Chapter 3

"My birthday is tomorrow, and I literally told Noah early this morning that people were coming over! How could you not even wait..."

Henry’s rushed, aggressive voice cut her right off. "Ava, didn't you say your body only reacts to me? What kind of sweet-talking garbage were you just spouting to him? You just wait until tomorrow night. I'm going to pin you down right on your marital bed and teach you a real lesson..."

It wasn't until past three in the morning that Ava finally tiptoed into the house.

I choked back a wave of intense nausea and pretended to be sound asleep.

First thing the next morning, I had my assistant fetch Ethan under the pretense of taking him out to pick out a birthday gift for his mom. After everything, I refused to let my son witness the storm that was about to hit.

Once Ethan was safely gone, my in-laws, relatives, and mutual friends started trickling in. Henry was right there with them.

He strutted up to me, putting on a half-baked, fake apologetic expression while his eyes practically dripped with pure provocation.

"Hey Noah, man, I'm so sorry. I borrowed Ava last night, and we kind of lost track of time for five hours. I saw how completely exhausted she was, so I just let her crash on my couch and sleep for a bit."

I stared back at him, completely unbothered. "No worries. You can borrow her for as long as you want from now on."

Henry clearly didn't expect me to react with total apathy. His smug grin faltered, and a split second later, his face twisted into embarrassed rage.

He suddenly cranked up his volume, shouting so the entire living room could hear him, "Noah, how can you even say that? Ava works her butt off at the office! How can you not care about her at all?

"Do you have any idea that she was so dead tired at my place last night she fell asleep twice? It broke my heart just watching her!"

The loud living room instantly went dead silent.

Every single head snapped in our direction.

My mother-in-law's face darkened the second those words hit her ears. "My daughter works herself to the bone to support this family, and this is the disrespect she gets? I told you back then not to marry down to some community college drop-out like Noah, but you just wouldn't listen..."

Her fake-bougie friends immediately chimed in, "Right?! Ava had so many rich guys chasing her back in high school and college!"

"Noah, you need to count your lucky stars. Marrying a woman like Ava is a miracle a guy like you doesn't even deserve!"

I stood there, totally stunned.

The reality was that I had spent nights grinding to get into a top-tier Ivy-caliber master's program on my own merits years ago. I remember running to Ava, buzzing with excitement to share the acceptance letter, only for her to sneer in my face.

"What's there to brag about with some pay-to-play degree? You think I don't know what kind of joke adult education programs are?"

That was the exact reason I had planned to announce my massive promotion to General Manager at the multiplex. I stupidly thought that if she saw my success with her own eyes, she would finally believe in me.

Looking back now, she had looked down on me from the very beginning.

If she hated me so much, why hadn't she just divorced me? Was she too attached to the paycheck I handed over every single month? Or was she just clinging to the house and the luxury car I bought for her?

Listening to everyone roast me, Ava didn't deny a single word. Instead, she put on a sweet, long-suffering smile. "It's really no big deal, guys. As long as my husband loves me, none of that stuff matters."

Hearing that, the room burst into even louder, mocking laughter.

Right on cue, Henry pulled out a sleek, ribboned box with an insufferable smirk.

"Happy birthday, Ava," he said, his voice dripping with tenderness, "I had this custom imported from overseas. It's a super rare, limited-edition piece. I knew you'd love it."

Ava gasped, taking the box as her eyes lit up. "Henry! Oh my god, you shouldn't have!"

Henry turned to me, throwing a smug, challenging glare. "So, Noah, what did you get her? Come on, show it off so everyone can be jealous!"

Every eye in the room locked onto me.

I looked at the eager expectation in Ava's eyes, a cold, bitter laugh echoing inside my head.

A month ago, I had drained my entire savings account to put a down payment on a sprawling, five-thousand-square-foot luxury villa. I had originally planned to hide the keys inside her birthday cake to give her the ultimate surprise.

Now? She didn't deserve a single brick.

The thought made me laugh out loud. "Oh, I got her something. There’s a massive surprise coming up in just a bit."

Ava beamed, clapping her hands together as she patted my chest playfully. "Babe! I knew you were the best!"

Henry's face went sour, his eyes flashing with raw jealousy.

Ava caught his expression, quickly pulling her hand back off my chest. Her cheeks flushed as she stammered, "Babe, I'm going to run upstairs to change into a different outfit. Why don't you entertain the guests for a minute?"

Suppressing the urge to gag, I turned around and guided everyone to sit down in the living area.

Not long after Ava disappeared upstairs, Henry made up some lame excuse and slipped out of the room, too.

I pulled out my phone and tapped open the hidden security feed of the master bedroom.

The timing was just about right.

I hit speakerphone and dialed Ava's phone right in front of the whole family.

It rang for a long time before the line finally picked up. The screen stayed completely pitch black.

Ava’s voice leaked through the speakers, laced with sharp impatience. "What is it now? I told you I was just changing my clothes!"

I dropped the nice-guy act completely, letting out a dark chuckle. "Isn't your little intern in there helping you out? Why is it taking two grown adults this long to change an outfit anyway? Unless you guys are just taking clothes off, putting them back on, and taking them off again?"

Silence fell over the phone line.

The entire living room went completely frozen, too.

A second later, Ava’s furious scream erupted from the phone speakers. "Noah! You’re literally psychotic! I didn't even throw a fit because you failed to get me a gift ahead of time!

“What kind of sick lies are you spouting right now? Are you intentionally trying to ruin my birthday?!"

My in-laws couldn't sit still for another second. They surged up from the couch, pointing fingers right at my face.

"Noah! What the hell is wrong with you? Ava treats you well, and you're sitting here accusing her of crazy stuff?”

“You’re completely out of line!"

I ignored their yelling completely. Instead, I stared at the dark phone screen and sneered. "If your hands are clean, why don't you unlock the bedroom door right now and let everyone see what you're doing in there?"

Ava snapped immediately, her voice screeching into a panic. "Noah, you’re a total freak! What kind of sick pervert asks his wife to strip in front of a crowd? You’ve got a serious case of cheating paranoia!"

Without saying another word, I hit the power button on the home theater remote. The massive, hundred-inch projector screen on the living room wall flashed to life.

In crisp, high-definition color, Ava and Henry’s tangled, naked bodies slammed onto the screen in real-time.

Everyone in the room was stunned.