Sweet Subterfuge

Chapter 1

Larissa Seymour only realized that Travis Hardy may have cheated on her after seeing the pile of pregnancy supplies in his Amazon shopping cart.

Back when Travis was wooing her, Larissa had told him frankly that she had no desire to have children. Travis was the one who said, “That’s fine. It’s even better if it’s just the two of us.” Only then did Larissa agree to be with him, and they got married.

So, the pregnancy supplies were definitely not for her.

Larissa thought for a moment. Of all the relatives and friends Travis had, the only one who had recently gotten pregnant was a female subordinate of his, Amber Fox.

The last time their department had hosted a team gathering, she’d forgotten her keys and gone to Travis for his. She saw Amber rubbing the tiny bump on her stomach while sitting next to Travis. Their postures were definitely more intimate compared to their other colleagues.

Larissa had not felt comfortable with it then, but when Amber greeted her graciously, she thought that she was reading into it too much. But now…

A sudden thought occurred to her, and she quickly checked Travis’s previous orders.

Aside from the same pregnancy supplies in the shopping cart, there were also all sorts of luxury cosmetics and skincare products, as well as a limited-edition Chanel handbag.

If she remembered correctly, Amber had had that very Chanel handbag with her that day.

Having connected all the dots, Larissa felt her scalp tingle, as if someone had pulled hard on her hair. Her chest felt tight too, and she nearly had trouble breathing. At the same time, she also had a little bit of hope—what if… What if…this was all just a coincidence?

Larissa was not desperate to confront Travis.

Today was the last Friday of the month. As usual, their department was going to host a team gathering again. She called Travis and asked if he was allowed to bring family with him.

“I don’t feel like cooking today.”

She had caught a cold two days ago. It had gotten worse today, so she had taken the day off to rest at home. Travis knew this.

“They’re quite rowdy, you know. Your headache might get worse,” he said.

It was not as if Larissa had never eaten with his subordinates before. They knew their limits. At least, she did not find them that rowdy when she went that time.

His reaction only showed that he had something to hide.

“I’m just going over to eat,” she said, “I’ll leave once I’m finished.”

Travis hesitated for a moment before saying, “Okay then.” He seemed rather reluctant.

Larissa’s heart sank at that.

…

Larissa’s complexion was not great because of her cold. Not wanting to be outdone, she deliberately put on a full face of makeup and changed into a tight dress. She then left the house wearing heels.

The place where Travis and his subordinates were gathered was a fancy restaurant. There were many people in his department, so they booked a private room with two large tables in it. When Larissa arrived, they had already taken their seats.

Unsurprisingly, Amber was sitting next to Travis.

Her grip tightening on her bag strap, Larissa smiled insincerely and greeted everyone while dropping a hand on Travis’s shoulder. “It’s been a while, guys!”

In her peripheral vision, she noticed that Amber’s smile had vanished.

Likewise, Travis’s expression was stiff. He patted the empty seat next to him and said to Larissa, “Here, have a seat.”

Larissa moved her chair closer to Travis before sitting down. She leaned against him naturally and held his hand. Travis instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but Larissa had it firmly in her grip.

Lowering his head, Travis complained under his breath. “Don’t behave like that in front of so many people…”

Larissa sneered to herself, but her smile remained sweet.

“What are you afraid of? We’re married, right?” She gave a knowing look to the others at the table before raising their intertwined hands such that Travis’s wedding band could be seen. She then asked, “Do you guys mind?”

“Nah, nah! We don’t mind!” the crowd chorused as one.

Amber, however, had a sullen expression on her face, her hands clenching at the ends of the tablecloth that had touched her thighs.

…

Halfway through the meal, Larissa went to the restroom.

When she emerged from the cubicle, Amber happened to be touching up her makeup. The Chanel handbag was placed on the sink in front of her, and the YSL lipstick that she was holding was the same one that Larissa saw in Travis’s previous Amazon order.

Placing her hands under the tap, Larissa casually said, “Amber, your Chanel’s a limited-edition bag, right? I wanted to get one too, but sadly I wasn’t able to.”

“Oh, is that so?” Amber’s movements paused as a slight smirk appeared on her face. “My husband bought this handbag online for me via assisted purchase. He paid extra for it.”

Husband?

Larissa pressed her lips together. She drew a paper towel out of the dispenser and asked while wiping her hands, “When did you get married? I’ve never heard Travis say anything about that. How come you got pregnant so soon?”

Amber’s eyes were gleaming. However, when she locked eyes with Larissa through the mirror, a sunny smile appeared on her face.

“Last year. We never hosted a reception, so we didn’t make an announcement.”

Married last year? That meant that she had been hooking up with Travis for a year!

Larissa had trouble breathing again, and her heart ached. She pretended to check herself in the mirror while bracing herself against the sink. It was only then that she managed to keep her body upright.

They left the restroom together.

To reach the private room, they had to pass through a long corridor. Waiters with dishes ready for serving were constantly traveling through it. The moment they walked out, they saw a waiter carefully

bearing a hot bowl of stew coming toward them.

Right at this time, Larissa noticed the way Amber was suddenly unsteady on her feet. She kept pitching over to her side.

There was only a foot’s distance between Larissa and the waiter. She made a decision in a few seconds and hastened her pace to avoid colliding with Amber. As a result, Amber crashed into the waiter instead.

The waiter’s hands jerked, and the stew spilled onto the both of them.

“Ah!” Amber screamed in pain. She fell onto the floor, her hands covering her stomach securely. The waiter did not fare well either. Larissa immediately called for an ambulance.

Having caused quite a commotion, people kept looking out from the two private rooms situated in the corridor. A crowd was also beginning to gather where they were.

“Amber!” Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Suddenly, Travis’s voice rang out from afar. Larissa had just turned around when he raced over to lift Amber into his arms, ignoring her soiled clothes. Seeing him, Amber’s wails became more unbridled.

“Travis… It hurts so much…”

Travis peppered her face with kisses out of pity and soothed her. “I’ll take you to the hospital immediately. Don’t be afraid, okay?”

Their blatant show of intimacy pissed Larissa off. Quickening her pace, she caught up with Travis and grabbed his arm. Eyeing Amber, she asked, “Shouldn’t you give me an explanation?”

Travis felt a brief moment of guilt, but soon lost his patience in dealing with Larissa due to Amber’s whimpers of pain.

“Later—once I’ve sent Amber to the hospital.”

He shook Larissa’s hand off and swiftly made his way over to the elevators.

Larissa stood still for a long time. It was only after she managed to pull herself out of her anger and grief that she realized her right ankle was hurting.

Looking down, she saw that her ankle was a raw shade of red. There were still some oil stains on her skin—they must have been from the stew that spilled earlier. Some of it had landed on her too.