Chapter 4Not Your Trophy Wife

These past few days. Mornings spent rushing for interviews. Lunch breaks delivering meals to my hospitalized mother. Afternoons busy writing news reports. For ten consecutive days, I'd been working overtime. Yet, despite all this, I rarely complained.

Today, I worked until ten at night. The only light in the entire building seemed to emanate from my computer screen. I drove for half an hour to get home, utterly drained. Pushing open the door, I was met with Asher's sullen face. I forced myself to suppress my exhaustion, offering a small smile, and instinctively linked my arm through his.

"What's wrong, Asher?"

He abruptly pulled his arm away, his tone accusatory. "Why aren't you replying to my messages?" He scoffed. "No matter how busy you are, you can't go two hours without replying, can you?" That's when it hit me. I had left my phone charging since around eight, and hadn't unplugged it. Of course, I hadn't brought it with me. Luckily, I had turned off the main power before I left. My phone being plugged in wasn't a problem. I lowered my voice, attempting to explain. "I'm sorry, I left my phone charging and didn't see anything." My voice soft, I added, "Asher, what did you send? Was it urgent?"

Asher's eyes suddenly sharpened, his voice cold. "Two hours without looking at your phone? Who are you trying to fool?" He narrowed his eyes. "You probably weren't even working overtime." I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. "I have facial recognition clock-out at work. I can go to the office tomorrow and get you a screenshot." My voice was a hopeful plea. "How about that?" I tried to move closer to Asher, but he kept his face cold, deliberately shifting away. No matter what I said, he remained silent. He was always like this. Sulking by himself.

At that moment, I saw the bullet comments.

【Ahhh, Asher's so tsundere, I just love a proud, difficult man.】

【He cares so much about his wife, he just wants her to prove how much she cares about him.】

【Oh my god, I love this kind of male lead so much!】

The standoff lasted for fifteen minutes. I was the one who finally gave in. I grabbed my car keys and left. The night seemed to deepen around me.