Remembering Albert's advice, Noah answered, "Just a guy I know. We played together as kids."

Hearing it was a man, Nina lost interest.

When Kristina heard that, she guessed who was outside. She also deliberately concealed it, pouted and said, "You should know better. He only hangs out with guys, and there are only two women in his life—you and me."

Noah retorted, "Well, most of the victims in the cases I've taken on are women. Sometimes I meet their families—"

"Stop it! Just shut up!" The more Kristina heard, the more upset she became. Her eyes trembled in their sockets. "How did my sister-in-law and brother give birth to a monster like you?"

Nina couldn't help laughing. Realizing that it was not appropriate, she immediately stopped smiling and pretended she didn't hear a thing.

Most of the time, Nina and Kristina passed the time with pleasant conversation, and John sat on the sofa, busy with phone or laptop keeping the company running.

But John stayed busy to keep his mind off things. He could stop thinking about Nina joking around with Noah. If he weren't busy, he wouldn't stand it.

Right now, they were talking and laughing, having a g

ison like a viper?

She curled her lips and looked up, only to see a large painting of the photo on their marriage certificate hanging on the wall.

John was in that painting, and he looked ugly.

The anger in her heart subsided. She couldn't help snickering when she thought of John tearing down the painting in the middle of the night. Countless times.

Every time John destroyed a painting, she would paint a new one and hang it up the next day.

She could create as fast as he could destroy.

Reluctantly, he resigned himself to fate. He stopped tearing the paintings down. Every time he saw it, though, his face would turn as dark as the bottom of a pan, and so he simply stopped looking in that direction.

"You're smiling? Did you hit your head when you came in just now?" John asked in a deep voice.

The corners of Nina's mouth froze. Was there no end to his vitriol?

"How about we take this painting down?" Nina thought he was a proud man. This painting hung here every day really hurt his ego. She didn't complain and bit back a retort.

There was a trace of suspicion on his face. John felt something was off.

Was she trying to please him?