When I insisted on sending Theo back, Theron’s expression turned colder, more impatient.
"I like kids, but I prefer my own flesh and blood to some random stray."
Slap! A burning sting exploded across my cheek.
I held my swollen left side, staring at him in disbelief.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as if he were about to speak, maybe even apologize, until a knock came at the door.
"Daddy, I’m scared of the dark. Can you stay with me like you do with Mommy?"
A small head peeked through the doorway. Theo’s eyes locked with mine, sharp and strange.
Maybe I was seeing things, but for a second, I thought I caught mockery in his gaze. Mockery, pity… and something like a challenge.
"Be good, Theo, don’t be scared. Daddy will sing you a lullaby, okay?"
Theron crouched down naturally, scooped him up and carried him toward the kid’s room.
Watching the way they moved together and how close they were, I felt the sting behind my eyes deepen.
And then the dam broke. Tears spilled out, blurring my vision completely.
My phone buzzed nearby, so I reached out blindly for it, only to find I had grabbed his phone instead.
I wiped my face and looked at the screen.
From the outside, it looked like the phone he always used.
However, neither my fingerprint nor my usual password worked.
I forced myself to focus. Took a deep breath. Then, I tried a few combinations.
Finally, I entered Theo’s birthday and the screen unlocked.
The photo staring back at me hit me like a punch to the chest.
It was a family portrait. Theron kissing an unfamiliar woman, while Theo clutched both their hands, beaming.
I did not have time to break down. I wiped my tears away and opened the photo album.
It was full, packed with proof of a second life he had been living all along.
9,999 photos, documenting every detail of 3,500 days spent with Celina Lark.
The very first picture was taken at the airport on the day our honeymoon ended.
The caption read, [God showed me mercy and brought my beloved Celina back to me.]
In the photo, Theron was smiling like a man reborn, eyes shining like the stars.
On the wall, there was a photo of the two of us at the airport from that day. His smile looked perfectly calculated, pleasant on the surface, but his eyes were completely empty.
I had argued with him over that photo more than once. He always brushed it off, saying he did not like how he looked in it.
After flipping through the entire album, the ache in my chest only deepened.
The reason I fell for Theron Ashvale was because I believed he was loyal.
The way he used to look at me was like I was his only moon. His gaze was so steady, so intense, it used to make me tremble.
But in the end, that loyalty was not meant for me.
When he looked at me with those soulful eyes, his love passed right through me, landing on another woman entirely.
Beyond the photo album, I discovered he had another WhatsApp account.
Scrolling through it, I found that all his friends knew about Celina Lark and her son.
I was the only one still living in the dark.
Among the tens of thousands of messages between him and Celina…
Beyond their daily sweet nothings, there were countless insults, mocking me in every way just to make her smile.
Worse still, he had been gossiping about our sex life with her and with his friends.
One message from just fifteen minutes ago made my fingertips go ice-cold.
It felt like my whole body had been tossed into a freezing cellar, only to be yanked out and burned alive.
[Bro, it’s your wife’s birthday tonight and you've gotta clock in again. Don’t wear yourself out. Celina’s waiting at home for the main show.]
[She’s getting older, everything’s loosened up. Don’t worry, I’ll give her the five-minute special. Once she starts screaming, I’ll record a clip for you guys.]
