Chapter 2

"There's ten million dollars on this card. Do whatever you want with it."

"But remember, if you're going to fool around, keep it clean. Don't bring back any diseases."

Seraphina led me to the study and handed me a card.

I looked at the card, then at the woman who had become a complete stranger. I said nothing, just took the card.

"Where are you going?"

As I turned to leave, Seraphina suddenly grabbed my arm.

"To sleep." I replied numbly.

"No, you're not!"

"Tonight, you can 'have' me in the study. Didn't you always want to try something... different? Tonight, anything you want."

Seraphina actually initiated it.

But I felt utterly disgusted. Psychologically sick to my stomach, physically wanting to gag.

Yet I suppressed the revulsion and didn't refuse.

That night, I barely slept. It was like she was trying to physically exhaust me to death, using sex as a weapon.

It wasn't until dawn, when she finally fell asleep in a chair, that I managed to shower.

I thought of those movie scenes where someone feels violated and scrubs themselves endlessly, desperate to wash away the filth but never feeling clean.

That was exactly how I felt right then. I even wanted to find sandpaper and scrub off my own skin.

After my shower, all that was left was sorrow and exhaustion.

I fell asleep in that haze, waking up sometime in the afternoon.

When I went to the living room, I saw Seraphina's parents sitting on the sofa, their faces grim.

"What time is it already? Still sleeping?"

"Did you sleep like this when you were in prison?"

"What rotten luck to have married our daughter to a man like you"

My mother-in-law, Mrs. Thorne, hadn't changed. She remained a walking jewelry display, every possible surface glittering with stones.

But I remembered the truth. She had once sobbed on my doorstep, threatening to kill herself if I didn't marry Seraphina.

And now, it was rotten luck?

"We heard you saw everything yesterday?"

"Well," she sighed, as if relieved of a burden. "Now let's skip to business. We're here for two things."

"First, we're taking Leo to Blake's place. We all live there now."

"Second, we're here to warn you. Don't you dare ruin Seraphina and Blake's relationship, or we'll send you straight back to prison!"

"A morally bankrupt ex-con like you doesn't deserve my daughter!" Mr. Thorne finished, his face stern, then stood to leave.

Morally bankrupt? Did his memory fail him? Forgot that I bailed him out after his prostitute scandal. Now he stands there in the suit I paid for, calling me corrupt.

"Leo, are you sure you want to go?"

I asked my son. He was seven or eight years old, and I decided to give him a chance.

Leo glared back, his face twisted in disgust. "Mom said I can change my name to Sterling, like Daddy Blake! I'm not keeping your name, you pathetic ex-con!"

With that, he tugged on Mr. Thorne's hand and walked off, asking, "Did Daddy Blake buy me that computer? The one with the RTX 5090? I want to play Warzone and dominate every lobby!"

"He did, he did," Mr. Thorne replied. "And you don't have to call him 'Daddy Blake' for long. Soon enough, Blake will be your real dad."

Mr. Thorne looked at me as he said this, as if trying to provoke me.

I clenched my fists, saying nothing.

The spacious room was now empty, leaving just me. The irony hit me hard: our wedding photo, Seraphina's and mine, still hung in the living room. Near the liquor cabinet, another photo showed Seraphina and me kissing under a tree, with Blake's goofy face photobombing from the corner.

The woman I loved most, the brother I trusted most. I would have died for them. And they, without hesitation, gave me a cuckold's cap.

The true nature of people in this world.

Just as I sat on the sofa, smoking, my phone rang. It was an unknown number.

"Asher, I'm out too! Called you the second I got out. This is my new number!"

The voice on the line was Julian's. He looked like an angel and had been framed as a demon by his own brother for a DUI crash.

In prison, his beauty made him prey. I made him my responsibility. He repaid me with a loyalty deeper than blood.

"Let's find a time to meet up. I've got some things going on right now, so I can't hang out just yet."

I had barely finished speaking when another call came in, from my dad. I quickly told Julian, "Gotta go, my dad's calling."

My biggest worry was my parents finding out. They were getting old, and the news might make them sick.

"Asher, listen to me."

"Feelings are tricky. If Seraphina's fallen for someone else, you shouldn't cling on."

"Besides, Blake is a good kid. In the four years you were in prison, he took better care of us than you, our own son."

"So, if you keep bothering her, don't blame your mom and me if we cut you off!" My dad's angry voice boomed through the receiver.