Chapter 1She Left Me for Dead, Slipped Into My Best Friend’s Bed

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?"