The Perfect Wife's Perfect Revenge

Before boarding, Victoria sent a text to Stein, letting him know she was heading back. She didn't explain why-just said she had something to take care of.

McNeil sat beside her, thoughtfully draping a blanket over her shoulders.

"Get some sleep. We've got a long flight ahead," he murmured.

Victoria replied with a quiet "Mm," nestling into her seat.

As Victoria drifted off, McNeil pulled out his phone and turned it on. Instantly, a message from Violet popped up on the screen.

Reading that something had happened to Gwyneth made McNeil's heart leap into his throat.noveldrama

With Victoria right next to him, he couldn't very well reply to Violet openly. He waited until she was fully settled, then, when she wasn't looking, typed a quick

response:

"What happened?"

Violet had been up all night, staring at her phone, waiting for any word from him. It wasn't until half past eight the next morning that McNeil's message finally arrived. The moment she saw it, tears spilled onto her screen.

She wanted to call him, but thought better of it. Instead, she replied with another text:

"It's nothing serious. She just got a craving, wanted to eat something nice with us, and even asked if we could go to the amusement park. But I'm not well enough to take her... Poor thing, always stuck at home with me. McNeil, please come back soon."

McNeil glanced at the message, saw that it wasn't an emergency, and didn't reply. After a long silence, Violet sent another message, testing the waters:

"Is Victoria with you?"

McNeil turned his head slightly. Sure enough, Victoria was bundled up under the blanket, fast asleep, just as he'd suggested.

They'd caught an early flight-so early, in fact, that it was still dark when the car dropped them at the airport.

With a few taps of his slender fingers, McNeil responded: "Yeah."

“Alright, I understand. I won't message you again. We'll wait for you at home-just come back soon."

McNeil didn't bother to reply.

At some point during the flight, he got up to use the restroom. Victoria happened to wake just then.

McNeil's phone screen was still lit up. They say curiosity killed the cat.

Victoria recalled something she'd read online: No woman ever comes away smiling after looking through her husband's phone.

Just last night, McNeil had held her close, whispering sweet nothings for hours- swearing nothing had ever happened with Violet, vowing that once her health stabilized, he'd cut Violet out of his life for good.

Now, Victoria didn't know if she could-or even should-believe him.

Suddenly, a new message flashed on his phone.

She hesitated, but finally reached for it. To her surprise, it wasn't locked.

With trembling hands, she tapped open his messages.

A photo appeared on the screen-a pendant, one that looked just like her mother's. But on closer inspection, she realized it was only a near-perfect imitation, crafted from high-quality jade.

As the image minimized, a new line of text appeared beneath it:

"McNeil, thank you for the gift. I never imagined this necklace would look so

beautiful with the pendant. I can't believe you remembered what I said. Thank you

for showing me that you still love me."

Victoria felt as if an invisible hand had closed around her throat, making it impossible to breathe.

The sound of the toilet flushing snapped her out of her daze. She put the phone back exactly where she'd found it and bundled herself up again under the blanket.

When McNeil returned and took his seat, Victoria kept her eyes closed for the rest of the flight, not saying a word.

After landing, the driver met them and the car pulled up.

"I've got some work to finish at the office. Should I drop you at home first?" McNeil asked as he settled comfortably into the back seat, loosening his tie. Even after a sleepless night and a flight spent glued to his phone, he looked perfectly composed.

Victoria, despite catching a few hours of rest on the plane, still felt exhausted-not physically, but emotionally.

"Alright," she replied, not bothering to analyze whether his excuse was real or not. Before she'd seen those messages, she'd almost started to trust him again, just a little.

After all, they'd been married for six years, and she'd loved him long before their wedding. You can't just cut off that kind of feeling overnight.

But reality is often harsher than we imagine.

If she hadn't looked at his phone, maybe she could have believed his promises- believed that he was only helping Violet out of gratitude.

But now she knew: he'd taken a photo of her mother's pendant and had a replica made, just to win his lover's affection.