Chapter 1My Pop Star Wife Cheated with a Trainee, I Ruined Them

That day, I sat on the judges' panel of a music competition show, my identity as the biggest investor concealed.

My secretary suddenly sent me a screenshot of a social media post. The poster was my wife, Rora—the reigning queen of pop—who had blocked me long ago.

The caption read, "Only the greatest stage is worthy of my shining star." The accompanying photo showed a young man, smiling and flashing a peace sign at the camera.

I had just saved the screenshot, ready to text her a furious question, when the very same young man from the photo walked onto the stage.

Pinned to his chest was the antique brooch I had won at an auction for five million dollars. And the song he was singing was the love ballad I had written for my wife.

I thought for a moment, then raised my phone, recorded a clip of the performance, and sent it to Rora. "Honey, you didn't tell me you were taking my things to do charity work."

I followed up with another text. "If I were to misunderstand and sue him for theft and copyright infringement, his career would be over before it even began, wouldn't it?"

The moment I hit send, the stage lights went black.

A single spotlight hit a corner of the auditorium. Rora, holding a bouquet of flowers, walked gracefully toward the young man.

Without a second's hesitation, I took off my mask. I smiled at the adoring couple on stage. "Darling," I called out, my voice carrying through the silent venue, "when did you announce your new relationship?"

* * *

A collective gasp swept through the audience. Rora's face turned into a mask of pure horror.

I acted as if I hadn't noticed, my smile never wavering as I waited for her answer.

"Mr... Mr. Vaughn, you must be joking."

"Isn't Rora single?"

The host, having barely regained his composure, scrambled to smooth things over.

A songwriter on the panel next to me also chimed in. "Exactly. Rora has been in the industry for years without a single scandal. She's completely dedicated to her music."

"That global hit she released a while back? She spent six months in seclusion writing it. Where would she find the time for romance?"

"Besides, she treats her fans like family. If she got married, she would never hide something that huge from them!"

He then turned warmly to Rora. "Rora, is this contestant your protégé? I was just thinking how similar his musical style is to yours!"

It seemed that in all the commotion, he hadn't quite heard what I'd said.

I picked up my microphone, raising my voice just enough to be clear.

"Honey, when did you take on a student? You never even told me."

"And you still haven't answered my question."

Rora unclenched her fists, forcing a stiff smile. "No, Kai is just a new trainee at the company. We just get along well. I happened to have some free time today, so I stopped by to watch."

She stammered through her excuse. Faced with a sea of confused and probing eyes from the audience, she finally bit the bullet.

"I'm sorry to take up everyone's time."

"Allow me to introduce my husband—Alexander Vaughn."

The revelation that Rora was secretly married sent a shockwave through the venue.

Her guilty eyes refused to meet mine. She kept her head down and asked, "Honey, would you like to come up so everyone can meet you?"

I didn't let her squirm for long.

As everyone stared in disbelief, I walked confidently onto the stage to stand beside her. "Hello, everyone," I said, my voice steady. "I'm Rora's non-celebrity husband, Alexander."

Just as Rora let out a sigh of relief, I turned to the boy, Kai, my expression one of polite curiosity.

"You must be a new trainee this year, right? That song wasn't bad. Did you write it yourself? What was your inspiration? Would you mind sharing it with us?"

The color drained from Kai's face. He shot a panicked look at Rora, silently begging for help.

Rora, thinking she was being subtle, gave him a sharp, warning glance.

Kai flinched, then bowed his head meekly. "The... the inspiration for the song came from a little melody that Ms. Rora was humming one day. There might be some similarities."

"It was my mistake! I... I'll withdraw from the competition voluntarily. I'll post a public apology to Ms. Rora right away. I'm so sorry!"

With that, his eyes reddened, and he gave me a deep, formal bow.

His pitiful act made Rora tug at my sleeve, her heart clearly going out to him.

But I didn't back down. In that brief moment our eyes had met, I had seen the undisguised malice in his.

I turned to look at Rora, letting Kai remain bent over in his bow.

"Darling, you know how possessive I am."

My gaze, a mix of amusement and ice, landed on the brooch pinned to Kai's chest.

"Whether it's a brooch or anything else... everything that's mine always finds its way back to me, doesn't it?"

"After all, if some shortsighted little thief were to fall into my hands, the price they'd have to pay would be far from simple."

"Ghastly" didn't even begin to describe the look on Rora's face.

She grabbed my hand, her voice tight. "Alex, let's just go. We shouldn't hold up the show."