Chapter 1

I spotted a rare, vintage bottle in my private wine cellar.

Before our anniversary, I called the manager to set it aside for a special night.

But he told me my wife had already gifted it to an "important business partner" for the New Year.

Feeling a bit let down, I teased her that evening.

"Why give the premium stuff to a stranger instead of your own husband?"

She sent over a few other bottles from the cellar to comfort me that night.

A few days later, I went to a birthday party for a friend's new acquaintance.

The host greeted me with a smile, holding the exact bottle I had wanted.

Then I noticed the tattoo on his wrist―a mix of letters and numbers.

It was my wife's initials and her birthday.

1.

I've never been a particularly observant man.

But the moment I saw Caspian, I felt a deep, unsettling connection between him and my wife.

He looked almost exactly like the charcoal sketch Seraphina used as her profile picture.

He wore a dark, perfectly tailored suit that made him look tall and sharp.

Beneath his left eye was a tear-shaped mole, a perfect mirror of my own.

I instinctively touched my mole, a chill running down my spine.

"Hey, Silas, why do you and Caspian look so much alike? Same style, same face!"

My friend's joke felt like a bucket of ice water over my head.

My clothes, my shoes, even my haircut were all curated by Seraphina.

Could a coincidence really be this precise?

Caspian smiled modestly. "I guess handsome men just share the same vibe."

He pulled out his phone. "Silas, mind if we exchange contacts? We should grab a drink sometime."

I suppressed my doubts and pulled out my phone.

His profile picture flashed on the screen―it was that exact sketch!

My breath hitched, and my fingertips began to tremble.

"Is something wrong?" Caspian asked, noticing my reaction.

I shook my head silently and clicked "Add."

His face remained calm, as if he were completely unaware of these strange overlaps.

Or maybe, he had planned every single detail.

The anxiety in my chest began to grow like wild weeds.

I wanted to ask him what his relationship was with my wife.

But then I saw a group of Seraphina's friends whispering nearby.

I remembered Seraphina saying she was attending an "important gala" tonight.

She told me it was a private girls' night and that husbands weren't invited.

I even joked about how sexist that sounded in this day and age.

She just laughed it off, saying I'd be bored surrounded by women.

Was this the "private gala" she was talking about?

As if on cue, Seraphina appeared in the crowd.