A soldier who doesn’t want to be a general is not a good soldier, and a mistress who doesn’t want to take the wife’s place is not ambitious. You’re not old, but your ambition certainly isn’t small."
’I tilled the soil and spread the fertilizer, and just when I finally got this tree—Luke—to bear fruit, someone else came and picked it first.’
"Sister Vesper, I heard that three years ago, you were almost gang-raped, and it left you with some trauma?" Ivy’s red lips curled slightly. "I don’t mind helping you satisfy President Lockwood, to take care of his... physical needs."
Vesper’s heart plunged into an abyss. She never thought Luke would even share something like that with her.
She gripped her purse strap tightly, her nails digging into her palm.
Ivy stared at her, wanting to see her lose her composure, to see the ugly sight of her breaking down.
But she was disappointed. Not only was Vesper not provoked, she actually let out an inscrutable little laugh and even thanked her.
"Thank you."
’Thank you. Thank you for letting me see Luke’s true colors before the wedding, for extinguishing the last bit of reluctance in my heart and making me give up on him completely.’
...
Inside the president’s office.
Luke was already fully dressed, sitting properly in a black swivel chair, having resumed his appearance as a dapper, well-dressed elite.
"What did you want to talk about?"
His voice was hoarse, clearly unsatisfied, and his gaze toward her was tinged with intense displeasure.
Vesper sat down across from him, looking at him with eyes devoid of any emotion.
"The house and the car are mine. I’ll sell you the company shares at market price. For the sake of you having saved me in the past, I’ll let you keep your dignity."
Luke was stunned, then laughed in extreme anger. "Vesper, everything you have, which of it wasn’t earned by me? All I did was make a mistake that any man in the world would make. Are you really going to sentence me to death over it?"
This arrogant, entitled attitude of his, as if cheating was perfectly natural, made him seem like a complete stranger to Vesper.
’Perhaps this is the inherent flaw in men; even when they’re in the wrong, they can twist words and reason, absolutely refusing to admit their own mistakes.’
"It’s been three years, and it seems you still don’t know me at all. I, Vesper, cannot tolerate a single grain of sand in my eye. I’d rather have nothing than settle for less."
Luke’s face was dark as he stared back at her coldly. "Are you serious?"