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.

“Carson, you’ve finally come around?”

I stared at her, surprise flickering in my eyes. “Come around to what? Isn’t this an Archival family matter?”

“Don’t just talk about officially recognizing your family’s eldest grandson, since Gideon fathered the child but has no legitimate standing, he should be the one marrying you.”

I returned her smile with calm confidence. “As for me, I’m more than willing to step aside and make way for him.”

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Eyes darted nervously between each other, tension thick in the air.

Primrose’s face drained of color. Panic seized her as she grabbed my hand tightly.

“Carson, what nonsense are you spouting? I told you, we will never divorce.”

“Even if the child is Gideon’s, I would never marry him.”

My gaze shifted instinctively to Gideon. He lowered his head, a pitiful look softening his face, but beneath it, a flicker of smoldering resentment glimmered in his eyes.

Right. She wouldn’t divorce me, but she would keep sneaking behind my back into Gideon’s bed.

She’d keep using overtime as a mask, reuniting with Gideon and their child like some little happy family.

“Carson, what foolish talk is this, divorce talk, during a family dinner?”

Elizabeth’s glare cut through me, heavy with disdain.

“By our Archival traditions, you didn’t even have to be invited today. It was only because my daughter respects you.”

“This child, Alec, arrived at just the right time. You should raise him as your own. That’s your duty.”

Her father, Vincent, joined in. “Exactly. If you don’t raise him, our precious grandson becomes an illegitimate child. Our family’s bloodline wandering aimlessly, what would the world think? We’d be the joke.”

Dinner felt like chewing on wax, each person was lost in their own agenda.

I glanced at the calendar. Three days left.

No matter if Primrose signed or not, it would all end soon.

After dinner, Gideon came into my room holding the child.

“Brother Carson, don’t argue with Primrose anymore. The one she loves is you. Even though we have a child, she never once thought about marrying me.”

Gideon forced a bitter smile and carefully placed the child into my arms.

“I’ve decided to go abroad. I’m leaving the child with you. From now on, you’re Alec’s father.”

I froze, stunned. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah.”

Gideon’s eyes were red-rimmed. “This child and I were never meant to be.”

He patiently showed me how to hold the baby and how to settle him for sleep. But just as I cradled him, the child suddenly screamed out loud.

I frowned, and then I noticed a needle stuck in the back of his head.

Gideon’s face drained of color, turning deathly pale as he shouted, “Brother Carson, I know Alec isn’t your real son, and you have no bond with him, but you can’t be this cruel! If you have a grudge, take it out on me! He’s not even two yet. How could you stab him with such a thick needle?”

The noise startled the Archival family outside.

They rushed in to find me holding the child, a bloody needle clutched in my hand, my face frozen in shock.

Gideon was sobbing on his knees before me.

“If you have a grudge, take it out on me. Use the needle on me instead! Don’t hurt my son...”

Primrose’s parents hurried to help him up, their faces etched with sorrow.

But when their eyes fell on the bloodied needle in my hand, their expressions twisted into something cold and hateful.

“What crime have we committed? Carson, you can’t have children, and now you want to kill my only grandson…”

Primrose snatched the child from my arms, trembling as if I’d become a danger.

“Hurry! Call the private doctor!”

I stared dumbfounded at the needle in my palm.

Only then did the chilling truth hit me: I had walked right into their trap.