Chapter 1

I took my car in for service, and the young mechanic was giving me this smug look.

"Dude, this is a nice car. Even the seats are real leather."

"A beautiful woman brought in the exact same model last time. We had some fun in the car... she said she wanted me to get her pregnant. It was pretty wild."

I froze. The woman he was talking about was my wife.

When I got home, I confronted her, but she flew into a rage. "Someone offered to give me a child, so why wouldn't I take it?"

"Can you just stop looking for trouble?"

I didn't say another word. I was done with this marriage.

"Hey man, you alright?"

"You look like you just got diagnosed with cancer."

The mechanic in front of me just kept talking.

The smugness in his eyes was getting more and more obvious.

I glanced at his name tag: Cody Stone, 23.

His personality fit his age perfectly. Young, arrogant, impulsive, and a total show-off.

Even an idiot would have understood everything at that moment.

A fire of pure rage ignited in my chest.

But my rational side told me not to hit him.

"Cody Stone, right? I'll remember you. And I'll be reporting you to your manager."

His face changed instantly.

"Hey, what's your problem? I didn't do anything to you."

"I was just sharing a fun story. You gotta be so serious?"

I ignored him and walked away.

I went straight to the front desk, told them I wanted a different mechanic, and filed a formal complaint against Cody.

The whole way home, I felt a cold dread creeping through my body.

If what Cody said was true, I was going to lose my mind.

I opened the door and the smell of fried chicken hit me.

I saw Vivian sitting on the carpet, eating. She was in her thirties, but she was wearing a pink headband.

It's not that a woman in her thirties can't wear pink.

It's just that I knew her too well. Her style was always chic and sophisticated―all black, white, and gray.

She would never wear such a girly color.

And she never ate fried chicken. She was always watching her figure.

Just then, my phone buzzed.

It was a message from Cody’s work number.

[Hey man, sorry about what I said today. My bad.]

[To show you I'm sorry, I ordered some fried chicken for Vivian and got her a pink headband.]

Every single word dripped with arrogance.

In that moment, I knew for sure. Vivian was cheating on me.

"Finn, you're back! Come eat with me."

Vivian waved at me, her face glowing with a sweet smile.

We had been married for ten years.

For ten years, we had a great relationship. We respected each other.

She liked sandwiches for breakfast; I preferred pancakes and bacon.

So I’d just make both. It was never a problem.

We’d take trips on weekends and hold each other while we talked at night.

I couldn't believe she would cheat on me.

"Do you know someone named Cody Stone?"

I didn’t move closer. I just tried my best to stay calm and ask the question.

I’m a very emotionally stable person.

Even when I already know the answer, I always give the other person a chance to explain.

If she said she didn't know him, if she said Cody was just trying to stir up trouble between us...

I would have believed her. I would have forgiven her.

But after a two-second pause, she said, "Yeah."

"I went to get the car fixed last month, and he was the mechanic."

"What's wrong?"

Her tone was so casual, without a hint of panic.

If I hadn't run into Cody today, I never would have imagined she was cheating.