Chapter 1

I've been married to my wife for three years, and we never had children.

She told me she hated kids. She even said she had trauma from a past accident that made her fear intimacy.

I felt so much for her. I voluntarily restrained my own desires and planned for a child-free life together.

That was until I accidentally found Clara Vance's secret social media account. She had been chatting with a man for hundreds of days, and their intimacy spark was through the roof.

"Do you want to come over for a drink tonight? I'll be waiting at Midnight Velvet. This outfit is beautiful; I want you to wear it for me."

The attached photo showed a sexy bunny girl outfit with a mask.

I followed her and discovered the truth. She actually had a child with her first love.

Heartbroken, I turned to leave. But then Clara came to me, crying, telling me she regretted everything.

1.

I kept scrolling through their old chat logs. My body turned colder with every word.

They had been talking almost every single day. Even on our wedding anniversary, they were whispering those disgusting, sweet lies to each other.

Clara's secret account was filled with photos and videos of her showing off her love with another man.

The sight of them together made my skin crawl.

I watched a video of a man holding Clara while surfing. My eyes darkened with rage.

I recognized him. He was Liam Sterling, Clara's first love.

The chat logs were full of explicit talk. They frequently liked high-rated boutique hotels for couples.

Clara often used the excuse of being busy with work or going on business trips to meet Liam.

I had been played like a complete fool.

I took out my phone and screenshotted everything. Even though my heart was bleeding, I couldn't let my emotions show yet.

The bathroom door slowly opened. Clara walked toward me, drying her hair.

"What's wrong, Ethan? Did someone message me?"

Hearing her voice, I marked the messages as unread and cleared the background apps before handing her the phone.

"I'm not sure. I haven't had a chance to look."

My voice was deep. I watched her reply to something and then look at me with a fake, apologetic face.

"Ethan, a parent called. Their kid got sick at school. I have to go check on things. I might not be back tonight."

She looked so sorry, but she was already rushing to put on her clothes.

I didn't say a word. I just watched her. Clara seemed to sense my mood and leaned in to kiss my cheek.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow night, okay? This is really urgent."

I knew she was lying. There was no sick kid. She was just going to her date with Liam.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to give her one last chance.

"Do you have to go? Can't you stay tonight?"

I looked at her, my voice almost a whisper of a plea.

I wanted her to prove me wrong. I wanted her to choose me just once.

But I failed.

Clara pulled her hand away from mine. Her voice was firm. "I have to go."

I stood there, frozen. She turned and walked out without hesitation.

I watched her retreating back and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"If you leave tonight, don't bother coming back."

My words seemed to confuse her. She frowned, but she didn't stop.

"Ethan, can you stop being so unreasonable? I'm exhausted. Just calm down and think about things."

She used her usual script and left the house without looking back.

I got up and followed her. Just as I expected, she drove straight to Midnight Velvet.

I had never been to a place like this. It was filled with neon lights and loud music.

Clara moved through the crowd like she owned the place.

I watched her change into that masked bunny girl outfit. Then, she sat right on Liam Sterling's lap.

She looked wild and provocative. I had never seen this side of her.

In front of me, Clara was always the cold, elegant, and gentle wife.

She always acted like she had no interest in physical intimacy.

She told me she was born that way, that she just didn't like it.

But now, watching her kiss Liam with such passion, I finally understood.

She was only cold to me.

Anger surged through me, and I clenched my fists.

When I saw her straddling Liam for a French kiss, I couldn't take it anymore. I walked straight toward them.

"Ethan! What are you doing here?!"

Clara looked at me in total shock. I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of Liam's lap.

Then, I swung a punch right at Liam's face.

The people around us screamed at the sudden violence.

Liam was caught off guard, but he recovered quickly. He fought back hard.

He worked out regularly and quickly gained the upper hand.

His friends jumped in too, kicking and punching me until I was on the ground.

Liam pinned me down and spat on the floor near my face.

"You really thought you could compete with me?"

Clara watched me bleed, but she didn't step forward to help.