Chapter1

In the middle of the night, I received a complaint from a neighbor, "Ms. Carter, the couple in 502 is noisy every night. My kid has exams next month. He can't study. Can you do something about it?"

I quickly replied, "Got it! I'll handle it right away!"

A week ago, I, who grew up in an orphanage, finally found my biological father.

My biological parents are real estate tycoons. The apartment my husband and I rented happened to be one of their properties. They gave me the entire building.

I decided to quit my job. I focused on collecting rent at home.

I also used a WhatsApp alias to create a tenant group. I received feedback as a manager.

The lady from 501 must have reached her limit. She contacted me in the middle of the night.

Upon closer inspection, I realized I lived in 602. 502 was directly below my apartment.

I remembered the tenant in 502. Our encounters in the elevator left a strong impression on me.

I still remembered the woman in her early twenties with an air of promiscuity. Her attractive looks and slender waist swayed like a seductive lady.

Her voice was indeed loud. Every night, I could hear several rounds from upstairs.

I found the mistress's WhatsApp in the owner's group. I sent her a friend request.

After she accepted, I sent a polite reminder, "Dear, we received feedback that the noise from your apartment every night is affecting others' normal life. Please lower the volume a bit."

She quickly sent me a voice message. I was startled when I opened it. The sound was downright inappropriate!

The message was quickly withdrawn. Then she sent another one in a sweet voice, "Listen, my place is very quiet."

I placed my phone's microphone against the floor. I recorded a bit of their duet and sent it over.

I then typed, "Dear, this is feedback from your upstairs neighbor. I confirmed that the sound is indeed coming from your place."

The banging on the bed downstairs stopped immediately.

I lay on the floor for a while. After confirming that it was completely quiet downstairs, I happily informed 501 that the problem was solved.

But within half a minute, the woman downstairs, as if on purpose, started screaming again.

The floor beneath me was shaking.

My phone vibrated as well. I opened the message and heard the woman's breath and the sounds of banging downstairs, "I can't help it. It's my boyfriend's fault for being too strong. Maybe you should talk to him."

When I saw the contact she sent, I stopped smiling.

I knew this WhatsApp contact all too well.

Because in my main account, I had him saved as, "Darling".

Chapter2

A week ago, my husband, Jayden Turner, told me that the company was sending him on an assignment. He might not be back for a month or two.

One moment, I was reluctantly saying goodbye to him.

The next, I was filled with joy from the building my dad had given me.

Suddenly, I remembered that I had been busy collecting rent and counting money recently.

It seemed like I hadn't contacted Jayden in a long time.

I opened my main WhatsApp account. The last message I sent him was asking if he had landed safely last week.

Jayden didn't reply. He hadn't sent me any messages either.

Lining up the timeline, last week was exactly when the mistress moved into 502.

Could it be that my husband was really keeping a mistress downstairs?

My doubts grew. Hearing the sounds of the two downstairs getting more intense, I nervously sent Jayden a video call.

Before it even rang twice, he hung up.

He dared to hang up on me?

I started bombarding him with calls.

The calls kept getting disconnected until I heard the message, "The number you are calling is powered off."

I sat on the cold floor, confused, listening to the sounds of pleasure from downstairs.

After a long time, the noise finally started to die down.

Jayden finally called me back.

I tried to stand up, but my numb legs made me collapse back onto the floor.

On the screen, Jayden's face still had a faint blush.

Wiping sweat from his chest, he said, "Honey, I was working out just now, so I couldn't pick up."

"Yeah, when are you coming back?" My voice was cold, emotionless.

The moment the call connected, I had already confirmed that he was in 502.

He was the main act in the mistress's nightly "symphony"!

Now, I knew the layout of every apartment in the building.

Just one look, and I recognized the unique bay window design of 502.

Jayden didn't notice anything off. Instead, he smirked. "Honey, you miss me, don't you? Once my boss gives me some time off, I'll spend more days with you at home."

From what he said, it sounded like he planned to stay out for a long time.

We had been married for five years. We endured guerrilla battles with city officials in the summer and freezing in a windowless basement in the winter. We had survived all sorts of hardships.

I was still waiting for him to come back. We would welcome a new life together, living in the bright, spacious house that belonged to me.

But he cheated and kept his mistress right below our home.

Chapter3

The next day at noon, I was woken up by the sound of someone pounding on the door.

I hadn't slept well all night because of Jayden's affair. Now, being disturbed again, I angrily opened the door.

There stood the mistress, Ruby Collins, swaying her slender waist as she strutted into my home, looking around boldly.

Anyone who didn't know better would think she was the owner here.

I blocked her way and asked, "What are you doing in my house?"

Ruby didn't respond. She just stood there in her high heels, her body wrapped in a tight, elegant qipao, flaunting her figure as she raised her chin at me.

In contrast, I had bed hair and wore wrinkled pajamas. I was in slippers, looking like a sleep-deprived, abandoned wife.

Seeing Ruby's arrogant demeanor made my anger flare even more.

I grabbed her shoulders and shoved her out.

Ruby staggered and lost her balance, stumbling backward into the wall.

She quickly regained her composure, arching her back and chest, brushing her toes against my leg. She ran her fingers through her wavy hair, letting it graze my face as she seductively said, "I heard you reported the noise from my place last night. Is it because your husband isn't home? Are you jealous hearing others having a good time?"

I remembered that yesterday, to avoid revealing my identity, I sent her a recording I made at home using my manager account.

It must have caused a misunderstanding.

I didn't bother to explain. I just told her to leave.

"I report what I want. What's it to you? Why are you trying to make yourself relevant?"

"You're being too harsh. I heard that even though you're married, you're living like a widow, alone every day. I was worried you wouldn't get a hot meal, so I brought you some barbecue ribs my boyfriend made."

I looked down and saw that Ruby was holding a bowl of steaming barbecue ribs. The familiar aroma wafted to my nose, bringing back memories.

When we had no money, Jayden and I couldn't even afford meat or eggs, let alone ribs. Sometimes, we couldn't even afford rice.

Later, he found a tough job on a construction site, working 12-hour days for just two hundred dollars.

After the project ended, he slipped two thousand dollars under my pillow and made me a pot of ribs.

From then on, what others saw as ordinary ribs became our secret symbol for celebrating good things.

Now, seeing Jayden's cooking in another woman's hands, being used to flaunt and humiliate me, my heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Just then, Dad's assistant arrived with my custom lunch.

Ruby glanced at it dismissively, then pinched her nose in an exaggerated manner, saying, "Why do you eat such unhealthy takeout every day? No wonder..."

She didn't finish her sentence. She looked me up and down, as if saying, "No wonder your figure is so bad..."

Before I could say anything, Dad's assistant spoke up for me:

"Who are you to talk like that? If you don't know better, just keep quiet. Takeout? This is a Michelin-starred meal specially ordered for Ms. Carter. Most people can't even buy this with money."

Ruby thought the assistant was bluffing. She couldn't hide her sneer. "Michelin chef? Looks like cheap pre-made food from Amazon to me. A CEO's daughter renting an apartment? Who are you kidding?"

The assistant looked at Ruby, hesitating to speak.

Ruby continued boasting about how delicious and healthy Jayden's barbecue ribs were, her smug face practically shouting, "I have a man who loves me, and it's your husband."

Is there now a mistress who can flaunt herself in front of the wife?

I snatched the barbecue ribs from her and poured them over her head, drenching her from head to toe. The thick sauce ruined her makeup and stained her elegant qipao.

Ruby wiped at her clumped hair and ran downstairs, crying.

She threw out a parting threat, "Just you wait!"

I guess she, a mere mistress, couldn't handle me, so she ran back to Jayden to complain.