Chapter 4

When I woke up the next day, Holden was already up.

Since we'd been married, he'd been a good husband and father. He even made breakfast by hand every day according to our tastes.

I walked to the dining table slowly, step by step.

I looked up at the man who was feeding our daughter breakfast with refined, elegant movements.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke softly.

"Holden, there's something I want to tell you..."

"Eat breakfast first."

Long fingers pushed a side plate in front of me.

Holden's expression was calm, as if he knew nothing about my deception.

I lowered my head and only then noticed the breakfast on the plate.

It was no different from what I usually ate---two slices of toast, a fried egg, and vegetables.

Even the mayonnaise had been thoughtfully spread for me.

Because of last night, I had no appetite.

I randomly stuffed a few bites into my mouth and was about to put down my fork.

When I looked up, I saw Holden staring at me with deep, meaningful eyes.

He raised an eyebrow ambiguously.

"You... didn't notice anything different?"

I froze, unconsciously thinking back to the taste of breakfast.

But a terrible thought surged in my mind.

Could Holden hate me so much that he couldn't even wait a day and directly poisoned my breakfast?

My back went cold. I asked tentatively.

"Should I have noticed something different?"

Holden was silent for a moment. The expectant look in his eyes dimmed.

He withdrew his gaze and answered as if it didn't matter.

"Nothing. I just wanted to casually ask how today's fried egg was."

I didn't understand, but I still answered immediately.

"Delicious. Your cooking skills keep getting better."

My intention was to please him a bit.

So when he settled accounts later, he might spare me.

But for some reason, Holden's expression darkened even more.

He stared at me somewhat resentfully.

Then looked at the plate in front of me.

I thought he was blaming me for not finishing breakfast.

I quickly picked up my fork and stuffed the remaining sandwich into my mouth.

While eating, I praised: "It's really good. I like it a lot."

Holden became even more strangely silent.

After a long while, as if finally accepting reality, he took our daughter's hand and walked out.

His voice somehow sounded a bit annoyed.

"Is that so? Since it's so good, I'll make it for you again tomorrow."

I stared at the man's somewhat dejected back, feeling a bit strange.

Holden... seemed angry?

But I clearly finished all my breakfast.

Men's hearts are really hard to understand.

After Holden left, I quickly took out my phone.

I opened last night's post.

Regarding what Holden said last night about punishment, the comments below were dense, but he hadn't replied to a single one.

It wasn't until a few minutes ago that he finally posted an update.

[I punished my wife a bit this morning, but she doesn't seem to have noticed. Was I not obvious enough?]

The comments immediately became lively.

[You punished her so quickly! You really are fast. Did you divorce your wife?]

[What are you thinking? The city hall isn't even open at this hour.]

[Based on last night's lovebrain comments, plus the fact that your wife didn't notice it was punishment... he probably just silently sulked, right?]

[It's not that serious. He probably just secretly looked at his wife a few times less.]

The comment section became more and more lively.

Holden stayed silent for a long time.

Then he first replied to the first comment.

[I said I won't divorce my wife. I swore an oath back then---even if I die, I'll be with her for life.]

[If there are any more comments trying to damage my relationship with my wife, I'll block you.]

After a pause, he replied to the comment about him sulking.

[Of course not. I'm a man of principle. I won't indulge my wife like that.]

[But is sulking useful? If it is, I can try it tonight and make sure she knows she was wrong.]

Someone in the comments was curious.

[How does the poster know your wife didn't notice the punishment? What if she knew but pretended not to because she felt guilty?]

This time Holden replied quickly.

[Because she kept smiling at me, making my heart beat so fast I didn't dare look at her much. That's definitely not the behavior of someone feeling guilty.]

[I understand my wife. She's so innocent and kind---she wouldn't fake things with me.]

Even though the comment section was already prepared, everyone collectively fell silent again.

Instead, Holden himself posted another comment.

[When I get home tonight, I'll definitely punish my wife severely and make her understand the consequences of lying to me!]

Looking at these words, my back inexplicably went cold.

After thinking it over, I still couldn't figure out what Holden's punishment this morning had been.

I instinctively wanted to pack my bags and run.

But thinking of the Stone family's influence throughout the country, I ultimately gave up and silently sat back down on the sofa.

Only one thought remained in my mind.

Tonight was my real death sentence.