Ten years together, and Dora Fox and I were finally ending our long-distance relationship with an engagement announcement.

At the ceremony, her male secretary swept his gaze over me from head to toe, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

"So, brother-in-law—you're that guy on the foreign sites, aren't you? The one who stars with a different sugar mommy in every video."

"This is our first time meeting in person, but I have to say... your physique looks very familiar."

I lifted my eyes to meet his, my voice cold. "You're certain it was in a video that you saw me?"

The secretary flinched as if I'd struck him, shrinking behind Dora like a man without a spine.

"Sorry, sorry—I forgot you people don't like being recognized after you leave the industry."

Dora's expression darkened instantly. Her brow furrowed, and her gaze cut toward me—not him.

"You must have the wrong person."

The secretary flashed an innocent grin, all teeth and no sincerity.

"Right, right, my mistake. Brother-in-law is far too refined and elegant to be one of those desperate attention-seekers."

Oh, we'd met before.

Back when he was servicing male clients at a certain specialized establishment overseas.

An occupational injury landed him in the hospital. I was the one who stitched him up.

I wondered if he'd been taking the HIV medication I prescribed.

...

Dora and I were the center of attention tonight.

Every eye in the room was fixed on us.

The moment Guy Mason finished speaking, the entire banquet hall fell silent.

Guests exchanged glances, smirking, words hovering unspoken on their lips.

A mutual friend of ours hurried over to smooth things over.

"Don't be ridiculous. David Gilbert studied medicine in Berlin—do you have any idea how demanding that program is? He wouldn't have time for that kind of nonsense."

Guy snorted and curled his lip.

"Please. Everyone knows stressed-out intellectuals love hooking up to blow off steam."

"Besides, Ms. Fox is doing so well for herself now, and brother-in-law's family doesn't exactly have money. Can you blame him for finding a way to earn some bridal gifts lying down?"

I slammed my champagne glass onto the table. The sharp crack silenced the whispers. I stepped toward him, my face hard as stone.

"You'd better have evidence for what you're saying. Otherwise, I'll sue."

Guy hunched his shoulders and slapped a hand over his mouth in mock alarm.

"Boys help boys! Fine, fine, I'll stop."

Dora seized my arm and yanked me back, her grip bruising. She stepped between us—positioning herself in front of Guy, shielding him behind her.

"Enough. You're a grown man. Why are you picking fights with some kid fresh out of college?"

Something in my chest seized. I stared at her—the woman I'd loved for a decade—unable to believe what I'd just heard.

She realized it a beat too late. Her red lips pressed together, but she didn't take it back.

Guy, meanwhile, played the wounded party to perfection. His eyes reddened, his voice small and pitiful.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have butted in."

"I'm sure now that Ms. Fox is so successful, brother-in-law won't need to return to his old line of work."

"Let's just say I got the wrong person..."

The guests who had come to offer congratulations now regarded me with undisguised contempt.

Hands rose to cover smirking mouths. Heads bent together, whispers hissing back and forth.

Some pulled out their phones, already searching for my alleged "content."

A red-faced uncle—drunk enough that his neck had flushed crimson—grabbed Greg Fox by the arm and let out an ugly laugh.

"Well, well. The Fox family really does welcome all comers, huh? Even a son-in-law who's been around the block a few hundred times."

"You were bragging to me about how impressive your future son-in-law was—studying abroad on his own, refusing your money even when you offered."

"Turns out he just had to lie back and spread his legs to rake in foreign cash. No wonder he didn't want your pocket change."

Greg trembled from head to toe, his face burning so hot it looked ready to catch fire.

Greg Fox had been a respectable intellectual his entire life. He'd probably never been publicly humiliated like this before.

"David, I know long-distance relationships are hard, but you can't just—"

I knew words alone wouldn't clear my name.

So I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.

I'd only pressed the first two digits when Dora snatched the phone from my hand.

"Don't make a scene on our big day. I said I believe you, isn't that enough?"

"The engagement ceremony starts soon. Calling the police over something this trivial? That's bad luck."

I stared at her, disappointment crashing through me. My head was buzzing.

Ever since Guy showed up a year ago, I'd sensed Dora pulling away. She didn't cling to me like she used to.

When I'd gotten into that minor car accident in Berlin, she'd barely seemed concerned.

I'd told myself it was normal—relationships cool down after a while.

But now I saw the truth. The man in her heart wasn't me anymore.

"Are you worried the police will delay our engagement—or are you afraid they'll arrest the person who made up these lies?"

I swallowed the hurt clawing at my chest and shook off Dora's grip as she tried to pull me back.

"David, I—" she started.

Before she could finish, Guy's eyes welled up, his voice cracking into a pitiful whimper.

"I'm sorry, this is all my fault..." He sniffled. "Please don't fight with Ms. Fox because of me. There are so many business partners here—if you cause a scene, how is she supposed to face her clients afterward?"

He dabbed at his eyes. "I got the wrong person. I was talking nonsense. There. Happy now?"

I almost laughed from sheer disbelief.

What a performance. Retreat to advance—classic.

With all these people listening to his carefully vague denials, they'd all walk away thinking exactly what he wanted: that I'd sold myself overseas.

If I didn't clear this up today, Dora would spend the rest of her life wearing the shame he'd pinned on me.

I clenched my jaw and fixed Guy with a cold smile.

"I don't care what your angle is or why you pulled this stunt."

"You're going to explain yourself. Right now. Or I won't hold back."

The color drained from Guy's face.

His expression crumpled into wounded innocence, tears threatening to spill.

"I already said I got the wrong person! What more do you want from me?"

"That account's been deleted anyway. I'm not going to share the videos I downloaded."

"Please..." His voice broke. "Don't use your position as the boss's future husband to fire me..."

"I'll get on my knees and apologize if that's what it takes!"

Still sobbing, he started to lower himself into a kowtow.

His knees had barely bent before someone caught him.

Dora shoved past me, nearly knocking me off balance.

Her face was ashen. Behind her perfectly applied makeup, her eyes had turned venomous.

"David, are you done?"

"I've been biting my tongue this whole time. Even if you had a lapse in judgment and made those videos, I was willing to look the other way!"

"So why do you have to keep pushing? Why are you bullying him?"

My mind went blank.

The pain in my chest made it impossible to breathe.

This woman—who had occupied a full third of my life, who had held my hand just an hour ago, who had promised to grow old with me—didn't believe me.

What was the point of this engagement anymore?

"Fine. If we can't sort this out here, then you're coming with me to the police station."

I reached past Dora to grab Guy.

A grown man in his twenties—yet he recoiled like a rabbit facing the butcher's knife, thrashing in wide-eyed terror.

"Mr. Fox! Mr. Fox, save me! I think he's trying to kill me!"

I ignored his wailing completely, dragging him toward the exit.

Dora rushed over and pried at my grip on Guy's arm.

When I wouldn't let go, she wound back and slapped me across the face.

Crack.

The sound cut through the banquet hall like a gunshot. The room fell silent.

Half my face went numb, then burned—like a thousand needles stabbing at once. My right ear rang with a high-pitched whine.

Dora seemed frozen too, staring at her own hand as if it belonged to someone else.

"Ha."

I licked the blood from the corner of my mouth and let out a hollow laugh, stepping closer to her.

Guy immediately threw himself between us like a hen guarding her chick, arms spread wide in what he clearly imagined was a heroic stance.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "Even if Ms. Fox hit you, you deserved it! You're the one who couldn't keep it in your pants—you betrayed her first!"

I looked at his self-righteous display.

I was so tired. Bone-deep exhausted.

"You keep claiming I filmed obscene videos overseas," I said evenly. "Where's your proof?"

"Young man, you think you can just flap your lips and spread whatever lies you want?"

Murmurs rippled through the guests.

"He has a point—you can't just take one person's word for something like this."

Guy bit his lip, doing his best impression of a wronged martyr standing tall against injustice.

"Fine. You asked for this."

He pulled out his phone and connected it to the venue's main screen.

The photo of Dora and me—our engagement portrait, the two of us smiling—vanished. In its place, a video began to play.

A man and a foreign woman, tangled together. The man's face was slack with pleasure, wearing a greasy, leering grin.

And that face—displayed in perfect clarity for everyone to see—was mine.

The banquet hall erupted.

Parents covered their children's eyes.

Others leaned forward, gawking.

Some pulled out their phones to record.

"Holy shit! He's really going at it!"

"Damn, look at those moves—"

"Who would've guessed? Looks so refined and bookish, but underneath? Total sleaze."

"'Studying medicine abroad'—yeah right. Wonder how many rich women's beds he climbed into over there."

"That's wild. Think he'd actually settle down with just Ms. Fox after marriage?"

The comments grew filthier by the second.

Dora's face had gone a sickly green—the exact shade of the blanched vegetables on the banquet table.

Greg Fox looked like he might collapse. He grabbed my lapel to steady himself, then slammed his fist into my chest.

"I pitied you! Your parents died young, and I treated you like my own son! How could you be this shameless? How could you do this to my daughter?"

Guy clutched at Dora's sleeve, sniffling pathetically, his face arranged in an expression of pure noble sacrifice.

"Ms. Fox, I just—I couldn't stand watching you get deceived by this... this filthy man who's slept with God knows how many people!"

"You've been so good to me. Even if you fire me after this, I'll accept it. I had to tell you the truth."

I folded my arms and let a cold smirk curl my lips.

"Funny. I don't think anyone knows that particular feeling better than you do."

Guy flinched like I'd struck him. His eyes darted away, and he shrank back behind Dora.

That was the final straw for her. Humiliation and rage collided, and she exploded.

She pulled Guy protectively behind her, her eyes blazing red as she glared at me.

"David! How much longer are you going to humiliate him?"