Ficorpio
Chapter 1
You were getting married next month when you stumbled across a trending post.
One comment had racked up thousands of likes:
“He’s getting married next month, but every night he’s in my bed, going until dawn.”
At that very moment, your fiancé, Ethan Sterling, had just finished ranting about the “crazy woman” downstairs. Then he came home carrying a mango cake, even though a single bite would trigger your allergy.
It was late when the post appeared on your feed.
The provocative title had already drawn a flood of responses:
WHAT’S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE?
One answer was more popular than all the rest:
“I broke up with my ex, but we never stopped sleeping together. I live in the apartment below his.”
“He’s getting married next month. Says his fiancée is the love of his life.”
“But if he loves her so much, why does he lose himself in me every night?”
Fury surged through you. You had just typed, “So you’re the other woman, and you’re proud of it?” when Ethan’s voice rang out from the living room.
“Chloe, that woman downstairs is causing trouble again! I’m going down there to give her a piece of my mind.”
Your hand jerked, erasing everything you had written.
When you looked back at the post, the woman had added another taunting update:
“Gotta go. He’s coming to see me. Guess he really can’t stay away.”
The front door slammed shut.
Your heart sank with it.
Your wedding to Ethan was only a month away.
A few weeks earlier, a new tenant had moved into the apartment below yours.
Her name was Victoria Vale. She was glamorous and seductive, with a knowing tilt to her eyes that made every glance feel deliberate.
You shook your head and laughed at yourself. You were reading far too much into a coincidence.
But an hour passed, and Ethan still hadn’t returned.
Just as your unease began to sharpen into fear, the living room lights came on.
Ethan walked in with a bright smile, holding up a bakery bag. “Look what I got you. It’s from that place you’ve been talking about for days.”
The moment you recognized the packaging, your heart skipped a beat. It was from your favorite bakery, but the cake was mango.
You were allergic to mango.
For three years, Ethan had never forgotten that.
Under his eager gaze, you took the smallest taste. The sweetness turned bitter on your tongue.
“You went all the way out to buy this so late?” you asked casually. “Nothing happened while you were downstairs, did it?”
Surprise flickered across Ethan’s face before disgust replaced it.
“What could have happened? I just gave that woman a warning.”
He frowned. “Chloe, stay away from her. You can tell just by looking at her that she’s trouble.”
A laugh escaped you before you could stop it.
Ethan had always been mild-mannered and courteous. Why did this particular neighbor get under his skin so badly?
You found yourself thinking back over the three times he and Victoria had crossed paths.
Chapter 2
The first time, Victoria had come upstairs to introduce herself. She brought strawberry tarts, the one dessert Ethan hated most. His expression had turned so foul that anyone would have thought she had handed him poison.
The second time, you had run into her in the elevator. She accidentally spilled juice on the suit you had given Ethan for his first birthday after you started dating, the one he had always treasured.
The third encounter had been even stranger. When Victoria learned that the two of you were shopping for decorations for your new home, she smiled at you and said, “Men never value what comes too easily. You have to make them feel like they might lose you.”
Ethan had exploded on the spot. The two of them got into a vicious argument.
As soon as he realized how badly he had lost his temper, Ethan flushed. When he looked at you, his eyes were filled with sincerity.
“Chloe, don’t listen to her nonsense. No matter what happens, I’ll always love you.”
Standing there beneath the unwavering gaze of the man who seemed to see no one but you, you forced down the unease in your chest.
Maybe it really was nothing more than a coincidence.
At least, that was what you told yourself.
Ethan Sterling left for the office early Monday morning.
Even though Sterling Holdings had long since survived the difficult startup years, he remained as diligent as ever. You had never once doubted his abilities.
By the time you woke, the morning was nearly over. The breakfast he had carefully prepared for you sat on the table, still warm.
You stretched, picked up your cell phone, and began scrolling out of sheer boredom.
Perhaps the algorithm had taken note of your interest, because the post from yesterday appeared on your feed again. The number of comments had doubled overnight, and the most popular comment still held the top spot.
The woman who had written the post had added another update first thing that morning.
【We tried something new last night. His fiancée must be painfully dull in bed.】
She had attached a photograph.
Your gaze passed over the kiss marks on her neck and the thin welts across her arms. Then it stopped on the cake box behind her.
Your breath caught.
You enlarged the photograph again and again, your head beginning to buzz. Almost without thinking, you left a comment.
【Good taste. I love that cake too.】
She replied almost instantly.
【That? We picked it up somewhere on the way. I even thoughtfully told him to take one home so he could keep his woman happy.】
【I added a special touch, too. I deliberately chose a flavor she can’t eat.】
【He didn’t notice anything was wrong. He even thanked me. So much for true love.】
The glass slipped from your hand and struck the floor with a sharp clatter. Water spread rapidly across the tiles.
Chapter 3
Clinging to the last thread of hope you had left, you called Ethan with trembling fingers.
He answered almost at once, but your throat seemed to close. You couldn’t force out a single word.
“Missing me already?” Amusement warmed his voice. “I just found a Cantonese restaurant that serves everything you like. I’ll pick you up after work, and we’ll have dinner there.”
Your nose stung. Fighting back the sob rising in your throat, you asked, “Ethan… can you show me the order for yesterday’s cake?”
Silence filled the line for several seconds. He seemed taken aback by the strange request.
A moment later, a screenshot appeared on your phone.
It showed the exact same mango mousse cake. The order had been placed during the time Ethan had been out the previous night.
Maybe it really was only a coincidence.
You ended the call in a daze, but the weight in your chest refused to lift.
As if compelled by something beyond reason, you opened Victoria Vale’s WeChat Moments.
She was nothing like you.
She loved adventure and lived for freedom. Her feed overflowed with outdoor excursions and unusual experiences, every post vibrant with restless energy.
You, on the other hand, had been timid since childhood. Your greatest ambition had never been anything more than an ordinary, peaceful life.
Her latest post was from three months ago.
【Well, it’s time to go back and reclaim everything that belongs to me.】
The location tag read Jing City Airport.
Your finger froze over the screen.
That was the same day your engagement ceremony with Ethan had ended. The reception had still been underway when he hurried to the airport, claiming he needed to meet an important client.
Could there really be so many coincidences in the world?
You shut off your phone with a sharp motion.
You didn’t dare think any further.
And you didn’t want to.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Before work, Ethan Sterling always kissed you goodbye. He came home on time every evening. Three nights a week, he took you out for dinner, and on weekends, he would drive you to nearby towns for short trips.
He rarely attended social gatherings, and his phone had never been off-limits. You could pick it up whenever you wanted.
Everything was too normal—so normal that the fear and suspicion you’d carried for more than two weeks began to feel like a ridiculous joke.
Victoria Vale, the woman who lived downstairs, still came up in your conversations every now and then. Most of the time, Ethan was the one complaining about her.
Either she played music in the middle of the night and disturbed the neighbors, or she left bags of trash piled up by the elevator, or she had nothing better to do than try to lead you astray.