chapter1

As night fell, I finally found a moment of peace after putting my daughter to bed. I grabbed my phone and began mindlessly scrolling through TikTok, eventually pausing on a street-fashion live broadcast.

I straightened up, my eyes narrowing at the screen, but the host had already switched the camera angle. My heart pounded, and my palms felt clammy against the glass of my phone. I checked the time—the broadcast was live, happening right now in our city.

I hurriedly exited the app and placed a video call to my husband, Matthew Murphy.

He was supposed to be on a three-day business trip in Canta, hundreds of miles away. Yet, I was certain I had just seen him on that broadcast, his arm wrapped around another woman. The phone rang for a long time before he finally picked up.

Matthew’s camera shook slightly before his handsome face appeared on the screen. He greeted me with his usual warmth. “Hey, honey!”

“Where are you?” I asked urgently, my eyes scanning his background. He appeared to be in a quiet corridor of a restaurant, dressed in a white shirt and tie. However, the man I saw in the live stream had been wearing a gray windbreaker.

“I’m having dinner with a client,” he explained smoothly. “I stepped out to take your call. What’s up? Is everything okay? Is Ava asleep?”

“Are you still in Canta?” I sidestepped his questions, my voice tight.

“Of course I am. Why do you ask?” He looked at me with a face full of genuine curiosity and concern.

“Oh… it’s nothing,” I mumbled, feeling a flicker of doubt. “When are you coming home?”

“Soon. I’ll be back as soon as I wrap things up here. Do you miss me?” Matthew offered a loving smile. “I’ll try to get back as fast as I can. It’s getting late, sweetheart. Go to bed early, okay? I have to get back to the meeting. Bye!”

He blew a kiss to the camera and hung up.

I sat there, stunned and annoyed with myself. Matthew was an extraordinary husband—doting, handsome, and devoted. When we first met, he had nothing. He came from an ordinary family and worked tirelessly to support his sickly younger sister. I had chosen him over many other admirers because I saw his heart.

After graduation, I had used my parents’ house as collateral to start a supply company with him. I stayed by his side through the lean years, dealing with difficult clients until I nearly suffered from gastric bleeding. Fortunately, our hard work paid off, and the company began to thrive.

When I got pregnant, I decided to step back, entrusting the business to Matthew while I focused on raising our daughter, Ava, and managing our home. Ava was four now, and we led a comfortable life that many of our friends envied.

Matthew always expressed guilt that we never had a formal wedding ceremony, and he promised to spend the rest of his life making it up to me. How could a man like that cheat?

I forced a smile, realizing I had probably watched too many dramas lately. But as I lay in bed, I couldn't shake the image from the TikTok stream. The gray windbreaker was a perfect match for the one I had ironed for him just before his trip. It was a hauntingly familiar detail.

Matthew returned early the following afternoon, laden with treats for Ava. The house was filled with warmth and laughter as he hugged us both. Touched by his affection, I rushed to the kitchen to prepare his favorite dishes as a welcome-home reward.

As we sat down to eat, Matthew glanced at me and said casually, “There’s a heavy smell of oil in here, honey. Why don’t you go take a shower?”

I sniffed the air and smiled proudly. “That’s the smell of a good home-cooked meal. Don’t you like it?”

He chuckled, reaching over to lovingly ruffle my hair. He fed a piece of food to me and then to Ava. “All right, my sweethearts. Let’s eat!”

After dinner, I put Ava to bed and took a long shower. When I finished, I approached Matthew playfully. “Do I still smell like oil?”

Matthew smiled, pulling me into his arms. “I’ve missed you so much!”

He was unusually enthusiastic that night, his affection overwhelming any lingering suspicions I had. When we were finished, he headed to the bathroom. As I began to tidy up the bed, his phone on the nightstand flashed with a new notification.

It was a WhatsApp message. I glanced at the preview on the screen, and my blood turned to ice.