Chapter 1

I’m afraid of my wife—no, wait. My husband.

Ever since we married, Lương Hành Tuấn had kept me firmly in line. If he told me to go east, I wouldn’t dare go west.

Then the comments appeared.

Only then did I learn I was the obedient-wife supporting character in a contemporary romance novel.

[The supporting girl is such a coward, hahaha. Even in bed, the male lead keeps her under control.]

[She crawls away crying, but one look from him and she crawls right back, trembling.]

[Fine, she’s cute like that. So what? In the end, he’ll fall for the headstrong, free-spirited heroine who knows her own mind and loves challenging him!]

My eyes widened.

That evening, Hành Tuấn opened his arms to me.

For once, I didn’t willingly nestle against him.

Instead, I issued a very serious challenge.

“I’ve had enough. You’ve never satisfied me!”

01

The intimate atmosphere in the bedroom froze.

The silence was frightening.

Hành Tuấn lowered his eyes to me.

Before, my heart would have quailed. I would have bitten my lip, edged into his arms, and whispered:

“Darling, I was joking.”

Not anymore.

I had to change.

I couldn’t keep obeying him and letting him control me forever.

His lips parted.

“Never satisfied you?”

My eyes went wide at once.

He regarded me calmly, his tone almost unruffled.

“Then why do you always end up trembling?”

“…”

Damn it.

That familiar pressure.

I cleared my throat.

“I was pretending.”

His brow lifted slightly.

I spoke earnestly.

“See? You always have to keep asking! Then you’re unhappy when you hear the truth. I was protecting your male pride. Putting on a performance every time. Honestly, I’m tired of acting!”

Having got it out in one breath, I exhaled with difficulty.

Challenging him like this had to give me some of the heroine’s spirit the comments talked about, right?

The air went still.

His expression did not change.

He merely raised his eyelids a little, his heavy gaze settling on me.

“Is that so?”

After a long time, he said:

“You’ve had a hard time of it.”

I guiltily lowered my head.

“It hasn’t been that hard…”

Then I caught myself and looked up.

“Actually, it has. Things definitely need to improve.”

I continued.

“There’s something else. My application to Trú Trí Technology was accepted. I’m going to work there.”

He watched me without speaking.

After a moment, I added:

“I can’t be a full-time housewife forever.”

“If I remember correctly, that’s your ex-boyfriend’s company?”

“Uh… I suppose it is. But I may never even see him. Besides, my career is my business.”

His long fingers moved to undo the button at his collar.

My heart lurched. Cold sweat broke out down my back.

I knew that gesture too well.

He did it whenever he was about to discipline a subordinate.

Me too.

I fought the urge to let my mouth soften into an apology.

Fortunately…

In the end, he only said:

“All right.”

02

I lay on the soft bed.

The space beside me had long since gone cold.

Hành Tuấn had gone to his study to work.

Comments appeared before my eyes again.

[Why is the supporting girl suddenly rebelling?]

[The husband-fearing wife is waking up…]

[Honestly, this just shows he doesn’t love her.]

[Exactly. She wants to work at her ex’s company, and he agrees. Later, once he falls for the heroine, the smallest thing she does sends our cold male lead out of control.]

[Right! She only has to exchange a few words with another man, and he goes mad with jealousy.]

I stared at them.

My drowsiness vanished. I grew more awake by the second.

I tossed and turned.

Aaaah!

I was furious!

Hành Tuấn was six years older than me, the son of close family friends. We had grown up together.

Brilliant, cold, and strict, he was the exemplary child every parent held up as a comparison.

My grades were poor, so he had tutored me since childhood.

I often got smacked on the palm for losing focus.

To me, he had been both an older brother and a teacher.

Even after he became my husband, I was still a little afraid of him.

But there was no denying how capable he was.

After taking over his family’s business group, he acted decisively and forcefully, making it thrive.

I had grown accustomed to following his lead.

And the reward for all my obedience was going to be him cheating on me?

…

The next morning, I dragged myself downstairs for breakfast with dark circles under my eyes.

The chef had already laid out an exquisite meal.

Hành Tuấn, elegant in an immaculate suit, was eating.

The chef looked surprised.

“Madam, today you…”

I waved a hand.

“Just make me anything.”

I normally slept until noon and went straight to lunch.

Breakfast had always been his alone.

No wonder the chef was surprised.

Hành Tuấn set down his knife and fork and raised his dark eyes to me.

I sat there, dispirited and silent.

Before, I would have smiled and said:

“Morning, darling.”

Now I really wasn’t in the mood.

“Starting work today?”

He spoke first.

I murmured an affirmative.

Silence fell again.

03

Only after we got into separate cars and drove in opposite directions did it strike me.

Unless I took the initiative to find something to talk about, there was nothing between us but silence.

I had been too slow to notice.

Every day, I’d foolishly called him darling and racked my brains for conversation.

I thought about it, expressionless.

Then sighed heavily.

After joining the company, I was still getting used to the work when I was called into a department meeting.

A radiant young woman with a high ponytail stood at the front, presenting a proposal confidently and decisively.

I sat at the back taking notes and yawning.

Someone beside me whispered:

“Is she really just an intern? She’s impressive.”

“Solid professional knowledge, and she really knows her own mind.”

That last description gave me pause, but I thought little of it.

Just as she reached the most exciting part of her presentation, the large office door opened.

The department manager bowed deferentially.

“Mr. Lương, please come in.”

I looked up at once.

The man I had said goodbye to that morning walked slowly inside.

Tall and straight-backed.

Aloof and distinguished.

The comments exploded.

[Oh my God, Mom and Dad have met!]

[The butterfly effect! If the supporting girl hadn’t suddenly got a job, the leads wouldn’t have met this early.]

[We should thank her, hehe. Now we get to ship the leads sooner.]

[Poor supporting girl. Still acting up today, with no idea she’s only speeding up being abandoned.]

[Exactly. If she stayed obedient, he might at least feel bad about leaving her.]

“…”

Hopeless.

Being a supporting character was hopeless.

My eyes stopped on the second comment.

But looking at the situation…

Had Hành Tuấn come here because of me?

I rested my chin on my hand and thought.

Then I found myself looking straight into those deep, dark eyes.

There happened to be an empty chair opposite me.

He sat down.

His gaze rested on me for exactly one second, then moved away.

Beside him, the manager explained:

“This presentation outlines our recent strategy. It aligns very well with your company’s direction for the partnership.”

Hành Tuấn looked over calmly.

I looked at him, then at the young woman concentrating on her slides.

Of course they were the leads. Talented man, beautiful woman. A perfect match…

As I thought it over, my grip tightened on my pen.

I wanted to use it to poke a hole straight through him.

When I came back to myself, the office was completely silent.

I looked up blankly and met his dark eyes again.

The manager snapped:

“This is no time to daydream!”