Chapter 1

The first time I caught Falcon cheating was one month before our wedding.

I called off the engagement on the spot and packed my things to go back to my parents' house.

But he refused to let go. He knelt in the snow outside my building for an entire night.

"Lewis, I lost my mind for a moment. If you don't forgive me, I'll kill myself."

Looking at his lips, purple from the cold, I chose to forgive him.

For five years after the wedding, he treated me with even more tenderness and care, as if none of it had ever happened.

Until our fifth wedding anniversary, when I cooked dinner at home and waited for him.

That woman , the one who had sex with Falcon in his car , suddenly showed up at our door.

She was holding a four-year-old girl in her arms.

"Where's Falcon? He promised to take our daughter to the amusement park today. What, is he playing the perfect husband in front of you again?"

The ladle in my hand clattered to the floor.

Scalding soup splashed across the back of my hand, leaving a bright red burn.

My mind felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer , completely blank.

Four years ago, Falcon had pinned Katherine in his car, reckless and frantic.

When I caught them, he swore on the spot that he'd been drunk and mistook her for me.

He promised he'd paid Katherine off and made her leave the city for good.

But now, Katherine was standing right in front of me , with a little girl who looked seventy percent like Falcon.

Which meant that when Falcon was kneeling in the snow begging me to forgive him, Katherine was already pregnant.

These five years , what I believed was a changed man , had been nothing but a lie from start to finish.

Katherine looked at my stunned face, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips.

"For the past five years, whenever Falcon went on those 'business trips' to the next city, he was actually spending time with us."

"Every night after he said goodnight to you, he'd put Anna to bed."

"Lewis, you've had him to yourself for five years. Now that Anna's starting preschool, it's time for you to step aside."

The little girl in her arms blinked her big eyes and called out in a sweet, babyish voice:

"Mommy, I want Daddy. Daddy promised to take me on the Ferris wheel today."

I stared at that child, my stomach twisting violently.

Just then, I heard the door lock turn.

Falcon walked in, holding the Black Forest cake I loved most.

"Lewis, sorry I'm late , there was something urgent at the office that came up..."

His words died the moment he saw Katherine and the little girl.

The cake slipped from his hands and hit the floor, the beautiful box crumpling on impact.

"Falcon!" Katherine's eyes went red the moment she saw him, and she called his name with a wounded cry.

Falcon's face went pale. He looked at me in a panic:

"Lewis, let me explain..."

He rushed toward me, reaching for my hand. I shoved him away.

His eyes reddened. He spoke urgently:

"Lewis, I really didn't know she was pregnant! She only showed up with the kid a few days ago!"

"I didn't lie to you , I swear I had no contact with her these past five years!"

Katherine laughed coldly from the side. "Falcon, that's pretty low, even for you. Just two days ago, at Anna's parent-teacher conference, you told everyone you'd give her a real family."

Falcon spun around and glared at Katherine. "Shut up! Who told you to come here!"

Katherine shrank back from his outburst. The child in her arms burst into frightened wails.

Falcon heard the crying and instinctively furrowed his brow. A flash of pain crossed his eyes.