Chapter 1
After work, I took an overnight flight home to celebrate our third wedding anniversary.
But when I wearily pushed open the villa door, I found my parents and wife happily gathered around another man.
“Why are you just standing there? Come meet your brother,” my father’s commanding voice echoed. “Brother? What brother?”
“The brother you lost! You’ve been running the company for years and still have no discipline! No wonder performance has been stagnant!”
My father frowned, his voice rising, clearly displeased with my response. “Ethan, you’ve endured so much over the years. Your younger brother is still as immature as ever.
Don’t hold it against him,” my mother said, piling more food onto his already full plate.
“Don’t worry, Mom, I won’t blame him,” the man I should call brother said with a seemingly generous smile.
“Ah, I knew you were the best,” my mother lovingly tousled his hair.
Don’t blame me? What did I do wrong?
I did have a twin brother, but he was kidnapped when he was five.
My parents searched for years with no news, and now they suddenly claim this stranger is my brother.
Aside from his identical features, I can’t accept this stranger as my real brother.
But my parents always favored him since childhood, and this family was never mine to control.
I looked at the gift bag in my hand, containing a diamond necklace I had custom-ordered six months in advance, remembering I rushed back for Avery, my wife, to celebrate our anniversary.
Yes, Avery, I still had a wife.
I looked up, hoping for a lifeline, only to find her eyes fixed on my newly returned brother. There was joy, tenderness, and an uncontrollable passion in her gaze.
“Honey?” I called tentatively.
She frowned, as if displeased with the term, or perhaps just noticing me.
Avery took the things from my hands, pulled out a chair for me, and said with some reproach, “Mom and Dad just found a family member. They’re excited.
Be considerate and don’t dampen their mood.” Then she returned to the newly found family member, smiling brightly.
“Yes, yes, come sit down,” my in-laws chimed in, eager to please their daughter.
Previously, for some unknown reason, Avery was at odds with her parents, but today she invited them over for our anniversary, and they were elated.
But Avery didn’t even look at them. Instead, the man I should call brother glanced over, a barely noticeable cold smile on his lips, meeting my gaze directly.
I sat down and silently ate, trying to recall childhood memories of my brother.
Although Ethan was only ten minutes older than me, we were completely different in personality since childhood.
He was lively, smart, sweet-talking, always able to win our parents’ favor, while I was reserved, interested only in landscapes, often sitting alone with a drawing pad all day.
After Ethan was kidnapped, my parents’ attitude towards me grew colder.
I was forced to abandon my dream of painting and took over the company business, barely earning their approval.
I thought my life would always be like this until Avery appeared in it.
Although we married through an arrangement, her gentleness and kindness healed me after marriage.
She would leave a table of food when I returned late from social events and cook me hangover soup when I drank too much.
I gradually fell in love with her, finding various opportunities to prepare gifts to make her happy.
Knowing she had a poor relationship with her parents, I noted down their hobbies to find chances to show filial piety.
But why did everything change tonight?
Her gaze no longer lingered on me, and my early return didn’t surprise her at all.