On the day of their seventh wedding anniversary, Brianna Stokes found a divorce agreement in Xavier Hansen's bedside drawer.
The document was covered in crossed-out lines and revisions, as if someone had gone back and forth over it many times.
One clause stated that if he fell in love with someone else during the marriage, he would voluntarily give up all his assets and leave with nothing, followed by a list of properties.
He had once sworn that he would walk away with nothing.
However, he kept revising the asset section.
He crossed out the house that was originally meant for her.
He changed the fifty million he intended to give her into five hundred thousand.
At the end, he added a final line as if he were confessing to himself.
He wrote that it would be better for Brianna to leave the marriage with nothing because Julie Dodson was pregnant.
*****
Brianna sat down on the bed, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Xavier's signature on the agreement was clean and decisive, without any hesitation.
The agreement had been drafted seven years ago, the same year they got married.
In that year, Xavier had been willing to give up everything for her.
In each year that followed, he removed more and more from what he had promised.
Seven years later, she had become the one who would leave with nothing.
Her phone suddenly vibrated, and Xavier sent her a message.
Xavier: Last-minute business trip. Don't wait up for me.
Brianna called him immediately, but she found that his phone was already turned off.
Another message appeared on her screen, and it was a screenshot sent by a friend.
Julie, the student Brianna had been supporting financially, had posted on i********:.
Julie: Wow, I got praised! To celebrate my first time not leaking during my period, he said we have to celebrate!
The photos showed Xavier smiling warmly as he placed a dazzling gemstone necklace around Julie's neck.
The post was located at a couple-themed hotel.
Brianna's breathing hitched for a moment.
Xavier had forgotten the anniversary of their seven years together, but he had taken the time to celebrate something so trivial for Julie.
The gemstone necklace in the photo was one Brianna had seen at an auction the previous week.
That necklace had once belonged to her mother, and it had been lost years ago. She had planned to bid for it, but she was told her bank card was frozen.
She had asked Xavier for an explanation.
He had replied after a long delay and told her not to waste money on something impractical.
She had sat helplessly in the auction hall while holding her bidding paddle.
She had even considered selling her own ideas to raise the money.
However, someone had placed a final bid remotely and secured the item.
Brianna had blamed herself for a long time and hated that she could not reclaim her mother's belongings.
She had never imagined that the person who placed that bid was Xavier.
He had known how much that necklace meant to her.
Yet he had still given it to Julie.
On their seventh wedding anniversary, Xavier had lied about being busy and had chosen to spend his time with Julie instead.
The gift he gave Brianna for their anniversary was a divorce agreement.
He had cheated on her for all seven years of their marriage.
Brianna had known nothing.
She had even introduced Julie to him herself.
Julie had been a student that Brianna supported financially.
When Julie first came to thank her, Xavier had been annoyed because he felt Julie had disrupted their lives.
"These country girls have no manners. She tracked mud all over my cashmere rug with her cheap shoes. If her grades slip, cut off her funding."
At that time, Brianna had teased Xavier and told him not to be jealous, and she had said that gratitude was a good thing.
She had never suspected anything between Xavier and Julie.
During their seven years of marriage, everyone around them believed that Xavier only loved Brianna and had never been involved with anyone else.
However, when Brianna saw Julie again, Julie had become Xavier's personal assistant.
"She has had a hard life. You've sponsored her for years, so giving her a job is just me trying to share your burden."
Brianna had accepted the explanation without question.
Now, she opened Julie's i********: with trembling hands.
Julie had previously hidden her posts from Brianna, but now she seemed eager to show everything.
While Brianna had been drinking until she suffered stomach bleeding to secure a business deal for Xavier, Julie had been using Xavier's card to buy her first luxury handbag.
While Brianna had been taking care of Xavier's bedridden grandmother, Xavier had taken Julie to a perfume workshop under the excuse of a business trip.
Julie even complained on i********:.
Julie: Your wife is such a delicate princess. She needs you to rush back for every little thing. Must she have a man to feel whole?
And Xavier had actually commented underneath.
Xavier: [If she had your independence, I'd have a lot less to worry about.]
On the day Brianna's mother died from cancer, she had been overwhelmed with grief and responsibilities.
Xavier had kept checking his phone impatiently and had left in a hurry. She now realized that he had not been busy with work but had been eager to return to Julie.
Every detail was now aligned perfectly.
Brianna felt as if her chest had been struck hard, and the pain made it difficult for her to breathe.
She looked at herself in the mirror and saw the careful effort she had put into her appearance. She looked at the cold food on the table.
Everything felt like a cruel joke.
After a long time, she dialed a number she knew by heart but had not called in years.
"Didn't you want to marry me off to that illegitimate son of the Serrano family? As long as he doesn't mind that this is my second marriage, I'll do it."
She decided that she no longer wanted a marriage that had only given her betrayal.
She wiped away her tears and prepared to contact a lawyer to draft a new divorce agreement.
Her phone suddenly received an anonymous message.
Julie: Come to Willowveil Villa right now. I have a great show for you.
Aksara