Chapter1
On the eve of Christmas, Evan said he had to shoot night scenes.
I got off work early and drove his car out of the garage.
As soon as I started the engine, the center console screen automatically popped up the navigation history.
Ranked first was an old, run-down apartment building in East Los Angeles. It was a full two-hour drive from our home in Beverly Hills.
I didn't pay much attention into it until I scrolled further down the records.
Over the past year, almost every Wednesday late at night, he had gone there. And every Wednesday, he had told me he was catching up on night shoots on set.
I followed the navigation and drove over.
It wasn't until I stood below that apartment building that I completely lost all my strength.
That was where Leah lived.
She was Evan's popular female co-star. They had fought on screen for five years and cursed each other out online for five years. She had stolen his endorsements, and he had ruined her movie deals.
Later, driven mad by jealousy, she went to a banquet and drugged my drink, almost letting me fall into the hands of a stranger.
Not long after, Evan retaliated using the exact same method, personally sending her behind closed doors with a stranger. He swore in front of me that he would never let her appear in our lives again for the rest of his life.
I always thought he hated her to the core.
The next second, the phone tossed on the passenger seat lit up.
A message from Evan popped up on the screen.
"Honey, I have a social engagement tonight; it will probably be very late. Go to sleep early, don't wait up for me."
I stared at that line of text and smiled. It turned out every Wednesday of this past year had a destination. This crowded game of three—I quit. They could have each other.
……
My earring wasn't clipped tightly and slipped under the seat. I bent down to feel for it, but what my fingertips touched wasn't an earring; it was a custom order form for high jewelry. In the recipient column, Leah's name was written.
My stomach dropped fiercely.
I had my eye on this necklace for over half a year and had mentioned it to Evan several times. Every time, he said the brand was difficult to negotiate with and the overseas quota was impossible to get.
It turned out it wasn't impossible to get. He just gave the only spot to her.
My gaze fell to the very bottom of the order form, where the customer's engraving request read: E & L.
I looked at those two letters over and over again.
The phone rang again. It was the exclusive ringtone he had recorded and forced me to set: "Sweetheart, your husband is calling!"
In the past, every time I heard this ringtone, I would smile sweetly.
But now, I stared at the word "Husband" on the screen for three seconds before calmly pressing the answer button.
"Why did it take you so long to answer?" Evan's gentle voice came through the receiver. "Did you have insomnia again last night? If you're not feeling well, rest early."
Gripping the custom order form, I responded calmly, "No. I was driving, handling some things."
I hung up the phone, stepped on the gas pedal, and drove toward the banquet venue.
This banquet was hosted by our company. Outsiders only knew Evan as a Best Actor, but they didn't know that half of his talent agency was built by me by his side. We had merely agreed to keep our marriage a secret and not announce it publicly to stabilize the stock prices.
As soon as I walked to the entrance outside the red carpet, two security guards directly reached out and stopped me.
"Sorry, ma'am. This is the VVIP lane. You cannot enter."
I stopped in my tracks. Beside me, two fans discussed in low voices.
"Was that Leah who just walked in?"
"They've fought for five years, and she's the only one who can freely go in and out to see Evan."
"Exactly! Everyone says they kill each other on screen but love each other off screen. Only she has this privilege."
I stood frozen on the spot. I held the shares; I was the actual female owner of this company. I had stayed with Evan through the hardest startup phase, yet I was blocked from even walking down a single pathway.
But Leah could enjoy the privileges that belonged exclusively to him.
I tightly clutched the order form in my palm, looked up at the security guards blocking me, and said, "I am a family member of Evan's. Please let me through."
"Mr. Evan's only VVIP female guest quota for tonight has already been given to Miss Leah. If you want to see celebrities, go line up in the outer fan zone."
A staff member holding champagne looked me up and down. "You have no chance of seeing him right now. Ever since she arrived today, he's refusing to see anyone. Last time, a major director asked to see him and was forcefully delayed for three days. You'd better behave yourself and come back another day."
Even a passing assistant chimed in, "Yeah, Miss Chloe, whether on set or in the company, he only spends time alone with Miss Leah."
My voice went hoarse. "She... is often close to him. How come I didn't know?"
