The night before our wedding, I left my fiancée, Chloe. Her mom needed a huge amount for surgery, so I took on a secret mission to earn the money. I fought to survive under constant gunfire every day. Three years later, after finishing the mission, I planned to come home and marry Chloe. But I found Chloe and my best friend, Dustin，rushed to the ER—their hips pressed tightly together. The next day, scandalous photos of them went viral on Instagram. Right after surgery, Chloe called me in a panic: “Baby, I don’t know who I pissed off! Someone Photoshopped explicit photos of Dustin and me and posted them online! Send me $200,000, and I’ll find the culprit.” I told her, “No need. I already know who leaked the photos.” “What? Baby, you’re back?” “Where are you now? I’ll come pick you up!” “The hospital.” Chloe on the other end suddenly went silent. After a long pause, she asked: “The hospital? Which hospital?” When I told her the hospital’s name, she didn’t know what to say next: “Baby, you didn’t actually believe what people are saying online, did you?” “You entrusted Dustin to look after me. How could he and I do anything to betray you?” “I booked you a hotel, just spend tonight there. I’m still out of town on a business trip, I’ll come back as soon as I finish up and be with you!” Before she even hung up, she’d already sent me the room number for a star-rated hotel. Then she asked me to reimburse her ten thousand dollars. Her usually sweet, innocent voice, which I used to adore, now made my stomach churn. In the past, whenever she sweet-talked me like that, I would have given her anything. But now, the cramping pain in my abdomen and gut surged to my heart, leaving me unable to tell which hurt more! I glanced down at the bandage, already stained with blood, and took a deep breath. My voice was flat: “Just kidding, I won’t be back that quickly.” Chloe, who had sounded worried moments ago, instantly raised her voice: “Leo! Are you crazy? Is that something to joke about? Do you know how much I miss you…” I took a step, wanting to storm to her hospital room door and confront her. How much could she really miss me if she was sleeping with my best friend? But in the end, I didn’t ask anything. I just hung up. She wouldn’t let me come home, and even booked me a hotel. That could only mean there was something at home she didn’t want me to see. But I’m stubborn. Even after being betrayed, I wanted to see the extent of Chloe’s deceit. I hailed a cab and quickly returned to the house. Inside, I heard a child crying. My blood instantly ran cold. Had they even had a child behind my back? Then what was the point of me risking my life for three years to earn money for her mom’s surgery? Just then, I heard Mrs. Davis’s voice, soothing the child: “Shh, Noah, don’t cry. Mommy went to the hospital to help you have a baby sister. If you still want a sister, you have to be good, okay?” “When your daddy comes back, we’ll give him a big surprise!” “Then when will Daddy come home to play with me? Mommy never plays with me, she just wants to have a sister.” A thunderclap exploded in my mind. So, she had a child, made me raise him for three years, and was now planning to have a second one, expecting me to be a complete fool? After all, Chloe wasn’t pregnant when I left. If she had been, she would have used the child to demand money from me endlessly! Rage consumed me. I instinctively entered the door code. The alarm blared, indicating an incorrect password. I froze, my fingertips chilling. When we set the password, Chloe had hooked her arms around my neck, sweet-talking me: “Baby, let’s use the day we met, okay? That way, every time I open the door, it’ll be like meeting you again.” Now, that same door shut me out. Footsteps approached from inside, followed by the sound of the lock turning. The door opened. A little boy, about three years old, looked up at me, his big eyes full of curiosity. “Who are you?” Even with my mental preparation, when I saw the boy’s face, strikingly similar to Dustin’s, a sharp pain pierced my heart. The wound in my abdomen throbbed with my emotional turmoil, and the seeping blood stained my shirt. “Noah, who is it?” Mrs. Davis’s voice grew closer. When she saw me at the door, the smile on her face froze instantly, all color draining away, as if she’d seen a ghost. “You… you’re back?”
Mrs. Davis frantically tried to close the door, but I held it firmly open with my hand. “Mom, I’m home. Aren’t you going to welcome me?” Mrs. Davis knew she couldn’t hide it any longer. She tried to block my view with her body while fumbling for her phone, her hands trembling. “Chloe! Get back here, he’s returned!” She shrieked into the phone. I pushed the door open forcefully and walked in. I scanned the apartment, the one I had poured all my savings into, the one I had decorated with so much hope as our marital home. Aside from the dusty wedding photo on the bedside table, there wasn’t a single trace of me left. Dustin’s suit, ties, and razor were scattered everywhere. Children’s toys lay strewn across the floor. The air was thick with an unfamiliar scent, the smell of another man. My home had long become someone else’s. Memories flooded back. Three years ago, at the airport. Chloe was crying, her face streaked with tears: “Baby, you must come back safe. I’ll wait for you.” “I will, don’t worry. Your mom’s surgery costs… I’ll find a way to get the money as fast as I can.” She nestled into my arms, her voice choked with emotion: “But that mission is too dangerous. Maybe you shouldn’t go? I don’t want you to risk your life for my mom. If something happens to you, how could I live?” At that time, I had nothing. Even if I sold my apartment, I couldn’t raise enough for Mrs. Davis’s surgery. There was no other way but to find a quick way to earn money. Mrs. Davis had shown me great kindness. If not for her giving me a home and sponsoring my college education after my parents died, I might have starved to death on the day I fought wild dogs for scraps. The Davis family wasn’t wealthy. Mrs. Davis raising Chloe and me alone had been incredibly tough. So, when she fell critically ill and needed urgent surgery, I accepted my boss’s overseas assignment. Every day, I walked through hell. Bullets whizzed past my ears, and artillery exploded beside me. Countless times, as I brushed with death, I clutched a photo of Chloe in my pocket. I was incredibly frugal, sending every penny I earned by risking my life back to her. Every time she received money, she would be exceptionally touched: “Baby, thank goodness for you! When you come back, we’ll get married! I miss you so much every night I can’t sleep…” Chloe returned quickly, still in her hospital gown. She rushed through the door, her face a mix of panic and guilt. “Baby! Let me explain!” Chloe stepped forward, reaching for my hand, but I sidestepped, avoiding her touch. She spoke rapidly: “Noah’s mom passed away during childbirth. Dustin was struggling to raise him alone. While you were gone these three years, he took such good care of my mom and me…” As she spoke, her eyes welled up. “We felt sorry for the child, so we helped look after him, gave him a home. If you were here, you’d do the same, right?” Just then, Noah, clutching a toy car, walked up to me and looked up with his small face: “Daddy, will you play with my car with me?” That single word, “Daddy,” struck me like lightning, making my eardrums hum. For the past three years, neither Chloe nor Dustin had ever mentioned this child to me. That made it hard for me to believe that Noah had nothing to do with Chloe. Meeting my suspicious gaze, Chloe’s face flashed with anger, then she patted Noah. “Noah, be good. Daddy just got home, let him rest for a bit, okay?” She said, then familiarized herself by pinching the soft flesh around my waist: “Baby, look how much Noah likes you. Hurry up and say something!” I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh: “I’m not interested in being a dad.” “Where’s Dustin? Weren’t you two at the hospital together?” Chloe’s eyes darted nervously. She quickly denied: “Baby, are you listening to the rumors online? Dustin and I truly have nothing going on…” She didn’t know I was right there when she and Dustin were being loaded into the ambulance, intertwined. It seemed she was afraid Dustin would show up and get beaten by me, so she told him to hide. But I had no interest in raising someone else’s wife and child. I called Dustin directly: “Come get your wife and kid. As for her mom, she’s free to stay or go.” If Mrs. Davis wanted me to support her, out of gratitude, I wouldn’t default on my debt. But I wouldn’t support Chloe and her child anymore. Chloe smashed my phone, instantly jumping up in protest: “Baby, what do you mean? I’m your fiancée, and you’re kicking me out the moment you get home?” “Chloe, if you don’t leave, do you plan to freeload in my house and let me keep being a complete fool supporting the three of you?” My eyes were cold as knives, sweeping over her pale face. My words sent a shiver down her spine. “Baby, it’s not what you think! Dustin and I really didn’t have anything… he was helping me…” “Get out.” I cut her off sharply, pointing to the door. Chloe froze, looking at me as if she were seeing me for the first time. “Leo… you’re telling me to get out?” Her eyes instantly reddened, filled with unbelievable hurt: “We’ve been apart for three years. I thought about you every day, and after finally waiting for you to come back, this is how you treat me?” “You thought about me?” I advanced on her, step by step. The pain in my abdomen brought beads of cold sweat to my forehead, but it was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.
“So much that you slept with Dustin? So much that you had a child with him? So much that you used my money to raise your kid?” “No! Noah, he…” “Shut up!” I pointed to the door, using my last ounce of strength: “Take your things and get out of my house! Now! Immediately!” Chloe looked at my determined expression, the color slowly draining from her face. She bit her lip hard, tears rolling down her cheeks. After a long moment, she snatched her bag from the couch and glared at me fiercely. “Leo! I never thought you’d be such a petty, heartless person!” “I’m leaving! See if you don’t regret this!” She grabbed Noah and Mrs. Davis, stumbling out the door. A loud slam echoed, leaving me in the dead silence of the room. I couldn’t stand, swaying a step, and leaned against the wall. The bloodstain on my abdominal bandage had spread significantly. Excruciating pain tore at my nerves. But it was nothing compared to the utter annihilation of my heart and the anguish of three years wasted. Ten minutes later, I heard a commotion outside, followed by knocking. “Hey, Unit 302, do you have any conscience? How could you kick your wife out? She’s outside with her mom and child, threatening to jump! Aren’t you going to talk her down?” I opened the door. The unfamiliar neighbor saw it was me, and her expression froze. She quickly checked the door number, then shouted into my apartment: “Is her husband home?” It turned out that for the three years I was gone, Chloe and Dustin had presented themselves as a married couple to the neighbors. No wonder the neighbor didn’t recognize me. I hadn’t spent a single day in this apartment after it was renovated, leaving it for that scumbag, Dustin. A life was at stake, and I didn’t have the energy to explain the complicated situation to the neighbor. I quickly took the elevator to the top floor. When Chloe saw me, she started crying even louder. “Baby, why won’t you believe me? You’re kicking me out, aren’t you just trying to force me to die?” “Dustin looked after my mom and me for you, and we helped him with Noah. It was just a mutual help situation, but in your eyes, it’s wrong?” “You don’t like me helping him raise his child? I’ve already sent Noah away, isn’t that enough?” She hung her head, tears falling. That image of her, so humble and downtrodden, was completely different from the spoiled girl I remembered. I stayed silent, yet to speak, when Mrs. Davis suddenly climbed onto the edge of the rooftop. “Baby, Chloe and Dustin are truly innocent. Will I have to prove their innocence with my life, then?” With that, she made to jump. I didn’t want a death on my conscience, so I quickly shouted: “Alright, I believe you.” At my affirmation, Chloe and Mrs. Davis exchanged a quick glance. I couldn’t stomach watching their drama and turned to go home. Late that night, my bedroom door creaked open. Chloe, wearing a nearly transparent black lace nightgown and reeking of perfume, slipped in. “Baby…” Her voice was syrupy sweet, and her hand explored my body. I grabbed her wrist violently, making her cry out in pain. “My wound hasn’t healed. I’m not in the mood.” I stared at her, my eyes devoid of any desire. “Get out.” Her face paled. She was about to say something else when her phone suddenly rang in her bag, cutting her off. She looked as if she’d been burned, rushing back to the guest room to grab her phone, then disappearing into the bathroom. The sound of running water masked her voice. I walked to the bathroom door and, through the crack, heard her broken whispers: “I’ll figure out the money… just wait a little longer…” Just then, my phone screen lit up. A message: bank transfer of 500,000 failed. Chloe was still trying to get money from me for Dustin! It seemed she wouldn’t stop until she’d completely drained me dry! The next morning, several of Chloe’s friends arrived, claiming they wanted to catch up after so long. But their words were all probing: “Leo, you must have made a fortune in the war zone, right? I heard the profits there are huge!” “Chloe will finally have a good life now, you should get a big villa, shouldn’t you?” I gave them vague answers, sending them away disappointed. After they left, I watched Chloe, who was pretending to be busy in the kitchen, and walked over to her. “That 500,000 last night, was that for Dustin?”
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