Love and Devotion No Longer His to Claim by Dream Fish

Chapter 1

It was actually very obvious whether a man loved a woman or not. Angela Graham knew it very well.

For example, Dexter Bamford could spend a fortune buying out all the billboards in the central business district to celebrate the birthday of his first love, Elena Carrey. He did so that the whole city would be able to tell his sincerity toward her.

But for Angela's birthday, all she got was just a small, six-inch cake. In fact, it was the very same cake the nanny had gotten on her birthday.

Angela chuckled when she saw the cake. It made sense, after all. Although she was Dexter's legally wedded wife, the actual Mrs. Bamford, her job scope wasn't much different from the nanny's anyway.

The only extra task she had was sleeping with Dexter.

Angela felt tears well in her eyes when she thought about this. The loneliness in her eyes stood out like a sore thumb amid the noisy surroundings of the party.

Dexter had been late to the party as always. Actually, he had planned on staying at the banquet hall for a while longer, but he had received a message just then.

He opened up the message, not bothering to hide anything from Angela. It was as if her feelings weren't even worth considering at any point.

"It kinda hurts... Can you come over?"

Along with the message was a photo of a woman's bare back, decorated all over with red hickeys and love bites, as if she had just finished rolling in the sheets with her lover a few minutes ago. It was very suggestive.

Angela couldn't even describe what she was feeling anymore. She just felt the discomfort in her stomach start to intensify.

She knew the person who had sent Dexter the messages. It was his secretary, Erica Carrey, Elena's younger sister. She had just never imagined that Erica was also one of Dexter's sex partners.

Angela stared at Dexter's phone for a long time. It wasn't until Dexter addressed her that she finally snapped back to her senses.

"Done staring?"

her

under the dim light. He exuded a cold and aloof air as he threw Angela another glance

bit hurried or anxious at all, and he certainly wasn't remorseful that his wife had found

her head like a guilty child who had just done something

just simply couldn't hold this against him. After all, following what had happened the last time, her father, Bill Graham, had remarried, and Angela didn't have

had completely taken over the company. He had also long

the title of Mrs. Bamford. She was just Dexter's trophy wife. She knew that she had no right to question Dexter, the head of the household who provided for her.

Angela tugged on the corner of his shirt and said, "Dexter, can you come home earlier

to her. He chuckled in her ear and said, "What, tonight? Someone's eager today. I'm taking this as an

Dexter had never gone easy on her in

their interaction. They joked that Dexter and Angela kept behaving like newlyweds in their honeymoon phase with how

this so-called intimacy was only a show. Dexter had never viewed

was nothing but a decoration item that he owned. He had been forced to marry her, so she was a liability to him. He also thought this

nodded at the rest of the guests and

Dexter got home even later than usual. Angela glanced

she waited for him. When she saw him enter the house, she got up and

smelled like peaches. Obviously, this scent

"Dexter-"

speak, she was immediately

up? Why are you sniffing like a dog?" He said it nonchalantly, as

who should always turn a blind eye to Dexter's tomfoolery, serve him food, and satisfy him in bed whenever

have to say, you can wait until I've showered," Dexter said,

bathroom with a head of messy hair. His bathrobe hung

at him. It had been so many years, and Dexter still managed to hypnotize

to the ground. From the moment he had smiled at her and told her it was okay, with the sun shining in the back, Angela had

had received from Judy that afternoon, saying that Zack had racked up a huge debt from his gambling addiction. Apparently, they had no

all along and had nothing to do