On the night of our eighth anniversary, Primrose Archival slept with her male assistant.

After it happened, she looked at me with reddened eyes and whispered, “Honey, I was set up. He’s already been fired.”

To prove her innocence, she held a knife to her abdomen and slashed herself.

I had no choice but to forgive her.

But two years later, that same male assistant, Gideon Cortez, sat across from me in a café, tossing photo after photo onto the table, each one more intimate than the last.

“On Thanksgiving, she told you to go on a business trip, didn’t she? In truth, she spent the holiday with me and our child.”

“And your birthday? She said there was a company crisis and she couldn’t make it back. That night, we had a candlelit dinner and then stayed in a couple’s themed suite.”

“And on your tenth anniversary? We went to the hot springs. Used up two whole boxes of condoms.”

“You really think she still loves you? Wake up. She’s addicted to my body. Our kid is nearly a year old now…”

I nearly clawed my palms raw. She hadn’t just betrayed me. She’d given him a child.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I demanded a divorce.

But Primrose’s eyes turned red as she snapped, “Carson, we are not getting divorced. The only way out is if one of us dies!”

“If we don’t divorce, I can bring Gideon’s son over, and you can raise him. Since you're child-free by choice, wouldn’t it be nice to skip the labor pains?”

I laughed coldly. She had the nerve to cheat, and now wanted me to raise their kid.

I turned away and called my sister overseas. “Sis, get me a fake identity. Best if I can fake my death and disappear.”

“Once unfaithful, always unfaithful. I want to vanish from her world, completely.”

——

On the other end, my sister stayed silent for three seconds before replying, “Don’t worry, leave it to me.”

“That woman Primrose dares to hurt my brother? I’ll show her the true meaning of death.”

My sister was a mercenary, untethered by borders. Even if she killed someone, no country could touch her.

Realizing what she intended, I hesitated and quickly stopped her.

“Sis, she’s not worth dirtying your hands.”

“Just prepare my new identity. Give me seven days. I’ll settle everything here and come find you.”

Right after I hung up, I heard cautious footsteps behind me, slow, hesitant.

I turned around. Primrose was standing there, lips slightly parted, but unsure what to say.

“Carson, have you thought it over?”

I gave her a cold stare. “Thought over what?”

She looked briefly dazed, then answered seriously, “You forgot? Yesterday, I suggested bringing Gideon’s son here so we could raise him together.”

“The child’s not even a year old yet and doesn’t recognize anyone. If you raise him for the next two years, he’ll think you’re his real father…”

Hearing her calmly plan such madness, I let out a cold, bitter laugh.

This twisted plan of hers exploded in my face.

She didn’t just cheat, and now she wanted to parade their illegitimate child in front of me and expected me to raise him.

What made her think I’d ever agree to such madness?

“Absolutely not.”

I spat out those words coldly, watching the color drain from her face, inch by inch.

“Carson…”

Her voice trembled as she grabbed my arm, eyes reddened.

“I know this is unfair to you, but it was all an accident. I never meant to betray you.”

“But the child is innocent, I have to take responsibility for her.”

Her eyes pleaded with me, full of desperation and fake devotion.

And just like that, memories from two years ago came flooding back.

That night marked our eighth wedding anniversary. I had waited at the restaurant until they closed.

It wasn’t until 3 a.m. that a video finally came through, sent from an anonymous account.

When I clicked it open, the video showed a drunken Primrose passionately tangled up with a man.

I recognized him instantly, her newly hired assistant, Gideon.

Before I could even process the betrayal, Primrose called me, panic thick in her voice.

“Honey, I think I did something horrible…”

“I didn’t mean to. I drank too much. I blacked out. I don’t even know how it happened.”

“When I came to, Gideon was lying naked beside me…”

She looked shattered, eyes full of guilt and unbearable pain.

“Carson, please believe me. I was set up.”

At that time, though she confessed with trembling sincerity, I had already seen the video.

I felt like the ground had given way beneath me. I asked for a divorce.

But to my shock, Primrose suddenly grabbed a knife and, right before my eyes, unfastened her belt.

Her eyes were red as she choked out, “Carson, I never meant to betray you.”

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove my innocence right now.”

Then, without a hint of hesitation, she plunged the knife toward her own abdomen.

The blade sank into her flesh, blood staining her trembling hands.

I was stunned but lunged forward to stop her. “I forgive you. I believe you.”

That night, we clung to each other and cried until our souls felt bare.

Primrose swore she had already fired Gideon and handled everything, that nothing like this would ever happen again.

Yet I never could have imagined that her so-called year-long business trip overseas was actually to give birth.

Not only had she taken countless intimate, indecent photos, but she had a child.

If she still insisted it was an accident, even a fool wouldn’t buy it.

I let out a bitter laugh and coldly pushed Primrose aside as she stood firm in front of me.

“I won’t stop you from taking responsibility for your child. That’s your choice, your right.”

“But for me, this ends here. Let’s get a divorce.”

Maybe I was too calm, so Primrose stood frozen for a long moment, convinced I must be joking.

She begged me to reconsider, pleading for me not to speak in anger.

“Carson, we’ve shared ten years together. All those years filled with love, never once a real fight. Everyone around us knows.”

But when I laid the divorce papers before her and calmly reviewed every clause, her eyes immediately welled with tears.

“No. I won’t get divorced.”

Primrose clung to me tightly. “Did you forget? When we vowed, I promised, death do us part, but never divorce.”

My heart was shredded by a thousand knives, each slice agonizing, yet I forced my face to remain calm.

“Carson, you forgave me two years ago. Our bond is strong. We can weather this storm together.”

Primrose was so certain. I sneered with cold disdain.

Even now, she believed I was angry and asking for a divorce just because I found out about the child.

But Primrose had no clue that Gideon had secretly reached out to me, arranging a meeting at a café.

He had thrown those private photos right in my face.

Now, I pulled the photos from my bag and laid them out one by one before Primrose.

With every photo I revealed, her complexion drained further, paling like a fading shadow.

“Primrose, do you still think the child is the only problem here?”

Her disbelief was plain, her voice trembling ever so slightly.

“Carson, where did you get these photos?”

“Was it Gideon?”

“He must have been angry over money and edited these pictures to blackmail me, trying to tear us apart!”

I studied her calmly, watching the woman who acted as if she held every right to protest, desperately defending herself like the victim.

But I wasn’t stupid.

After Gideon confessed everything, I hired a private investigator to dig deeper.

Every business trip Primrose took in the past two years, every hotel she stayed at, each detail matched Gideon’s story perfectly.

When we married ten years ago, I made one thing clear.

I could endure aging, sickness, and even death. I could bear anything but deceit.

If something was wrong, we would talk it out. But hiding it from me? That was unforgivable.

I might have forgiven them for the betrayal in the bedroom.

But I couldn’t accept Primrose’s endless lies, claiming she was on business trips when she was secretly checking into hotels with Gideon.

Couldn’t accept her pretending to live a chaste life with me while she was lost in another man’s arms, moaning beneath him.

And what I absolutely couldn’t swallow was that she carried another man’s child behind my back, even going overseas to give birth.

“That’s enough, Primrose.”

Exhausted by her deceit, I looked her straight in the eye. “I investigated. That child’s birthdate doesn’t even line up with that night.”

I stared coldly into her eyes and spoke every word with deliberate calm.

“Even if those photos were fakes, ask yourself honestly, was it really just one night with Gideon?”

Primrose’s face flushed, then drained of color as I laid bare her truth.

She stood there, stunned, mouth opening, but no words came out.

Without looking back, I turned and walked away.

The only thing I left behind was one cold command, “Just sign it.”

“After that, hand the papers to my lawyer. I never want to see you again.”

Three days passed, and Primrose still refused to sign.

She even pretended to be sick, tricking me into coming to her family’s old house for dinner.

When I arrived, the whole Archival clan was there.

My eyes locked on Gideon sitting quietly in the corner. I said nothing.

He looked nervous, and when he caught my gaze, his voice wavered. “Brother Carson, I shouldn’t be here... but Mr. and Mrs. Archival said Alec is their eldest grandson, so he has to be at the family dinner today...”

Alec, that was their child.

Elizabeth cut in sharply, “Alec is my strong, healthy grandson. Who could possibly keep him from a family dinner?”

She cast a pointed, sarcastic glance in my direction.

“Besides, tonight’s dinner was meant to welcome the child back into the fold.”

Primrose’s eyes stayed nervously locked on me the entire time.

She pulled out a chair for me and served my plate with careful hands, trying hard to win my favor.

“Carson, Mom and Dad are getting old. They long for a grandchild. Don’t blame me for making this decision alone. Whether the child becomes officially part of the family still depends on your consent.”

Both her parents’ faces showed clear disapproval, as they had never liked the way Primrose doted on me.

“Primrose, don’t forget who truly commands the Archival family. Carson is your husband, not some outsider who married in. Don’t tarnish the Archival name.”

I didn’t even touch my spoon or fork, sitting silent and unmoved.

We had been married for ten years. I had chosen to remain childfree, and Primrose had respected that; no children came of our union.

But her parents never understood.

They had always looked down on me, whispering cruel rumors behind my back that I was infertile, not man enough.

Before, their gossip was whispered in shadows.

Now, with Primrose’s backup and a “precious” grandson, their disdain was brazen and loud.

Her mother, Elizabeth’s eyes bore into me. “Carson, you’ve been part of the Archival family for ten years. We don’t fault you for not having children. But at the very least, don’t you think it’s only right to restore our bloodline?”

I set down my wine glass, smiled coldly, and nodded. “Of course. Since the child is Primrose’s biological son, bringing him home is only proper.”

Joy instantly spread through the room. Primrose even set down her spoon and fork, glowing with happiness.