Bittersweet longing

"Let's just go back to the old times. We'll be in love and grow old together. -- Jacob Gu."

Nicole Du read the message on her phone.

After a few minutes, she bit on her lip and tried to call Austin Liang.

"The subscriber you dialed cannot be reached. Please call again later."

Nicole Du hung up the phone and looked out of the window.

Somehow, Nicole Du felt a little uneasy.

A month ago, her husband's sister gave birth to a baby and asked her to take care of her in the countryside. During the past couple of weeks, Nicole Du had barely gotten a chance to get in contact with her husband.

At first, he barely texted her back. But now he was no longer answering his phone altogether.

'I don't think he's that busy at work to ignore my calls...' she suspected.

Shaking her head, Nicole Du tried to convince herself not to overthink.

It had only been a year since the two of them got married. Austin Liang loved her very much -- what could possibly go wrong?

However...

Nicole Du's heart was still at an unease, and no matter how much she tried to comfort herself, she couldn't help but think of the worse.

To get rid of her anxiety, she decided to pay Austin Liang a surprise visit. The taxi stopped at a gated community. After paying the driver, Nicole Du went up to their house with her suitcase in hand.

Now that she was here, she felt even more uneasy.

Nicole Du opened the door and was shocked by what she saw.

From the entryway to the living room, the clothes of a man and a woman were scattered all over the floor. The trail led to the master bedroom.

It seemed as if her intuition was right.

Looking around, Nicole Du saw a striped tie and a scarlet dress thrown haphazardly on the couch.

It was a tie she had given Austin Liang as a birthday gift last month.

As for the dress, she knew that it couldn't possibly be hers. With her heart trembling terribly in her chest, she walked over to the bedroom.

With staggering steps, Nicole Du walked over the scattered clothes on the ground. Slowly, she approached the bedroom.

The door was left wide open. It looked like whoever was inside was really eager to get into bed.

Before Nicole Du left for the countryside, Sabina Su said that she would keep an eye on Austin Liang, promising that she wouldn't let him get into an affair with another woman. Who would have thought that Sabina Su didn't mean that she would stop herself from sleeping with Nicole Du's husband.

Nicole Du stood at the doorway, frozen in shock. After an agonizing minute, Austin Liang felt that there was a pair of eyes watching him. He quickly turned around and looked at the doorway.

His eyes met with Nicole Du's.

"Ni... Nicole?!"

With his eyes wide with shock, Austin Liang sat up and tried to cover himself up carelessly.

"Austin... What... What are you doing?" Nicole Du asked, her voice breaking.

Before Austin Liang could reply, Sabina Su stifled a laugh. Then, she put her arms around Austin's shoulders and snuggled her face at the crook of his neck. "Do you really not understand what's happening here?" Sabina Su said with a smug smile. "Maybe we should continue with what we were doing so you can try and figure it out."