She lifted her head, her delicate eye makeup smudged by tears, making her look incredibly vulnerable. “After we got married, I barely saw my husband. Last year, when I went to celebrate his birthday, I found out that not only did he have someone else, but he also had a nearly two-year-old daughter with her!”

I sat in the corner, my mouth agape in shock at Sarah’s words. Before I could stop myself, I asked, “Even so, your first reaction should have been to file for divorce. How could you think of having an affair too?”

Sarah let out a bitter laugh. “I told my parents I wanted a divorce, and they said I was being reckless, that I’d lost my mind. I guess to them, his money was more important than my happiness.”

By now, it was past dinnertime, and the few remaining customers had left. I pulled out a few napkins and handed them to her, feeling a deep sense of helplessness. “Why didn’t you ever mention any of this?”

In truth, situations like this were all too common in our area.

Even I was in a similar situation.

However, my relationship with my husband had always been stable after we got married. If it weren’t for his sudden death, I think we would have been one of the rare harmonious couples in an arranged marriage.

After my husband passed, I’ve been living on my own, and with fewer household expenses, I could lend Sarah some money if she really needed it.

If she got divorced, she wouldn’t have sought out thrills in retaliation, which led to both of them having affairs.

Sarah wiped away her tears and composed herself. “Forget it. Maybe when the video gets out, my husband will be forced to divorce me. That’s the outcome I’ve been hoping for anyway.”

I paused, unable to stop myself from asking, “What about your job and your future?”

Sarah gave a bitter smile. “I don’t care anymore.”