when she left he went crazy (Hope and Christopher) novel Chapter 1

I’m Hope Royston. On our third wedding anniversary, my husband, Christopher Valence, surprise me with a necklace that I had long desired. Everyone said he loved me deeply, which touched me deeply. That night, I was flooded with joy and prepared a candlelit dinner. However, later, I received a video.

In it, Christopher was putting the necklace on another woman. “Congratulations on your new life,” he said gently.

It turned out this day was not just our anniversary.

It was also a divorced day for the woman he loved.

I never imagined such a thing that would happen to me.

Although my marriage to Christopher wasn’t born out of love, he always cherished me well in public.

I sat at the table, looking at the now cold steak and the headline still trending. “Christopher spent two million dollars to please his wife.”

It all felt like a silent mockery.

At 2 a.m., a black Maybach finally pulled into the courtyard.

Through the French windows, I saw Christopher getting out of the car. He was in a custom-tailored dark suit, his figure tall, and his demeanor elegant and graceful. “Why are you still up?”

Christopher turned on the light and saw me in the dining room. He was somewhat surprised.

I tried to stand up, but my legs were numb, and I fell back into the chair. “I was waiting for you.”

“Missing me?” Christopher asked with a thoughtless smile. He came over to pour himself a glass of water and was surprised to see the pristine dinner on the table.

He was willing to pretend. Me too! I suppressed my dissatisfaction and reached out to him, saying, “Happy third anniversary. Where’s my gift?”

“Sorry. I was too busy to prepare one.” Christopher paused, then realized it was our wedding anniversary. He reached out and wanna ruffle my hair, but I instinctively dodged.  ‘Who knows where else his hand has been tonight.’

I looked at him with a fake smile. “You still want to deceive me. You clearly bought me that necklace. It’s all over the news! Give it to me.”

“Hope…” Christopher was taken aback.

Christopher withdrew his hand, expressionless, and said in a cold voice, “I bought that necklace for Ivan.” Ivan Garcia was his best friend and also a college classmate of mine.

I knew people often used their friends as excuses.

I could barely maintain my smile. “Is it?”

“Yes. You know, Ivan has many admirers.” Christopher’s tone and expression revealed no flaws.

I looked at his flawless features in the light and suddenly felt that I might have never truly understood him. I even began to wonder if this was really the first time he had lied to me or if I had been too trusting in the past. If I hadn’t received that anonymous video, I wouldn’t have doubted Christopher’s explanation at all.

Seeing me silent, he patiently coaxed me. “I shouldn’t have forgotten such an important day. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”

“I only want that necklace.” I still wanted to give Christopher a chance.

From the video, I couldn’t see the woman’s face. Perhaps they didn’t have an affair.

Christopher hesitated, and I looked at him in confusion. “Can’t I have it? It shouldn’t be a problem for Ivan to ask his girlfriend for the necklace for you, right?”

He fell silent for a moment. Seeing my insistence, he could only say, “I’ll ask him tomorrow. It’s not good to forcibly take something that someone else likes.”

Was he going to ask “him” or “her”? I couldn’t inquire further.

“Alright.” That is my answer.