Chapter1

By the time I arrived at the Long Island mansion, the banquet was already underway.

The grand hall was buzzing. Under the brilliant chandeliers, glasses clinked as a few familiar faces gathered around Evelyn, laughing and chatting. She stood at the center of the crowd in a sharply tailored evening gown, exuding an effortless elegance—looking as if everything tonight lay entirely within her grasp.

I walked in carrying a gift box. No one stopped me, but hardly anyone paid me any mind, either.

In settings like this, I was never meant to stand out. People knew I was Evelyn’s husband, but that was the extent of it. In their eyes, I was little more than an unglamorous footnote to this house.

I didn't care. I walked straight toward Noah.

Today was his fifth birthday.

Inside the box was a mechanical starry sky projector, which had taken me quite some time to repair. It wasn’t expensive—in fact, it looked rather shabby in a living room like this—but he had once told me he wanted a star that could shine. I remembered.

"Happy birthday," I said, handing him the box.

Noah looked up at me. He didn’t take it immediately; instead, he looked over at Evelyn.

She was standing a short distance away, a wine glass in hand. She noticed what was happening but made no move to come over. She just watched, her gaze indifferent.

Noah hesitated. Just as he raised his hand, Brian walked over.

His arrival tonight had been high-profile, and his gift was even more so. The keys to a Porsche dangled from his finger, swaying gently. Suppressed gasps of admiration immediately rippled through the onlookers.

"That’s a bit much, isn't it?"

"Brian, you’re going to spoil the boy rotten."

He just smiled and placed the keys gently into Noah’s hand.

"A birthday gift. Do you like it?"

Noah’s eyes lit up instantly.

Clutching the keychain, he looked back at the box in my hand, his expression completely changed. A child’s likes and dislikes are often terribly direct—and terribly brutal.

The next second, he swatted the box out of my hand.

It crashed to the floor and burst open. The projector rolled out, its edges cracking with a crisp, shattering sound.

A momentary silence fell over the room.

I looked down at the broken pieces on the floor, but I didn't immediately bend down.

Noah, however, seemed completely oblivious to what he had just done. Eagerly raising the car keys, his face flushed with excitement, he shouted at Brian:

"Daddy!"

His voice was loud.

The entire hall heard it.

A beat later, muffled laughter rippled through the crowd, accompanied by a few ambiguous glances directed my way. Some were enjoying the show, some pretended not to hear, and others carried on drinking as if nothing had happened—treating the scene as just another harmless interlude in high society.

I looked up at Evelyn.

She didn’t utter a word to stop him.

On the contrary, she tipped her chin up ever so slightly, as if silently sanctioning the whole thing.

"He’s just a child," she finally spoke, a trace of impatience in her tone. "Don't make a scene and make things ugly."

I looked at her and asked, "You think this is just about the child?"

Evelyn frowned, clearly displeased that I was questioning her in front of an audience.

"It’s just a title. Is there any need to take it so seriously?" She set her glass down and walked over. "Brian treats him well, and Noah feels close to him. It’s perfectly normal."

"Normal?"

I repeated the word. I found it almost laughable.

Brian stood beside her, gracefully taking over the conversation.

"Don’t be overly sensitive," he said. "What era are we living in? Relationships don’t need to be so rigid. Evelyn has her career and her choice of connections. You ought to be understanding."

He spoke mildly, sounding almost as if he were trying to console me.

Yet every single word crossed the line.

I finally understood. Tonight wasn't an accident. Noah’s "Daddy" wasn’t a childish whim. At the very least, Evelyn never had any intention of correcting him.

She simply wanted me to accept it.

To accept the lingering ambiguity between her and Brian. To accept this man openly parading through my home. To accept my own son calling someone else his father right in front of my eyes.

Her next move proved me right.

She picked up a folder from a nearby table and held it out to me.

"Since everything is out in the open, you might as well take a look at this," she said.

I glanced down.

A divorce agreement.

I didn't take it. I just asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

Evelyn's expression was calm—a calmness bordering on sheer arrogance.

"It means exactly what it says. If you can’t accept how we interact now, then we divorce." She looked at me, enunciating every word. "Of course, I’m not insisting on burning all bridges. If you are willing, we can maintain the marriage as a facade for the public. But in private, I have my freedom, and you will not interfere."

The room fell dead silent.

The people who had been enthusiastically chatting just moments ago were all eavesdropping now.

Suddenly, a hollow sensation spread through my chest. Not out of anger, but because something inside me had gone completely cold.

In our three years of marriage, I had handled so much of her work behind the scenes. The tedious tax details no one else wanted to touch, the financial reports I stayed up all night organizing, the flawless business models she flaunted in public to maintain her glamorous image—she knew perfectly well who was actually doing the work.

I had never kept score with her.

I used to think that between husband and wife, things didn't need to be so strictly calculated.

Now, it seemed I had been too naive.

In her eyes, I was merely an expendable backstage lackey. Quiet, obedient, and preferably tactful. The moment she found someone more useful, I was supposed to quietly step back and even be "understanding" about it.

Noah was still clutching the keychain, leaning against Brian’s leg. He whispered it again: "Daddy."

Brian looked down, smiled, and ruffled the boy's hair.

Evelyn didn’t look at the child. Her gaze stayed fixed on my face, waiting for my answer.

I bent down and picked up the broken starry sky projector.

The lens was shattered. The sharp edge sliced open my fingertip, and a bead of blood slowly seeped out. I ignored it, placing the pieces back into the box.

Then, I reached out and took the agreement.

Evelyn seemed to let out a breath, a faint trace of "I knew it" flickering across her brow. She undoubtedly assumed I didn't dare make a scene, nor could I afford to leave her.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked.

"I know exactly what I am doing," she replied. "It’s time you face reality, too."

Face reality.

I looked at her, and suddenly, I lost any desire to argue.

I closed the folder and handed it back to her.

"As you wish."

With that, I turned around and walked away.

A palpable silence dropped behind me.

Evelyn called out, her tone finally shifting slightly: "Stop right there."

I didn't stop.

I strode through the hall and pushed open the heavy front doors. The night wind hit my face immediately. The ocean air was cold and sobering.

The doors shut behind me, severing the laughter and the music, leaving them in a completely different world.

I walked down the steps, pulled out my phone, and dialed a number.

It was picked up almost instantly.

"It's me," I said. "Make the preparations. I'm leaving here tonight."

A brief pause on the other end, followed by a swift reply: "Understood."

I hung up. Standing by my car, I took one last look at the brightly lit mansion.

What had just happened hadn't pushed me out of control; instead, it had brought me absolute clarity.

Once you see things for what they truly are, there’s no room left for hesitation.

My phone buzzed.

A text from an unknown number popped up. It was brief:

Mr. Brian asked me to remind you not to make things any uglier.

I stared at it for two seconds, then directly deleted it.

Then, I dialed a second number.

"Look someone up for me." Pulling open the car door, my voice was deadpan. "Brian Walker. I want his entire background. As fast as possible."

The car pulled away from the mansion slowly.

In the rearview mirror, the blazing lights faded into the distance.

I leaned back against the seat and looked down at the shattered box, my thumb gently tracing the cracks.

Tonight, I hadn't just lost a family.

And some people were about to find out exactly how much the things they threw away were truly worth.