What’s it like to see your own husband holding another woman and walking into a hotel together?

If you'd asked Jenna Grey this before today, she would’ve confidently said, “That’s never gonna happen with Ethan Carter.”

But now, reality slapped her hard across the face, and damn, it stung.

It was a Friday. After work, Jenna’s department had a dinner at the buffet on the sixth floor of Xingyue Hotel.

Just as she and a few colleagues reached the hotel entrance, her phone rang—it was Ethan. He briefly told her about his work trip and hung up. When a colleague offered to drop her home, she turned it down, planning to hail a cab instead.

Then she turned around—and froze.

Literally a minute ago, that man just told her he was still on a business trip, wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. And now? Ethan Carter had his arm around a young woman, all lovey-dovey, walking straight into the hotel right in front of her eyes.

Her mind buzzed like white noise, her body went cold, like her blood just stopped flowing.

She didn’t even know how her legs moved, but somehow, she was following them, knees weak and heart pounding.

Eyes locked on Ethan, she watched him casually take out his ID and check in, smiling sweetly, affectionately at the girl as they headed for the elevator.

Jenna trailed behind them like a puppet, completely numb.

Then, just at the corner, someone came rushing out and ran right into her—a tall guy, broad-shouldered.

The impact was instant. She wasn’t steady to begin with, and now she fell backward with a thud, landing hard on her butt.

A sharp pain shot up her spine, and her chest ached from the hit. She reflexively clutched her chest and gasped. Her eyes welled up and tears started streaming down, she didn’t even know if it was from the physical pain or the gut-wrenching sting in her heart.

She didn’t have time to think.

People in the hotel lobby were already starting to stare. Her mind kicked into panic mode—what if Ethan saw her?

Just as she scrambled to get up, a large hand appeared in front of her. Without thinking, she grabbed it and used the strength to get to her feet.

Barely standing, she looked up and saw Ethan turning his head, probably heard something behind him.

No time to react—Jenna just flung herself forward into the man in front of her, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, pressing her face into his chest, body trembling as she tried to hide.

The moment she hugged him, she caught a whiff of his subtle, cold cologne. For half a second, it threw her off, but then her focus jumped back to Ethan.

“You done?”

A low, teasing voice brushed past her ear. She hesitated, peeked up slightly—just in time to see the elevator doors closing, with Ethan and that woman inside.

Jenna panicked, mumbled a quick “sorry,” and hurried out of the guy’s arms, making a beeline for the elevator.

Unbeknownst to her, the man just watched her go with a faint chuckle, his dark eyes gleaming with a faint, amused glint.

By the time she got to the elevator, it had already climbed to the eighth floor. No idea where Ethan had stopped, or where he was going.

Right then, she suddenly wondered—what was the point of chasing them?

Even if she saw with her own eyes what happened next, would it undo the fact that Ethan had already cheated on her?But deep down, that stubborn pride wouldn’t let her back down. Acting all calm, she walked into the restroom, locked herself in the last stall, hands shaking as she fished out her phone from her bag, unlocked it, and dialed his number.

The A/C in the restroom was blasting, but she was sweating anyway. Curled up in the corner with one arm hugging her knees, she took a few shaky deep breaths, trying to steady her voice.

The call connected, and Ethan Carter sounded a bit surprised, “Hey, Jenna?” They’d just hung up not long ago.

She lowered her voice, barely audible. “Ethan… are you at the hotel now?”

“Huh? Jenna, something up?”

“Nothing. Just took a cab home by myself, kinda bored... figured I’d give you a call.”

He didn’t suspect a thing and replied casually, “I just got into the room. Long day. Gonna take a shower first.”

Her fingers clenched so tight around the phone, her knuckles turned white. “Oh? Still staying at the Xingyue Hotel this time? Don’t tell me you randomly ended up in Room 901 again?”

Last month, after a trip, Ethan had joked with her that he’d somehow stayed in Room 901 three times in a row on different business trips, calling it fate.

“Haha, not this time. I’m in Room 1001 now, different floor.”

Right after he said that, she clearly heard a door closing, followed by the sound of running water. A moment later, his voice came back, muffled, “Jenna, careful on the way home. Gonna hang up now—shower time.”

The second the line disconnected, her tears finally burst out, full force.

She heard it. A woman’s flirty voice, calling out “Ethan” in a giggle.

No need to guess what came next—any adult could fill in the blanks.

God... this was the man she’d loved for ten years?

From college days to now, from twenty to thirty—her best years. She’d thrown them all into this one damn relationship.

They started dating in junior year. Got married right after graduation. Stayed in B City and worked their butts off, dreaming of one day owning a little apartment and having a cute baby.

Over the years, Ethan Carter was hailed among friends as this textbook perfect guy—handsome, loving, always putting her first, a workaholic who still made time for home.

And every time she heard that, she’d feel lucky, like she’d really found that “forever person.” Sure, after eight years they still didn’t have a down payment saved, didn’t even have a kid yet... but with a husband who adored her, she’d figured that was worth everything.

But now?

She couldn’t wrap her head around how he managed to love her sweetly on one side, while cozying up to another woman behind her back.

So this was what she thought happiness looked like.

What a joke. What a sad, cruel joke.

Biting her lip so hard it almost bled, she braced a hand against the wall and stood up, her whole body trembling.

People always said a smart woman turns a blind eye in marriage, but that wasn’t her. Nope. She was the fool who still believed in truth.

She took the elevator up to the tenth floor. The hallway was quiet, almost too quiet.

When Jenna found Room 1001, the door was wide open. A hotel staff member pushed a food cart out and passed right by her. The moment she walked past, the door quietly shut.

She glanced at the cart as it rolled away and gave a weak, bitter smile—it was a candlelight dinner setup. Romantic, huh? Guess someone went all out.

The closer she got to that door, the harder her heart pounded.

She was the gentle, patient kind. Didn’t lose her temper often. But don’t confuse soft with weak—there were things she would never let slide.