As soon as Tristan got home, he headed straight for the shower. Forgetting to grab his pajamas, he called Nicole to bring them to him.
The moment she pushed the door open, his well-built frame came into view.
But what caught her attention even more were the red marks scattered across his body.
Clearly feeling uneasy, Tristan quickly said, “Just leave them here, Nicky. You should head out.”
Nicole gave him a cold glance, raising an eyebrow as she asked indifferently, “What happened to you?”
“Nothing.”
Seeing that she had noticed, Tristan panicked.
“I don’t know what it is—maybe an allergic reaction,” he added, trying to shift the conversation. “By the way, Nicky, tomorrow’s your birthday. I’ve invited a lot of people to celebrate. You must be tired, so get some rest.”
Nicole had almost forgotten that tomorrow was her birthday.
In the ten years they’d been together, he had always planned surprises for her birthday.
Every year, the gifts were more thoughtful and more extravagant than the last.
But what Nicole had wanted was never those things.
She walked out without another word and lay back in bed, closing her eyes but sleep wouldn’t come.
When she opened her eyes in the middle of the night, she saw Tristan sitting up, grinning at his phone. That smile gave everything away.
Pain clenched her heart, but she repeated silently to herself:
“Soon. Very soon, all of this will be over.”
The next morning, before Nicole was fully awake, Tristan leaned down and kissed her forehead affectionately, his voice soft and tender as he woke her.
“Come on, sleepyhead, time to get up!”
He had a row of dresses and high heels brought in for her to choose from. Even the maids, seeing this, couldn’t help but look on with envy.
“Sir, you’re so good to your wife!”
“Of course I am! She’s my wife. Who else would I spoil if not her?”
