Chapter 1Sweet Spicy

I was scrolling through a Reddit thread: 【What’s the most surprisingly wholesome thing you’ve ever done for love?】

A comment from a user with a familiar avatar caught my eye:

【My girlfriend loves to… play with my backdoor. I was always worried about the smell, so I started secretly spraying my wife’s perfume back there before we’d meet up…】

I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry.

I just quietly went to my bathroom and poured a bottle of concentrated capsaicin extract into that perfume bottle.

There.

Now my wholesome husband could feel the heat, too.

When I first saw that top-voted comment, my world stopped. It wasn't just the shocking content. It was the avatar for the user, “AgainstTheCurrent.”

It was a photo of two hands, fingers intertwined. The man’s thumb had a faint scar on it.

The position, the shape, the size—it was identical to my husband Leo’s.

When our daughter, Chloe, was two, she was a little daredevil. One day she tried to climb the TV stand and came tumbling down, bringing a vase with her. Without a second thought, Leo dove underneath her, breaking her fall. A shard of porcelain sliced deep into his thumb. I remember him gritting his teeth through the pain, but smiling, calling it his “dad medal.”

I stared at that scar on the screen, a desperate hope flickering in my chest. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. The world is full of people who look alike. A similar scar isn’t impossible.

My heart hammered against my ribs. With a trembling hand, I clicked on “AgainstTheCurrent”’s profile.

It was empty. No posts, no history.

But I wasn't giving up. When it comes to a cheating husband, every woman becomes Sherlock Holmes.

I clicked on his saved posts. My brow furrowed.

【10 Ways to be a 10/10 Boyfriend. Tag your man!】

【Advanced Kegel Exercises for Men: Liftoff in One Week.】

【Do Men Hit a Wall at 40? How to Fight Aging.】

【Style Upgrades That Make an Older Guy Look Younger.】

The more I read, the more certain I became. This had to be Leo.

His behavior had been so strange lately. This is a man who used to think moisturizer was a scam, but now he was sneaking into my side of the vanity to use my skincare products. He’d worn the same style of button-down shirt for a decade, but now he was suddenly into fashion blogs and had even changed his hairstyle.

Just a few days ago, he’d asked me out of the blue, “Honey, do I seem old to you?”

I’d laughed. “You know what they say, men are like fine wine. You’re just hitting your peak.”

He didn’t laugh back. He was completely serious, asking me about cosmetic procedures, where to get hair plugs, what treatments could make him look younger.

“What’s with the sudden interest in all this?” I’d asked, confused.

“It’s for work,” he’d said. “The company’s developing a new men’s cosmetic line. They’re making us do market research.”

And I’d believed him.

Looking at these saved posts now, it all clicked into place. When a man suddenly becomes terrified of aging, it usually means one thing.

He’s fallen for a much younger woman. And he’s scared he can’t keep up.