Chapter 3
“Bro, that hotel suite where you stayed for your honeymoon, the bedsheets still had traces of our passion on them.”
“Scarlett said she felt safest sleeping by your side every night, right? Do you believe I could call her away right now?”
Leo’s voice message turned my stomach. “Ugh—”
Just as I finished throwing up, the door was suddenly pushed open by Scarlett. “Julian? Drunk again? I’ll make you something light right away!”
She moved quickly, and soon brought in a steaming bowl of bird’s nest porridge. It was a stomach-soothing dish she’d specially learned from a Michelin chef. To learn it, her delicate fingers got three big blisters. My wife’s eyes held expectation, as if waiting for me to hug her tightly, moved, like before.
Seeing my lack of reaction, she froze for a moment. Then, she skillfully massaged my temples.
“Scarlett,” I suddenly spoke. “Have you lied to me about anything? If you tell me now…”
Scarlett, just considering how you held onto me when I tried to jump out that window, not letting go even if I pulled you down with me… I’ll give you one last chance.
“What are you talking about? You and our child are my true loves.”
I watched her flawless act. It was utterly ridiculous.
Scarlett carefully studied my expression, then chuckled softly. “I knew it. You always say things like this when you want me to coax you.”
With that, she leaned in to kiss me.
Outside the window, a sudden clap of thunder exploded. I instinctively ducked under the bedframe. It sounds ridiculous, a grown man, yet terrified of thunder. It was because my father had caught my mother cheating and fell from the building during a thunderstorm. But I hadn’t been afraid of thunder in so many years. After meeting Scarlett, I thought I’d found the security of a home.
But now, tears and snot streamed uncontrollably.
Scarlett held me tightly. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.” Her embrace was still so warm, yet I shivered uncontrollably.
Just then, a servant rushed in and whispered something in Scarlett’s ear. Her face immediately changed, but she forced herself to remain calm. “Can’t you see Mr. Sterling is right here!” She patted my back dismissively, her eyes constantly darting towards the door. “Sleep, I’ll stay here with you.”
But after confirming I was “asleep,” she ran out without a backward glance.
My phone screen flickered on and off in the darkness. The photos Leo sent were more and more explicit. Disheveled sheets, Scarlett’s alluring back, and a bunny tail accessory, wet with fluid. The last voice message was accompanied by triumphant gasps.
[Bro, your wife hasn’t let you touch her since she got pregnant, has she? But she can’t resist me. We just did it three times again…]
[Heard Scarlett hasn’t told you the baby’s name yet? Our baby’s name is Nia.]
As he spoke, Leo revealed a tattoo on his chest, identical in location to Scarlett’s.
“Boom!” My ears rang. So, on our wedding night, when I touched the “my only love” tattoo on her chest and cried, moved… the complex emotion that flashed in her eyes wasn’t gratitude, but guilt. Every time she passionately whispered “my only love,” her mind was always on someone else.
For three years, I had been living a monumental lie.
I sat numbly through the night until dawn. Finally, I replied to the number that had been waiting: [That child isn’t mine. You don’t need to get a tubal ligation. Let’s work together.]
3
The next morning, I was awakened by a commotion. The grand hall was filled with Veridia City’s elite, all gathered to celebrate my birthday.
I froze.
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