Chapter 1
I woke up in the middle of the night to find two messages on my phone. The man who had just lulled me to sleep had gone to another woman’s bed: [Mrs. Hemsworth, your husband is amazing in bed.]
The next day, I bought myself a bionic robot.
“Miss Bosch, are you sure you want to upload all your data?” the lab staff asked me. “The bionic robot will completely replace your life and you will lose your current identity.”
That was exactly what I wanted. Once the data upload was complete, I would leave
Nick forever.
The staff said again, “Please sign here. Once the data upload is complete, we’ll notify you to activate the bionic robot.”
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After signing the final document, I received a message from Nick: [Helen, where are you? I have a gift for you.]
I glanced at the calendar. Today marked our sixth wedding anniversary. Nick took me to the seaside. The gift was a yacht. Hundreds of drones flew in front of us, forming various shapes. Eventually, they settled into a giant heart.
Behind me, Nick wrapped his arms around me and whispered softly into my ear, “Do you remember? This was how I proposed to you. I still recall how fast my heart was beating then, afraid you’d say no. Six years. have flown by in the blink of an eye and my heart still beats for you. I’m so glad you’re still by my side. Do you like this gift?”
I forced a smile. If I didn’t know he had another woman, I would have loved it. But now, this gift was like chocolate tainted with mud, utterly nauseating.
As the sky darkened, Nick didn’t notice my indifference. He spoke joyfully, “Helen,
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how about going out to sea with me?”
He reached out to hold my hand and on his wrist was a watch paired with a mismatched red diamond bracelet.
Years ago, when he was just starting his career, I had bought that bracelet for him. Back then, times were tough, but our love was unwavering. Climbing a mountain with a thousand steps was nothing to me.
When he learned how difficult it was to
obtain the bracelet, he pulled me into his arms and gently stroked my reddened knees, “Don’t do anything that makes me worry about you again. With your love, Helen, I can conquer anything.”
Later, as his career flourished, he swapped out one expensive watch after another, but he never removed that red diamond
bracelet.
When people asked why Mr. Hemsworth still wore a bracelet worth only a million, he would reply with pride and affection,
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“My wife bought for this for me. I’ll wear it for life.”
Seeing that bracelet again, I felt a pang of disorientation. To outsiders and to me, he had always seemed like the perfect husband.
Everyone said Mr. Nick Hemsworth was a shining example of a loving spouse whose success was rooted in his devotion to his
wife.
Back then, I believed it too. I believed he loved me as deeply as ever. Until a few days ago, when I uncovered his hidden chat history.
The other party’s avatar was set as “File Transfer Assistant,” pinned at the top but muted. The last message read, “Today’s work report – Yvonne.xlsx.” Perhaps guided by a woman’s intuition, I opened it.
Within the seemingly proper spreadsheet were countless seductive photos of the woman, utterly indecent.
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Scrolling further up, I saw they had been in
constant contact, with so many messages
that it was hard to pinpoint when it all began.
During his recent overseas business trip, he had said to me, “Helen, I’m too busy these days. I might not be able to reply to your messages promptly.” True to his word, he didn’t reply to even one.
But on those same dates, he was receiving this woman’s daily ‘work reports‘ and having hour–long video calls with her.
