Chapter 3

Jessamine's POV

After the poisoning incident, Damien's attitude toward me completely changed.

Even though the hospital confirmed that Celeste and the baby only had a common allergic reaction, he still looked at me with suspicion. I felt him clearly favoring Celeste—being extra gentle with her on the phone, always using the baby as an excuse to spend time with her.

And I became like an unwanted shadow in this house.

That evening, Damien completely ignored my attempts at conversation when he came home.

"How was work today?" I approached him proactively.

He just gave me a flat "Mm," sitting on the couch and focusing on his phone, a subtle smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

I stood there, looking at that face I'd once been crazy about, bitterness rising in my chest.

"I'm going to shower." He got up, casually placing his phone on the coffee table.

Just then, the phone screen lit up.

A new message.

My eyes uncontrollably glanced over, and I saw a message from Celeste on the screen:

"Missing you... Daddy ��"

In that moment, my blood turned to ice.

"What are you looking at?"

Damien suddenly appeared and snatched the phone away, his eyes cold.

"What do you mean 'missing you, Daddy'?" I couldn't hold back anymore. "Damien, she's obviously flirting with you!"

"That's just because the baby misses her father!" His expression shifted slightly. "What are you thinking?"

"Does a baby missing daddy need heart emojis? Does it need to be this INTIMATE?" I demanded hysterically. "Damien, do you think I'm an IDIOT?"

"You're just being UNREASONABLE!" He was furious. "I work so hard outside every day, and I come home to your accusations and suspicions!"

"Hard work? For WHO are you working so hard?" I laughed bitterly. "For Celeste and your child, right? What am I in this house?"

"What do you want to be?" He completely exploded. "Jessamine, you've become completely unrecognizable! Paranoid, snooping through phones, even POISONING a woman who just gave birth!"

"I didn't poison anyone! How many times do I have to say it!"

"Then what do you want now?" His voice was full of irritation. "I already promised not to have Celeste give me another son. Isn't that enough? You're ALWAYS like this—always making trouble, always putting me in difficult positions!"

"Making trouble?" That word stung me. "Damien, I see my husband being intimate with another woman and questioning it makes me unreasonable?"

"You're just OVERTHINKING everything!" He was exasperated. "I have no improper feelings for Celeste whatsoever. You insist on assuming the worst about everything!"

"Then explain that message! Explain why you talk to her on the phone until late every night!"

"ENOUGH!" His patience was completely exhausted. "I don't want to hear your hysteria anymore! You make me feel so TIRED, you know that? Incredibly tired!"

With that, he stormed out angrily, slamming the door hard behind him.

I collapsed on the couch, watching his retreating figure, tears streaming down my face.

In that moment, I remembered what he'd said when he was pursuing me three years ago.

Back then, I was always insecure and often acted unreasonably to test his love. He would always hold me gently and say: "Jessamine, no matter how you act up, no matter what little tantrums you have, I'll always be patient with you. Because every expression, every look you give me, captivates me."

Back then, his eyes only held adoration, never irritation.

He had also solemnly promised: "The greatest happiness of my life is being able to love you, cherish you, protect you. Even if you act unreasonably for the rest of your life, I'm willing to comfort you for the rest of mine."

And now, the same me, the same worries, had become a burden that made him "tired."

How ridiculous. How ironic.

I hugged my knees and sat in the cold living room, crying like a child.

For the next week, Damien claimed to work overtime almost every day, coming home very late. We spoke less and less, and his looks toward me grew increasingly cold.

That afternoon, while I was preparing dinner in the kitchen, my phone suddenly received a text from an unknown number:

"Your husband is fucking another woman at the company right now. If you don't believe it, go check the CEO office on the 37th floor."

My hand trembled, and I almost dropped the phone.

The message was too sudden, too direct, but somehow my instincts told me it might be true.

I practically fled from the house.

Arriving at the 37th floor of the company, the hallway was eerily quiet, with only Damien's office still glowing with dim light.

I walked to the door with an uneasy heart, about to knock, when I heard sounds that made my blood freeze.

A woman's moans.

A man's low breathing.

My hand froze in mid-air. Through the crack in the door, I saw the scene I least wanted to see in my lifetime—

In the dim light, Damien was holding Celeste against his desk.

Her long hair was disheveled, her legs wrapped around his waist, her face showing an intoxicated expression I'd never seen before. And him—that face I'd loved for three years—was buried in her neck, making beast-like groans.

"You drive me CRAZY, Celeste..." His voice was hoarse and full of desire.

"I love you too... my man..." She held him tightly, her voice sickeningly sweet.

In that moment, I felt like my soul had been ripped away.

Not because I saw my husband making love to another woman, but because I saw the pure joy and satisfaction on his face. That was an expression he'd never shown me, that was real love and infatuation.

So he really had fallen in love with her.

I violently pushed open the door, making a huge noise.

The two separated in panic, Damien hastily adjusting his clothes. When he saw me at the door, obvious panic flashed across his face.

"Jessamine? What are you doing here?"

"So this is your overtime." I stared at them, tears blurring my vision.

"Let me explain..." He tried to approach me.

"Explain what?" I shoved away his outstretched hand. "Explain why you're making love to her here? Explain why you just said you loved her?"

"I was just trying to get her pregnant!" He hastily defended himself. "You're the only one in my heart!"

"To get her pregnant?" I laughed hysterically. "Damien, didn't you promise you wouldn't let her have another son?"

His face instantly went pale, obviously realizing he'd let something slip.

"I really have no choice. The family needs a male heir..."

"Enough." I wiped away my tears, my voice strangely calm. "I understand."

Looking at this man full of lies before me, I finally understood that our marriage had been dead for a long time.

"Jessamine, you can't leave me..." He frantically chased after me, grabbing my wrist. "We can still start over..."

"Start over?" I violently shook off his hand with such force that even he stumbled. "FUCK starting over!"

"Jessamine..."

"I want a divorce." I turned toward the door. "This time it's for real."