Chapter 1

Married for ten years, I held my wife and son in the palm of my hand.

Until one afternoon, while watering the roses in the garden, I looked up.

Through the glass balcony opposite ours, I saw my wife pressed against the window.

She was in a highly suggestive position, being "watered" by another man.

That night, Vivian didn't show a single shred of remorse.

Instead, she tossed a set of divorce papers right in my face.

"Ethan, let's get a divorce. Julian Vance is the sole heir to the Vance empire. You can't even begin to compare to him."

"And by the way, Leo isn't your son. He's Julian's."

My nine-year-old son, Leo, smirked at me. "A loser like you doesn't deserve to be my dad. I want Julian to be my dad!"

My mother-in-law, Helen, crossed her arms. "Just sign it, Ethan. Don't stand in the way of their family reunion."

I didn't argue with them. I silently signed my name on the papers.

But they seemed to have forgotten one tiny detail. My last name is also Vance.

For all these years, I had hidden my true identity.

But now, it was time to lay my cards on the table.

I pulled out my phone and called my father in New York. "Send the jet. I'm ready to come home and take over the family business."

When Vivian told me that Leo wasn't my biological son, my reaction was much calmer than she expected.

Honestly, I had suspected it for a long time.

He was born two months premature, and as he grew older, he looked absolutely nothing like me.

Some of my friends had jokingly suggested I get a DNA test, but I chose to trust my wife.

Three months ago, Julian Vance moved into the mansion across the street.

The first time I saw him, I felt an eerie sense of familiarity.

Leo's eyes were the exact replica of his.

And Vivian's hospitality toward this new neighbor had been borderline obsessive.

Seeing me stare down in silence, Vivian clenched her jaw and spoke again.

"Ethan, to be honest, I still care about you. If you don't want to lose me completely, we can do a fake divorce first. Once Leo officially gets his hands on the Vance family inheritance, I can always come back to you."

I let out a bitter, helpless laugh.

Even knowing that the boy I had raised for nine years wasn't mine, and that he was about to call another man "Dad," my heart still ached with a chaotic, crushing pain.

"Would you really come back?"

"Of course! I'm your wife, aren't I? Once Leo is officially named the Vance heir, we'll get remarried!"

Vivian leaned in, trying to plant a kiss on my lips, but I casually turned my head, letting her miss.

"Fine. I agree to the divorce."

Hearing this, Vivian's face lit up with pure joy. "Ethan, thank you for being so understanding! Leo will be so happy to have such an open-minded dad. Don't worry, Leo will still think of you as a father figure in the future!"

My mind was a chaotic mess. I didn't want to hear another word of her lies. I asked her what she wanted for dinner and turned toward the kitchen.

During my ten years as a house husband in the Hayes family, my culinary skills had been perfected solely to please her and Leo.

"Eat by yourself tonight. I have to go over and tell Julian the good news."

Hearing her excited, retreating footsteps, my heart sank deeper into the abyss.

However, the front door clicked open, then hesitated.

"You... you don't mind, do you?"

Vivian peeked back from behind the door, her voice carrying a rare, belated hint of caution.

I forced a smile. "Not anymore."

Vivian beamed, turning and running next door.

The side window of our house directly faced the front yard of the neighboring villa. I watched Vivian run like a happy little bird, throwing herself into Julian's arms. Julian spun her around in the air. She was giggling, and he was laughing—she looked so alive, so full of vibrant energy.

In all our years of marriage, no matter how hard I tried or how much I did to make her happy, I had never seen her laugh with such pure, unbridled joy.

Ten years of my devotion couldn't melt her heart of stone.

Yet the moment the scumbag who abandoned her and her child returned, she threw her entire soul at his feet.

Since that was the case, there was nothing left for me to hold onto.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Jim's number. "Tell my father that I agree to return and take my place as the head of the family."

Right then, a loud bang echoed behind me as the front door was kicked open.

Leo stood at the doorway, glaring at me with pure rage. "Hey, loser! Why didn't you pick me up from school today? Did you want me to walk home and break my legs?!"

Even though I had raised Leo as my own for nine years, I knew he looked down on me from the bottom of his heart. To him, I was just a freeloading house husband.

But even though he was usually spoiled and arrogant, he had never been this outright disrespectful.

I froze for a second, then knelt down to his level. "Leo, your mom and I were talking about something important and I lost track of time. Next time, I promise I'll be there early—"

"No need!"

Leo tossed his head back, giving me a cold, mocking glare. "Julian's personal bodyguards already picked me up. Julian's car is huge, beautiful, and it's a convertible! From now on, don't ever show your embarrassing face at my school again. I want a powerful man like Julian to be my dad!"

With that, he threw his backpack on the floor and bolted toward the neighboring villa.

"Leo!"

My heart was numb with pain, but a shred of sanity kept me alert.

I suspected that Julian and Vivian were probably in the middle of something highly inappropriate right now.

If Leo ran over there, wouldn't he walk right into it?

"Your mom and Julian are busy talking about business. It's not a good time to go over there right now."

"Mind your own business!"

Leo lashed out, his sharp nails scratching right across my face. "Get away from me! From now on, my family has nothing to do with you, you pathetic loser!"

Stunned, I watched the boy run out the door. I wiped the thin line of blood from my cheek with the back of my hand and walked up to the guest bedroom at the end of the second-floor hallway.

The window of this room directly faced Julian's master bedroom across the lawn.

Out of sheer basic human decency, I wanted to give them a warning that the kid was heading over.

Even if they were like dogs in heat, they could at least lock the damn door!

But through the sheer curtains opposite mine, two entangled shadows were already moving in a frantic, passionate rhythm.

My heart went entirely numb, and a wave of nausea hit my stomach.

This was Vivian's so-called "fake divorce"?

Her so-called "just trying to secure a future for our son"?

Her so-called "I still care about you"?

Through the slightly open window, their breathless whispers drifted across the yard and straight into my ears.

I heard Julian ask in a smug, mocking tone, "So, you let Ethan raise my son for nine whole years. How many times did you actually sleep with him?"

Vivian let out a spoiled, giggling gasp. "Oh, stop it! It was only that one time on our wedding night. Otherwise, how else would he believe Leo was his? I had to make it look real."

"Only once? Really?" Julian sounded skeptical.

Vivian swore instantly. "I swear, only once. Just looking at Ethan makes me sick. How could I ever let a loser like him touch me?"

Sick? She actually said I made her sick.

She was the one who used to whisper that she loved me, that she loved the gentleness I showed her in bed, and that she would love me forever.

Which word out of this woman's mouth had ever been real?

Just as I was about to make some noise to alert them that Leo was coming, Vivian spoke again, her voice breathless.

"But still... once you become the official Vance heir, you should give Ethan some financial compensation. After all, he did raise your son for nine years."

Julian snorted. "You seem pretty concerned about him. Sure you haven't caught feelings for that house husband?"

Before Vivian could reply, Leo's voice echoed from downstairs, calling for his mom.

The two of them scrambled, rustling to put their clothes back on. At least they had a shred of shame left in front of the kid.

I turned to leave, but my elbow accidentally brushed against a flowerpot on the guest room windowsill.

Clack.

"Who's there?!" Julian shouted from across the yard.

I didn't answer. I quickly made my way downstairs.