Tô Bắc was originally Lộ Nam’s private secretary, a handsome, cold man who made countless girls fall for him.
She herself was no exception; even though she knew he was married, she still fell in love with him.
Tô Bắc knew her place, so she didn’t dare cross her boundaries; after all, she was just a lowly secretary.
She kept her feelings for him to herself.
It had now been exactly nine years since his wife passed away, and eight years since she became Lộ Nam’s wife.
His late wife had died in a traffic accident, and at the time, she had been carrying Lộ Nam’s child.
During that time, Tô Bắc was the one who helped him overcome that pain.
Tô Bắc herself was shocked when she heard the news of her death.
After all, his late wife had been very fond of her. In the past, Tô Bắc often confided in her and went shopping for the baby with her whenever Lộ Nam was busy.
A year after his wife’s death, he was the one who proposed to her and brought her into this house. But why was he always so cold and indifferent towards her?
Did he truly consider her his wife in his heart?
…
On the bed, the man and woman, naked, were entwined.
The man forcefully entered her, and the girl beneath him bit her lip tightly.
Her hands clutched his strong back to suppress the pain.
“Ah…” the man let out a soft growl, and quickly withdrew.
He didn’t ejaculate inside her; every time, he pulled out, because he didn’t want her to carry his child.
As soon as they finished, she went into the bathroom to clean herself, then returned to the bed.
The moment Tô Bắc lay down next to him and prepared to doze off.
“Tomorrow…” the man said.
She immediately understood his meaning, not letting him finish his sentence.
She quickly replied: “I know, I’ll wake up early tomorrow morning to prepare.”
“Don’t worry!” she said, then turned her back to him and quickly fell asleep.
Only Lộ Nam was still awake. Seeing her lying still, he guessed she had fallen asleep.
Lộ Nam looked at her for a moment, then sighed.
He pulled back the blanket, went into the bathroom to change, then quietly left the bedroom.
Lộ Nam went to a room on the third floor, gently opened the door, and stepped inside.
With a click, the ceiling lights flickered on, their bright glow dispelling the room’s darkness.
His footsteps slowly carried him further inside. He looked at the portrait of his late wife, his heart filled with sorrow.
“Ngọc Linh, I miss you… I miss our child too, I truly miss you both,” Lộ Nam said.
Even though many years had passed, he still couldn’t forget her, a wife who had always loved him.
…
It was only 4 AM, and Tô Bắc was already awake.
She quickly got ready, then rushed down to the kitchen to prepare everything before he woke up.
The list of dishes to cook for today was clearly written by him.
Tô Bắc got to work, toiling alone in the kitchen to prepare everything.
By almost 8:45 AM, she had finally finished preparing the memorial offerings for Ngọc Linh today.
His figure appeared. Lộ Nam, hands in his pockets, slowly descended the stairs.
He went into the kitchen to check if she had done what he assigned.
“You’re awake? Let me get you some coffee,” she said.
“Mm.”
His morning habit was coffee, a fact she knew well.
After giving him coffee, she brought the dishes up to the altar room for offerings.
As she was carrying the last dish, something unfortunate happened.
As she walked, she tripped, and the plate in her hand fell, shattering into pieces.
With a crash, Lu Nan ran out from the kitchen to see what had happened.
He saw her fumbling to clean up the mess.
"What are you doing? Don't you know how important today is?" he yelled.
"I... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. Let me make another dish," she stammered, trembling.
"No need. You can't even manage something so simple," he said, then walked straight up to the ancestral hall, leaving her sitting dazed at the foot of the stairs.
Just then, a woman's figure appeared outside the door – it was Dian Xin, Lu Nan's mother.
As soon as she stepped inside and saw her sitting there crying, she knew exactly what had happened.
"He scolded you again, didn't he?"
"Mother, you're here," she said, wiping her tears, then quickly stood up and bowed to her mother-in-law.
"Where's Lu Nan? Tell him to come out here. I need to teach him a lesson," she said angrily.
"No, Mother, don't. It was my carelessness that spilled the food. It's not his fault."
Hearing her try to protect him, Dian Xin said, "You need to be stronger. You're only hurting yourself by doing this. It's been eight years, Su Bei."
She had loved her former daughter-in-law dearly, but she also felt for this new daughter-in-law. In the past eight years, she had seen how hard she tried.
She had also been disadvantaged by not having a proper wedding; he had merely proposed and then brought her to live in his home.
"I made a mistake, so I got scolded. Lu Nan actually cares for me a lot. Mother, please don't scold him," she said, then quickly cleaned up the mess before he came back down.
Hearing this, Dian Xin could only sigh.
She muttered to herself:
"Eight years, and Lu Nan still can't show that girl even a little affection? The one who is gone is gone. Why must the one who remains make himself and everyone else suffer like this?"