Chapter 2

I always thought Alec was just overworked.

Now I realize everything had been leaving clues all along.

People can lie, but details don't.

Love is in the details, and so is the lack of it.

Just as Alec was busy preparing ingredients to make porridge for me, my phone rang.

I opened it to see photos Vivienne had sent of herself lying in bed dressed as a bunny girl.

"Alec honey, why aren't you here yet? This bunny can't wait to see you!"

A minute later, these photos were urgently recalled.

"I'm so sorry, Melody! I sent that to the wrong person! It was meant for my boyfriend! Please don't think anything of it!"

The young girl's intentions were as clear as day.

Obviously, Vivienne hadn't sent it to the wrong person at all, but had "intentionally" sent it to me.

Seeing me staring blankly at my phone, Alec walked over and handed me a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

"Darling, the porridge will be ready soon. Drink this orange juice first to get some vitamin C."

I lowered my eyes without speaking and set the orange juice aside.

A minute later, Alec's phone lit up with a notification.

After checking it, a fleeting look of excitement flashed across his eyes.

Vivienne must have already sent the content I just sent her to Alec.

Alec quietly glanced up at me, then nervously rubbed his nose.

"Melody, something's come up at the company. I need to go take care of it."

After saying that, he leaned down again and gently rubbed my belly.

"Sweetheart, while Daddy's gone, you'd better not give Mommy any trouble. Otherwise, when you come out, Daddy won't let you off easy!"

A moment later, Alec transferred $100,000 into my account.

"Melody, buy whatever you want to eat. Don't let our little sweetheart go hungry, okay?"

I forced a faint smile and said goodbye to him listlessly.

Alec didn't know that the child he cherished so much was already dead.

Dead from his betrayal.

Dead from the chill in my heart.

Vivienne was a new intern at Alec's company.

At first, when Alec mentioned her, it was always with complaints.

"These new girls they're hiring nowadays just keep getting worse. They can't even work a basic printer... Especially that one called Vivienne, she's dumb as a rock."

But later on, when he brought her up, things had changed.

"Vivi is like a little kid, sometimes adorably clumsy."

"Today, she got soaked in the rain trying to fetch a document for me. Guess what happened?"

"The document was fine, but she was drenched from head to toe..."

Thinking about this, I felt my eyes begin to water involuntarily. I absentmindedly scrolled through Vivienne's social media feed.

I saw that on the night Vivienne got caught in the rain, she was lying in the naked embrace of a man.

"Thanks for the clothes, honey. You're so sweet for helping me change. I can only offer myself in return!"

I just remember that night, Alec said he was working late at the office.

I couldn't even bear to imagine what had happened between them.

I frantically started combing through Vivienne's entire social media history.

Only to discover that what Alec had once called "being busy" was now evidence of his infidelity.