Chapter 1

I had just driven out of the driveway when my phone buzzed with an unknown number.

"Hey man, your car is blocking the exit. I'm trapped here and can't get out."

I frowned, glancing at my hands on the steering wheel. I kept my tone polite.

"My car? I'm literally driving right now. You must have the wrong number."

The caller paused for a second.

"No way. The license plate matches perfectly. A black Audi Q8. Isn't that yours? It's parked right outside the Sterling Hotel."

A sudden, icy hand gripped my heart.

That was Chloe's car.

"Come on, man, hurry up," the caller urged, his voice taking on a teasing tone. "I literally just saw you and your girl heading upstairs. I get that you guys wanted some private daytime action, but moving your car will only take two minutes. I've been waiting forever."

Before I could say another word, he hung up.

Listening to the dial tone, my heart sank to the very bottom of my chest.

This weekend, Chloe and I were supposed to go back to the countryside to visit her parents.

But this morning, she claimed she had to work urgent overtime.

She begged me to take the gifts and go visit Robert and Eleanor on her behalf.

A terrible suspicion began to take root in my mind.

"Alright. I'll be right there," I murmured to the empty car.

I slammed on the gas, but I didn't head for the hotel.

Instead, I drove straight to her parents' house.

"Chloe and I booked a table at the Sterling Hotel," I told them the moment they opened the door. "We're going out for a family dinner."

On the way to the hotel, I tried calling Chloe several times.

As expected, none of the calls went through.

Staring at the dark screen, my chest felt incredibly tight.

Chloe's company had strict rules, and she often couldn't answer her phone during meetings.

But there was absolutely no reason for her to be at the Sterling Hotel for work.

It was a ultra-luxury boutique hotel, not the kind of place used for standard corporate clients.

Now that I thought about it, Chloe had spent an unusually long time on her makeup this morning before she left.

Was she really working?

Or had she completely betrayed our marriage?

When we got into my car, Robert and Eleanor looked at me with deep confusion.

"Why are you here, Ethan? Chloe said she had to work overtime today and couldn't make it."

I forced a smile and lied. "Robert, Eleanor, that was just a cover story. We wanted to surprise you. If we told you beforehand, it wouldn't be a surprise, right?"

The excuse sounded perfectly reasonable. They believed me without a second thought.

If she was indeed cheating, having her parents witness it would make the show much more entertaining.

And if it was just a misunderstanding, I could easily write the dinner off as a nice family celebration.

"I've always said Chloe is the thoughtful one in this relationship," Robert grumbled from the passenger seat, immediately finding things to criticize about me. "You really need to learn from her."

Eleanor chimed in from the back. "Exactly. You two have been married for five years now, and you still drive this cheap car. Look at this interior..."

Robert and Eleanor had always looked down on me. They felt a self-made businessman like me was beneath their daughter.

They conveniently forgot that the clothes they wore, the food they ate, and the luxuries they enjoyed were all paid for by me.

I didn't argue. I just kept my eyes on the road and smiled.

"Your parents aren't coming to dinner, are they?" Eleanor asked suddenly, her voice dripping with condescension.

"The drive is too long. They're still out in the countryside, so they won't be joining us," I replied after a short pause.

"Good," Eleanor sighed, pinching her nose as if she could smell something foul. "It's better they don't come. I wouldn't want those rural chicken farmers embarrassing Chloe in a place like the Sterling."

Both of them were retired from corporate management positions and utterly despised my family's poultry farm.

Yet, it was that very farm that funded my first start-up.

Seeing Eleanor look so relieved, my smile widened.

Since this was going to be an incredibly embarrassing day, having just the two of them there was more than enough. Why drag my sweet parents into this mess?

I pressed harder on the gas.

"Who knows," I muttered softly. "Maybe you won't have to see them ever again."

"And if you're lucky, you won't have to see this worthless son-in-law either."