When I discovered my wife Serena was cheating, I wasn’t even surprised. What stunned me was the man: her uncle, Derek. I finished my cigarette, my voice flat. “Why not just divorce? Then the two of you can be together properly.” Her eyes flooded instantly. She dropped to her knees, swearing she’d never see him again. I believed her. I decided to give her another chance. Then came her grandfather’s birthday party. Derek walked in, holding a child. “Serena, can you really leave us behind?” Her eyes welled up, her face a war of anguish and indecision. I smiled, and carefully, one by one, I peeled her fingers from mine. “Go ahead. No one’s stopping you from being both his niece and the mother of his child.” “Tristan, the baby’s crying is breaking my heart. I have to see to him. We can talk about us later.” Without waiting for my answer, Serena walked across the room toward the father and son in front of everyone. Derek even pinched the child discreetly, making him wail louder. Seeing my expression darken, Serena’s father, Richard, rushed to intervene. “Serena’s always had a soft heart. She can’t bear to hear a child cry…” Her mother, Emma, forced a smile and added, “It’s true, Tristan. Please don’t be upset with her.” At that moment, my sister Allison let out a cold laugh and raised her voice. “Do you all take my brother for a fool?” She shot them a sharp look, then turned to me. “Tristan, the Sterlings are the wealthiest family in this city. We don’t get treated this way. We don’t leave with our tails between our legs. Let’s go.” As we left, whispers trailed us from every side. “So what if Tristan Sterling is the richest man? He’s still a cuckold. No wonder Serena disappeared for a year, off having another man’s baby…” “A real mafia princess, playing with fire. This marriage alliance between the Sterling and Turner families…” I felt dazed. This was the Serena who had once sworn she would only marry me, who had begged to follow me abroad. Who had suddenly said she was too homesick to leave. I should have seen it then. My childhood friend just laughed and said, “You know how girls are. They can’t stand being away from home…” But this was Serena. Like me, she’d been raised from childhood to be an heir. Raised by butlers and nannies, she’d traveled the world by the age of five to broaden her horizons. Someone like that couldn’t be homesick. Before we registered our marriage, we’d aligned our goals. I would lead the Sterling Corporation internationally while she would help the Turner family transition from their shady past to legitimate business. With both families’ approval, we registered our marriage. We planned to hold the ceremony after New Year’s. The night before I was supposed to leave the country, she sat on my waist and pouted. “Give me a year. Once I’ve laid the groundwork, I’ll come find you abroad, okay?” Though I didn’t like the idea, I agreed and went abroad alone. When my parents asked why we hadn’t started trying for a baby since we were married, I made excuses. I thought she was still young-waiting a couple more years to have children wouldn’t hurt. I never imagined that my indulgence would allow her to have a child with someone else first.
Seeing the Sterling family truly angered, Richard chased us to the door with an apologetic expression. “Tristan, I’ve spoiled Serena. Please give her one more chance.” “We never imagined she’d be with her uncle… Don’t worry, we’ll talk sense into her. She’ll definitely come around…” I laughed bitterly. “Don’t blame yourself. At least it keeps the wealth in the family.” “After all, he’s not her real uncle.” My sarcastic words made Richard’s expression darken completely. But given the circumstances, he didn’t dare show his anger openly. He just kept smiling and lowered his voice. “Tristan, I’ll give you ten billion. Just acknowledge the child as yours.” “We can still be one big happy family…” I looked down at him and smirked. “The Sterling family doesn’t need money.” Emma tried to say more, but Allison stopped her. “The Turner family’s dirty laundry is none of the Sterling family’s business. Tomorrow at 9 AM, Tristan will be waiting for her at the courthouse.” The couple looked both panicked and embarrassed. They tried to plead more, but our car sped away, spraying exhaust in their faces. The next day, I waited at the civil affairs bureau all morning. Serena never showed up. Finally, a video from my friend arrived. In the footage, Serena, dressed formally, held hands with Derek, who was holding the child. They sat side by side like newlyweds, fielding questions from reporters. “Derek and I share no blood,” she said. “He’s the man I truly love. I chose to have his child.” That statement sent the reporters into a frenzy. The wealthy always had secrets and scandals. They wracked their brains, desperate to dig up every detail. “Serena, what is your relationship with Mr. Sterling then?” one shouted. “So Mr. Derek really is the other man?” Hesitation flickered in her eyes. But the words that came out were: “Love doesn’t care who came first. The one who isn’t loved is the real outsider.” As if afraid the reporters would miss the point, she emphasized again. “Derek is my lover, the father of my child.” My grip on the screen turned my knuckles white. After last night’s scene, Derek’s reputation was already terrible. To whitewash him, Serena actually held a public press conference. Grinding my face and the Sterling family’s reputation into the dirt. She all but called me the other man. Yet I was the one who legally married her. Allison, ever protective, couldn’t stand for it. She immediately drove over and asked a question on the spot. “Are you two legally married?” Derek’s face went deathly pale. All the reporters’ cameras immediately focused on his face, waiting for an answer. My sister, secretly pleased, continued her mockery. “Although you and Serena aren’t blood-related, you are still uncle and niece. For your selfish desires, do you disregard even basic ethics?” She paused, and after successfully seeing their faces turn ashen, she dropped the bombshell. “Do you know Serena is a married woman? Does making her play both niece and mother give you a special sense of achievement?” Her two consecutive statements dropped like bombs at the scene. The reporters’ eyes widened as they surged toward the pair. “Is what Miss Sterling said true? Are you really legally married?” As the reporters were about to lose control, Serena screamed and threw herself in front of Derek. Her face twisted with malice. “Words mean nothing-what she’s saying is nothing but slander!” Then she glared viciously at the camera, sending me a message. “Tristan, you hide in the back and let your sister stir up trouble. What kind of man does that?” “Yes! We registered our marriage, but it was our parents’ idea. What’s wrong with me refusing to stick with a cold marriage arrangement to pursue real love?” “Even if you’re the richest man in the world, even if you’re worth billions, you can’t buy my love.” She crossed her arms with an air of complete confidence. Several reporters couldn’t help but applaud, giving her multiple close-ups. But I just mocked myself inwardly. See? What you thought was mutual love was just “our parents’ idea” to her. She’d calculated that I’d spare her out of sentimentality. I called Allison and put her on speaker. “Serena, you had an affair with your uncle. You bore his child while living off the Sterling family’s resources. That child was even born in our hospital.” “You cheated. You lied. And now you dare to call it love? It’s repulsive.”
Serena fell completely silent, just pouting pitifully. Derek couldn’t stand watching and finally spoke up. “We were wrong to hide it from you, but Serena felt sorry for you. After all, you two were together so long with no results…” “She even thought that if you really couldn’t, she’d let you claim the child as yours! He could even be the Sterling family heir!” I was so angry I laughed. With a flip of his tongue, he not only falsely accused me of being impotent but also wanted to devour my family’s fortune. All my past care and indulgence toward her had now become the foundation for her to slander my dignity and covet the Sterling family assets. These two were perfect for each other. Birds of a feather. My sister’s temper flared, and she immediately shot back. “No amount of whitewashing can wash away your incestuous affair.” That statement set the scene boiling again. I closed my phone and half-closed my eyes. Actually, when Derek first returned to the country, Serena had been particularly clingy with him. I was somewhat surprised and asked about it once. She immediately frowned. “Derek came back to help me manage the Turner family business. What, the Sterling family siblings can work together, but we can’t?” Hearing that, I felt a bit uncomfortable but didn’t press further. She and I were both strong-willed people who didn’t like me interfering in her affairs. So I didn’t think much of it at the time. Looking back now, all my business acumen was wasted on my career. In matters of the heart, I was utterly stupid. The press conference publicly humiliated the uncle-niece pair, and outside gossip grew increasingly vicious. I ignored it all and focused on business. Until the doorbell of my villa rang. A dog’s corpse was dragged inside. I immediately recognized it as the little yellow dog I used to keep. Because Serena loved it, I’d given it to her as a birthday present. Every time I visited the Turner home, it would jump up to greet me, nuzzling its head into my palm until it was satisfied. Now it had been skinned into a bloody mess. I clenched my fists, my teeth grinding audibly. Almost simultaneously, Serena’s call came through. “Tristan Sterling, satisfied with my gift? This is what you get for hurting Derek yesterday.” I withdrew my gaze from the little yellow dog’s body and laughed coldly. “Have you considered the consequences of doing this?” She scoffed. “So what? You may be the richest man, but the Turner family isn’t weak either. Bring it on!” Then she hung up. But she forgot one thing. The Turner family could only survive in River City because they leaned on my tree. I’d see how long they could keep this up. That evening, when I returned to the Sterling estate, Emma was waiting at the door with a fleet of cars loaded with apology gifts. “Tristan, Serena picked every one of these herself. Please accept them and forgive her.” “She’s young, she made a mistake. Let this go. We’ll raise the child as a Turner. How does that sound?” I spun the ring on my thumb, my smile growing warmer. “If your husband brought home a half-grown boy and demanded you accept him as the Turner heir…could you bear it?” Hearing that, Serena, who had been hiding in the shadows, finally broke. “Tristan Sterling!” she spat, stepping into the light. “I’m giving you a way out. Don’t push your luck.” I shrugged and smiled apologetically. “Please leave now. Outsiders cannot stay here overnight.”
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