Chapter 1

On my fifth wedding anniversary, I prepared a candlelit dinner and waited for my wife all night. But she was at the mall with my twin sons, hanging out with her first love. She was even photographed by reporters and made it to the trending news. My wife, who disliked any physical contact with me, allowed her first love to put his arm around her waist. Even our youngest son, who had an obsessive-compulsive disorder, pecked the man on the cheek and beamed at him. I called my wife in a panic, only for her to chastise me for being petty. "I've finally reunited with Jared after five years! What's wrong with introducing him to our sons?" Before I could respond, my youngest son shouted, "Daddy, you're such a spoilsport! I like Jared more. I want him to be my dad!" Their words left me in a daze. My phone slipped from my hand and fell to the ground, the screen shattering. I smiled wryly as I collapsed back into my chair. My marriage to Yvonne Langley had started as a business arrangement, but I had fallen for her after five years of secret marriage. Though she constantly video-called Jared Lawson and even went overseas to spend Christmas with him, I still thought that we could at least have mutual respect and loyalty—even if there was no love between us. Little did I know that Yvonne, who had always refused to get intimate with me and merely slept with me once when she was drunk before giving birth to our twin sons, would openly show affection to Jared in public. She didn't hesitate at all. My youngest son, who had always disliked physical contact and never let me hug him, actually took the initiative to kiss Jared on the cheek. He even wanted him to be his father! I felt a sharp jolt of pain in my chest. I grabbed the armrest of my chair, struggling to calm myself. Ignoring the exquisite candlelit dinner I had prepared on the table, I fumbled for my spare phone and attempted to call Yvonne again. I wanted to salvage our crumbling marriage. But then I received a video from Jared. Trembling, I tapped on the video and saw the host asking through his microphone, "Today is the grand opening of our new store! Any couple who kisses for one minute will receive chocolate ice cream for free! Who's brave enough to try first?" The onlookers knew this wasn't about getting free ice cream; it was just a perfect opportunity for a couple to publicly display their love. In the video, Jared glanced at Yvonne and shot her a suggestive look. "Free ice cream tastes best. Would you like to try?" Yvonne blushed. As she balked, our youngest son, Xavier Joplin, goaded her on, "Mommy, this is so fun! Hurry up and kiss Jared. I want ice cream!" he squealed, pushing his mother toward Jared. Stumbling into Jared's arms, Yvonne accidentally kissed him on the lips as she looked up at him. "Mommy, it's just ice cream!" Our eldest son, Jonas Joplin, blurted out. "We can easily afford it. You can't kiss him—you can't betray Daddy!" He wanted to stop them, but Xavier got in his way and chided, "Jonas, this is called romance. You wouldn't understand!" Yvonne didn't stop despite Jonas' objections. Amidst the cheers of the crowd, she kissed Jared for a full minute. Her entire face was still flushed red after the kiss. Finally getting the ice cream he wanted, Xavier exclaimed, "Jared, you're amazing!" Jared ruffled his hair lovingly. "I'm glad you like it." "I love it! I think you're better than my dad!" The video ended, and at that moment, I felt like my heart had shattered into pieces. Waves of sorrow washed over me. I suddenly realized that all my efforts in these years were just a joke. I couldn't make Yvonne open up, and now, even my son had been taught to turn away from me. My son, whom I had raised for years, was closer to a man who had just returned to the country than to his own father. I suddenly couldn't understand the point of holding onto this marriage any longer. Utterly drowning in helplessness, I felt like it was time to give up on this marriage. In fact, Yvonne had proposed a divorce three years ago when she reconnected with Jared. But our children were a year old then, and I couldn't bear for them to grow up in a single-parent household. More importantly, I had developed feelings for Yvonne. I knew she wasn't into me, so I masked my feelings and used our children as an excuse. They were still too young to be without a mother, so I refused the divorce and even gave her 10% of Joplin Group's shares. Only then did she abandon the idea of divorce.