Chapter 1

I led the research and development department in creating a brand new maternal and infant care app for the company.

As soon as it was announced, it gained numerous supporters and broke all previous registration records for the company's apps.

That morning, I arrived at the multimedia office to give my usual presentation.

While displaying the PowerPoint, I noticed a very familiar avatar among the carefully selected premium customers.

I thought it was just a coincidence.

However, when I opened the profile, I discovered it was my wife who I had made a deal with being DINKs for 5 years.

And her status showed that she had a pair of 3-year-old twins.

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1

I stared blankly at Evelina's social media post, showcasing photos of her children.

They were twins, with a caption noting they had just turned three years old.

No matter what troubles one might face, just seeing them would make everything fade away.

The backdrop was her parents' mansion, with the grandparents themselves playing with the kids.

My speech was abruptly interrupted as Evelina's assistant spoke up first, "Mr. Stratton, please mind your emotions."

I met Evelina during college; she was my darling.

From getting to know each other to dating, and then from dating to marriage.

We had been together for eight years, successfully weathering the seven-year itch.

As for the company I'm currently at, it belongs to Evelina's family.

And I, naturally, became the son-in-law who married into the Everhart family.

Despite facing controversy and all sorts of gossip, I never uttered a single complaint.

For Evelina, I threw myself wholeheartedly into her family's enterprise.

I applied everything I had learned in my life to this company that was originally worth a few billion dollars.

Helping it to surge forward, successfully breaking into the ten-billion-dollar club.

I love her, and I know she loves me deeply.

However, I never could have dreamed this would happen.

In the app I personally developed, there was actually a registered account for Evelina.

She so brazenly displayed her two children for all to see, as if treating me, her husband, like I didn't even exist.

As for the twins' appearance, it nearly caused me to lose control of my emotions.

The boy looks strikingly similar to Evelina, as if they were cut from the same mold.

From his features to his expressions, even down to his curved eyes when he smiles.

But the girl's features made me suspicious of her newly hired assistant, Damien.

I knew the two of them were childhood sweethearts.

It wasn't until middle school that Damien left to study abroad at his family's insistence.

He never came back after that, yet Evelina would still mention him to me from time to time.

The last time was just two weeks ago.

She informed me Damien was planning to return home and wanted to give him a stable job.

It couldn't be too good, but it also couldn't be too bad.

In the end, they settled on the position of executive assistant.

I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I finally realize why Evelina has been going on business trips every six months for the past three years.

The lie about going abroad for further studies was thus exposed without any effort.

As the speech concluded, I prepared to pack up and leave.

I saw Evelina approaching with her parents, saying they wanted to throw a celebration dinner for me tonight.

They also mentioned they had a surprise for me, something completely unexpected.

I smiled wryly and replied, "Is it a surprise or a shock?"

Evelina immediately furrowed her brow and asked me, "Dashiell, what kind of attitude is that? Mom and Dad came specially to congratulate you!"

They say they came specially to congratulate me, but when have they ever truly accepted me?

Every time I go back, they look at me like I'm trash.

This time was no exception; in fact, they looked at Damien more kindly than they did at me.

I took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

I asked Evelina point-blank, "I want to know, what's the deal with the child?"

"You already know?" Evelina replied.

The panic I had imagined didn't appear; instead, she looked very calm.

As if we were discussing a trivial matter.