Chapter 1
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At least, that's what everyone thought.
Two years ago, she married Daniel. Handsome, refined, from a prestigious family. He placed her like a precious piece of porcelain in a climate-controlled crystal display case, sheltering her from all the storms and dust of the world. In bed, Daniel was always gentle and considerate, respecting her feelings… perhaps even too "respectful." He
never made aggressive demands of her, nor had he ever made her feel the weight of desire's scrutiny. For this, she felt grateful. The security of not being excessively wanted allowed her to relax and continue playing the perfect role of "Mrs. Reed" with a clear conscience.
Today is their second wedding anniversary. Chloe sits at her dressing table, fastening her mother's heirloom pearl earrings. The woman in the mirror, her skin glowing with a delicate luster under the light, resembles a night-blooming cereus quietly unfurling in the moonlight, wrapped in her champagne-colored gown.
She is beautiful. Daniel always says so.
Beautiful… like a work of art. The thought emerges unbidden, causing a slight pang in her heart.
Daniel's love is warm and safe. Chloe once thought this was everything she wanted. Unlike… unlike that other person. That person's very existence was like a storm brewing on the horizon; even from a distance, you could feel the electrifying charge in the air.
She chuckles and shakes her head, banishing that inappropriate, brooding figure from her thoughts.
Daniel's laptop sits on the nearby sofa, screen still lit. He's just finished a video conference and gone to shower. In the lower right corner of the screen, a messaging app icon flashes insistently.
Chloe's gaze sweeps past it inadvertently, then freezes.
It's a profile picture she hasn't seen before—a young man with blonde hair and striking features. The preview of the most recent message reads:
【Last night, I dreamed about you.】
Followed by a purple devil emoji.
Chloe's heart skips a beat.
She forces herself to look away, picking up the gift box she's prepared for Daniel. She should trust him, just as she has every day for the past two years.
The shower stops.
Daniel emerges wrapped in a towel, water droplets trailing down his well-defined abs. He comes over, embraces her from behind, and plants a lingering kiss on her neck.
"So beautiful," he murmurs in admiration, his voice gentle as always. "I can't wait any longer."
Chloe's heart settles in that moment.
Just then, the laptop on the sofa emits another "ding."
Daniel's body tenses for a split second.
He releases her and walks over with forced casualness, muttering "just another spam email" while snapping the laptop shut. The motion is too hasty—the movement of someone hiding something.
Chloe's outstretched hand, offering the gift, freezes midair. Those tiny cracks she's deliberately ignored are now, one by one, spiderwebbing across her perfect crystal palace.
"Daniel." She hears her own voice, unnervingly calm.
"Hmm?"
"Do you love me?"
Daniel turns around, as if finding her question amusing. He walks over, cups her face in his hands, and gazes at her tenderly. "What nonsense is this, silly? If I don't love you, who would I love?"
As he speaks, he lowers his head to kiss her.
But Chloe turns her head slightly, avoiding his lips.
She gestures toward the master bedroom and says softly, "I'm a bit tired. I think I'll lie down for a while. Could you… tidy up my brother's room? He's coming to stay this weekend."
"Sure." Daniel suspects nothing.
The moment the study door closes, all color drains from Chloe's face. Like a sleepwalker, she moves toward the secondary bedroom at the end of the hallway—Leo's room.
Slowly, she pushes the door open.
The room is dark, the air permeated with Leo's familiar scent of youth and cologne.
And… another scent.
That sweet, cloying cologne she'd smelled on Daniel in the living room, now mingled with the unmistakable musk of sex.
Here is the source.
Chloe enters slowly, feeling as if she's walking on clouds. Her gaze is drawn to a small, dimly glowing object on the bed.
It's a phone, casually tossed beside Leo's pillow. The screen isn't locked, displaying an open chat application.
The profile picture is Daniel's.
And the chat history is filled with explicit, obscene photos and videos.
The most recent one was just sent by Leo.
It's an uncensored close-up of his lower body. The caption reads:
【Brother-in-law, it misses you.】
Chloe's stomach lurches violently. She braces against the wall, retching uncontrollably.
Her marriage, her love, everything she was proud of—in this moment, it all becomes a cruel joke.
Light footsteps approach from behind.
Daniel stands in the doorway. Seeing her pale face and the phone with its glowing screen by her feet, the mask of tenderness on his face finally slips away completely.
"Since you've seen it all," he begins coldly, "I have nothing more to say."
"Chloe, let's make a deal. You cooperate with me, continue playing your role as Mrs. Reed. In return, everything you currently have will remain unchanged."
He pauses, then adds, as if bestowing a favor:
"For you, there's no loss, is there? After all… you don't like doing that sort of thing anyway."
Boom—
That sentence—like a filthy key violently thrust into a rusty lock inside Chloe's body that she didn't even know existed. Her mind goes blank, followed not by humiliation, but by an inexplicable, unfamiliar, almost skin-searing heat and… shame.
She doesn't know where this sudden feeling comes from, only that all the blood in her body seems to rush backward.
She raises her head, looking at the stranger before her, and suddenly laughs. The laughter begins softly, then grows louder, carrying a kind of madness and despair, echoing through this room thick with betrayal.
She laughs until tears stream down her face, yet her voice remains perfectly clear: "Daniel, guess what? If my father knew you were sleeping with both his daughter and his son at the same time… what do you think he would do?"
