Asher’s face grew stormy. He took a moment before pursing his lips. “Fine. I’ll let it slide this time, but it had better not happen again.”
He carried Liana to the couch in the living room and got some burn cream for her.
As Gwyneth left the kitchen, she spotted them together, looking all lovey-dovey. She headed upstairs to the master bedroom.
Since Asher wasn’t around, she seized the chance and grabbed his phone. She pulled up the transaction app, entered an amount, and typed in the PIN.
The screen flashed a message, “Transfer Successful”.
Gwyneth paused. After clearing everything off, she returned his phone to its spot. It was ironic that Liana ended up being the one to tell her Asher’s transaction PIN.
Asher was downstairs, pressing a warm towel to Liana’s right cheek before putting burn cream on her hand.
Liana’s eyes welled up, her voice breaking with emotion. “She slapped me and acted like nothing was wrong. How could she be so nasty? Honey, you didn’t even stand up for me. You should’ve slapped her back.”
Asher looked annoyed but patiently tried to calm her down. “What if she gets angry and decides not to let you go abroad? What do we do, then? I’m doing all this for you, aren’t I?”
Liana dropped her gaze and said, “Fine. But tonight’s my birthday. You have to spend it with me.”
“Anything for you, princess.” Asher lowered his head and kissed her softly on the lips.
They didn’t realize Gwyneth was upstairs, watching them condescendingly as they did all that flirtatious stuff.
A little while later, Asher came into the master bedroom. He seemed bothered and told Gwyneth that Liana’s burns were severe and that she had to be taken to the hospital immediately.
Gwyneth didn’t call him out.
Once Asher was gone, she went through her chat history with him. He always claimed something came up at work every year on this day.
Before going to bed, Gwyneth erased “seven” from the whiteboard and put “six” in its place.
“Six days,” she murmured.
…
When Gwyneth woke up the next morning, Asher was already home. He had dark circles under his eyes, clearly from a night of too much fun.
Gwyneth ate her breakfast.
Asher looked at the whiteboard and frowned. “What’s with the six?”
Gwyneth kept a straight face. “Six more days until we leave for abroad.”
Six more days until she could finally end this 12-year relationship and walk away from him.
Asher couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, but his phone rang before he could dwell on it.
After he left, Gwyneth started packing her things. Asher wasn’t planning on selling the house once they moved abroad.
Gwyneth sorted her things, packed them, and sent them to the Payne residence. As for the gifts Asher had given her, she left them all behind. Once she was done, it was already afternoon.
There was a noise from the doorway. She turned to see Liana standing behind Asher, looking smug with a suitcase in hand.
