The aroma of herbs and spices filled the kitchen, a comforting blend of basil, rosemary, and garlic that swirled around me as I stood by the stove, stirring a simmering pot with one hand while humming a gentle tune.
Today marked our four-year anniversary, and even though I was nine months pregnant, I insisted on being the one to cook dinner tonight. I wanted everything to be perfect, down to the last detail. This wasn’t just about the food; it was about showing Jasper how much I care, how deeply I love him. I hoped he would notice my efforts and feel how much thought I had put into this night.
Out of habit, I glanced at the clock. Jasper should be home by now. He promised he’d come home early today, something I’d been eagerly looking forward to. His work had consumed him lately—long hours, stressful calls, endless transactions—and I missed him. I missed us. Tonight was supposed to be our night.
A sudden, firm kick in my stomach jolted me from my thoughts. I placed a hand on my belly, feeling the baby’s lively movements. “Baby, do you miss your dad?” I asked, rubbing my round tummy gently. “Maybe we should call him.”
I dialed Jasper’s number, waiting eagerly for him to pick up. The call connected for just a second before ending abruptly.
A pang of worry settled in my chest, but I quickly dismissed it. He was probably in the middle of something. He’d been so busy recently; maybe he just couldn’t pick up right now.
"Baby, your dad’s probably just busy," I murmured, trying to reassure both myself and the little one inside.
Just then, my phone vibrated. I looked down with a hopeful heart, expecting a message from Jasper explaining the dropped call. Instead, it was an email.
My heart sank slightly, but I opened it anyway, only to find a series of bank statements with Jasper’s name at the top. My stomach twisted as I read the message’s last line: "From Your Husband’s Pretty Secret."
Confusion quickly turned to doubt, and doubt became fear. The words echoed in my mind, making me feel uneasy and anxious.
One of the maids noticed me trembling and asked if I was okay, but I barely heard her. I forced myself to calm down, telling myself it had to be a mistake—a cruel prank, maybe. Jasper couldn’t possibly be hiding something from me… could he?
As I started to feel lightheaded, the maids helped me sit down, urging me to take deep breaths.
I managed to steady myself, trying to regain some composure, when one of the bodyguards entered, holding a small box decorated with a ribbon.
He handed it to me, saying it had been addressed specifically for me.
I took the box, feeling a strange chill run down my spine. With trembling fingers, I opened it, and the sight inside made my blood run cold. Lying in the box was a dead cat, brutally mutilated, with blood seeping through the cardboard and dripping onto the floor.
I dropped the box in horror, nausea rising within me.
As the maids hurried to clean up, my phone lit up again. With shaking hands, I checked the screen, only to see another email from the same sender.
“Do you like my gift?”
The words mocked me, taunting me with a cruel playfulness. My hands trembled as I clutched the phone, my heart racing. The fear I felt was unlike anything I’d ever known, yet it was quickly overtaken by a surge of anger.
Who dares mess with me?
I called the bodyguards, my voice steadier than I felt. “Find out who delivered this box,” I ordered. "Search every corner and don’t come back until you find them!"
Chapter 2My men came a while later, leading a struggling man into the house. I was sitting on the couch, scrolling through my phone when they dragged the culprit of the mystery box to me. They made him kneel as I watch his futile attempts to escape.
"Who sent you?" I asked, glaring coldly.
"No one."
I asked once again. "Who sent you?"
"..."
So is this how they play?
With a snap of my finger, a bodyguard punched him on the stomach, earning a groan of pain from the man.
"Believe me. I can do more than that. Don't forget that I am the wife of the Ashcroft Mafia Lord as well as a successor of the Leone Family and I assure you, I'll try every means to make you talk."
The man laughed maniacally. "You're all bastards. All of you. One day, you will grovel to the ground, defeated--"
I did not let him finish a word but instead told my men to take him to the basement to be tortured. The man just laughed maniacally and pullled out a hidden gun. My bodyguards immediately shielded me and aimed their guns towards him.
"With this, I have done my work-- BANG!"
A defeaning sound rang. I watch the man fall on the floor, blood spilling from a hole in his head. Anger and disgust settled in my heart.
Just who would do this?
I left the scene, and grabbed myself a glass of water in the kitchen. I want to call Jasper, but something stopped me from doing so. Instead, I went through the bank statements the anonymous sender. I found a name in the recepients file. Sophia Smith.
Immediately, I searched the name in social media and found a matching account. The earliest post was a year ago, around July. It was a photo of a two hands holding each other. And she wrote: 'Thank you for accompanying me in my birthday. I love you, honey.'
My breathing hitched. Needless to say, I recognized Jasper's hand right away. It was the same hand that held mine earlier. I knew it was him by the scar on his backhand.
A year ago, July, I lost our first baby. I suffered alone in the hospital, broken with the news of the miscarriage, almost dying in pain and heartbreak. And where was my husband? It turned out that he was busy accompanying his mistress of his.
I scrolled again, finding intimate pictures of them together, luxurious gifts, trips and events. My hands were trembling, tears spilling from my eyes. The pain was like a thousands cuts. How could Jasper do this to me?
I saw a video where Sophia was filming. She asked, "Will you love me till the day I die?" Even though Jasper was deliberately out of the frame, I couldn't miss his voice.
"Of course, babe," he answered gently, in a tone I terribly missed. "Till the day that I die."
My sobs grew bigger. What about me, Jasper? What about us? Was the love we share forgotten that easily?
Out of impulse, I called Jasper. I was hoping he denied. Hoping to hear that he wasn't the man in the photos. That he was still my husband. The one I love and loves me too.
With trembling hands, I held my phone. Jasper answered shortly.
"Hey, baby? I'm sorry I was busy. I'll be home in a while."
Lies! He was clearly with Sofia. From her recent post, they were at a pastry shop.
"Okay. Drive safely," I answered, swallowing my sobs. "Come home soon, please."
Before Jasper hang up, I could hear Sophia's sweet voice in the background: "Love, do like this chocolate? This has peanuts in it. I know you love them."
For a while, I thought I was hallucinating. I thought this was all a joke, a nightmare, a nasty prank. Our marriage of four years ended at this point and all I can do was cry my heart out.
My baby kicked, as if trying to console me. I rubbed my belly.
"It's okay, baby. Mom is here," I gently assured, tears streaming on my face. "Mom loves you. You still have me"
Chapter 3After a while I calmed down, and coming out from the kitchen I notice the well prepared table that I made. Anger surged within me. All this and for what?!
Without hesitation, I threw all the dishes on the floor, creating a mess. The food I meticulously prepared was suddenly gone. The maids behind me flinched from the sounds of glasses breaking, as if scared.
"Don't serve dinner," I warned them. "Go clean the mess up." Their Master is probably full. I snickered and marched towards the bedroom. Is our marriage going to fail just like this?
No! My baby still needs a Father!
There's still a chance to reclaim Jasper's attention, to rekindle our dwindling connection.
But as I scrolled through Sophia's social media, a two-month-old post pierced my heart like a dagger: Sophia's own pregnancy announcement.
"Oh, God..." I muttered under my breath, my eyes welling up.
They have a baby. While I do my pre-natal check-ups alone, Jasper accompanied Sophia with hers.
With trembling hands, I clutched my belly. What about my baby? Our baby? All the hope I have earlier shattered into oblivion. The fear of losing Jasper weighted in my mind but right now, I feel so exhausted.
Jasper's arrival home was met with an unsettling silence. The servants hesitated to approach him, whispering about Alice's erratic behavior. The bodyguards briefed him on the earlier incident, their voices laced with concern.
I heard Jasper's car pulled over, but I lay unmoving on the bed. Usually, I'll greet him when he opens the door. After a while, he gently knocked the door and came in.
"The servants told me what happened. I'm sorry if I wasn't here sooner," he said and kissed my forehead. In the past, I would probably smile sheepishly and forgive him. But now, I can't even bring myself to look at Jasper.
"Don't worry about what happened earlier. I'll make sure to find who did it."
"I'm in a bad mood, Jasper," I whispered to him, hoping that he would take notice of me. "You were late."
"Yes," he coaxed. "I'm really sorry, love. Something happened and I needed to be there."
My heart ached. Sophia was the one who needed him! Just an hour ago, she was live on social media. She was craving for chocolates so Jasper brought her to an expensive and famous pastry shop.
"Jasper," I called out to him, hiding the sob that wanted to escape. "Can you buy me chocolates? The baby is craving for it."
"At this hour, Alice? I just got home and you wanted me to go out again?"
"I-I... that's not what I intended... I just wanted to eat chocolates."
His expression soften. "But it's an unhealthy snack. For the sake of our child, Alice."
I stared at him blankly and eventually nodded. I knew that even if I beg, he wouldn't give me the damn chocolates.
"Good. Should I ask the servants to cut some fruits?"
I shook my head no. After all, I should stop expecting that he'll listen to my wishes. Because in this relationship, I'm the one who is unloved.
Jasper sat down on the bed and rubbed my potruding belly. "After birth, I'll buy you chocolates. Bear with it for a while until the baby comes out."
'When the baby comes out, I'll be divorcing you,' I thought in my mind. I can't be stuck in this torturous marriage, waiting for Jasper to love me again.
"Jasper, you forgot that today is our wedding anniversary."
A lone tear fell on my cheek and Jasper hurried to wipe it. "I know, baby. I'm sorry. I promise I'll make it up for you."
I doubt what he said was true. I dare not hope. Eventually, one day, he will also propose a divorce. It's only a matter of time when that will happen.
Chapter 4A gentle kiss was placed on my belly, as if Jasper was easing whatever grieviances were between us. The baby kicked, sensing it's father's presence. I feigned nonchalance and asked him, "How was work?"
I did not fail to notice his subtle change of emotion. Like a criminal who was caught red-handed.
"It was fine." I watch him got up and loosened his tie. "Just the usual."
"Oh..."
"I'll go take a shower."
Just as when Jasper entered the bathroom, his phone softly vibrated on the bedside table. I hastily grabbed it and saw a message from Sophia: 'Did you get home safely?'
I got irritated and tried to unlock Jasper's phone, hoping to uncover more of his affairs. Entering whatever dates that comes to mind: my birthday, his birthday, our wedding anniversary, every date I could think of-- it was all wrong. Somehow, I thought of when Sophia uploaded her first post.
The date matched, I unlocked Jasper's phone!
It was the same date when I had the miscarriage of our first child and Jasper heartlessly made it as his lockscreen. Ignoring the pain in my heart, I carefully browsed his phone.
Sure enough, his gallery, chat history and call history all had Sophia in it. Even changing her name to 'Love' and adding a heart on her contacts.
"They're all trash."
I took pictures of Jasper's infedilty. With this, our divorce process will be smoother, and he would have no choice but to sign the papers.
I went to sleep early, tired from all that happened. Around 4 a.m. in the morning, I felt that Jasper got out of bed and hurriedly changed his clothes.
"Where are you going?" I asked him. He saw me awake and gave a helpless smile.
"One of the transactions almost got busted so I'll take a look."
Lies, I wanted to shout. How could he pretend like that in front of my face?
"At this hour?"
I did not hide my suspicion. I knew it was because of Sophia. It was always because of her.
"What's gotten lately with you, Alice? The dinner, the chocolates... Are you mad at me?" He sighed wearily. "Look, I just wanted to make sure our operations are successful."
He leaned forward and kissed the top of my head. "Go back to sleep."
He left just like that. As I listen to his car leaving, I called a private detective, telling them to investigate about Jasper's endeavors with Sophia in the past.
When I got the reports later, it was just as I expected. Pictures of Jasper and Sophia were displayed in front of me. The two could be seen going to dates, eating in restaurants and even kissing publicly outside. It seemed that Jasper didn't want to hide his relationship at all.
"Should I continue my investigation, Madam?"
I was about to say no, but took notice of my husband's mistress. Beneath her angelic, I knew so well that she was a devil in disguise.
"Can you investigate this woman?" I asked, my finger pointng at Sophia in one of the picture. "I want everything about her."