“Can we go another day? My stomach hurts. Can you stay with me… just today?”

It was my last attempt to give her a way out. If she still insisted on leaving, then I didn’t want her anymore.

From outside, Tristan smacked his lips impatiently.

“Hurry up, it’s boiling hot out here!”

Cassandra shoved my hand away, her face full of disgust.

“Why are you pretending? You were fine just now! A grown man pulling such a pathetic trick.”

She pushed me back onto the sofa. My heart sank.

Tristan strolled in, pinching Cassandra’s cheek playfully.

“Don’t be so fierce. Some men are just like that—sensitive, suspicious, always wanting the world to revolve around them. It’s normal, not even a flaw.”

Cassandra snorted, contempt dripping from her voice.

“If he were even a tenth as good as you, I wouldn’t care.”

Her eyes suddenly fell on Tristan’s open zipper. She reached out casually and tugged it up.

“Idiot. Didn’t you notice?”

Tristan let her fuss with it, grinning.

“Gentle! That hurts.”

She pressed it down harder, smirking.

“Where’s it hiding then?”

Their laughter faded as they disappeared down the hall.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Ella Knight.

“I’ll meet you at your cruise ship later.”

“Okay,” she answered. She didn’t know Cassandra at all—but she and I had been childhood sweethearts. Twenty years of friendship, six years of love. I knew better than anyone what true, pure companionship was.

And now, I wanted to see with my own eyes just how rotten this so-called marriage had become.

The sea breeze was heavy with salt. On the deck of the luxury cruise ship, laughter and shrieks echoed.

Behind sunglasses and a mask, I leaned against the railing, watching.

Cassandra wore a bikini, belly already starting to show, seated close beside Tristan in nothing but swim trunks. They played a vulgar game of passing tissues.

Tristan clamped down on the tissue with his teeth, leaving only a corner. Cassandra leaned in again and again, failing to catch it.

“Cassie lost! Time for punishment!” someone howled.

“Confess to someone in public! How about Tristan?” another jeered.

Tristan pulled Cassandra into his arms, grinning.

“Oh, how embarrassing!”

The crowd roared.

“What’s the point of confessing now?” someone shouted. “Tristan, what happened last time? Tell us in detail!”

Tristan puffed up with pride.

“Watch me—straight to the dragon!”

Cassandra blocked him with a playful scolding.

“You’re too rebellious!”