The package arrived on our seventh wedding anniversary. Inside, I found a customized USB drive from my wife, Seraphina. “Most cherished memories with my beloved,” the label read. A warm smile touched my lips. I was touched, thinking she had compiled moments from our life together. But when I plugged it into the projector, the screen filled with a horrifying scene: Seraphina tangling with her young assistant, Jax Sterling, in her office. My blood ran cold. Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from Seraphina. “Honey, I sent a business document home by mistake. Please don’t open it. I’m sending Jax to pick it up right away!” My breath hitched, and the world spun. A sliver of hope, a desperate wish that I was wrong, had clung to me. Seraphina’s text message, was a nail in the coffin, confirming the brutal reality of what I’d just witnessed on screen. I didn’t reply instantly, as I usually would. Moments later, Seraphina’s FaceTime call came through. “Hey, hubby! Your sweet wife sent you a message, why aren’t you replying?” “Spill it, are you secretly planning some anniversary surprise behind my back?” Seraphina’s voice was light, playfully teasing, and her smile was as radiant as ever. She looked completely normal, utterly unchanged. But inside me, my blood was slowly turning to ice. I had no idea how to face this woman I had loved deeply for over a decade. “Honey, you look a little pale. Have you been working too much lately?” Her tone softened, her eyes full of what looked like genuine concern. “Just relax at home today. As soon as I finish my meetings, I’ll fly home and we’ll have a sweet evening, just the two of us!” “Oh, and Jax will be by to pick up that package later. Remember to let him in.” With a few exaggerated blowing kisses to the camera, she hung up. I hadn’t uttered a single word throughout the entire call. My throat felt choked with cotton, my chest a searing agony of pain and bitterness. I couldn’t fathom it. How could Seraphina, of all people, be cheating? We were childhood sweethearts. Our families had been close for generations, and everyone always assumed we’d end up together. After sharing all our precious firsts, she would melt into my arms, her face flushed with bliss, and whisper as she kissed my lips. “Ryan, you are my true love. I want to spend forever with you.” For that single declaration of love, I was willing to give her everything. Even when Hayes Group was on the brink of bankruptcy seven years ago, I went against everyone’s advice, pulling them back from the edge. Amidst the envious gazes of countless people, I threw Seraphina a lavish, talked-about wedding, bringing her home as my esteemed wife. After we married, Seraphina worried having children would affect her health and beauty, so I agreed to a child-free lifestyle. No matter how unreasonable her demands, I would move heaven and earth to fulfill them. Everyone said I spoiled Seraphina rotten, more than any parent would spoil their own child. I’d just smile faintly, a proud glint in my eyes. “My wife deserves to be cherished, spoiled rotten. That way, she’d never look at anyone else.” Seraphina would always snuggle into my arms, telling me I was the only one who loved her unconditionally, that she would never let anyone come between us. Yet, on that projector screen, she was writhing under another man. In her passion, she even screamed his name, calling him “hubby.” When Jax Sterling first interviewed at the company, I immediately saw his fierce ambition. His eyes held a predatory glint, and he showed me no respect, just a flicker of veiled defiance. Seraphina insisted the company needed someone like him-innovative, capable of driving change. She later confessed to me, in hushed tones, that Jax had that devil-may-care charm she found attractive, reminiscent of an actor she once liked. I didn’t feel jealous or angry then. I just shook my head, chuckling, wondering when my ‘fragile’ wife would finally grow up. After more than a decade of shared history, I never once imagined Seraphina would betray me. It took the brutal truth of her infidelity, starkly displayed before me, for me to realize that I was the naive, foolish one all along. Just as my mind was reeling, a loud knock echoed through the house. “Mr. Blackwood, open up! I’m here for the package!”
Jax Sterling stood at my door, dressed in a trendy designer suit, his hair slicked back with gel, one hand casually tucked into his pocket. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a nightclub. To anyone who didn’t know, he could easily be mistaken for a sketchy club promoter. And it was this untrustworthy man who had stolen Seraphina from me. For a split second, I wanted nothing more than to smash my fist into his smug, pretty-boy face, to see him groveling at my feet. Marriage wasn’t a game, especially not ours. It involved the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across both our families’ companies. I handed the sealed package to Jax. Just as he turned to leave, I spoke, my voice deceptively calm. “Wait.” Jax paused, a fleeting flicker of guilt in his eyes as he turned to me. “What’s up?” I vaguely pointed to his open collar, my gaze steady. “That red mark there. Mosquito bite?” Anyone with even a shred of experience in dating or relationships would know exactly what that mark, in that position, of that shape, meant. But Jax, unfazed, went along with it, a smirk playing on his lips. “Yeah, the mosquitoes at the office are real sticky, can’t shake ’em off.” My heart felt like it had been violently ripped open, a pain so sharp it made my jaw clench, almost betraying the carefully constructed calm on my face. After Jax left, I changed into an unremarkable gray hoodie and sweatpants, then got in my car and followed him. His car took several winding turns, but it didn’t head towards Seraphina’s office. Instead, it pulled into a secluded but beautiful villa community on the outskirts of the city. It wasn’t until I saw the familiar scenery that I realized with a jolt: years ago, when this development first opened, I had brought Seraphina here to look at a house, planning to buy one for our retirement. Seraphina had laughed then, calling me an old man, wondering why I was thinking about retirement in the prime of my life. She’d dragged me away after a quick tour. Jax’s car stopped in front of a rose-covered garden villa. My pupils dilated in shock. I recognized it instantly-it was the very same house I had shown Seraphina all those years ago! As I stood there, stunned, a familiar figure ran out of the house, throwing herself into Jax’s arms. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I recognized Seraphina in an instant. She clung to Jax, demanding one long, lingering kiss after another, before finally speaking in a soft, sweet voice. “So, did he find out? I’ve been so worried!” Jax shook his head, scoffing disdainfully. “That guy’s always been too arrogant. Even if the evidence was staring him in the face, he wouldn’t believe anyone would dare to cheat on him!” He was right. It wasn’t arrogance. It was trust. My unwavering trust in Seraphina. She had spent seven years with me. Seven years where we faced everything together.
Watching them walk hand-in-hand back into the villa, I merely twitched an eyelid and made a call. “Dave, you have contacts in the Bayview Villas, right? I need a favor.” Initially, I was reluctant to say what was happening. But once Dave Miller realized I needed help to catch a cheating spouse, he immediately insisted on coming himself. “No, seriously, what the hell happened?” Dave arrived, looking disheveled from his rush. Before he got here, he’d already arranged for the villa community’s security to send me the surveillance footage. After watching it, I realized that every time Seraphina said she was “working late,” she was actually here, meeting Jax Sterling. Dave was silent after seeing the footage. After a long while, he finally spoke. “I really can’t believe Seraphina is this kind of person. If you don’t want to show your face today, I can handle it for you.” Dave sighed heavily. He had watched Seraphina and me from the moment we met until our wedding day. But I just shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I have to face it sooner or later. I’ll handle it myself.” I was now in the villa directly opposite theirs. I could see them, intertwined and sweet, in the villa garden. Seraphina’s genuine, unrestrained laughter broke something inside me. She hadn’t smiled at me like that in years. “Seraphina, when are you going to tell that idiot husband of yours?” Jax held Seraphina from behind. Seraphina hesitated for a moment, but it was just that-a moment. “No rush. I’ll tell him after his birthday.” “Hayes Group doesn’t need Blackwood Industries’ support anymore. I’m a free woman. I’ll do whatever I want, and no one can stop me from pursuing my freedom!” Seraphina revealed a rare, untamed side of herself. To outsiders, and to me, she had always been rational, sensible, never impulsive. No wonder when she hired Jax, she said the company needed someone ambitious, imaginative, and daring. Perhaps that’s when she fell for him. Immediately after, I called Seraphina. She glanced at her phone and hung up. “Baby, I’m busy. I’ll make it up to you tonight when I get home,” she quickly texted. But in reality, she was kissing Jax, doing things in the garden that would make anyone blush. I didn’t reply. Instead, I posted an update on Ins about looking at houses in the Bayview Villas. The photo accompanying it was of the very villa Seraphina was in, and the caption read: “Really wish I could see inside. Wonder who bought the house I always loved most.” Seraphina had special notifications set up for me, so she saw the post almost immediately. “Jax, let’s go back inside.” “What’s wrong, Seraphina? It’s not our first time in the garden, and the house next door is empty. What are you worried about?” Jax lifted her chin. But Seraphina’s eyes kept darting towards the garden gate. She pushed Jax away, who was getting aroused. “I have something to do. We’ll talk later.”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “303628”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance #重生Reborn #励志Inspiring #校园School
Leave a Reply