Chapter 2The Other Personality: A Tale of Two Cheaters

On our wedding anniversary, I booked an appointment with a top psychiatrist.

Halfway through the consultation, I received a credit card alert for a hotel charge from Arthur, who was supposedly on a two-day business trip.

I checked his phone's location. He was at a couples' boutique hotel not far from the hospital.

Panic set in immediately. Ignoring the rest of my appointment, I ran to the hotel entrance and called him.

"Honey, you must be working so hard on this business trip. I just got the alert for the $3,000 charge."

On the other end, Arthur lied smoothly and calmly: "Wife, I've been working so hard for the company these past two days. I'm exhausted. When I get back, you really need to reward me properly."

My eyes darkened, and I asked weakly: "Reward you with what?"

"I've been traveling too much, it's exhausting. I recently hired an assistant for the company."

Staring at his location dot on my phone, I sobbed softly and called out his lie: "The company is at its busiest right now, and you're using company funds to go on a vacation. Whenever you run out of money, you always find some excuse to ask me for more, don't you?"

Arthur acted like he didn't even hear me crying. He interrupted me impatiently.

"Look, my decision is final. I'm hiring an assistant for myself. Why does a nagging old woman like you need to control everything?"

"..."

He hung up. I walked straight into the couples' hotel.

Using a photo of Arthur's ID, I got the room number from the front desk and walked right up to the door.

When I opened it, I saw Arthur sitting stiffly, fully dressed in his suit.

And sitting across from him was a young woman in her early twenties.

Arthur turned, his smile freezing instantly. His voice dropped low as he asked:

"Wife, what are you doing here? Do you always have to check up on me? Isn't it exhausting?"

I stared at the woman next to him, pressing my lips together tightly before asking: "Is she the assistant you're hiring?"

Arthur's eyes darted around shiftily, but his tone was incredibly self-righteous.

"Yeah! Chloe is great with people and very capable. I just got back from my trip, so I asked her to come here for an interview.

"Wife, you didn't think I was cheating on you, did you?"

Faced with his ridiculous excuses and the woman's smug smile, my heart felt like it had been plunged into ice water.

I clenched my fists, asking him through tears:

"What kind of interview requires you to come to a couples' love hotel? An interview for a mistress?"

Before Arthur could defend himself, the woman smiled and introduced herself.

"Hello, Mrs. Vance. My name is Chloe. I'm Mr. Vance's newly hired assistant.

"Please don't misunderstand our relationship. We are completely innocent. Absolutely nothing happened."

Arthur quickly smiled and agreed: "Exactly. If we were actually doing something, you wouldn't have caught us this easily.

"Come on, wife, let's go home."

I could see the desperate avoidance in Arthur's eyes. I didn't want this to turn into an ugly public spectacle that would affect the company's market value.

I swallowed the chaotic emotions churning inside me and finally compromised.

"We can go home, but I do not agree to you hiring a female assistant."

Arthur was furious at my condition, raising his voice at me for the very first time.