Chapter 2

My head exploded. The room seemed to spin around me.

The anger I had barely managed to suppress erupted again. I pointed at the sheets and shouted.

“Claire, tell me what this is! You really cheated on me, and you even brought someone home to sleep with you?”

I had expected her to panic.

Instead, Claire exploded even harder than I did. She rushed at me and began hitting and scratching my chest.

“You jerk! First you act like I disgust you, and now you’re accusing me of cheating? If you don’t want to be married anymore, just say it! We can get divorced! Don’t stand there saying things meant to humiliate me!”

I finally caught her wrists and held her back. In that short time, she had already scratched several bloody lines across my face.

Seeing her reaction, I began to waver.

Had I wronged her?

Then what was the stain on the bed?

“The white stuff is oatmeal,” Claire sobbed. “I spilled some earlier and tried to wipe it away with water, but it wouldn’t come off. I didn’t have time to wash the sheets before you came home.”

“If you don’t believe me, smell it! Go ahead!”

She began crying harder. Her small face was wet with tears as she yanked the sheet toward me and shoved it under my nose.

I smelled it.

There was no foul odor. Only the sweet scent of oats.

My heart finally relaxed. I regretted how impulsive I had been and quickly pulled my crying wife into my arms.

“Claire, I’m sorry. I was too anxious. You’re so good to me, but I’m always afraid I’m not enough for you.”

“I was being a bastard. Please don’t cry. Seeing you cry hurts me.”

I comforted her for a long time. She finally stopped crying after I promised to buy her four new designer bags.

After all that fighting, we were both exhausted. We cleaned up a little and went to bed.

But even with my eyes closed, I couldn’t fall asleep.

The picture had been fake. But what about the video?

The woman in it had clearly been Claire. There was no mistake.

So had she really cheated on me?

I wanted to wake her up and demand the truth, but when I saw her sleeping peacefully, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Maybe the video had been generated by AI.

I couldn’t keep accusing Claire without proof.

I slept only a few hours. The next morning, I went to work feeling drained.

I hadn’t finished the files before going home, and Damian used that as an excuse to berate me in front of everyone.

“Some people have no ability and no talent. They can only find a job because their wives pull strings for them.”

“Honestly, can a useless man like that even keep his wife under control?”

Damian threw insult after insult at me. My coworkers whispered among themselves, occasionally glancing in my direction.

My face burned with embarrassment. I wished I could hide under my desk.

“Oh, Ethan, I’m not talking about you,” Damian added with fake concern. “Don’t misunderstand. Claire is a wonderful wife.”

Though he apologized with his mouth, his eyes were full of contempt. Then he let out a mocking laugh.

Everyone burst out laughing.

All I could do was pretend it didn’t bother me and laugh along with them. I took a sip of coffee to hide the hatred in my eyes.

I needed this job.

It was only temporary humiliation. I could endure it.

“Ethan, did you sleep badly last night? You look awful.”

In the break room, Madison Reed brought me a cup of coffee.

She was the daughter of the company’s vice president. She was beautiful, with a perfect figure and long, slender legs. Her professional clothes only made her more attractive.

For some reason, Madison had always favored me. She was constantly looking after me.

That was probably why Damian hated me so much. He had once pursued Madison and been brutally rejected.

Madison didn’t just favor me. She had also flirted with me more than once.

Like now, when she leaned forward so far that I could see the tempting view beneath her blouse.

My old face turned red. I cleared my throat.

“I didn’t sleep well. Claire was a little restless last night.”

Unfortunately, I was married. I couldn’t betray my wife, so I forced myself to turn Madison down.

Her eyes dimmed. She looked hurt.

I couldn’t give her false hope, so I tried to walk away.

But she grabbed my arm.

After struggling with herself for a moment, she finally made up her mind.

“Ethan, there’s something I need to tell you. You should prepare yourself.”

I frowned.

What could possibly require me to prepare myself?

Madison pulled out her phone and opened a video.

My eyes widened.

How had she secretly filmed my wife?

I was about to ask, but then I saw Claire in the video.

She was wearing a revealing outfit. Her skirt barely covered her thighs, and her chest was exposed. She walked out of a hotel with a middle-aged man.