2

Josephine returned home utterly exhausted. Opening the door to find Winifred's belongings scattered everywhere, an inexplicable heaviness clogged her chest. Ever since she moved in, everything had changed. Whatever she wanted, Elijah gave her. She wanted to act? Elijah bought her scripts. She wanted to sing? Elijah bought her songs. His indulgence knew no bounds. The thought of Winifred taking today's Best Actress award filled Josephine with an indescribable ache. She forced herself to distract her mind. She picked up her phone and opened her social feed, immediately spotting Winifred’s latest post. “Yay, new house and new car! He said it’s his surprise for me. Today is so blissful—I love him so much! I hope it stays this way forever!” She shared three photos: One of the villa. One of the sports car. All of them were quite valuable. Another photo showed Elijah from behind. Even though only half of him was visible, Josephine wouldn't mistake it. She had been with him for three years. He would only transfer a sum of money to her on her birthday and didn't even bother to prepare a gift. When asked, it turned out that he didn't understand what girls liked. Yet somehow he knew exactly what to give Winifred? A sharp pain stabbed at Josephine's heart. She kept scrolling down until she reached a post from one of Elijah's company executives. “This is insane! What big celebration did the boss have today? He's handing out bonuses and perks to the whole company. Could it be... good news with the boss's wife?” This post had been liked by Elijah. Josephine’s fingers clenched around the phone, and she turned off the screen. A single tear fell onto the edge of the device. The boss’s wife... Elijah and Winifred didn’t return until late at night. Both reeked of alcohol, stumbling and slurring their words. Elijah flopped onto the couch and barked at Josephine, “Get me and Winnie some water.” Josephine didn't move. Winifred pointed a finger at her. “Hey, Elijah is talking to you. Don't you understand human speech?” When they get drunk, they start to reveal their true colors. Josephine didn't want to argue with drunks. She stood up and walked toward the kitchen. The moment she left, Winifred snuggled into Elijah's arms behind her and called out, “Husband, I love you so much.” Josephine froze in place. She turned around to see Elijah expertly pulling her into his arms, coaxing her with a question: “Winnie, do you know who I am?” Winifred continued: “You're my husband!” “Say my name.” “Mmm, you're... Elijah.” She enunciated each syllable clearly, pronouncing his name distinctly. She hadn't mistaken Elijah for her husband; she knew exactly who he was. The next moment, Elijah lost control and leaned in to kiss her. Josephine's eyes widened in disbelief. She stumbled back two steps, knocking over a cup by the dining table. The clatter snapped Elijah back to reality. He jolted upright from the sofa, looked at Josephine, and pressed his forehead. “Josie, I was drunk. I mistook her for you...” He took a step toward Josephine. But Josephine felt a wave of nausea wash over her, making her want to vomit. “Don't touch me!” She pushed away Elijah's hand as he reached for her. Elijah stared at her reddened eyes, frozen for a moment. Just then, Winifred behind him began leaning over the trash can, vomiting while calling his name: “Elijah, I feel so sick...” Elijah immediately came to his senses, turned around and went back to take care of Winifred. He wiped her mouth, gave her water, held her in his arms and patted her back with utmost tenderness. He had once treated Josephine this way too. But since Winifred came, his eyes could see no one else. Only now did Josephine truly accept it—they couldn’t go back. Elijah had genuinely fallen for someone else. She slowly wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to go upstairs. She dialed her agent's number. “How much work do I have left to handle?” Her agent's sleepy voice came through: “Not much. What's up, Josie?” Josephine closed her eyes briefly, then spoke firmly. “Once this work is done, don't book me anything new.” “I plan to step away from the spotlight and pursue further studies abroad." She was tired, weary, and never wanted to see those two again.