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The old lady obediently drank the beverage and soon fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Josh eagerly donned the Santa Claus costume, locked the car and rushed off to please his secretary, Tatiana.
He caused grandma’s death but still blamed her for leaving without telling anyone.
I scolded him, “Shut up, Josh! How dare you mention grandma? She was so old, how could you leave her alone in the car?”
A hint of impatience flashed across Josh’s face, but he suppressed his temper and pleaded, “I’m sorry, I was wrong! Baby, don’t be mad, it’s all my fault! Tomorrow, I’ll kneel in front of grandma and apologize to her, okay?”
Before I could respond, his phone rang. He grabbed it and quickly walked out of the bedroom, as if escaping. His lips curved into a smile, his face brimming with
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affection.
After hanging up, he hurried into the bathroom to shower. His phone, left on the coffee table, kept buzzing incessantly.
Since we got together, Josh’s passwords had always been my birthday, he said it was to give me a sense of security, letting met check his phone anytime.
Over the years, I had trusted him fully and never looked at his phone without permission.
I entered my birthday, unlocking the screen. The top chat was with someone named “My Tatiana.”
[Boss, your little vixen is lovesick and needs your warm touch as an antidote. Come quickly…] The attached photo. showed a woman in revealing clothes, with a fluffy tail behind her, exuding an air of seduction.
[Wait for me! You insatiable vixen, I’ll make sure you can’t get out of bed tomorrow
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morning!]
I scrolled through the messages for a long time before finally seeing my own name, buried among countless other chats. My messages had been muted, which explained why my texts about grandma’s accident went unanswered.
I turned off the phone and placed it back on the table. Pain surged through my chest, a mixture of grief from losing my dearest family member and despair from his betrayal.
Josh emerged from the bathroom, instinctively picked up his phone, glanced at the screen and spoke with slight unease, “Natalie, what are you doing here?”
Calmly, I picked up a glass from the table, “I was thirsty and came to get water.”
He chuckled, as if relieved and carried me to the sofa, gently chiding me for not taking care of myself and walking barefoot on the floor.
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He handed me a cup of warm water, then swiftly dressed in a suit I had already prepared, “Natalie, the company just called, I need to work overtime tonight. Don’t wait up for me! I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow morning.”
As he was leaving, I stopped him and handed him a document.
“What’s this?” he asked.
I said, “Grandma’s house lease is expiring and the house we rented in your name requires your signature to cancel.”
He glanced at the first page of the document and was about to flip through it when his phone rang again. In his hurry, he signed his name without reading further.
Had he looked more closely, he would have noticed that the document below was a divorce agreement.
He turned to leave and I quickly grabbed a coat and followed him, “If you’re working
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late, I’ll keep you company.”
He hesitated, trying to find an excuse to leave me behind, but when I insisted, he reluctantly made a hurried call to warn the other party.
When we arrived at the top–floor office, it was empty.
He arranged a makeshift bed on the sofa for me. “I know my wife misses me. Lie here and keep your husband company while I work.”
Sitting at his computer, he appeared completely absorbed in work, as if his earlier flirtations with Tatiana had been nothing but a dream.
Unintentionally, I fell asleep. In the middle of the night, I woke up from the cold. The room was dark and Josh was nowhere to be found.