Chapter 3

Ophelia arrived at the entrance of a coffee shop. As she pushed the door open, Scarlett was already sitting in a corner waiting for her.

Scarlett was wearing a trench coat today with delicate makeup, looking bright and radiant.

Seeing Ophelia walk in, she immediately stood up, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her down into the seat across from her.

"So?" Scarlett lowered her voice, "Did you confront Matthew when you got home yesterday? What did he say? Is he cheating?"

Ophelia raised her hand, signaling her to keep it down: "Scarlett, you said on the phone earlier that you saw Matthew again. Where was it?"

"At the entrance of that same hotel, wearing the same clothes as yesterday." Scarlett slapped her forehead, "I forgot to take a photo this time."

Ophelia stared at her for a moment, then said slowly: "I think you got the wrong person. That wasn't Matthew."

Scarlett's expression froze for a second, her tone agitated: "How is that possible? I saw him with my own eyes!"

"You saw his back with your own eyes; you didn't see his face." Ophelia put down her water glass, her tone calm, "Matthew picked up Katya from kindergarten yesterday afternoon. The teacher can confirm it, and Katya can confirm it too. How could he be at Sapphire Sky Hotel at the same time?"

Scarlett's lips moved, but for a moment she couldn't say anything.

"And most importantly, Matthew wore a white hoodie yesterday. The man you photographed was wearing a gray coat." Ophelia continued, "I don't remember Matthew even having a gray coat."

Scarlett fell silent.

She picked up the latte in front of her and took a sip. After a long while, she put down the cup, her voice a bit lower: "What if your daughter and the teacher are lying to your husband?"

Ophelia's fingers paused slightly.

"That's impossible." She put the cup back on the saucer, her tone certain, "Katya is only four years old, she wouldn't lie. And the teacher has no reason to help Matthew lie to me."

"Ophelia, listen to me." Scarlett leaned forward, her eyes sincere, "I'm not trying to mess up your marriage, but I've seen this kind of thing a lot. The first step when men cheat is lying, then getting people around them to lie too."

Ophelia's grip on the coffee cup tightened a bit.

Scarlett was a close friend she'd known since college. They had a very good relationship, and she was genuinely worried about her, which is why she was saying these things.

"So what do you think I should do?" She looked at Scarlett hesitantly.

"You can ask the other kids in Katya's class." Scarlett said, "Your husband couldn't possibly have gotten all the kindergarten kids on his side, right?"

Ophelia didn't respond.

She lowered her eyes, her mind in chaos.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore." Scarlett saw her expression wasn't good and tactfully changed the subject, picking up her coffee cup and tapping it against Ophelia's, "Just pretend I'm being nosy, okay? Let's drink our coffee."

Ophelia forced a smile and took a sip from her cup.

They sat in the coffee shop for a while longer, chatting about other things. Scarlett talked about a guy she was pursuing recently, telling several stories with great animation. Ophelia smiled along, but her mind was clearly elsewhere.

It was almost eleven o'clock when they left the coffee shop.

On the drive home, Scarlett's words kept spinning in Ophelia's head.

She didn't want to doubt Matthew, she really didn't.

But she couldn't control herself.

The feeling was like a thorn growing in her heart. You think you've pulled it out, but when you look down, it's still there, causing a dull ache.

When she got home, Ophelia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She decided to pick up Katya from school herself that afternoon and, as Scarlett suggested, ask Katya's classmates whether Matthew had actually shown up at the kindergarten yesterday afternoon.

She didn't want to keep being troubled by this doubt. Better to get it over with.

Ophelia walked into the bedroom, changed into clothes for going out, then grabbed her car keys to leave.

She had just reached the living room door when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to find Matthew's older sister, Ainsley, standing outside—Ainsley Moore.

Ainsley was five years older than Matthew, but she took good care of herself. She was carrying two large bags filled with various foods.

"Ainsley, what brings you here?" Ophelia stepped aside to let her in.

"I came to see Matthew." Ainsley walked in casually, plopped the two bags on the dining table, and then turned to look at Ophelia, "Where are you going?"

"To pick up Katya from school."

"Just let Matthew pick up Katya." Ainsley said while opening the bags and taking out several boxes of fresh vegetables, "I brought a lot of Matthew's favorite dishes. Come help me cook."

"Right now?" Ophelia hesitated.

"What? You want Matthew to come home to an empty stomach?" Ainsley's tone carried a hint of displeasure, "I'm telling you, Matthew works hard enough as it is. If he comes home and doesn't even have a hot meal, what kind of wife are you?"

Ophelia pressed her lips together and didn't argue.

She was used to Ainsley's way of talking.

Ainsley's concern for her brother had reached an almost obsessive level. In her eyes, only she truly understood and cared for her brother. Ophelia, as his wife, was never good enough.

"Why don't you sit down and rest for a bit? I'll get you some water." Ophelia said, heading toward the kitchen.

"Don't bother, I'm not thirsty." Ainsley followed her into the kitchen, looking around. Her gaze landed on the pots on the stove, "You're eating takeout again? Don't you know how to make Matthew some nutritious food?"

Ophelia opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She knew there was no point arguing with Ainsley. Once Ainsley decided to do something, she wouldn't change her mind.

And she didn't want to upset Ainsley over such a small thing. After all, she was Matthew's sister.

"Alright, I'll call Matthew and have him pick up Katya from school."

"That's more like it." Ainsley nodded with satisfaction and pulled out a few more food containers from the bag, "Come on, heat these dishes first, then I'll teach you a few of Matthew's favorite dishes. You should learn them."

Ophelia took the containers and walked into the kitchen.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the doorbell rang.

Ophelia wiped her hands and went to open the door. Katya flew in like a little butterfly and threw herself into her arms: "Mommy! I'm home!"

"You're home! Were you good today?" Ophelia bent down to hug Katya, catching sight of Matthew following behind with a little girl with two pigtails beside him.

The little girl was wearing a pink down jacket and carrying a bunny backpack, standing timidly at the door, not quite daring to come in.

"Who's this?" Ophelia crouched down and asked Katya with a smile.

"Mommy, this is Briar, my good friend!" Katya pulled Briar's hand and tugged her inside.

Briar nodded and said quietly: "Hello."

Matthew walked in and explained, "Briar is Katya's classmate. Her parents are working late today and couldn't pick her up, so the teacher asked if Briar could stay at our place for a while until her parents get off work."

Ophelia nodded, thinking this was exactly the opportunity she'd been waiting for.

"Katya, have Daddy take you to wash your hands." Ophelia patted Katya's shoulder, her voice gentle.

"Okay!" Katya grabbed Matthew's hand and skipped away.

Seeing Katya and Matthew walk off, Ophelia crouched down and asked Briar with a warm smile: "Briar, can I ask you something?"

Briar looked up at her, big eyes full of confusion.

"Yesterday afternoon, did Katya's daddy come to the kindergarten to pick up Katya?" Ophelia asked nervously.

Briar tilted her little head and thought for a long time, then finally shook her head: "No."