Raising His Rival's Son

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Your wife is sleeping in my bed right now!

In the photo, Chloe was sleeping with her eyes closed.

Her exposed skin was covered with marks left after lovemaking.

I received this provocative text and photo while I was in the kitchen making soup for Chloe.

Today was the fifth anniversary of my marriage to Chloe.

But close to the end of her workday, Chloe apologetically told me that something urgent came up at the company and she needed to work overtime.

Turns out she was "working overtime" in bed with her non-blood-related brother, Adrian.

How ridiculous that I was worried she'd been working too hard lately and wanted to cook her a nice meal.

The angle of that photo was clever, perfectly capturing the hotel's logo and room key card.

It seemed the person who sent me the photo very much wanted me to show up in person.

With a calm expression, I poured all the soup from the pot down the drain.

Grabbing my car keys, I drove straight to Seattle's most luxurious hotel.

The drive was smooth, and I arrived at the hotel.

I took the elevator directly to Room 1806, a couples' suite.

The door was slightly ajar.

The room was filled with roses, champagne, and cakeromance permeated every corner.

"Splash..."

The sound of water came from the bathroom direction.

Then a woman's flirtatious voice rang out:

"You're so bad, you splashed water all over my face..."

My hand tightened on the doorknob.

That voice...

I'd listened to it for five whole years. It was my wife, Chloe.

"Bad boys are what women love, aren't they? You love how bad I am, don't you?"

The man laughed wickedly, his voice rising at the end.

I wasn't unfamiliar with that voice either.

It was Chloe's non-blood-related brother, the free-spirited artist Adrian.

In the round bathtub scattered with rose petals, water splashed everywhere.

Chloe wore only a revealing black lingerie set, her hands resting on Adrian's shoulders.

Adrian was shirtless, one arm wrapped around Chloe's waist.

The two laughed and played without restraint.

Adrian sucked hard on Chloe's neck, leaving a bright red hickey.

"Not there, if he sees it he'll get suspicious."

Chloe hit Adrian's chest in mock displeasure.

Adrian only laughed carelessly:

"What's there to be afraid of? Henry's just an idiot."

"He's been raising my son for five years and he's still so proud of himself."

As Adrian spoke, his eyes were full of smug satisfaction.

"Come on, I can't wait any longer."

With that, Adrian pressed Chloe beneath him...

I gripped the doorknob tightly, maintaining my position without moving.

Adrian's phrase "raising my son for five years" replayed in my mind over and over.

Those words pierced my heart like a barbed knife.

The people inside were too caught up in their passion to notice me standing at the door.

Until a "crack" soundI broke the doorknob clean off.

Chloe and Adrian froze mid-action and turned their heads toward the door in unison.

When they saw me standing at the doorway, Chloe's pupils constricted sharply.

"Henry?"

The flush hadn't yet faded from Chloe's face, and her eyes held a trace of panic at being caught in the act.

The lewd smile on Adrian's face instantly froze.

The next second, he lowered his head submissively as he usually did when facing me, as if he were terrified of me.

After a brief moment of panic, Chloe quickly regained her composure.

She leaned forward, shielding the trembling Adrian behind her.

"Henry, what's with that look? Look what you've done to Adrian!"

I never expected that Chloe, caught red-handed in adultery, wouldn't explain or show guilt, but would brazenly protect her lover.

Adrian, protected behind Chloe, slowly lifted his head. The fear on his face had vanished, replaced by a provocative smile directed at me.

But when Chloe looked at him, Adrian immediately put on a look of panic and anxiety again.

Looking at Chloe protecting Adrian like a mother hen shielding her chick, my heart went completely cold.

"What's wrong with my look?"

"And don't you think you owe me a reasonable explanation?"

"Why did you tell me you were working overtime, but ended up in Adrian's bed instead?"

Chloe's eyes flickered rapidly twice, but the anger of being questioned quickly replaced her guilty conscience.

She suddenly raised her head, bristling like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her voice sharp and piercing:

"Henry! What are you talking about?!"

"Stalking me is one thing, but now you're slandering me?"

"Don't we have even the most basic trust after five years together?"

I was almost amused by Chloe's self-righteousness.

She didn't mention her own deception at all.

Instead, she turned the tables, pushing all the blame onto me.

As if the one at fault wasn't her, the cheating wife, but me, the husband who discovered the truth!

Trust?

I repeated those words, feeling like I'd heard the funniest joke of the century.

"Weren't you the one who lied to me first? And now you're talking to me about trust?"

Chloe choked, then continued to argue stubbornly:

"So what if I lied to you?"

"Do you know how much pressure I'm under every day? And what have you done for me besides cooking and cleaning?"

"Adrian and I grew up together. To me, he's like family! He IS my brother!"

"He felt bad for me and wanted to help me relax with a professional spa massage!"

"Why does it become something dirty in your eyes?"

Chloe spoke with such conviction.

If I hadn't seen the intimate marks all over her body, I might have almost believed her.

"Henry, you've really misunderstood! I... I just thought Chloe had been working so hard lately, I wanted to help her relax..."

Adrian timidly poked half his head out from behind Chloe.

"There's nothing between Chloe and me. I absolutely have no improper thoughts about her."

As Adrian spoke, he looked at me cautiously, as if I were some man-eating demon.

I couldn't help but laugh coldly.

"A misunderstanding? No improper thoughts?"

"Do you even believe what you're saying?"

I looked at Adrian mockingly.

Would someone with no improper thoughts send me photos of them in bed to provoke me?

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault, it's all my fault, Henry, please don't fight with Chloe because of me."

Adrian's eyes reddened slightly, like a wronged puppy.

As he spoke, Adrian made as if to stand up, but his peripheral vision secretly glanced at Chloe.

Sure enough, Chloe didn't disappoint him.

Adrian's appearance of accepting all the blame made Chloe's heart ache, and it aroused her protective instinct even more.

Chloe grabbed him, looking at me angrily.

"Henry, are you done yet? Apologize!"

"Henry, I want you to apologize to Adrian, right now!"

When Chloe looked at me, the disgust in her eyes was undisguised, while Adrian's face was full of smug satisfaction.

Looking at the two of them before me, I suddenly laughed.

"Apologize... okay..."

I nodded.

The next second, under Chloe's disbelieving gaze, I picked up the wine bottle on the table and smashed it hard against Adrian's head.

"Bang!"

The bottle shattered on impact, bright red blood mixing with wine and flowing down.

"Ahh!"

Adrian clutched his head, letting out a pig-like shriek of pain.

"Henry, you're insane!"

Chloe was furious. She quickly pressed a towel to Adrian's wound and held him in her arms protectively.

"Adrian, don't be afraid, I'm here."

Adrian looked at her with reddened eyes, his voice choked with grievance:

"Chloe, this is all my fault. I made Henry unhappy. Please don't blame him."

Even now, Adrian was still trying to win Chloe's favor.

Chloe held him tightly, then turned to scream at me:

"Henry, you're a complete lunatic."

"I want a divorce."

"Fine, I agree."

My voice was calm without a ripple.

Chloe froze, not expecting me to agree so easily.

Under Chloe's disbelieving gaze, I turned and walked out of the room.

On the way home, I contacted a private investigator.

My requirements were clear:

"Check all of Chloe's movements over the past five years. Call records, purchase records, everything you can find. The more detailed, the better."

Opening the door, my five-year-old son Ryan was playing with toys in the living room.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Seeing my serious expression, Ryan asked with concern.

I smiled and ruffled his hair.

Looking closely, Ryan didn't really look like mehe resembled his mother Chloe more.

But over the past five years, out of complete trust in Chloe, I'd never questioned Ryan's parentage.

But now, having heard that conversation with my own ears, I found it somewhat difficult to look directly at this child I'd raised with my own hands.

Pretending there was something in his hair, I took the opportunity to pull out two of Ryan's hairs.

Calling a courier, I sent the hair samples to two different paternity testing centers.

I paid for rush processing on both. The wait was both long and agonizing.

The moment the results came out, my nerves instantly tensed and my heart pounded irregularly.

I opened the electronic report, skipped the beginning, and went straight to the last page.

Based on DNA analysis, the possibility that Henry is the biological father of the tested sample (Ryan) is excluded at 99.99%.

Two reports, identical results.

I couldn't help but laugh bitterly at myself.

Five years. A full 1,825 days.

I had devoted myself completely to Chloe, to Ryan, to our family, pouring in all my effort and heart.

In the end, I was just a complete fool who had raised someone else's son for five years.

Adrian was rightI was a fucking idiot.

Raising someone else's son and feeling so proud of myself.

I didn't think there could be a bigger fool in the world than me.

I wondered how Chloe and Adrian laughed at me in private.

Rage, humiliation, and resentment all gathered in my heart. I clenched my fists hard.

I used almost all my strength to barely suppress the destructive impulse in my heart.

I took out my phone and made a call:

"Santos, prepare a divorce agreement for me."

Ignoring the shock on the other end, I calmly told him to hurry.

Chloe didn't come home that night.

Early the next morning, I was woken by my phone ringing.

Looking at the caller ID, I curled my lips coldly.

"Henry, I'm giving you 10 minutes. Get your ass to the hospital right now!"

The moment the call connected, I heard Chloe's mother Bella's shrill, piercing voice.

Her tone was commanding as always, high and mighty.

Before I could react, Bella hung up. I smiled coldly.

It seemed they were planning a public trial of me.

After a quick wash, I drove to the hospital.

In the hospital room, Adrian lay in bed with his forehead bandaged, looking weak.

Chloe sat by his bedside, her eyes red and swollen like two walnuts.

When he saw me, Chloe's father Mitchell kept a stern face and said nothing.

Bella snorted heavily with a look of disdain.

Adrian's body flinched, and he leaned fearfully toward Chloe.

Chloe patted his back soothingly.

"You wanted to see me?" I looked at Bella expressionlessly.

"You still have the nerve to ask?"

Bella's voice suddenly rose, and she grabbed the cup beside her and hurled it at me.

"Henry, look what you've done! Look what you've done to Adrian!"

"Chloe must have been blind to marry a violent man like you."

"Do you know that Chloe cried all night last night because of the shock?"

Bella was emotional, hurling accusations at me.

Chloe sobbed on cue, as if she'd suffered the greatest injustice.

"Henry, you went too far last night. Adrian is someone we watched grow up, so naturally he and Chloe are close. You were wrong to hit him without asking questions first."

Looking at Mitchell speaking so righteously, I laughed coldly:

"And then?"

"And then?"

Bella bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on:

"Of course you apologize."

"You can only get up after Adrian and Chloe forgive you."

Bella's tone was matter-of-fact.

In the past, Chloe's family had often used my love for Chloe to manipulate me.

And over the past five years, I had indeed chosen to swallow my pride again and again for the sake of family harmony.

Bella was certain that this time I would lower my head and admit my mistake as I always had, but this time they would be disappointed.

"Are you finished?"

"If you're finished, it's my turn."

"Chloe, let's get a divorce!"

With that, I slapped the divorce agreement the lawyer had prepared overnight in front of Chloe.

Chloe froze, her sobbing stopped.

Mitchell and Bella were also stunned, not expecting the word "divorce" to come from my mouth.

Everyone stared at me in disbelief.

Only Adrian, after a brief moment of shock, couldn't hide the wild joy in his eyes.

"Henry, don't be ungrateful."

"You only get one chance."

Mitchell's face grew darker, his voice heavy with warning.

"Henry, I already told you last night was a misunderstanding. Why won't you listen?"

Chloe looked at me tearfully, tears falling like broken pearls, looking pitiful and wronged.

Adrian grabbed my hand, his voice choked:

"Henry, it's all my fault, everything is my fault."

"I don't need your apology. Just don't fight with Chloe anymore. If you can't stand me, I'll leave tomorrow, disappear from your sight immediately, and never come back!"

"Chloe really loves you. Don't divorce her. I'm begging you, okay?"

Looking at Adrian, I felt a wave of disgust in my heart.

"Get lost!"

I shook Adrian off forcefully and took two steps back.

"Ah!"

Adrian fell to the ground, crying out in exaggerated pain.

"Henry! Have you lost your mind!"

Chloe helped Adrian up with distress. Seeing Adrian's reddened elbow, she screamed at me furiously.

"You want a divorce, right? Fine, I'll divorce you!"

"It's not like I can't live without you."

With that, she picked up the divorce agreement to sign it.

"Wait."

Bella stopped her.

"Henry, we can divorce, but you have to leave with nothing. And you have to publicly claim that you had an affair during marriage, which led to the breakdown of the relationship."