The Daughter They Never Wanted

Chapter 3

I was breathing heavily, on the verge of speaking again, when I suddenly saw Megan poke half her body out of the office, stealthily watching us.

The moment our eyes met, she raised an eyebrow at me, a clear, deliberate look of provocation.

At the same time, my phone buzzed with a message from a colleague in the security department.

It was a surveillance screenshot showing only a back view, but I recognized her instantly. It was Megan, carrying her signature oversized bow bag.

In an instant, anger consumed me, and I rushed toward Megan like crazy, only to be stopped by Justin.

"Samantha, what are you doing!" He grabbed my wrists and held me back, shouting sternly.

Standing at the doorway, Megan looked at me with a face full of terror. "Samantha, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly trying to hit me? How did I offend you..."

Restrained by Justin, I couldn't move, so I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Megan! You deleted my files without permission! Do you have any idea how important those files were? Why did you do that?!"

Megan looked at me with a bewildered expression, yet a trace of smug triumph flickered in her eyes.

Before I could finish, Justin dragged me into his office and slammed the door shut.

Panting heavily, I broke free from his grip and glared at Megan.

Teary-eyed, Megan hid behind Justin's desk and whimpered, "I didn't mean to. I just saw that your computer was left on and wanted to turn it off for you. You can scold me, Samantha..."

I glared at her furiously, my anger unsoftened by her display of weakness, because I had distinctly caught that provocative look hidden behind Justin moments ago.

"I'm not going to scold you," I said, my voice shaking with fury. "I'm going to let the law punish you!" Saying that, I pulled out my phone, prepared to call the police.

Megan's face instantly turned pale.

Seeing this, Justin stepped in and snatched my phone away. "Samantha, are you crazy?!"

"Am I crazy, or are you two crazy?!" I cried out in absolute disbelief. "Justin, how can you shield her like this!"

Looking at the husband before me, a profound feeling of strangeness washed over me for the very first time.

In our three years of marriage, I had never seen him defend anyone so fiercely.

Holding my phone, Justin glared at me with a threatening look. "Samantha, you cannot make this call. If you actually make it, the two of us are through. Think about how you'll explain this to your parents!"

The word 'divorce', which was about to burst from my mouth, was instantly choked back into my throat.

If I got divorced, would my parents let me off? They would only feel that I had ruined yet another thing in my life.

After a long silence, I swallowed the bitterness in my throat, snatched my phone back from his hand, and walked out of the office without another word.

When we returned home that evening, Justin came over to coax me. "Megan is just a young girl who recently graduated. She doesn't know any better. Don't hold it against her."

He handed me a small box containing a watch encrusted with small diamonds. "Consider it a holiday gift."

Seeing that I remained silent, he wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Don't worry, I'll stay by your side during this period."

He kept his word at first. When I stayed late in the office working overtime until midnight, he stayed up with me.

Once, at three in the morning, I passed his office carrying a cup of coffee.

The door was open, and he was leaning his chin on his hand, looking utterly exhausted from work.

My heart softened slightly. Reflecting on it, his staying up like this didn't really help anything, but seeing his tired face made me feel a tinge of sympathy.

Just as I was about to walk in and tell him he didn't need to wait for me tonight, he suddenly picked up his phone and answered a voice call.

"Justin... I think I have a fever. I feel so miserable..." The girl's voice on the other end was faint as a thread, drenched in delicate helplessness.

Hearing it, Justin's ears perked up instantly. He looked up at me, his gaze shifting evasively the moment our eyes met.