Chapter 1

My husband, who never helps our daughter with homework, suddenly volunteered to do her craft project today.

Sitting on the couch, I suddenly noticed that my secretary Lily had updated her Ins post:

【Thank you Mr. S for this year of tutoring. My second-grader son got first place in his class on the exam.】

I scrolled to another one of her Ins posts:

【Mr. S is always traveling for work, such a headache. My son only listens to his father.】

When I saw that the stationery in Lily's photo was identical to my daughter's, my heart went cold.

That set of stationery wasn't available in stores—my husband had it custom-made for our daughter.

It turns out my husband has been playing dad to someone else's kid all along!

My husband had two sets of that stationery custom-made.

I took one set out and gave it to my daughter.

The other set was in the cabinet, still unopened.

When I opened the cabinet door and saw the empty shelf, my suspicions were confirmed.

"Honey, did you see that set of stationery I had in my cabinet?"

"I wanted to give it to Emma's son."

Emma was my best friend, who had a first-grader.

Sebastian's expression froze for a moment.

"Haven't seen it. Maybe you put it somewhere else and forgot."

My heart sank as I slowly closed the cabinet door.

I turned around and liked Lily's Ins post.

【Lily, I see your son's stationery is pretty nice. Can you send me a link? I want to buy a set for my daughter too】

In the kitchen, Sebastian and our daughter were sneaking bites of cake.

Seeing me approach, he asked our daughter,

"Maya, your mom can't find a set of stationery. Did you see it?"

I smiled.

"The one just like yours."

Our daughter blinked her big round eyes.

"My classmate liked it, so I gave it to her."

Sebastian visibly relaxed, rubbing our daughter's head.

"Maya, you're so good at sharing. For your birthday this year, I'll get you something special."

Just then, my phone rang.

Lily replied to me.

【Lynn, I'm really sorry, but that's not for sale. The child's father brought it home】

My eyes fixed on the words "child's father" and I couldn't snap out of it for a long time.

For the past six months, Sebastian had been constantly traveling for work.

Lily had also been taking frequent leave.

Considering she had a child and was a single mother, I never asked for specifics.

Now, items from my home were brazenly appearing in her photos.

And the affectionate 'S' she referred to was the initial of Sebastian's name.

My best friend's words suddenly echoed in my mind.

"Sebastian is handsome and loaded. You better keep an eye on him—there are plenty of women out there who want to sleep with him."

"Last time he came to our company for a meeting, those young girls were practically drooling, asking for his contact info."

I smiled and sipped my coffee at the time.

Asking without concern,

"Did he give it to them?"

Emma was a bit annoyed.

"He didn't, but men all chase novelty and excitement."

I knew him best.

"He won't."

We met in high school.

We both had excellent grades.

To me, we were friends and rivals.

After the SAT, we entered the same university and fell in love.

After graduation, I supported him through starting his business, building our own stationery brand.

Everyone envied our love story.

But now, I was alarmed to realize he might have cheated.

After dinner, when I scrolled through Ins again, I found that Lily's post had been deleted.

But she had posted a new one:

【It's snowing. The kid insists his dad take him out to play in the snow. But the water pipe at home burst, so I guess skiing will have to be postponed.】

I liked it and replied:

【Do you want my husband to come fix your pipes?】