A pharmacy called about my husband’s unpaid morning-after pill.
He said it was for an intern.
I believed him—until I saw the security footage… and my necklace on her neck.
1
The first day my husband was away on a business trip, I got a call from an unknown number.
It was a clerk from the local pharmacy, his voice urgent. “Hi, is this a member of Mr. Nelson’s family? He came in this afternoon to buy a pack of the morning-after pill, but he left before his payment went through. I need you to cover the charge.”
My mind went blank. *The morning-after pill?*
I pushed down the wave of panic and dialed my husband’s number. “Hey,” I said, testing the waters. “Where were you this afternoon? I got a notification from the credit card company about a failed transaction at a pharmacy.”
He paused for half a second, then chuckled. “Oh, that. I was just helping out one of the new interns from my department. She’s just a kid, was too embarrassed to buy it herself, so I ran the errand for her.”
I laughed and said it was fine. As soon as I hung up, I called the pharmacy back, my voice ice-cold.
“Text me your address. I’m coming over to pay.”
...
I rushed over to the pharmacy.
The clerk looked a little awkward when he saw me.
“Hi, this is it. The total comes to forty-eight dollars.”
I took out my phone but didn’t pay right away.
“That amount doesn’t match. My record shows a charge of sixty-eight dollars. Could you check the security footage? I’d like to confirm the items.”
The clerk froze for a second, then nodded.
“Of course, one moment.”
He pulled up the security feed, and a familiar figure immediately appeared on the screen.
It was my husband, Julian.
Standing next to him was a young woman in a white dress, looking all innocent and pure.
Julian handed her a box of pills with a casual, natural motion.
She took the box and looked down, seeming a bit shy.
Julian smiled, reached out, and gently stroked her head.
My heart twisted into a tight, painful knot.
That was a gesture he only ever used with me.
On the screen, the woman looked up and smiled back at him, revealing a necklace around her neck.
My eyes locked onto it.
The pendant was the letter “Z.”
I had designed it myself and had it custom-made.
It was the only one in the world.
It was my third-anniversary gift to Julian.
The clerk was still explaining beside me. “Sir actually bought two items, this and a bottle of vitamins, which is why the total was sixty-eight.”
I wasn’t listening.
I raised my phone and took a picture of the monitor.
Then I pulled up my digital wallet.
“It’s paid.”
I turned to leave but then stopped.
Looking back at the clerk, I forced a smile.
“Hey, man, that necklace the girl was wearing is really nice. Do you happen to know the brand?”
The clerk shook his head.
“Sorry, I have no idea.”
“Can I get your number? My girlfriend’s birthday is coming up, and I’d love it if you could send me a screenshot of the necklace from the video. I want to get her something just like it.”
The clerk didn’t think twice and readily gave me his number.
I Venmo’d him a little something for his trouble.
“Thanks a lot.”
Seconds later, my phone buzzed. A high-resolution screenshot had arrived.
The woman’s face and that Z-pendant necklace were crystal clear.
I got back in my car, my hands gripping the steering wheel.
The house was dead silent when I got home.
On autopilot, I walked into Julian’s study.
The high-end German fountain pen stand I’d given him, the one engraved with both our initials, was sitting on his desk. It was empty.
The pen was gone.
I opened my company’s internal directory and pulled up the list of interns.
One young face after another scrolled past.
Finally, my finger stopped on a profile belonging to a woman named Skylar Pearson.
It was the woman from the video.
I closed the app and made a call.
My best friend Violet’s loud voice boomed from the other end.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the great Charlotte Diaz. To what do I owe the honor?”
“I need you to look someone up for me. A new intern at my company, Skylar Pearson.”
My voice was unnervingly calm.
“Also, pull all of Julian’s private account statements, hotel records, and travel itineraries for the past six months. And I mean *everything*. Don’t miss a single thing.”
Violet was quiet for two long seconds.
“...Did something happen to Julian?”
“Worse.”
I hung up, and just then, Julian’s name flashed on my screen.
The contact name, “Hubby,” seared my eyes.
I answered.
“Charlotte, are you busy?” he asked, his voice as gentle as ever.
“No, I just got off work.”
“Did you have a good day? Not too tired, I hope?”
“It was fine.”
“I’ll be back from my trip tomorrow. I got you a gift, I promise you’ll love it.”
He was still using that same, syrupy-sweet tone that could drown a person.
Listening to it, my stomach churned.
“Oh, great,” I said with a smile.
“I’ll be waiting.”
2
The next day, an encrypted email from Violet was waiting for me the moment I got to the office.
“Here’s what you asked for. See for yourself. This Skylar Pearson… she’s something else.”
I opened the attachment.
It was Skylar Pearson’s social media profile, set to public.
Her latest post was a close-up of a drafting pen.
*The* missing German drafting pen.
The photo was artfully shot, with soft lighting and an open, original edition of an architectural design book placed beside it.
The caption read: “Mr. Nelson says my creative spark deserves the very best pen.”
My finger slid across the mouse, and I clicked to the next picture.
It was a selfie with the “Z” initial necklace.
The girl wore meticulous makeup, her head tilted back just so, revealing her slender neck and the chain.
“Mr. Nelson says I’m the one and only inspiration that illuminates his designs.”
The *one and only* inspiration.
I stared at the words and let out a bitter laugh.
I kept scrolling.
One photo was set in our living room. She was holding my cat, smiling with an air of pure innocence.
“Cuddling the cat at Mr. Nelson's place. Feeling so healed.”
There was another one of her sitting in my car, holding my favorite air freshener.
“The scent in Mr. Nelson’s car is amazing. He says it’s his sanctuary.”
Every photo, every word, was a declaration. She was marking her territory.
I closed the photos, my face expressionless, and opened the other folder.
It was the background check Violet had run on Skylar.
Ordinary family, ordinary university, completely unremarkable resume. Getting an internship at a top-tier design firm like ours was nothing short of a miracle.
The only highlight was a first-place win in a university competition for an urban landscape design report she’d submitted.
That report… it jogged my memory.
I scrolled down until I reached the last photo and froze.
In the picture, Skylar was holding a printed design draft, a smug, triumphant smile on her face.
The title on the draft was unmistakable—The Southwood Project.
This was the core design proposal I had spent three solid months slaving over for the company’s most important annual bid.
It was the most important project of my career.
I shot up from my chair and rushed into the private break room attached to my office.
My personal, encrypted laptop was in there.
I hit a key, and the screen lit up, displaying the password prompt.
I tried my birthday. Incorrect.
Our wedding anniversary. Incorrect.
I tried every important date we shared. All of them were wrong.
I stared at the input box, my mind buzzing. An uncontrollable thought surfaced.
Violet’s file had Skylar’s birthday in it.
My hand reached out, fingers trembling, and I slowly typed in the date, one number at a time.
“Welcome.”
The laptop unlocked.
Julian, my husband, had changed the password on my personal laptop to his mistress’s birthday.
A massive wave of humiliation washed over me.
Biting my lip hard, I opened the file explorer.
The desktop was clean, and my eyes immediately landed on the “Southwood Project” folder.
I clicked on it. The file’s “last modified” date was yesterday.
I opened the recycling bin.
A single file lay there quietly: my original version of the Southwood Project blueprint, the one with my layers of encryption.
The deletion time was also yesterday.
I went back to the desktop and opened the new, modified version.
The core logic of the proposal was almost identical to mine.
It just had minor adjustments to a few key load-bearing structures and design highlights—enough to circumvent my core patents but preserve the essence of the plan.
In the author credit spot was a single name: Skylar Pearson.
He wasn't just cheating on me, betraying our relationship.
He was stealing my life’s work, my career, the future of our company—all to pave a golden path for his little lover.
I had to grab the desk to keep myself from collapsing.
I finally understood. The ultimate betrayal wasn’t just breaking your heart. It was leaving you with absolutely nothing.
3
The hall for the company's annual keynote project presentation was buzzing.
I found an inconspicuous corner to sit in and watched as Julian Nelson led Skylar Pearson to their seats, right in the center of the front row.
He wore a custom-tailored suit, his hair perfectly coiffed. He was leaning over to say something to the client representative next to him, looking completely at ease.
Skylar sat beside him in a white professional suit. Her makeup was flawless, and the innocent look she used to have was replaced by the sharp competence of a corporate elite.
Her eyes, fixed on Julian, were filled with adoration and worship.
They chatted and laughed, looking for all the world like a perfectly matched power couple.
Soon, the presentation began.
As the lead presenter for the "Southwood Project," Skylar walked onto the stage.
She took a deep breath and began to lay out the design concept.
"The core of our Southwood Project is its innovative 'Eco-Canopy Bridge' design."
"It will act as a green artery, spanning the city's most congested areas to reconnect fragmented green spaces…"
Every single one of those words I had spent countless late nights, fueled by coffee, walking Julian through one by one.
I once thought those moments were a deep, unspoken connection between us, a meeting of minds.
Only now did I realize it had just been a one-woman show, and he had been the patient thief listening in.
Skylar's presentation was a hit. When the final renderings appeared on the slide, a soft gasp of awe rippled through the audience.
When she finished, the applause was thunderous.
The host walked on stage. "Thank you, Ms. Pearson, for that incredible presentation! We'll now open the floor for questions."
A man in the front row, clearly a big-shot client, raised his hand.
It was Mike Hunter from the Urban Development Group, who was notorious in the industry for his sharp eye.
"Ms. Pearson," Mike began.
"This is a critical project. Isn't it a bit risky to let a newcomer take the lead? I recall that Ms. Diaz's 'Riverfront Gate' project is still considered the gold standard in our industry."
The question was sharp and cut right to the heart of the matter.
For a split second, panic flashed across Skylar’s face, but she quickly composed herself and shot a pleading look at Julian in the audience.
Julian gave her a reassuring smile and picked up the microphone in front of him.
"Mike, thank you for your question."
He stood up, his gaze sweeping across the room before landing on Skylar, filled with pride.
"Charlotte—my wife—is indeed a very mature designer."
"But architecture needs new blood. The greatest strength of Skylar's proposal is its imagination and vitality. That's something maturity can't replace."
He paused, then delivered the line he had clearly prepared.
"Let me put it this way. Charlotte's designs are polished, but Skylar…"
He looked at Skylar, his eyes so tender they could melt you.
"She has a spark."
The entire room went silent.
Then, it erupted into an even more enthusiastic round of applause.
Publicly putting down his own wife to prop up an intern. And doing it by praising one at the other's expense.
My world went quiet, leaving only the dull thud of my heart pounding in my chest.
Mike Hunter raised an eyebrow but said nothing more and sat back down.
The host laughed and took over. "It seems Mr. Nelson has a lot of confidence in our newcomer! Are there any other questions from the audience?"
The hall was quiet.
After Julian, a partner at the firm, had given his official stamp of approval, there seemed to be nothing left to ask.
Skylar bowed from the stage, unable to hide the smug delight on her face.
I put my phone away. Just as everyone was about to applaud again, I picked up the microphone on my table.
I stood up.
It was a small movement, but it instantly drew everyone's attention.
The host faltered for a second. "Excuse me, miss, and you are…?"
The smile on Julian's face froze.
And the look Skylar shot my way was suddenly laced with alarm.
4
I ignored the emcee and walked straight to the podium.
The sharp, rhythmic click of my heels echoed on the polished floor.
Each step seemed to land squarely on Julian's and Skylar's hearts.
The host on stage was at a loss, instinctively moving to stop me.
I shot him a single look, and he pulled his hand back.
I took the microphone from his hand.
“Hello, everyone.”
My voice, clear and steady, carried through the speakers to every corner of the hall.
“First, I’d like to thank Mike Hunter for his excellent question earlier.”
I paused, my gaze sweeping over the crowd before landing precisely on my husband, Julian Nelson.
“Second, I’d like to add a little something to Director Nelson’s points from a moment ago.”
I turned to Skylar Pearson, whose face was already starting to lose its color, and smiled.
“Ms. Pearson, I’m so glad you have such a deep understanding of the Southwood Project.”
“As the project’s original creator, I’m truly gratified.”
A bomb went off. The room erupted in chaos.
Countless eyes darted back and forth between me, Julian, and Skylar.
Julian’s face turned ashen.
“Charlotte! What the hell are you talking about!” he hissed in a low, furious voice.
Skylar was panicking too, rushing to explain, “No, that’s not it, don’t listen to her, this proposal was my…”
“It was yours?” I cut her off.
I signaled for my assistant to plug my USB drive into the projector.
On the large screen behind me, Skylar’s beautifully rendered design instantly vanished.
In its place were the original files from my computer.
A series of folders, neatly organized by date.
“This is the first concept model for the Southwood Project, created last October.”
I clicked open the earliest folder, revealing rough sketches filled with the rawest, most primitive ideas.
“This is the revised version.”
“This is the first structural model.”
“And the second.”
With every file I opened, the color drained further from Skylar’s face.
Finally, I opened the blueprint page for the core design of the “Eco-Canopy Bridge.”
“As for the Eco-Canopy Bridge that Ms. Pearson is so proud of,” I said, zooming in on a full-screen mechanical model filled with dense data and formulas, “here is the complete data calculation process.”
“Since you claim this was your inspiration, perhaps you could explain to everyone how the core parameter model for the bridge’s critical cantilevered load-bearing structure was established?”
Every eye in the room shot toward Skylar.
She just stood there, lips trembling, her perfectly made-up face flushed a deep red. She couldn’t utter a single word.
She wouldn't know the first thing about it.
Julian finally couldn’t take it anymore.
He rushed onto the stage and pulled a trembling Skylar behind him, positioning himself like a knight protecting his precious treasure.
“That’s enough, Charlotte!” he squeezed out through gritted teeth, his voice laced with a heavy warning. “This is an internal company matter. Do you really have to make a scene here?”
He was trying to frame this as a marital dispute, an internal problem.
“An internal matter?” I laughed, a humorless sound. “Director Nelson, have you already forgotten how you publicly critiqued my work just a few minutes ago?”
He was speechless.
Then, forcing himself to remain calm, he turned to the client representatives in the audience, trying to smooth things over.
“Everyone, my apologies. This is just a small disagreement between my wife and me over the project handover. A family matter. Sorry to have made a scene.”
“A family matter?” I raised the microphone. My voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the entire room to hear.
“Director Nelson claimed he was traveling to the neighboring city these past few days to conduct the final site survey for the Southwood Project.”
I paused, looking into his instantly terrified eyes.
“But I just received word that Director Nelson himself, along with his ‘star of the future,’ are both currently checked into the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton right here in this city.”
“I wonder what kind of ‘ecology’ a man and a woman, all alone, could possibly be studying while locked in a hotel room together?”The upcoming chapters are even more exciting! Click the download button below to read the entire book!👇👇👇 {"title":"Emergency Pills, Affair Exposed","cover":"https://static-v1.mydramawave.com/novel/landing-page/image-crawl/656b5c70f44e513d706d1f653cdb416a.jpg?image_process=quality,85/resize,w_600/format,webp","chapter_title":"1","chapter_text":"The first day my husband was away on a business trip, I got a call from an unknown number.\n\nIt was a clerk from the local pharmacy, his voice urgent. “Hi, is this a member of Mr. Nelson’s family? He came in this afternoon to buy a pack of the morning-after pill, but he left before his payment went through. I need you to cover the charge.”\n\nMy mind went blank. *The morning-after pill?*\n\nI pushed down the wave of panic and dialed my husband’s number. “Hey,” I said, testing the waters. “Where were you this afternoon? I got a notification from the credit card company about a failed transaction at a pharmacy.”\n\nHe paused for half a second, then chuckled. “Oh, that. I was just helping out one of the new interns from my department. She’s just a kid, was too embarrassed to buy it herself, so I ran the errand for her.”\n\nI laughed and said it was fine. As soon as I hung up, I called the pharmacy back, my voice ice-cold.\n\n“Text me your address. I’m coming over to pay.”\n\n...\n\nI rushed over to the pharmacy.\n\nThe clerk looked a little awkward when he saw me.\n\n“Hi, this is it. The total comes to forty-eight dollars.”\n\nI took out my phone but didn’t pay right away.\n\n“That amount doesn’t match. My record shows a charge of sixty-eight dollars. Could you check the security footage? I’d like to confirm the items.”\n\nThe clerk froze for a second, then nodded.\n\n“Of course, one moment.”\n\nHe pulled up the security feed, and a familiar figure immediately appeared on the screen.\n\nIt was my husband, Julian.\n\nStanding next to him was a young woman in a white dress, looking all innocent and pure.\n\nJulian handed her a box of pills with a casual, natural motion.\n\nShe took the box and looked down, seeming a bit shy.\n\nJulian smiled, reached out, and gently stroked her head.\n\nMy heart twisted into a tight, painful knot.\n\nThat was a gesture he only ever used with me.\n\nOn the screen, the woman looked up and smiled back at him, revealing a necklace around her neck.\n\nMy eyes locked onto it.\n\nThe pendant was the letter “Z.”\n\nI had designed it myself and had it custom-made.\n\nIt was the only one in the world.\n\nIt was my third-anniversary gift to Julian.\n\nThe clerk was still explaining beside me. “Sir actually bought two items, this and a bottle of vitamins, which is why the total was sixty-eight.”\n\nI wasn’t listening.\n\nI raised my phone and took a picture of the monitor.\n\nThen I pulled up my digital wallet.\n\n“It’s paid.”\n\nI turned to leave but then stopped.\n\nLooking back at the clerk, I forced a smile.\n\n“Hey, man, that necklace the girl was wearing is really nice. Do you happen to know the brand?”\n\nThe clerk shook his head.\n\n“Sorry, I have no idea.”\n\n“Can I get your number? My girlfriend’s birthday is coming up, and I’d love it if you could send me a screenshot of the necklace from the video. I want to get her something just like it.”\n\nThe clerk didn’t think twice and readily gave me his number.\n\nI Venmo’d him a little something for his trouble.\n\n“Thanks a lot.”\n\nSeconds later, my phone buzzed. A high-resolution screenshot had arrived.\n\nThe woman’s face and that Z-pendant necklace were crystal clear.\n\nI got back in my car, my hands gripping the steering wheel.\n\nThe house was dead silent when I got home.\n\nOn autopilot, I walked into Julian’s study.\n\nThe high-end German fountain pen stand I’d given him, the one engraved with both our initials, was sitting on his desk. It was empty.\n\nThe pen was gone.\n\nI opened my company’s internal directory and pulled up the list of interns.\n\nOne young face after another scrolled past.\n\nFinally, my finger stopped on a profile belonging to a woman named Skylar Pearson.\n\nIt was the woman from the video.\n\nI closed the app and made a call.\n\nMy best friend Violet’s loud voice boomed from the other end.\n\n“Well, well, if it isn’t the great Charlotte Diaz. To what do I owe the honor?”\n\n“I need you to look someone up for me. A new intern at my company, Skylar Pearson.”\n\nMy voice was unnervingly calm.\n\n“Also, pull all of Julian’s private account statements, hotel records, and travel itineraries for the past six months. And I mean *everything*. Don’t miss a single thing.”\n\nViolet was quiet for two long seconds.\n\n“...Did something happen to Julian?”\n\n“Worse.”\n\nI hung up, and just then, Julian’s name flashed on my screen.\n\nThe contact name, “Hubby,” seared my eyes.\n\nI answered.\n\n“Charlotte, are you busy?” he asked, his voice as gentle as ever.\n\n“No, I just got off work.”\n\n“Did you have a good day? Not too tired, I hope?”\n\n“It was fine.”\n\n“I’ll be back from my trip tomorrow. I got you a gift, I promise you’ll love it.”\n\nHe was still using that same, syrupy-sweet tone that could drown a person.\n\nListening to it, my stomach churned.\n\n“Oh, great,” I said with a smile.\n\n“I’ll be waiting.”","chapter_content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/1/en_9b0fc99e-34a1-4721-8bd1-133016d50d3f.txt","chapters":[{"chapter_key":"3ovNJKU5Cm","title":"1","serial_number":1,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/1/en_9b0fc99e-34a1-4721-8bd1-133016d50d3f.txt","word_count":886,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The first day my husband was away on a business trip, I got a call from an unknown number.\n\nIt was a clerk from the local pharmacy, his voice urgent. “Hi, is this a member of Mr. Nelson’s family? He came in this afternoon to buy a pack of the morning-after pill, but he left before his payment went through. I need you to cover the charge.”\n\nMy mind went blank. *The morning-after pill?*\n\nI pushed down the wave of panic and dialed my husband’s number. “Hey,” I said, testing the waters. “Where were you this afternoon? I got a notification from the credit card company about a failed transaction at a pharmacy.”\n\nHe paused for half a second, then chuckled. “Oh, that. I was just helping out one of the new interns from my department. She’s just a kid, was too embarrassed to buy it herself, so I ran the errand for her.”\n\nI laughed and said it was fine. As soon as I hung up, I called the pharmacy back, my voice ice-cold.\n\n“Text me your address. I’m coming over to pay.”\n\n...\n\nI rushed over to the pharmacy.\n\nThe clerk looked a little awkward when he saw me.\n\n“Hi, this is it. The total comes to forty-eight dollars.”\n\nI took out my phone but didn’t pay right away.\n\n“That amount doesn’t match. My record shows a charge of sixty-eight dollars. Could you check the security footage? I’d like to confirm the items.”\n\nThe clerk froze for a second, then nodded.\n\n“Of course, one moment.”\n\nHe pulled up the security feed, and a familiar figure immediately appeared on the screen.\n\nIt was my husband, Julian.\n\nStanding next to him was a young woman in a white dress, looking all innocent and pure.\n\nJulian handed her a box of pills with a casual, natural motion.\n\nShe took the box and looked down, seeming a bit shy.\n\nJulian smiled, reached out, and gently stroked her head.\n\nMy heart twisted into a tight, painful knot.\n\nThat was a gesture he only ever used with me.\n\nOn the screen, the woman looked up and smiled back at him, revealing a necklace around her neck.\n\nMy eyes locked onto it.\n\nThe pendant was the letter “Z.”\n\nI had designed it myself and had it custom-made.\n\nIt was the only one in the world.\n\nIt was my third-anniversary gift to Julian.\n\nThe clerk was still explaining beside me. “Sir actually bought two items, this and a bottle of vitamins, which is why the total was sixty-eight.”\n\nI wasn’t listening.\n\nI raised my phone and took a picture of the monitor.\n\nThen I pulled up my digital wallet.\n\n“It’s paid.”\n\nI turned to leave but then stopped.\n\nLooking back at the clerk, I forced a smile.\n\n“Hey, man, that necklace the girl was wearing is really nice. Do you happen to know the brand?”\n\nThe clerk shook his head.\n\n“Sorry, I have no idea.”\n\n“Can I get your number? My girlfriend’s birthday is coming up, and I’d love it if you could send me a screenshot of the necklace from the video. I want to get her something just like it.”\n\nThe clerk didn’t think twice and readily gave me his number.\n\nI Venmo’d him a little something for his trouble.\n\n“Thanks a lot.”\n\nSeconds later, my phone buzzed. A high-resolution screenshot had arrived.\n\nThe woman’s face and that Z-pendant necklace were crystal clear.\n\nI got back in my car, my hands gripping the steering wheel.\n\nThe house was dead silent when I got home.\n\nOn autopilot, I walked into Julian’s study.\n\nThe high-end German fountain pen stand I’d given him, the one engraved with both our initials, was sitting on his desk. It was empty.\n\nThe pen was gone.\n\nI opened my company’s internal directory and pulled up the list of interns.\n\nOne young face after another scrolled past.\n\nFinally, my finger stopped on a profile belonging to a woman named Skylar Pearson.\n\nIt was the woman from the video.\n\nI closed the app and made a call.\n\nMy best friend Violet’s loud voice boomed from the other end.\n\n“Well, well, if it isn’t the great Charlotte Diaz. To what do I owe the honor?”\n\n“I need you to look someone up for me. A new intern at my company, Skylar Pearson.”\n\nMy voice was unnervingly calm.\n\n“Also, pull all of Julian’s private account statements, hotel records, and travel itineraries for the past six months. And I mean *everything*. Don’t miss a single thing.”\n\nViolet was quiet for two long seconds.\n\n“...Did something happen to Julian?”\n\n“Worse.”\n\nI hung up, and just then, Julian’s name flashed on my screen.\n\nThe contact name, “Hubby,” seared my eyes.\n\nI answered.\n\n“Charlotte, are you busy?” he asked, his voice as gentle as ever.\n\n“No, I just got off work.”\n\n“Did you have a good day? Not too tired, I hope?”\n\n“It was fine.”\n\n“I’ll be back from my trip tomorrow. I got you a gift, I promise you’ll love it.”\n\nHe was still using that same, syrupy-sweet tone that could drown a person.\n\nListening to it, my stomach churned.\n\n“Oh, great,” I said with a smile.\n\n“I’ll be waiting.”"},{"chapter_key":"509StqX2VM","title":"2","serial_number":2,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/2/en_d5355e58-eeb1-4323-8ef6-7b7a160fc476.txt","word_count":702,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The next day, an encrypted email from Violet was waiting for me the moment I got to the office.\n\n“Here’s what you asked for. See for yourself. This Skylar Pearson… she’s something else.”\n\nI opened the attachment.\n\nIt was Skylar Pearson’s social media profile, set to public.\n\nHer latest post was a close-up of a drafting pen.\n\n*The* missing German drafting pen.\n\nThe photo was artfully shot, with soft lighting and an open, original edition of an architectural design book placed beside it.\n\nThe caption read: “Mr. Nelson says my creative spark deserves the very best pen.”\n\nMy finger slid across the mouse, and I clicked to the next picture.\n\nIt was a selfie with the “Z” initial necklace.\n\nThe girl wore meticulous makeup, her head tilted back just so, revealing her slender neck and the chain.\n\n“Mr. Nelson says I’m the one and only inspiration that illuminates his designs.”\n\nThe *one and only* inspiration.\n\nI stared at the words and let out a bitter laugh.\n\nI kept scrolling.\n\nOne photo was set in our living room. She was holding my cat, smiling with an air of pure innocence.\n\n“Cuddling the cat at Mr. Nelson's place. Feeling so healed.”\n\nThere was another one of her sitting in my car, holding my favorite air freshener.\n\n“The scent in Mr. Nelson’s car is amazing. He says it’s his sanctuary.”\n\nEvery photo, every word, was a declaration. She was marking her territory.\n\nI closed the photos, my face expressionless, and opened the other folder.\n\nIt was the background check Violet had run on Skylar.\n\nOrdinary family, ordinary university, completely unremarkable resume. Getting an internship at a top-tier design firm like ours was nothing short of a miracle.\n\nThe only highlight was a first-place win in a university competition for an urban landscape design report she’d submitted.\n\nThat report… it jogged my memory.\n\nI scrolled down until I reached the last photo and froze.\n\nIn the picture, Skylar was holding a printed design draft, a smug, triumphant smile on her face.\n\nThe title on the draft was unmistakable—The Southwood Project.\n\nThis was the core design proposal I had spent three solid months slaving over for the company’s most important annual bid.\n\nIt was the most important project of my career.\n\nI shot up from my chair and rushed into the private break room attached to my office.\n\nMy personal, encrypted laptop was in there.\n\nI hit a key, and the screen lit up, displaying the password prompt.\n\nI tried my birthday. Incorrect.\n\nOur wedding anniversary. Incorrect.\n\nI tried every important date we shared. All of them were wrong.\n\nI stared at the input box, my mind buzzing. An uncontrollable thought surfaced.\n\nViolet’s file had Skylar’s birthday in it.\n\nMy hand reached out, fingers trembling, and I slowly typed in the date, one number at a time.\n\n“Welcome.”\n\nThe laptop unlocked.\n\nJulian, my husband, had changed the password on my personal laptop to his mistress’s birthday.\n\nA massive wave of humiliation washed over me.\n\nBiting my lip hard, I opened the file explorer.\n\nThe desktop was clean, and my eyes immediately landed on the “Southwood Project” folder.\n\nI clicked on it. The file’s “last modified” date was yesterday.\n\nI opened the recycling bin.\n\nA single file lay there quietly: my original version of the Southwood Project blueprint, the one with my layers of encryption.\n\nThe deletion time was also yesterday.\n\nI went back to the desktop and opened the new, modified version.\n\nThe core logic of the proposal was almost identical to mine.\n\nIt just had minor adjustments to a few key load-bearing structures and design highlights—enough to circumvent my core patents but preserve the essence of the plan.\n\nIn the author credit spot was a single name: Skylar Pearson.\n\nHe wasn't just cheating on me, betraying our relationship.\n\nHe was stealing my life’s work, my career, the future of our company—all to pave a golden path for his little lover.\n\nI had to grab the desk to keep myself from collapsing.\n\nI finally understood. The ultimate betrayal wasn’t just breaking your heart. It was leaving you with absolutely nothing."},{"chapter_key":"hfAzgDDhGt","title":"3","serial_number":3,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/3/en_6899365e-76a2-4b79-95fa-c4d84b3c6ac1.txt","word_count":699,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The hall for the company's annual keynote project presentation was buzzing.\n\nI found an inconspicuous corner to sit in and watched as Julian Nelson led Skylar Pearson to their seats, right in the center of the front row.\n\nHe wore a custom-tailored suit, his hair perfectly coiffed. He was leaning over to say something to the client representative next to him, looking completely at ease.\n\nSkylar sat beside him in a white professional suit. Her makeup was flawless, and the innocent look she used to have was replaced by the sharp competence of a corporate elite.\n\nHer eyes, fixed on Julian, were filled with adoration and worship.\n\nThey chatted and laughed, looking for all the world like a perfectly matched power couple.\n\nSoon, the presentation began.\n\nAs the lead presenter for the \"Southwood Project,\" Skylar walked onto the stage.\n\nShe took a deep breath and began to lay out the design concept.\n\n\"The core of our Southwood Project is its innovative 'Eco-Canopy Bridge' design.\"\n\n\"It will act as a green artery, spanning the city's most congested areas to reconnect fragmented green spaces…\"\n\nEvery single one of those words I had spent countless late nights, fueled by coffee, walking Julian through one by one.\n\nI once thought those moments were a deep, unspoken connection between us, a meeting of minds.\n\nOnly now did I realize it had just been a one-woman show, and he had been the patient thief listening in.\n\nSkylar's presentation was a hit. When the final renderings appeared on the slide, a soft gasp of awe rippled through the audience.\n\nWhen she finished, the applause was thunderous.\n\nThe host walked on stage. \"Thank you, Ms. Pearson, for that incredible presentation! We'll now open the floor for questions.\"\n\nA man in the front row, clearly a big-shot client, raised his hand.\n\nIt was Mike Hunter from the Urban Development Group, who was notorious in the industry for his sharp eye.\n\n\"Ms. Pearson,\" Mike began.\n\n\"This is a critical project. Isn't it a bit risky to let a newcomer take the lead? I recall that Ms. Diaz's 'Riverfront Gate' project is still considered the gold standard in our industry.\"\n\nThe question was sharp and cut right to the heart of the matter.\n\nFor a split second, panic flashed across Skylar’s face, but she quickly composed herself and shot a pleading look at Julian in the audience.\n\nJulian gave her a reassuring smile and picked up the microphone in front of him.\n\n\"Mike, thank you for your question.\"\n\nHe stood up, his gaze sweeping across the room before landing on Skylar, filled with pride.\n\n\"Charlotte—my wife—is indeed a very mature designer.\"\n\n\"But architecture needs new blood. The greatest strength of Skylar's proposal is its imagination and vitality. That's something maturity can't replace.\"\n\nHe paused, then delivered the line he had clearly prepared.\n\n\"Let me put it this way. Charlotte's designs are polished, but Skylar…\"\n\nHe looked at Skylar, his eyes so tender they could melt you.\n\n\"She has a spark.\"\n\nThe entire room went silent.\n\nThen, it erupted into an even more enthusiastic round of applause.\n\nPublicly putting down his own wife to prop up an intern. And doing it by praising one at the other's expense.\n\nMy world went quiet, leaving only the dull thud of my heart pounding in my chest.\n\nMike Hunter raised an eyebrow but said nothing more and sat back down.\n\nThe host laughed and took over. \"It seems Mr. Nelson has a lot of confidence in our newcomer! Are there any other questions from the audience?\"\n\nThe hall was quiet.\n\nAfter Julian, a partner at the firm, had given his official stamp of approval, there seemed to be nothing left to ask.\n\nSkylar bowed from the stage, unable to hide the smug delight on her face.\n\nI put my phone away. Just as everyone was about to applaud again, I picked up the microphone on my table.\n\nI stood up.\n\nIt was a small movement, but it instantly drew everyone's attention.\n\nThe host faltered for a second. \"Excuse me, miss, and you are…?\"\n\nThe smile on Julian's face froze.\n\nAnd the look Skylar shot my way was suddenly laced with alarm."},{"chapter_key":"K1UY9n3UJ5","title":"4","serial_number":4,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/4/en_29f77792-bab2-48d6-817f-874dada4e75f.txt","word_count":710,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"I ignored the emcee and walked straight to the podium.\n\nThe sharp, rhythmic click of my heels echoed on the polished floor.\n\nEach step seemed to land squarely on Julian's and Skylar's hearts.\n\nThe host on stage was at a loss, instinctively moving to stop me.\n\nI shot him a single look, and he pulled his hand back.\n\nI took the microphone from his hand.\n\n“Hello, everyone.”\n\nMy voice, clear and steady, carried through the speakers to every corner of the hall.\n\n“First, I’d like to thank Mike Hunter for his excellent question earlier.”\n\nI paused, my gaze sweeping over the crowd before landing precisely on my husband, Julian Nelson.\n\n“Second, I’d like to add a little something to Director Nelson’s points from a moment ago.”\n\nI turned to Skylar Pearson, whose face was already starting to lose its color, and smiled.\n\n“Ms. Pearson, I’m so glad you have such a deep understanding of the Southwood Project.”\n\n“As the project’s original creator, I’m truly gratified.”\n\nA bomb went off. The room erupted in chaos.\n\nCountless eyes darted back and forth between me, Julian, and Skylar.\n\nJulian’s face turned ashen.\n\n“Charlotte! What the hell are you talking about!” he hissed in a low, furious voice.\n\nSkylar was panicking too, rushing to explain, “No, that’s not it, don’t listen to her, this proposal was my…”\n\n“It was yours?” I cut her off.\n\nI signaled for my assistant to plug my USB drive into the projector.\n\nOn the large screen behind me, Skylar’s beautifully rendered design instantly vanished.\n\nIn its place were the original files from my computer.\n\nA series of folders, neatly organized by date.\n\n“This is the first concept model for the Southwood Project, created last October.”\n\nI clicked open the earliest folder, revealing rough sketches filled with the rawest, most primitive ideas.\n\n“This is the revised version.”\n\n“This is the first structural model.”\n\n“And the second.”\n\nWith every file I opened, the color drained further from Skylar’s face.\n\nFinally, I opened the blueprint page for the core design of the “Eco-Canopy Bridge.”\n\n“As for the Eco-Canopy Bridge that Ms. Pearson is so proud of,” I said, zooming in on a full-screen mechanical model filled with dense data and formulas, “here is the complete data calculation process.”\n\n“Since you claim this was your inspiration, perhaps you could explain to everyone how the core parameter model for the bridge’s critical cantilevered load-bearing structure was established?”\n\nEvery eye in the room shot toward Skylar.\n\nShe just stood there, lips trembling, her perfectly made-up face flushed a deep red. She couldn’t utter a single word.\n\nShe wouldn't know the first thing about it.\n\nJulian finally couldn’t take it anymore.\n\nHe rushed onto the stage and pulled a trembling Skylar behind him, positioning himself like a knight protecting his precious treasure.\n\n“That’s enough, Charlotte!” he squeezed out through gritted teeth, his voice laced with a heavy warning. “This is an internal company matter. Do you really have to make a scene here?”\n\nHe was trying to frame this as a marital dispute, an internal problem.\n\n“An internal matter?” I laughed, a humorless sound. “Director Nelson, have you already forgotten how you publicly critiqued my work just a few minutes ago?”\n\nHe was speechless.\n\nThen, forcing himself to remain calm, he turned to the client representatives in the audience, trying to smooth things over.\n\n“Everyone, my apologies. This is just a small disagreement between my wife and me over the project handover. A family matter. Sorry to have made a scene.”\n\n“A family matter?” I raised the microphone. My voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the entire room to hear.\n\n“Director Nelson claimed he was traveling to the neighboring city these past few days to conduct the final site survey for the Southwood Project.”\n\nI paused, looking into his instantly terrified eyes.\n\n“But I just received word that Director Nelson himself, along with his ‘star of the future,’ are both currently checked into the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton right here in this city.”\n\n“I wonder what kind of ‘ecology’ a man and a woman, all alone, could possibly be studying while locked in a hotel room together?”"}],"chapter_list":[{"chapter_key":"3ovNJKU5Cm","title":"1","serial_number":1,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/1/en_9b0fc99e-34a1-4721-8bd1-133016d50d3f.txt","word_count":886,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The first day my husband was away on a business trip, I got a call from an unknown number.\n\nIt was a clerk from the local pharmacy, his voice urgent. “Hi, is this a member of Mr. Nelson’s family? He came in this afternoon to buy a pack of the morning-after pill, but he left before his payment went through. I need you to cover the charge.”\n\nMy mind went blank. *The morning-after pill?*\n\nI pushed down the wave of panic and dialed my husband’s number. “Hey,” I said, testing the waters. “Where were you this afternoon? I got a notification from the credit card company about a failed transaction at a pharmacy.”\n\nHe paused for half a second, then chuckled. “Oh, that. I was just helping out one of the new interns from my department. She’s just a kid, was too embarrassed to buy it herself, so I ran the errand for her.”\n\nI laughed and said it was fine. As soon as I hung up, I called the pharmacy back, my voice ice-cold.\n\n“Text me your address. I’m coming over to pay.”\n\n...\n\nI rushed over to the pharmacy.\n\nThe clerk looked a little awkward when he saw me.\n\n“Hi, this is it. The total comes to forty-eight dollars.”\n\nI took out my phone but didn’t pay right away.\n\n“That amount doesn’t match. My record shows a charge of sixty-eight dollars. Could you check the security footage? I’d like to confirm the items.”\n\nThe clerk froze for a second, then nodded.\n\n“Of course, one moment.”\n\nHe pulled up the security feed, and a familiar figure immediately appeared on the screen.\n\nIt was my husband, Julian.\n\nStanding next to him was a young woman in a white dress, looking all innocent and pure.\n\nJulian handed her a box of pills with a casual, natural motion.\n\nShe took the box and looked down, seeming a bit shy.\n\nJulian smiled, reached out, and gently stroked her head.\n\nMy heart twisted into a tight, painful knot.\n\nThat was a gesture he only ever used with me.\n\nOn the screen, the woman looked up and smiled back at him, revealing a necklace around her neck.\n\nMy eyes locked onto it.\n\nThe pendant was the letter “Z.”\n\nI had designed it myself and had it custom-made.\n\nIt was the only one in the world.\n\nIt was my third-anniversary gift to Julian.\n\nThe clerk was still explaining beside me. “Sir actually bought two items, this and a bottle of vitamins, which is why the total was sixty-eight.”\n\nI wasn’t listening.\n\nI raised my phone and took a picture of the monitor.\n\nThen I pulled up my digital wallet.\n\n“It’s paid.”\n\nI turned to leave but then stopped.\n\nLooking back at the clerk, I forced a smile.\n\n“Hey, man, that necklace the girl was wearing is really nice. Do you happen to know the brand?”\n\nThe clerk shook his head.\n\n“Sorry, I have no idea.”\n\n“Can I get your number? My girlfriend’s birthday is coming up, and I’d love it if you could send me a screenshot of the necklace from the video. I want to get her something just like it.”\n\nThe clerk didn’t think twice and readily gave me his number.\n\nI Venmo’d him a little something for his trouble.\n\n“Thanks a lot.”\n\nSeconds later, my phone buzzed. A high-resolution screenshot had arrived.\n\nThe woman’s face and that Z-pendant necklace were crystal clear.\n\nI got back in my car, my hands gripping the steering wheel.\n\nThe house was dead silent when I got home.\n\nOn autopilot, I walked into Julian’s study.\n\nThe high-end German fountain pen stand I’d given him, the one engraved with both our initials, was sitting on his desk. It was empty.\n\nThe pen was gone.\n\nI opened my company’s internal directory and pulled up the list of interns.\n\nOne young face after another scrolled past.\n\nFinally, my finger stopped on a profile belonging to a woman named Skylar Pearson.\n\nIt was the woman from the video.\n\nI closed the app and made a call.\n\nMy best friend Violet’s loud voice boomed from the other end.\n\n“Well, well, if it isn’t the great Charlotte Diaz. To what do I owe the honor?”\n\n“I need you to look someone up for me. A new intern at my company, Skylar Pearson.”\n\nMy voice was unnervingly calm.\n\n“Also, pull all of Julian’s private account statements, hotel records, and travel itineraries for the past six months. And I mean *everything*. Don’t miss a single thing.”\n\nViolet was quiet for two long seconds.\n\n“...Did something happen to Julian?”\n\n“Worse.”\n\nI hung up, and just then, Julian’s name flashed on my screen.\n\nThe contact name, “Hubby,” seared my eyes.\n\nI answered.\n\n“Charlotte, are you busy?” he asked, his voice as gentle as ever.\n\n“No, I just got off work.”\n\n“Did you have a good day? Not too tired, I hope?”\n\n“It was fine.”\n\n“I’ll be back from my trip tomorrow. I got you a gift, I promise you’ll love it.”\n\nHe was still using that same, syrupy-sweet tone that could drown a person.\n\nListening to it, my stomach churned.\n\n“Oh, great,” I said with a smile.\n\n“I’ll be waiting.”"},{"chapter_key":"509StqX2VM","title":"2","serial_number":2,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/2/en_d5355e58-eeb1-4323-8ef6-7b7a160fc476.txt","word_count":702,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The next day, an encrypted email from Violet was waiting for me the moment I got to the office.\n\n“Here’s what you asked for. See for yourself. This Skylar Pearson… she’s something else.”\n\nI opened the attachment.\n\nIt was Skylar Pearson’s social media profile, set to public.\n\nHer latest post was a close-up of a drafting pen.\n\n*The* missing German drafting pen.\n\nThe photo was artfully shot, with soft lighting and an open, original edition of an architectural design book placed beside it.\n\nThe caption read: “Mr. Nelson says my creative spark deserves the very best pen.”\n\nMy finger slid across the mouse, and I clicked to the next picture.\n\nIt was a selfie with the “Z” initial necklace.\n\nThe girl wore meticulous makeup, her head tilted back just so, revealing her slender neck and the chain.\n\n“Mr. Nelson says I’m the one and only inspiration that illuminates his designs.”\n\nThe *one and only* inspiration.\n\nI stared at the words and let out a bitter laugh.\n\nI kept scrolling.\n\nOne photo was set in our living room. She was holding my cat, smiling with an air of pure innocence.\n\n“Cuddling the cat at Mr. Nelson's place. Feeling so healed.”\n\nThere was another one of her sitting in my car, holding my favorite air freshener.\n\n“The scent in Mr. Nelson’s car is amazing. He says it’s his sanctuary.”\n\nEvery photo, every word, was a declaration. She was marking her territory.\n\nI closed the photos, my face expressionless, and opened the other folder.\n\nIt was the background check Violet had run on Skylar.\n\nOrdinary family, ordinary university, completely unremarkable resume. Getting an internship at a top-tier design firm like ours was nothing short of a miracle.\n\nThe only highlight was a first-place win in a university competition for an urban landscape design report she’d submitted.\n\nThat report… it jogged my memory.\n\nI scrolled down until I reached the last photo and froze.\n\nIn the picture, Skylar was holding a printed design draft, a smug, triumphant smile on her face.\n\nThe title on the draft was unmistakable—The Southwood Project.\n\nThis was the core design proposal I had spent three solid months slaving over for the company’s most important annual bid.\n\nIt was the most important project of my career.\n\nI shot up from my chair and rushed into the private break room attached to my office.\n\nMy personal, encrypted laptop was in there.\n\nI hit a key, and the screen lit up, displaying the password prompt.\n\nI tried my birthday. Incorrect.\n\nOur wedding anniversary. Incorrect.\n\nI tried every important date we shared. All of them were wrong.\n\nI stared at the input box, my mind buzzing. An uncontrollable thought surfaced.\n\nViolet’s file had Skylar’s birthday in it.\n\nMy hand reached out, fingers trembling, and I slowly typed in the date, one number at a time.\n\n“Welcome.”\n\nThe laptop unlocked.\n\nJulian, my husband, had changed the password on my personal laptop to his mistress’s birthday.\n\nA massive wave of humiliation washed over me.\n\nBiting my lip hard, I opened the file explorer.\n\nThe desktop was clean, and my eyes immediately landed on the “Southwood Project” folder.\n\nI clicked on it. The file’s “last modified” date was yesterday.\n\nI opened the recycling bin.\n\nA single file lay there quietly: my original version of the Southwood Project blueprint, the one with my layers of encryption.\n\nThe deletion time was also yesterday.\n\nI went back to the desktop and opened the new, modified version.\n\nThe core logic of the proposal was almost identical to mine.\n\nIt just had minor adjustments to a few key load-bearing structures and design highlights—enough to circumvent my core patents but preserve the essence of the plan.\n\nIn the author credit spot was a single name: Skylar Pearson.\n\nHe wasn't just cheating on me, betraying our relationship.\n\nHe was stealing my life’s work, my career, the future of our company—all to pave a golden path for his little lover.\n\nI had to grab the desk to keep myself from collapsing.\n\nI finally understood. The ultimate betrayal wasn’t just breaking your heart. It was leaving you with absolutely nothing."},{"chapter_key":"hfAzgDDhGt","title":"3","serial_number":3,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/3/en_6899365e-76a2-4b79-95fa-c4d84b3c6ac1.txt","word_count":699,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The hall for the company's annual keynote project presentation was buzzing.\n\nI found an inconspicuous corner to sit in and watched as Julian Nelson led Skylar Pearson to their seats, right in the center of the front row.\n\nHe wore a custom-tailored suit, his hair perfectly coiffed. He was leaning over to say something to the client representative next to him, looking completely at ease.\n\nSkylar sat beside him in a white professional suit. Her makeup was flawless, and the innocent look she used to have was replaced by the sharp competence of a corporate elite.\n\nHer eyes, fixed on Julian, were filled with adoration and worship.\n\nThey chatted and laughed, looking for all the world like a perfectly matched power couple.\n\nSoon, the presentation began.\n\nAs the lead presenter for the \"Southwood Project,\" Skylar walked onto the stage.\n\nShe took a deep breath and began to lay out the design concept.\n\n\"The core of our Southwood Project is its innovative 'Eco-Canopy Bridge' design.\"\n\n\"It will act as a green artery, spanning the city's most congested areas to reconnect fragmented green spaces…\"\n\nEvery single one of those words I had spent countless late nights, fueled by coffee, walking Julian through one by one.\n\nI once thought those moments were a deep, unspoken connection between us, a meeting of minds.\n\nOnly now did I realize it had just been a one-woman show, and he had been the patient thief listening in.\n\nSkylar's presentation was a hit. When the final renderings appeared on the slide, a soft gasp of awe rippled through the audience.\n\nWhen she finished, the applause was thunderous.\n\nThe host walked on stage. \"Thank you, Ms. Pearson, for that incredible presentation! We'll now open the floor for questions.\"\n\nA man in the front row, clearly a big-shot client, raised his hand.\n\nIt was Mike Hunter from the Urban Development Group, who was notorious in the industry for his sharp eye.\n\n\"Ms. Pearson,\" Mike began.\n\n\"This is a critical project. Isn't it a bit risky to let a newcomer take the lead? I recall that Ms. Diaz's 'Riverfront Gate' project is still considered the gold standard in our industry.\"\n\nThe question was sharp and cut right to the heart of the matter.\n\nFor a split second, panic flashed across Skylar’s face, but she quickly composed herself and shot a pleading look at Julian in the audience.\n\nJulian gave her a reassuring smile and picked up the microphone in front of him.\n\n\"Mike, thank you for your question.\"\n\nHe stood up, his gaze sweeping across the room before landing on Skylar, filled with pride.\n\n\"Charlotte—my wife—is indeed a very mature designer.\"\n\n\"But architecture needs new blood. The greatest strength of Skylar's proposal is its imagination and vitality. That's something maturity can't replace.\"\n\nHe paused, then delivered the line he had clearly prepared.\n\n\"Let me put it this way. Charlotte's designs are polished, but Skylar…\"\n\nHe looked at Skylar, his eyes so tender they could melt you.\n\n\"She has a spark.\"\n\nThe entire room went silent.\n\nThen, it erupted into an even more enthusiastic round of applause.\n\nPublicly putting down his own wife to prop up an intern. And doing it by praising one at the other's expense.\n\nMy world went quiet, leaving only the dull thud of my heart pounding in my chest.\n\nMike Hunter raised an eyebrow but said nothing more and sat back down.\n\nThe host laughed and took over. \"It seems Mr. Nelson has a lot of confidence in our newcomer! Are there any other questions from the audience?\"\n\nThe hall was quiet.\n\nAfter Julian, a partner at the firm, had given his official stamp of approval, there seemed to be nothing left to ask.\n\nSkylar bowed from the stage, unable to hide the smug delight on her face.\n\nI put my phone away. Just as everyone was about to applaud again, I picked up the microphone on my table.\n\nI stood up.\n\nIt was a small movement, but it instantly drew everyone's attention.\n\nThe host faltered for a second. \"Excuse me, miss, and you are…?\"\n\nThe smile on Julian's face froze.\n\nAnd the look Skylar shot my way was suddenly laced with alarm."},{"chapter_key":"K1UY9n3UJ5","title":"4","serial_number":4,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/4/en_29f77792-bab2-48d6-817f-874dada4e75f.txt","word_count":710,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"I ignored the emcee and walked straight to the podium.\n\nThe sharp, rhythmic click of my heels echoed on the polished floor.\n\nEach step seemed to land squarely on Julian's and Skylar's hearts.\n\nThe host on stage was at a loss, instinctively moving to stop me.\n\nI shot him a single look, and he pulled his hand back.\n\nI took the microphone from his hand.\n\n“Hello, everyone.”\n\nMy voice, clear and steady, carried through the speakers to every corner of the hall.\n\n“First, I’d like to thank Mike Hunter for his excellent question earlier.”\n\nI paused, my gaze sweeping over the crowd before landing precisely on my husband, Julian Nelson.\n\n“Second, I’d like to add a little something to Director Nelson’s points from a moment ago.”\n\nI turned to Skylar Pearson, whose face was already starting to lose its color, and smiled.\n\n“Ms. Pearson, I’m so glad you have such a deep understanding of the Southwood Project.”\n\n“As the project’s original creator, I’m truly gratified.”\n\nA bomb went off. The room erupted in chaos.\n\nCountless eyes darted back and forth between me, Julian, and Skylar.\n\nJulian’s face turned ashen.\n\n“Charlotte! What the hell are you talking about!” he hissed in a low, furious voice.\n\nSkylar was panicking too, rushing to explain, “No, that’s not it, don’t listen to her, this proposal was my…”\n\n“It was yours?” I cut her off.\n\nI signaled for my assistant to plug my USB drive into the projector.\n\nOn the large screen behind me, Skylar’s beautifully rendered design instantly vanished.\n\nIn its place were the original files from my computer.\n\nA series of folders, neatly organized by date.\n\n“This is the first concept model for the Southwood Project, created last October.”\n\nI clicked open the earliest folder, revealing rough sketches filled with the rawest, most primitive ideas.\n\n“This is the revised version.”\n\n“This is the first structural model.”\n\n“And the second.”\n\nWith every file I opened, the color drained further from Skylar’s face.\n\nFinally, I opened the blueprint page for the core design of the “Eco-Canopy Bridge.”\n\n“As for the Eco-Canopy Bridge that Ms. Pearson is so proud of,” I said, zooming in on a full-screen mechanical model filled with dense data and formulas, “here is the complete data calculation process.”\n\n“Since you claim this was your inspiration, perhaps you could explain to everyone how the core parameter model for the bridge’s critical cantilevered load-bearing structure was established?”\n\nEvery eye in the room shot toward Skylar.\n\nShe just stood there, lips trembling, her perfectly made-up face flushed a deep red. She couldn’t utter a single word.\n\nShe wouldn't know the first thing about it.\n\nJulian finally couldn’t take it anymore.\n\nHe rushed onto the stage and pulled a trembling Skylar behind him, positioning himself like a knight protecting his precious treasure.\n\n“That’s enough, Charlotte!” he squeezed out through gritted teeth, his voice laced with a heavy warning. “This is an internal company matter. Do you really have to make a scene here?”\n\nHe was trying to frame this as a marital dispute, an internal problem.\n\n“An internal matter?” I laughed, a humorless sound. “Director Nelson, have you already forgotten how you publicly critiqued my work just a few minutes ago?”\n\nHe was speechless.\n\nThen, forcing himself to remain calm, he turned to the client representatives in the audience, trying to smooth things over.\n\n“Everyone, my apologies. This is just a small disagreement between my wife and me over the project handover. A family matter. Sorry to have made a scene.”\n\n“A family matter?” I raised the microphone. My voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the entire room to hear.\n\n“Director Nelson claimed he was traveling to the neighboring city these past few days to conduct the final site survey for the Southwood Project.”\n\nI paused, looking into his instantly terrified eyes.\n\n“But I just received word that Director Nelson himself, along with his ‘star of the future,’ are both currently checked into the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton right here in this city.”\n\n“I wonder what kind of ‘ecology’ a man and a woman, all alone, could possibly be studying while locked in a hotel room together?”"}],"recommend_text":"A pharmacy called about my husband’s unpaid morning-after pill.\nHe said it was for an intern.\nI believed him—until I saw the security footage… and my necklace on her neck.","button_text":"","bottom_text":""} "2600:1f28:365:80b0:84af:c58c:3b1:915f" {"clickToRead":"🔥🔥Click to read the next chapter for free 👇","continueReading":"CONTINUE READING","more":"More","open":"Open","bottomText":"The upcoming chapters are even more exciting! Click the download button below to read the entire book!👇👇👇"} {"id":1000514,"name":"Emergency Pills, Affair Exposed","start_time":1765770487,"end_time":1797306487,"status":1,"version_config":[{"name":"base","traffic_interval":0},{"name":"exp1","traffic_interval":100,"landing_page_id":822,"novel":{"novel_id":6592,"novel_key":"akM9sBd7Lx","title":"Emergency Pills, Affair Exposed","cover":"https://static-v1.mydramawave.com/novel/landing-page/image-crawl/656b5c70f44e513d706d1f653cdb416a.jpg?image_process=quality,85/resize,w_600/format,webp","intro":"Day one of my husband's trip, a pharmacist calls: \"Mr. Nelson bought emergency contraceptives but didn't pay. Can you settle it?\" My mind goes blank. I call him—he claims it's for a shy intern. I smile, hang up, then call the pharmacy back, ice-cold: \"Send me your address.\"","use_default_button_text":true,"lang":"en-US","style":200003,"chapter_count":10,"word_count":6263,"use_novel_desc":true,"chapter":{"chapter_key":"3ovNJKU5Cm","title":"1","serial_number":1,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/1/en_9b0fc99e-34a1-4721-8bd1-133016d50d3f.txt","word_count":886,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false},"recommend_text":"A pharmacy called about my husband’s unpaid morning-after pill.\nHe said it was for an intern.\nI believed him—until I saw the security footage… and my necklace on her neck.","use_default_bottom_text":true,"chapter_list":[{"chapter_key":"3ovNJKU5Cm","title":"1","serial_number":1,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/1/en_9b0fc99e-34a1-4721-8bd1-133016d50d3f.txt","word_count":886,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The first day my husband was away on a business trip, I got a call from an unknown number.\n\nIt was a clerk from the local pharmacy, his voice urgent. “Hi, is this a member of Mr. Nelson’s family? He came in this afternoon to buy a pack of the morning-after pill, but he left before his payment went through. I need you to cover the charge.”\n\nMy mind went blank. *The morning-after pill?*\n\nI pushed down the wave of panic and dialed my husband’s number. “Hey,” I said, testing the waters. “Where were you this afternoon? I got a notification from the credit card company about a failed transaction at a pharmacy.”\n\nHe paused for half a second, then chuckled. “Oh, that. I was just helping out one of the new interns from my department. She’s just a kid, was too embarrassed to buy it herself, so I ran the errand for her.”\n\nI laughed and said it was fine. As soon as I hung up, I called the pharmacy back, my voice ice-cold.\n\n“Text me your address. I’m coming over to pay.”\n\n...\n\nI rushed over to the pharmacy.\n\nThe clerk looked a little awkward when he saw me.\n\n“Hi, this is it. The total comes to forty-eight dollars.”\n\nI took out my phone but didn’t pay right away.\n\n“That amount doesn’t match. My record shows a charge of sixty-eight dollars. Could you check the security footage? I’d like to confirm the items.”\n\nThe clerk froze for a second, then nodded.\n\n“Of course, one moment.”\n\nHe pulled up the security feed, and a familiar figure immediately appeared on the screen.\n\nIt was my husband, Julian.\n\nStanding next to him was a young woman in a white dress, looking all innocent and pure.\n\nJulian handed her a box of pills with a casual, natural motion.\n\nShe took the box and looked down, seeming a bit shy.\n\nJulian smiled, reached out, and gently stroked her head.\n\nMy heart twisted into a tight, painful knot.\n\nThat was a gesture he only ever used with me.\n\nOn the screen, the woman looked up and smiled back at him, revealing a necklace around her neck.\n\nMy eyes locked onto it.\n\nThe pendant was the letter “Z.”\n\nI had designed it myself and had it custom-made.\n\nIt was the only one in the world.\n\nIt was my third-anniversary gift to Julian.\n\nThe clerk was still explaining beside me. “Sir actually bought two items, this and a bottle of vitamins, which is why the total was sixty-eight.”\n\nI wasn’t listening.\n\nI raised my phone and took a picture of the monitor.\n\nThen I pulled up my digital wallet.\n\n“It’s paid.”\n\nI turned to leave but then stopped.\n\nLooking back at the clerk, I forced a smile.\n\n“Hey, man, that necklace the girl was wearing is really nice. Do you happen to know the brand?”\n\nThe clerk shook his head.\n\n“Sorry, I have no idea.”\n\n“Can I get your number? My girlfriend’s birthday is coming up, and I’d love it if you could send me a screenshot of the necklace from the video. I want to get her something just like it.”\n\nThe clerk didn’t think twice and readily gave me his number.\n\nI Venmo’d him a little something for his trouble.\n\n“Thanks a lot.”\n\nSeconds later, my phone buzzed. A high-resolution screenshot had arrived.\n\nThe woman’s face and that Z-pendant necklace were crystal clear.\n\nI got back in my car, my hands gripping the steering wheel.\n\nThe house was dead silent when I got home.\n\nOn autopilot, I walked into Julian’s study.\n\nThe high-end German fountain pen stand I’d given him, the one engraved with both our initials, was sitting on his desk. It was empty.\n\nThe pen was gone.\n\nI opened my company’s internal directory and pulled up the list of interns.\n\nOne young face after another scrolled past.\n\nFinally, my finger stopped on a profile belonging to a woman named Skylar Pearson.\n\nIt was the woman from the video.\n\nI closed the app and made a call.\n\nMy best friend Violet’s loud voice boomed from the other end.\n\n“Well, well, if it isn’t the great Charlotte Diaz. To what do I owe the honor?”\n\n“I need you to look someone up for me. A new intern at my company, Skylar Pearson.”\n\nMy voice was unnervingly calm.\n\n“Also, pull all of Julian’s private account statements, hotel records, and travel itineraries for the past six months. And I mean *everything*. Don’t miss a single thing.”\n\nViolet was quiet for two long seconds.\n\n“...Did something happen to Julian?”\n\n“Worse.”\n\nI hung up, and just then, Julian’s name flashed on my screen.\n\nThe contact name, “Hubby,” seared my eyes.\n\nI answered.\n\n“Charlotte, are you busy?” he asked, his voice as gentle as ever.\n\n“No, I just got off work.”\n\n“Did you have a good day? Not too tired, I hope?”\n\n“It was fine.”\n\n“I’ll be back from my trip tomorrow. I got you a gift, I promise you’ll love it.”\n\nHe was still using that same, syrupy-sweet tone that could drown a person.\n\nListening to it, my stomach churned.\n\n“Oh, great,” I said with a smile.\n\n“I’ll be waiting.”"},{"chapter_key":"509StqX2VM","title":"2","serial_number":2,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/2/en_d5355e58-eeb1-4323-8ef6-7b7a160fc476.txt","word_count":702,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The next day, an encrypted email from Violet was waiting for me the moment I got to the office.\n\n“Here’s what you asked for. See for yourself. This Skylar Pearson… she’s something else.”\n\nI opened the attachment.\n\nIt was Skylar Pearson’s social media profile, set to public.\n\nHer latest post was a close-up of a drafting pen.\n\n*The* missing German drafting pen.\n\nThe photo was artfully shot, with soft lighting and an open, original edition of an architectural design book placed beside it.\n\nThe caption read: “Mr. Nelson says my creative spark deserves the very best pen.”\n\nMy finger slid across the mouse, and I clicked to the next picture.\n\nIt was a selfie with the “Z” initial necklace.\n\nThe girl wore meticulous makeup, her head tilted back just so, revealing her slender neck and the chain.\n\n“Mr. Nelson says I’m the one and only inspiration that illuminates his designs.”\n\nThe *one and only* inspiration.\n\nI stared at the words and let out a bitter laugh.\n\nI kept scrolling.\n\nOne photo was set in our living room. She was holding my cat, smiling with an air of pure innocence.\n\n“Cuddling the cat at Mr. Nelson's place. Feeling so healed.”\n\nThere was another one of her sitting in my car, holding my favorite air freshener.\n\n“The scent in Mr. Nelson’s car is amazing. He says it’s his sanctuary.”\n\nEvery photo, every word, was a declaration. She was marking her territory.\n\nI closed the photos, my face expressionless, and opened the other folder.\n\nIt was the background check Violet had run on Skylar.\n\nOrdinary family, ordinary university, completely unremarkable resume. Getting an internship at a top-tier design firm like ours was nothing short of a miracle.\n\nThe only highlight was a first-place win in a university competition for an urban landscape design report she’d submitted.\n\nThat report… it jogged my memory.\n\nI scrolled down until I reached the last photo and froze.\n\nIn the picture, Skylar was holding a printed design draft, a smug, triumphant smile on her face.\n\nThe title on the draft was unmistakable—The Southwood Project.\n\nThis was the core design proposal I had spent three solid months slaving over for the company’s most important annual bid.\n\nIt was the most important project of my career.\n\nI shot up from my chair and rushed into the private break room attached to my office.\n\nMy personal, encrypted laptop was in there.\n\nI hit a key, and the screen lit up, displaying the password prompt.\n\nI tried my birthday. Incorrect.\n\nOur wedding anniversary. Incorrect.\n\nI tried every important date we shared. All of them were wrong.\n\nI stared at the input box, my mind buzzing. An uncontrollable thought surfaced.\n\nViolet’s file had Skylar’s birthday in it.\n\nMy hand reached out, fingers trembling, and I slowly typed in the date, one number at a time.\n\n“Welcome.”\n\nThe laptop unlocked.\n\nJulian, my husband, had changed the password on my personal laptop to his mistress’s birthday.\n\nA massive wave of humiliation washed over me.\n\nBiting my lip hard, I opened the file explorer.\n\nThe desktop was clean, and my eyes immediately landed on the “Southwood Project” folder.\n\nI clicked on it. The file’s “last modified” date was yesterday.\n\nI opened the recycling bin.\n\nA single file lay there quietly: my original version of the Southwood Project blueprint, the one with my layers of encryption.\n\nThe deletion time was also yesterday.\n\nI went back to the desktop and opened the new, modified version.\n\nThe core logic of the proposal was almost identical to mine.\n\nIt just had minor adjustments to a few key load-bearing structures and design highlights—enough to circumvent my core patents but preserve the essence of the plan.\n\nIn the author credit spot was a single name: Skylar Pearson.\n\nHe wasn't just cheating on me, betraying our relationship.\n\nHe was stealing my life’s work, my career, the future of our company—all to pave a golden path for his little lover.\n\nI had to grab the desk to keep myself from collapsing.\n\nI finally understood. The ultimate betrayal wasn’t just breaking your heart. It was leaving you with absolutely nothing."},{"chapter_key":"hfAzgDDhGt","title":"3","serial_number":3,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/3/en_6899365e-76a2-4b79-95fa-c4d84b3c6ac1.txt","word_count":699,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The hall for the company's annual keynote project presentation was buzzing.\n\nI found an inconspicuous corner to sit in and watched as Julian Nelson led Skylar Pearson to their seats, right in the center of the front row.\n\nHe wore a custom-tailored suit, his hair perfectly coiffed. He was leaning over to say something to the client representative next to him, looking completely at ease.\n\nSkylar sat beside him in a white professional suit. Her makeup was flawless, and the innocent look she used to have was replaced by the sharp competence of a corporate elite.\n\nHer eyes, fixed on Julian, were filled with adoration and worship.\n\nThey chatted and laughed, looking for all the world like a perfectly matched power couple.\n\nSoon, the presentation began.\n\nAs the lead presenter for the \"Southwood Project,\" Skylar walked onto the stage.\n\nShe took a deep breath and began to lay out the design concept.\n\n\"The core of our Southwood Project is its innovative 'Eco-Canopy Bridge' design.\"\n\n\"It will act as a green artery, spanning the city's most congested areas to reconnect fragmented green spaces…\"\n\nEvery single one of those words I had spent countless late nights, fueled by coffee, walking Julian through one by one.\n\nI once thought those moments were a deep, unspoken connection between us, a meeting of minds.\n\nOnly now did I realize it had just been a one-woman show, and he had been the patient thief listening in.\n\nSkylar's presentation was a hit. When the final renderings appeared on the slide, a soft gasp of awe rippled through the audience.\n\nWhen she finished, the applause was thunderous.\n\nThe host walked on stage. \"Thank you, Ms. Pearson, for that incredible presentation! We'll now open the floor for questions.\"\n\nA man in the front row, clearly a big-shot client, raised his hand.\n\nIt was Mike Hunter from the Urban Development Group, who was notorious in the industry for his sharp eye.\n\n\"Ms. Pearson,\" Mike began.\n\n\"This is a critical project. Isn't it a bit risky to let a newcomer take the lead? I recall that Ms. Diaz's 'Riverfront Gate' project is still considered the gold standard in our industry.\"\n\nThe question was sharp and cut right to the heart of the matter.\n\nFor a split second, panic flashed across Skylar’s face, but she quickly composed herself and shot a pleading look at Julian in the audience.\n\nJulian gave her a reassuring smile and picked up the microphone in front of him.\n\n\"Mike, thank you for your question.\"\n\nHe stood up, his gaze sweeping across the room before landing on Skylar, filled with pride.\n\n\"Charlotte—my wife—is indeed a very mature designer.\"\n\n\"But architecture needs new blood. The greatest strength of Skylar's proposal is its imagination and vitality. That's something maturity can't replace.\"\n\nHe paused, then delivered the line he had clearly prepared.\n\n\"Let me put it this way. Charlotte's designs are polished, but Skylar…\"\n\nHe looked at Skylar, his eyes so tender they could melt you.\n\n\"She has a spark.\"\n\nThe entire room went silent.\n\nThen, it erupted into an even more enthusiastic round of applause.\n\nPublicly putting down his own wife to prop up an intern. And doing it by praising one at the other's expense.\n\nMy world went quiet, leaving only the dull thud of my heart pounding in my chest.\n\nMike Hunter raised an eyebrow but said nothing more and sat back down.\n\nThe host laughed and took over. \"It seems Mr. Nelson has a lot of confidence in our newcomer! Are there any other questions from the audience?\"\n\nThe hall was quiet.\n\nAfter Julian, a partner at the firm, had given his official stamp of approval, there seemed to be nothing left to ask.\n\nSkylar bowed from the stage, unable to hide the smug delight on her face.\n\nI put my phone away. Just as everyone was about to applaud again, I picked up the microphone on my table.\n\nI stood up.\n\nIt was a small movement, but it instantly drew everyone's attention.\n\nThe host faltered for a second. \"Excuse me, miss, and you are…?\"\n\nThe smile on Julian's face froze.\n\nAnd the look Skylar shot my way was suddenly laced with alarm."},{"chapter_key":"K1UY9n3UJ5","title":"4","serial_number":4,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/4/en_29f77792-bab2-48d6-817f-874dada4e75f.txt","word_count":710,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"I ignored the emcee and walked straight to the podium.\n\nThe sharp, rhythmic click of my heels echoed on the polished floor.\n\nEach step seemed to land squarely on Julian's and Skylar's hearts.\n\nThe host on stage was at a loss, instinctively moving to stop me.\n\nI shot him a single look, and he pulled his hand back.\n\nI took the microphone from his hand.\n\n“Hello, everyone.”\n\nMy voice, clear and steady, carried through the speakers to every corner of the hall.\n\n“First, I’d like to thank Mike Hunter for his excellent question earlier.”\n\nI paused, my gaze sweeping over the crowd before landing precisely on my husband, Julian Nelson.\n\n“Second, I’d like to add a little something to Director Nelson’s points from a moment ago.”\n\nI turned to Skylar Pearson, whose face was already starting to lose its color, and smiled.\n\n“Ms. Pearson, I’m so glad you have such a deep understanding of the Southwood Project.”\n\n“As the project’s original creator, I’m truly gratified.”\n\nA bomb went off. The room erupted in chaos.\n\nCountless eyes darted back and forth between me, Julian, and Skylar.\n\nJulian’s face turned ashen.\n\n“Charlotte! What the hell are you talking about!” he hissed in a low, furious voice.\n\nSkylar was panicking too, rushing to explain, “No, that’s not it, don’t listen to her, this proposal was my…”\n\n“It was yours?” I cut her off.\n\nI signaled for my assistant to plug my USB drive into the projector.\n\nOn the large screen behind me, Skylar’s beautifully rendered design instantly vanished.\n\nIn its place were the original files from my computer.\n\nA series of folders, neatly organized by date.\n\n“This is the first concept model for the Southwood Project, created last October.”\n\nI clicked open the earliest folder, revealing rough sketches filled with the rawest, most primitive ideas.\n\n“This is the revised version.”\n\n“This is the first structural model.”\n\n“And the second.”\n\nWith every file I opened, the color drained further from Skylar’s face.\n\nFinally, I opened the blueprint page for the core design of the “Eco-Canopy Bridge.”\n\n“As for the Eco-Canopy Bridge that Ms. Pearson is so proud of,” I said, zooming in on a full-screen mechanical model filled with dense data and formulas, “here is the complete data calculation process.”\n\n“Since you claim this was your inspiration, perhaps you could explain to everyone how the core parameter model for the bridge’s critical cantilevered load-bearing structure was established?”\n\nEvery eye in the room shot toward Skylar.\n\nShe just stood there, lips trembling, her perfectly made-up face flushed a deep red. She couldn’t utter a single word.\n\nShe wouldn't know the first thing about it.\n\nJulian finally couldn’t take it anymore.\n\nHe rushed onto the stage and pulled a trembling Skylar behind him, positioning himself like a knight protecting his precious treasure.\n\n“That’s enough, Charlotte!” he squeezed out through gritted teeth, his voice laced with a heavy warning. “This is an internal company matter. Do you really have to make a scene here?”\n\nHe was trying to frame this as a marital dispute, an internal problem.\n\n“An internal matter?” I laughed, a humorless sound. “Director Nelson, have you already forgotten how you publicly critiqued my work just a few minutes ago?”\n\nHe was speechless.\n\nThen, forcing himself to remain calm, he turned to the client representatives in the audience, trying to smooth things over.\n\n“Everyone, my apologies. This is just a small disagreement between my wife and me over the project handover. A family matter. Sorry to have made a scene.”\n\n“A family matter?” I raised the microphone. My voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the entire room to hear.\n\n“Director Nelson claimed he was traveling to the neighboring city these past few days to conduct the final site survey for the Southwood Project.”\n\nI paused, looking into his instantly terrified eyes.\n\n“But I just received word that Director Nelson himself, along with his ‘star of the future,’ are both currently checked into the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton right here in this city.”\n\n“I wonder what kind of ‘ecology’ a man and a woman, all alone, could possibly be studying while locked in a hotel room together?”"}]}}]} {"name":"exp1","traffic_interval":100,"landing_page_id":822,"novel":{"novel_id":6592,"novel_key":"akM9sBd7Lx","title":"Emergency Pills, Affair Exposed","cover":"https://static-v1.mydramawave.com/novel/landing-page/image-crawl/656b5c70f44e513d706d1f653cdb416a.jpg?image_process=quality,85/resize,w_600/format,webp","intro":"Day one of my husband's trip, a pharmacist calls: \"Mr. Nelson bought emergency contraceptives but didn't pay. Can you settle it?\" My mind goes blank. I call him—he claims it's for a shy intern. I smile, hang up, then call the pharmacy back, ice-cold: \"Send me your address.\"","use_default_button_text":true,"lang":"en-US","style":200003,"chapter_count":10,"word_count":6263,"use_novel_desc":true,"chapter":{"chapter_key":"3ovNJKU5Cm","title":"1","serial_number":1,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/1/en_9b0fc99e-34a1-4721-8bd1-133016d50d3f.txt","word_count":886,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false},"recommend_text":"A pharmacy called about my husband’s unpaid morning-after pill.\nHe said it was for an intern.\nI believed him—until I saw the security footage… and my necklace on her neck.","use_default_bottom_text":true,"chapter_list":[{"chapter_key":"3ovNJKU5Cm","title":"1","serial_number":1,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/1/en_9b0fc99e-34a1-4721-8bd1-133016d50d3f.txt","word_count":886,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The first day my husband was away on a business trip, I got a call from an unknown number.\n\nIt was a clerk from the local pharmacy, his voice urgent. “Hi, is this a member of Mr. Nelson’s family? He came in this afternoon to buy a pack of the morning-after pill, but he left before his payment went through. I need you to cover the charge.”\n\nMy mind went blank. *The morning-after pill?*\n\nI pushed down the wave of panic and dialed my husband’s number. “Hey,” I said, testing the waters. “Where were you this afternoon? I got a notification from the credit card company about a failed transaction at a pharmacy.”\n\nHe paused for half a second, then chuckled. “Oh, that. I was just helping out one of the new interns from my department. She’s just a kid, was too embarrassed to buy it herself, so I ran the errand for her.”\n\nI laughed and said it was fine. As soon as I hung up, I called the pharmacy back, my voice ice-cold.\n\n“Text me your address. I’m coming over to pay.”\n\n...\n\nI rushed over to the pharmacy.\n\nThe clerk looked a little awkward when he saw me.\n\n“Hi, this is it. The total comes to forty-eight dollars.”\n\nI took out my phone but didn’t pay right away.\n\n“That amount doesn’t match. My record shows a charge of sixty-eight dollars. Could you check the security footage? I’d like to confirm the items.”\n\nThe clerk froze for a second, then nodded.\n\n“Of course, one moment.”\n\nHe pulled up the security feed, and a familiar figure immediately appeared on the screen.\n\nIt was my husband, Julian.\n\nStanding next to him was a young woman in a white dress, looking all innocent and pure.\n\nJulian handed her a box of pills with a casual, natural motion.\n\nShe took the box and looked down, seeming a bit shy.\n\nJulian smiled, reached out, and gently stroked her head.\n\nMy heart twisted into a tight, painful knot.\n\nThat was a gesture he only ever used with me.\n\nOn the screen, the woman looked up and smiled back at him, revealing a necklace around her neck.\n\nMy eyes locked onto it.\n\nThe pendant was the letter “Z.”\n\nI had designed it myself and had it custom-made.\n\nIt was the only one in the world.\n\nIt was my third-anniversary gift to Julian.\n\nThe clerk was still explaining beside me. “Sir actually bought two items, this and a bottle of vitamins, which is why the total was sixty-eight.”\n\nI wasn’t listening.\n\nI raised my phone and took a picture of the monitor.\n\nThen I pulled up my digital wallet.\n\n“It’s paid.”\n\nI turned to leave but then stopped.\n\nLooking back at the clerk, I forced a smile.\n\n“Hey, man, that necklace the girl was wearing is really nice. Do you happen to know the brand?”\n\nThe clerk shook his head.\n\n“Sorry, I have no idea.”\n\n“Can I get your number? My girlfriend’s birthday is coming up, and I’d love it if you could send me a screenshot of the necklace from the video. I want to get her something just like it.”\n\nThe clerk didn’t think twice and readily gave me his number.\n\nI Venmo’d him a little something for his trouble.\n\n“Thanks a lot.”\n\nSeconds later, my phone buzzed. A high-resolution screenshot had arrived.\n\nThe woman’s face and that Z-pendant necklace were crystal clear.\n\nI got back in my car, my hands gripping the steering wheel.\n\nThe house was dead silent when I got home.\n\nOn autopilot, I walked into Julian’s study.\n\nThe high-end German fountain pen stand I’d given him, the one engraved with both our initials, was sitting on his desk. It was empty.\n\nThe pen was gone.\n\nI opened my company’s internal directory and pulled up the list of interns.\n\nOne young face after another scrolled past.\n\nFinally, my finger stopped on a profile belonging to a woman named Skylar Pearson.\n\nIt was the woman from the video.\n\nI closed the app and made a call.\n\nMy best friend Violet’s loud voice boomed from the other end.\n\n“Well, well, if it isn’t the great Charlotte Diaz. To what do I owe the honor?”\n\n“I need you to look someone up for me. A new intern at my company, Skylar Pearson.”\n\nMy voice was unnervingly calm.\n\n“Also, pull all of Julian’s private account statements, hotel records, and travel itineraries for the past six months. And I mean *everything*. Don’t miss a single thing.”\n\nViolet was quiet for two long seconds.\n\n“...Did something happen to Julian?”\n\n“Worse.”\n\nI hung up, and just then, Julian’s name flashed on my screen.\n\nThe contact name, “Hubby,” seared my eyes.\n\nI answered.\n\n“Charlotte, are you busy?” he asked, his voice as gentle as ever.\n\n“No, I just got off work.”\n\n“Did you have a good day? Not too tired, I hope?”\n\n“It was fine.”\n\n“I’ll be back from my trip tomorrow. I got you a gift, I promise you’ll love it.”\n\nHe was still using that same, syrupy-sweet tone that could drown a person.\n\nListening to it, my stomach churned.\n\n“Oh, great,” I said with a smile.\n\n“I’ll be waiting.”"},{"chapter_key":"509StqX2VM","title":"2","serial_number":2,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/2/en_d5355e58-eeb1-4323-8ef6-7b7a160fc476.txt","word_count":702,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The next day, an encrypted email from Violet was waiting for me the moment I got to the office.\n\n“Here’s what you asked for. See for yourself. This Skylar Pearson… she’s something else.”\n\nI opened the attachment.\n\nIt was Skylar Pearson’s social media profile, set to public.\n\nHer latest post was a close-up of a drafting pen.\n\n*The* missing German drafting pen.\n\nThe photo was artfully shot, with soft lighting and an open, original edition of an architectural design book placed beside it.\n\nThe caption read: “Mr. Nelson says my creative spark deserves the very best pen.”\n\nMy finger slid across the mouse, and I clicked to the next picture.\n\nIt was a selfie with the “Z” initial necklace.\n\nThe girl wore meticulous makeup, her head tilted back just so, revealing her slender neck and the chain.\n\n“Mr. Nelson says I’m the one and only inspiration that illuminates his designs.”\n\nThe *one and only* inspiration.\n\nI stared at the words and let out a bitter laugh.\n\nI kept scrolling.\n\nOne photo was set in our living room. She was holding my cat, smiling with an air of pure innocence.\n\n“Cuddling the cat at Mr. Nelson's place. Feeling so healed.”\n\nThere was another one of her sitting in my car, holding my favorite air freshener.\n\n“The scent in Mr. Nelson’s car is amazing. He says it’s his sanctuary.”\n\nEvery photo, every word, was a declaration. She was marking her territory.\n\nI closed the photos, my face expressionless, and opened the other folder.\n\nIt was the background check Violet had run on Skylar.\n\nOrdinary family, ordinary university, completely unremarkable resume. Getting an internship at a top-tier design firm like ours was nothing short of a miracle.\n\nThe only highlight was a first-place win in a university competition for an urban landscape design report she’d submitted.\n\nThat report… it jogged my memory.\n\nI scrolled down until I reached the last photo and froze.\n\nIn the picture, Skylar was holding a printed design draft, a smug, triumphant smile on her face.\n\nThe title on the draft was unmistakable—The Southwood Project.\n\nThis was the core design proposal I had spent three solid months slaving over for the company’s most important annual bid.\n\nIt was the most important project of my career.\n\nI shot up from my chair and rushed into the private break room attached to my office.\n\nMy personal, encrypted laptop was in there.\n\nI hit a key, and the screen lit up, displaying the password prompt.\n\nI tried my birthday. Incorrect.\n\nOur wedding anniversary. Incorrect.\n\nI tried every important date we shared. All of them were wrong.\n\nI stared at the input box, my mind buzzing. An uncontrollable thought surfaced.\n\nViolet’s file had Skylar’s birthday in it.\n\nMy hand reached out, fingers trembling, and I slowly typed in the date, one number at a time.\n\n“Welcome.”\n\nThe laptop unlocked.\n\nJulian, my husband, had changed the password on my personal laptop to his mistress’s birthday.\n\nA massive wave of humiliation washed over me.\n\nBiting my lip hard, I opened the file explorer.\n\nThe desktop was clean, and my eyes immediately landed on the “Southwood Project” folder.\n\nI clicked on it. The file’s “last modified” date was yesterday.\n\nI opened the recycling bin.\n\nA single file lay there quietly: my original version of the Southwood Project blueprint, the one with my layers of encryption.\n\nThe deletion time was also yesterday.\n\nI went back to the desktop and opened the new, modified version.\n\nThe core logic of the proposal was almost identical to mine.\n\nIt just had minor adjustments to a few key load-bearing structures and design highlights—enough to circumvent my core patents but preserve the essence of the plan.\n\nIn the author credit spot was a single name: Skylar Pearson.\n\nHe wasn't just cheating on me, betraying our relationship.\n\nHe was stealing my life’s work, my career, the future of our company—all to pave a golden path for his little lover.\n\nI had to grab the desk to keep myself from collapsing.\n\nI finally understood. The ultimate betrayal wasn’t just breaking your heart. It was leaving you with absolutely nothing."},{"chapter_key":"hfAzgDDhGt","title":"3","serial_number":3,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/3/en_6899365e-76a2-4b79-95fa-c4d84b3c6ac1.txt","word_count":699,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"The hall for the company's annual keynote project presentation was buzzing.\n\nI found an inconspicuous corner to sit in and watched as Julian Nelson led Skylar Pearson to their seats, right in the center of the front row.\n\nHe wore a custom-tailored suit, his hair perfectly coiffed. He was leaning over to say something to the client representative next to him, looking completely at ease.\n\nSkylar sat beside him in a white professional suit. Her makeup was flawless, and the innocent look she used to have was replaced by the sharp competence of a corporate elite.\n\nHer eyes, fixed on Julian, were filled with adoration and worship.\n\nThey chatted and laughed, looking for all the world like a perfectly matched power couple.\n\nSoon, the presentation began.\n\nAs the lead presenter for the \"Southwood Project,\" Skylar walked onto the stage.\n\nShe took a deep breath and began to lay out the design concept.\n\n\"The core of our Southwood Project is its innovative 'Eco-Canopy Bridge' design.\"\n\n\"It will act as a green artery, spanning the city's most congested areas to reconnect fragmented green spaces…\"\n\nEvery single one of those words I had spent countless late nights, fueled by coffee, walking Julian through one by one.\n\nI once thought those moments were a deep, unspoken connection between us, a meeting of minds.\n\nOnly now did I realize it had just been a one-woman show, and he had been the patient thief listening in.\n\nSkylar's presentation was a hit. When the final renderings appeared on the slide, a soft gasp of awe rippled through the audience.\n\nWhen she finished, the applause was thunderous.\n\nThe host walked on stage. \"Thank you, Ms. Pearson, for that incredible presentation! We'll now open the floor for questions.\"\n\nA man in the front row, clearly a big-shot client, raised his hand.\n\nIt was Mike Hunter from the Urban Development Group, who was notorious in the industry for his sharp eye.\n\n\"Ms. Pearson,\" Mike began.\n\n\"This is a critical project. Isn't it a bit risky to let a newcomer take the lead? I recall that Ms. Diaz's 'Riverfront Gate' project is still considered the gold standard in our industry.\"\n\nThe question was sharp and cut right to the heart of the matter.\n\nFor a split second, panic flashed across Skylar’s face, but she quickly composed herself and shot a pleading look at Julian in the audience.\n\nJulian gave her a reassuring smile and picked up the microphone in front of him.\n\n\"Mike, thank you for your question.\"\n\nHe stood up, his gaze sweeping across the room before landing on Skylar, filled with pride.\n\n\"Charlotte—my wife—is indeed a very mature designer.\"\n\n\"But architecture needs new blood. The greatest strength of Skylar's proposal is its imagination and vitality. That's something maturity can't replace.\"\n\nHe paused, then delivered the line he had clearly prepared.\n\n\"Let me put it this way. Charlotte's designs are polished, but Skylar…\"\n\nHe looked at Skylar, his eyes so tender they could melt you.\n\n\"She has a spark.\"\n\nThe entire room went silent.\n\nThen, it erupted into an even more enthusiastic round of applause.\n\nPublicly putting down his own wife to prop up an intern. And doing it by praising one at the other's expense.\n\nMy world went quiet, leaving only the dull thud of my heart pounding in my chest.\n\nMike Hunter raised an eyebrow but said nothing more and sat back down.\n\nThe host laughed and took over. \"It seems Mr. Nelson has a lot of confidence in our newcomer! Are there any other questions from the audience?\"\n\nThe hall was quiet.\n\nAfter Julian, a partner at the firm, had given his official stamp of approval, there seemed to be nothing left to ask.\n\nSkylar bowed from the stage, unable to hide the smug delight on her face.\n\nI put my phone away. Just as everyone was about to applaud again, I picked up the microphone on my table.\n\nI stood up.\n\nIt was a small movement, but it instantly drew everyone's attention.\n\nThe host faltered for a second. \"Excuse me, miss, and you are…?\"\n\nThe smile on Julian's face froze.\n\nAnd the look Skylar shot my way was suddenly laced with alarm."},{"chapter_key":"K1UY9n3UJ5","title":"4","serial_number":4,"start_chapter":0,"content_path":"https://video-v6.mydramawave.com/novel/26736/4/en_29f77792-bab2-48d6-817f-874dada4e75f.txt","word_count":710,"unlock":false,"has_set_free_remind":false,"is_free":false,"text":"I ignored the emcee and walked straight to the podium.\n\nThe sharp, rhythmic click of my heels echoed on the polished floor.\n\nEach step seemed to land squarely on Julian's and Skylar's hearts.\n\nThe host on stage was at a loss, instinctively moving to stop me.\n\nI shot him a single look, and he pulled his hand back.\n\nI took the microphone from his hand.\n\n“Hello, everyone.”\n\nMy voice, clear and steady, carried through the speakers to every corner of the hall.\n\n“First, I’d like to thank Mike Hunter for his excellent question earlier.”\n\nI paused, my gaze sweeping over the crowd before landing precisely on my husband, Julian Nelson.\n\n“Second, I’d like to add a little something to Director Nelson’s points from a moment ago.”\n\nI turned to Skylar Pearson, whose face was already starting to lose its color, and smiled.\n\n“Ms. Pearson, I’m so glad you have such a deep understanding of the Southwood Project.”\n\n“As the project’s original creator, I’m truly gratified.”\n\nA bomb went off. The room erupted in chaos.\n\nCountless eyes darted back and forth between me, Julian, and Skylar.\n\nJulian’s face turned ashen.\n\n“Charlotte! What the hell are you talking about!” he hissed in a low, furious voice.\n\nSkylar was panicking too, rushing to explain, “No, that’s not it, don’t listen to her, this proposal was my…”\n\n“It was yours?” I cut her off.\n\nI signaled for my assistant to plug my USB drive into the projector.\n\nOn the large screen behind me, Skylar’s beautifully rendered design instantly vanished.\n\nIn its place were the original files from my computer.\n\nA series of folders, neatly organized by date.\n\n“This is the first concept model for the Southwood Project, created last October.”\n\nI clicked open the earliest folder, revealing rough sketches filled with the rawest, most primitive ideas.\n\n“This is the revised version.”\n\n“This is the first structural model.”\n\n“And the second.”\n\nWith every file I opened, the color drained further from Skylar’s face.\n\nFinally, I opened the blueprint page for the core design of the “Eco-Canopy Bridge.”\n\n“As for the Eco-Canopy Bridge that Ms. Pearson is so proud of,” I said, zooming in on a full-screen mechanical model filled with dense data and formulas, “here is the complete data calculation process.”\n\n“Since you claim this was your inspiration, perhaps you could explain to everyone how the core parameter model for the bridge’s critical cantilevered load-bearing structure was established?”\n\nEvery eye in the room shot toward Skylar.\n\nShe just stood there, lips trembling, her perfectly made-up face flushed a deep red. She couldn’t utter a single word.\n\nShe wouldn't know the first thing about it.\n\nJulian finally couldn’t take it anymore.\n\nHe rushed onto the stage and pulled a trembling Skylar behind him, positioning himself like a knight protecting his precious treasure.\n\n“That’s enough, Charlotte!” he squeezed out through gritted teeth, his voice laced with a heavy warning. “This is an internal company matter. Do you really have to make a scene here?”\n\nHe was trying to frame this as a marital dispute, an internal problem.\n\n“An internal matter?” I laughed, a humorless sound. “Director Nelson, have you already forgotten how you publicly critiqued my work just a few minutes ago?”\n\nHe was speechless.\n\nThen, forcing himself to remain calm, he turned to the client representatives in the audience, trying to smooth things over.\n\n“Everyone, my apologies. This is just a small disagreement between my wife and me over the project handover. A family matter. Sorry to have made a scene.”\n\n“A family matter?” I raised the microphone. My voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the entire room to hear.\n\n“Director Nelson claimed he was traveling to the neighboring city these past few days to conduct the final site survey for the Southwood Project.”\n\nI paused, looking into his instantly terrified eyes.\n\n“But I just received word that Director Nelson himself, along with his ‘star of the future,’ are both currently checked into the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton right here in this city.”\n\n“I wonder what kind of ‘ecology’ a man and a woman, all alone, could possibly be studying while locked in a hotel room together?”"}]}} 200003
A pharmacy called about my husband’s unpaid morning-after pill.
He said it was for an intern.
I believed him—until I saw the security footage… and my necklace on her neck.