After a month abroad on business, I finally returned home. Sliding into my cherished car, I planned to give my husband a pleasant surprise by picking him up from work.

Yet the moment I settled in, unease crept over me; the driver’s seat felt noticeably tighter than before. Surely, I hadn’t grown larger in just a month?

Unwilling to let it go, I reached for a ruler. My suspicion was right, the seat was two centimeters closer than my usual setting.

My chest tightened. With my fastidiousness about cleanliness, only my husband and I ever touched this car. At one meter eighty, he had no reason to shorten the distance. And he rarely used it anyway. So who had been in here?

Without hesitation, I dialed Lennon Morrison. “Who drove my car?” I demanded.

Silence lingered for a moment before his voice answered. “No one. You know how particular you are; I wouldn’t let anyone else near it. I only moved the seat back for you.”

I didn’t say another word. I simply hung up and turned the car toward the hospital.

——

There, I waited in restless silence for the DNA results.

Though suspicion had long gnawed at me, without solid proof, a part of me still prayed it was all in my imagination.

If not, then decades of childhood friendship and three years of marriage would all turn into nothing but a cruel joke.

Yet Lennon’s words on the phone were hard to ignore. Every time he had borrowed my car before, he never once moved the seat back. His explanation had been needless, almost insulting.

And then I heard his voice from a distance.

“Baby, be careful, don’t hurt our child.”

Baby? Child?

I froze, turning in shock. The man who was never late and never left early now stood there, tenderly holding another woman, completely unaware that his wife was watching him.

I thought back to when I had burned with a high fever at home, too weak to move, and Lennon only called his assistant to send me to the hospital. At that time, he had said, “Sorry, wife, you know those old, stubborn people at the company are always watching me. I can’t just leave early and give them leverage.”

Being career-driven myself, I hadn’t taken his excuse too much to heart. But reality now told me, he could leave early, just not for me.

From the look of them, they had just stepped out of gynecology. That woman must have been pregnant. When had this all begun?

I picked up my phone and called Lennon again. He answered smoothly, without a trace of panic, “What’s wrong, wife? I just finished a meeting.”

Watching the two of them in the distance, hands gently caressing her belly, I forced down the lump in my throat.

“Didn’t you want a child? Let’s have one.”

Lennon was visibly shaken by my words. His eyes darted nervously around the room, and when he didn’t spot me, he exhaled in relief.

“Wife, did someone upset you? Was it my mom again? Don’t mind her, you know how she is. She just wants a grandchild too badly. Don’t feel any pressure, just focus on your career. I’ll always support you.”

From the very next day after our wedding, his mother had been pressing me to have children. But I had wanted to spend five years building my career first, which led to countless quarrels between us.

Each time, Lennon defended me, and I believed I had a husband who truly understood and supported me.

Yet in the end, all he did was find another woman to bear the child she wanted.

I ended the call without hesitation. Taking the test report from the doctor’s hand, I turned and walked away.

Then, after a brief pause, I called my assistant.

“Look into Lennon’s recent schedule, the people he’s met, and his transaction records. And take care of my car, I never want to see it again.”

That car had been bought for me by Lennon with the very first money he earned from starting his business, and it had also been his proposal gift to me, so I cherished it dearly.

Yet now, he had allowed another woman to trample on it.

When I returned home, Lennon suddenly stepped out from the entryway, holding a large bouquet of roses in his hands. With a tender smile, he offered them to me and softly said, “Wife, happy wedding anniversary.”

I froze, instinctively taking the vibrant roses. Lennon reached out to embrace me, but I stepped back.

“What’s wrong?” His brows knitted in puzzlement. “Don’t tell me you’ve been so busy with work that you forgot today is our wedding anniversary? Your husband would be jealous.”

Looking at the affectionate man before me, my heart felt as if it were being seized tightly by an invisible hand.

If I hadn’t seen him half an hour ago at the hospital, gently supporting that pregnant woman, I might truly have been fooled by him at this moment.

His performance was flawless, so flawless it turned my stomach with disgust.

After all, who would ever imagine that a man who never failed to surprise me on the tiniest anniversaries would be hiding another woman outside?

“I remember,” I heard my own voice say calmly.

Of course, I remembered. These past days abroad, I had buried myself in endless work, just so I could return early today and give him a surprise.

Yet instead, he dealt me a cruel shock first.

Lennon let out a breath of relief, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he reached for my hand.

“I booked a table at your favorite restaurant for seven o’clock. You still have time to change.”

I stared at him for several seconds, and a bitter laugh rose in my throat, laughing at myself for being so useless.

Even now, some part of me still wanted to give him a chance, as long as he could offer me a proper explanation.

But before I could speak, a phone call cut through the moment.

Lennon pulled out his phone, glanced at it, and his expression shifted in an instant. He pressed the answer button quickly, turned his back to me, and lowered his voice to murmur a few words.

When he hung up, he turned back with an apologetic look.

“Wife, something urgent came up at the company. I have to handle it right away. I’ll make it up to you tonight when I return.”

Without waiting for my response, he grabbed his coat in a hurry and walked out.

I stood still, staring at the roses in my hand.

I hadn’t seen the name on the screen clearly, but I had seen the photo on the caller ID; it was that woman from the hospital.

The door closed softly, yet the sound landed like a heavy hammer against my heart.

This was the second time he had lied to me again, for her.

I placed the roses into a vase and sank onto the sofa, waiting.

The clock hands circled tirelessly, from dusk to late night, and then into dawn.

The phone screen flickered on the coffee table, and Lennon’s voice messages appeared one after another.

“Sorry, wife, I’ll probably have to work late and stay at the company tonight. Don’t wait up.”

“I’ll order some food for you, make sure you eat and rest early.”

But beneath his gentle tone, another woman’s voice whispered faintly in the background.

“Was that Kathryn Gallagher?”

So she already knew about me.

When dawn arrived, I rose and dumped the roses from the vase into the bin.

I should have realized sooner that once dirtied, a thing could never be made pure again.

With a hollow heart, I packed Lennon’s suitcase, shoving his clothes in carelessly.

The sudden ring of the doorbell startled me.

I opened the door and stood stunned.

My mother-in-law, Klarisse Morrison, was supporting a young, pregnant woman, the same woman I had seen in the hospital.

Were they finally going to bare it all before me?

Klarisse frowned, her gaze sharp as she swept over me. “Why are you just standing there? Won’t you let us in?”

“Day after day, you can’t do anything right. I don’t even know what use it was marrying you. You can’t lay eggs, you can’t even cook.”

I quietly stepped aside to let them in. Klarisse immediately guided the woman to the sofa and even tucked a cushion behind her back with care.

“Oh, this is my cousin’s daughter, Tiffany Swanson. She came to the city to rest during her pregnancy. She doesn’t have a place to stay for now, so she’ll be living here with you.”

I watched Klarisse bustling about, pouring water, mixing things, peeling fruit, and suddenly, I found it all laughably absurd.

So Klarisse had known all along, and she was even helping to cover it up.

In the past, whenever she came over, it was me running around serving her. The moment something displeased her, she would scold me without mercy.

“Does Lennon know about this?” My voice was steady, cold enough to cut.

Without even raising her head, she replied, “Of course, he knows. Otherwise, how could I just bring someone here so casually?”

“Why are you still standing there? Move your things to the guest room. Tiffany should stay in the master bedroom; pregnant women need comfort.”

As if using my car and my husband wasn’t enough, now she wanted to use my house too.

I had already made up my mind about Lennon. Without another word, I seized their bags and flung them out the door.

“Get out.” My voice shook with fury. “Get out now.”

Klarisse screeched, “Have you lost your mind? She’s pregnant! You can’t give birth, so you’re jealous the moment you see a pregnant woman, is that it?”

Terrified, Tiffany shielded her belly with trembling hands. I pushed them out and slammed the door behind them.

Less than twenty minutes later, the lock clicked.

Lennon burst in, panting, his tie askew. He had left work early again, for her.

“Wife, I’m sorry. I should have explained earlier. Mom means well. Tiffany is pregnant, a stranger here, unfamiliar with everything. We can’t treat her coldly; we have to show at least basic kindness.”

He reached out, trying to take my hand, his tone still as gentle as ever, yet I could hear the reproach beneath it. He was blaming me for being petty, for casting out a pregnant woman.

I stepped back, my voice trembling but clear. “Lennon, that call last night wasn’t from the company, was it? The child in Tiffany’s belly is yours, isn’t it?”

Lennon’s expression froze instantly. He parted his lips as if to explain, but at that moment his phone rang.

Klarisse’s shrill voice burst through the receiver. “That jealous shrew of yours threw us out! Tiffany was frightened, Now her belly hurts, we’re on the way to the hospital!”

Lennon was silent for a few seconds. Then, without a word of defense, he turned and poured me a glass of water, pressing it gently into my hand.

“Wife, calm down first. When I come back, I’ll explain everything properly.”

I lifted the glass and drained it in one gulp, thinking this would be the last thread binding us together.

But the moment I set it down, a violent dizziness crashed over me. My body swayed, and Lennon’s face twisted, blurring before my eyes.

What was he trying to do?

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself tied up on the balcony. Outside, heavy rain poured down in sheets.

Just then, the sound of the lock turning echoed again. Klarisse and Lennon entered, supporting Tiffany.

She clutched her belly, her face pale, looking as if terror had hollowed her out.

Lennon carefully settled her down, speaking softly as though he were comforting some fragile treasure.

After soothing Tiffany, he finally walked toward the balcony.

“Wife, you’re awake. Have you calmed down yet?”

His tone remained gentle, as if I were merely being childish, not bound here like this.

“Wife, don’t blame me. This is what you owe Tiffany.”

He sighed, reaching out to wipe the rain from my face.

“You shouldn’t have thrown her out. The wind outside was fierce. She’s pregnant. What if something had happened?”

I stared at him, my throat parched, unable to force out a single word.

“Don’t worry, Tiffany won’t replace you.”

His voice was relaxed, almost dismissive, as if this was nothing at all.

“You don’t want children, do you? Then this works out. When her child is born, we’ll raise it as ours. To the world, it will be yours. My mother won’t pressure you anymore, and you can focus on your work. Isn’t that the best of both worlds?”

“So don’t be angry anymore, alright? Let’s go back to how we were.”

He said it as though his infidelity had been an act of kindness, a way to free me from pressure.

“I love you, truly. I can’t live without you.”

Leaning in, his fingers grazed my cheek. “So don’t fight Tiffany anymore, okay?”

For the first time, the man before me felt utterly foreign, so much so that I found him frightening.

Just then, the ground shook violently, an earthquake.

Lennon froze, his hand halfway to my ropes. But before he could move further, Tiffany’s shrill cry rang from inside the house. “Lennon! I’m so scared! Save me!”

He hesitated for only two seconds before pulling his hand back. His words came rushed, almost breathless.

“Wife, Tiffany is pregnant now. Be considerate. I’ll have Mom untie you.”

Without another glance, he turned and ran inside, scooping Tiffany into his arms without a moment’s pause.

Klarisse followed close behind. As she passed the balcony, her cold eyes swept over me, but she never stopped.

They left me there, abandoned.

The tremors grew stronger. Cracks split across the walls, dust rained from the ceiling, and the building groaned as if ready to crumble.

I fought against the ropes with all the strength I had, but they wouldn’t yield.

And just before everything came crashing down, I heard Lennon’s voice echoing in the distance, his voice calling Tiffany’s name with trembling worry, without the slightest mention of me.

Boom.

The building collapsed.

And my heart collapsed with it.