Chapter 1

At our engagement party, my fiancée's ex-boyfriend offered her a sip of the boba tea he had just drank from. She took a long sip without even looking up.

In an instant, all the guests turned to look at me, waiting to see me make a fool of myself.

Instead, I snapped a picture of them holding hands, sent it straight to the family group chat, and asked a pointed question.

"Hey Mom, you never mentioned you were looking to take in two sons-in-law today."

1

It happened right after our engagement lunch while we were playing board games.

My fiancée, Alyssa Winslow, was laser-focused on her hand of cards.

Her ex-boyfriend, Damon Cole, held his iced boba right up to her lips.

Alyssa didn't seem surprised at all. She casually turned, took a deep sip through the straw, and chewed the tapioca pearls while shifting her eyes right back to her cards.

The whole sequence was completely seamless and natural, as if they had rehearsed it a thousand times.

Almost immediately, everyone looked away from the table and focused on the two of them, breaking into loud teasing.

"Damn, Alyssa! You're living the dream, surrounded by handsome men on both sides!"

"A stolen flower always smells sweeter than the one at home!"

Alyssa's bridesmaids burst into sharp, mocking giggles.

Alyssa merely shrugged and tossed down a card, completely unfazed.

Damon, who was leaning half his weight against her shoulder, put on a coy pout.

"Stop it, guys. Her fiancé, Ethan, is sitting right here."

He turned toward me with a smug smile.

"Ethan, I just noticed Alyssa's lips were a little dry, so I gave her a drink without thinking. You're not mad, are you?"

The room fell silent as everyone looked at me, watching for my reaction.

Sitting across from Alyssa, I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles.

Under their mocking gazes, I tightened my grip on my cards until the edges bent.

Today was supposed to be our private engagement celebration.

Alyssa had insisted on keeping it small, claiming she only wanted a few close friends over for lunch and games.

I never expected her to bring her ex-boyfriend, Damon.

She claimed she wanted him there as a witness to her happiness.

When my future mother-in-law, Eleanor, saw Damon, she was furious and scolded Alyssa for acting out.

Alyssa stubbornly threw a fit, threatening to cancel the entire engagement if Damon was not allowed to stay.

In the end, I was the one who smiled gently and invited him to take a seat.

Alyssa had given me a startled look back then.

She probably never imagined that a man who used to get jealous over every little thing would be so generous.

During lunch, under Eleanor's watchful eye, they behaved themselves.

However, the moment Eleanor stepped out to pick up the custom bridal jewelry, Damon started making his moves.

While everyone was distracted with games, Damon leaned against Alyssa like he had no spine.

He even fed her the drink he had just put his mouth on.

What disgusted me even more was how Alyssa pampered him, leaning in to drink from his straw without hesitation.

Looking at the leftover saliva on that straw, my lip curled in sheer disgust.

I remembered how Alyssa used to hate it whenever I tried to get close to her.

She always told me that clingy men were repulsive.

Yet with Damon practically sitting in her lap, she did not look uncomfortable at all.

She was also a notorious germaphobe who refused to eat anything someone else had touched.

She would never even let me or her mother share utensils with her.

Yet she didn't mind Damon's germs in the slightest.

The difference between love and indifference was painfully clear.

It was just a shame that I only opened my eyes to it today.

Seeing how little she respected me, I felt completely humiliated. Every shred of my dignity was stripped away.

Before I could say anything, Alyssa snapped at me in annoyance.

"It was just a sip of a drink. Can you get over yourself? I can do whatever I want. Ethan, who are you scowling at?"

Her lips curled into a sneer full of contempt.

Damon immediately put on a wounded expression, standing up with dramatic regret.

"It's all my fault. My presence is ruining the mood. I should just leave so I don't disturb you two."

Alyssa's brow furrowed tightly as she grabbed Damon's hand, lacing her fingers with his to stop him.

She glared in my direction.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Damon. Why should you leave? It's just someone being petty and ruining the fun for everyone."

Watching her cling to Damon, I let out a cold chuckle.

Four years ago in college, Damon had dumped Alyssa for a wealthy heiress and moved abroad.

He had no idea that Alyssa was only playing poor because she had rebelled against her family for him. He had thrown away a goldmine for pennies.

A month ago, Damon somehow found out that Alyssa was the sole heiress to the Winslow empire, and he shamelessly crawled back, begging for a second chance.

By then, Alyssa and I had been dating for three years and were on the verge of engagement.

Yet Alyssa still treated him like he was special, as if an old flame had reignited.

Even at our engagement party today, she was openly flirting with him in front of everyone.

Everyone in the room stared at me.

Alyssa's friends all knew me as her loyal lapdog, the guy who had followed her around and catered to her every whim since childhood.

Once we started dating, I took care of her life like a personal assistant, while she rarely gave me a pleasant look.

Ever since Damon returned, her patience with me had evaporated completely. If I said one wrong word, she threatened to break up.

Driven mad by jealousy once, I had gotten into a fistfight with Damon in public. Back then, Damon hid behind Alyssa while she shielded him like a hero.

From that day on, I became a total laughingstock―the pathetic fiancé who held the title but none of her heart.

Right now, they were all waiting for me to lose my temper so Alyssa could humiliate me once again.

Too bad for them.

I stood up abruptly, raised my phone, and took a crystal-clear photo of Damon and Alyssa holding hands.

Without batting an eye, I sent the picture straight into the Winslow family group chat.

I tagged Eleanor directly.

To make sure the message was loud and clear, I sent a voice note with an exaggerated, cheerful tone.

"Hey Mom, you never mentioned you were looking to take in two sons-in-law today."