Chapter 1

My fiancé, who was away on a business trip, suddenly ordered me sweet tofu pudding.

I stared at the familiar note on the delivery receipt:

【My baby loves sweet tofu pudding. Please add extra sugar!】

I immediately called the restaurant to confirm.

“There’s no mistake! Your boyfriend’s been ordering it every morning for a month. He just changed the address today. You’re from the South, right, sweetheart? You must really love sweet things!”

My mind went completely blank.

My fiancé was cheating on me.

Because I was from the North, and I had never eaten sweet tofu pudding in my life.

“Sweetheart, are you sure there’s been a mistake? Your boyfriend orders this every day. I remember him.”

“He usually has it delivered to that tech company in the Financial District. I figured your office was closed today, so he had it sent home. He even ordered you a savory rice dumpling!”

The restaurant owner’s words buzzed in my ears.

I couldn’t take in a single word. I muttered a couple of responses and hung up.

Before I could recover, the front door opened.

Ethan Carter dragged his suitcase inside and smiled at me.

“Emma, I missed you so much!”

“I was planning to go with you to your prenatal appointment this weekend, but my boss suddenly sent me out of town. I ordered you some food. Have you eaten? You’re eating for two now, so you can’t go hungry!”

With that, Ethan opened his arms, ready to pull me into a hug.

I lowered my head and quietly stepped out of reach.

My face hard, I pointed at the pile of takeout on the table.

“You know I never eat sweet tofu pudding or savory rice dumplings.”

The smile vanished from Ethan’s lips.

He instinctively pulled out his phone and glanced at it. The moment he realized what had happened, panic flashed across his face.

He quickly forced himself to look calm.

“This… I must’ve been in a hurry. I probably selected the wrong meal when I ordered the combo.”

“Leave it there. I’ll eat it later.”

“Emma, if you’re hungry, order something else first. I just remembered I need to call my boss back. I’ll be in my office.”

Before I could answer, Ethan grabbed his phone and hurried into the study.

Watching his anxious back, I guessed almost instantly who was on the other end of that call.

The real owner of the food.

Ethan’s mistress.

The study was well soundproofed. All I could hear was his vague, gentle voice, laced with occasional laughter. He was obviously enjoying the conversation.

It wasn’t until an hour later that Ethan finally came out of the study, still looking reluctant to end the call.

He pulled out a chair and sat down to eat with me.

Ethan ate the sweet tofu pudding and savory rice dumpling without even wrinkling his brow.

I pretended to ask casually, “Ethan, you grew up in the North too. How did you suddenly get used to sweet tofu pudding and savory rice dumplings?”

His hand froze around the spoon.

He gave an awkward laugh.

“I didn’t want to waste the food.”

“There’s a new girl at work. She’s from the South. A while ago, she asked me to try some of her regional food. I thought it tasted pretty good, so I got used to it. You should try some too.”

He offered me a spoonful of sweet tofu pudding like he was presenting me with a treasure.

I suddenly felt sick.

My stomach churned.

The morning sickness hit, and I instinctively reached for a tissue.

But the moment I stretched out my hand, Ethan grabbed the phone lying face down on the table and pulled it away.

His expression turned frantic.

“You…”

“I was just trying to get a tissue.”

He gave me an embarrassed smile and handed me one.

I looked at his face.

The nausea surged again.

I covered my mouth with the tissue and rushed into the bathroom. I threw up until the world seemed to spin.

Outside the door, Ethan knocked anxiously.

“Emma! Emma, are you okay?”

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t know you’d react so badly to this food.”

“If you’re throwing up this much, should we go to the hospital?”

I didn’t answer.

I splashed cold water on my face. My reflection looked deathly pale.

There was no need to test him anymore.

I was almost certain.

Ethan was cheating on me.

How could one man eat at two tables?

I took a deep breath and remembered the phone he had clutched so tightly.

No matter what, I wanted to know the truth.