Curse of the Alpha demon

For the past six months, I was away on a business trip. During this time, my wife, Vanessa Hudson, refused to answer my calls.

Today was our wedding anniversary, so I rushed home to surprise her.

I glanced at the necklace in my hand, an anniversary gift I had picked out for her. Then, I rang the doorbell.

After a long wait, the door finally flew open.

"Why are you back?" Vanessa asked coldly.

She didn't look pleased to see me at all.

I stared at her loose pajamas and disheveled hair. I could hardly believe my eyes.

Vanessa had always been a neat freak. She would never allow her appearance to be less than perfect. But now, she looked completely unkempt.

Soon, I noticed that her belly was slightly swollen.

Once she realized where I was looking, she hastily turned away and shielded her stomach from view. Then, she grabbed my arm and pulled me inside.

Her unusual behavior made me feel uneasy. The house looked mostly the same, but the couch was covered with various baby clothes and toys.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming home?" she asked.

"It's our third wedding anniversary today. Did you forget? Here—I got you a present."

After I handed her the gift box, the two of us stared at each other in silence.

Vanessa suddenly grew flustered. She sheepishly avoided my gaze, and she only managed to compose herself after a few seconds.

She took the gift box from me and tossed it onto the coffee table without even looking at it.

She used to eagerly open any gift I gave her the moment she received it. Afterward, she'd cling to my arm and behave in an affectionate manner. Now, she couldn't even be bothered to spare it another glance.

"I'm hungry, honey. Make me something to eat," she demanded.

In the past, I would've rushed to the kitchen immediately in fear of keeping her waiting. But this time, I stayed put.

Instead of heading to the kitchen, I walked over to the couch and picked up a pair of baby bottoms.

"Do you have nothing to say to me?" I asked as I stared at her.

Vanessa grabbed the gift box from the coffee table and hurled it at me. The box slammed into the wall with a loud thud, and the necklace fell to the floor.

"Are you done?" she snapped. "You were gone for six months, and you're interrogating me the moment you come back!"

Her voice grew shrill—just like it always did when she was feeling guilty. I knew her all too well.

I walked over and picked up the necklace. My eyes began to well up with tears as I gripped the necklace in my hand.

A bold and terrifying thought formed in my head—my wife was cheating on me.

Once she saw my expression, she softened instantly. With a heartbroken expression, she said gently, "I'm sorry, honey. You must be hungry. I'll go and make you something to eat."

Then, she hurried off to the kitchen.

I knew she was running from the truth.

At that moment, her phone on the couch buzzed. I picked it up and saw that Harold Quinton had just posted an update. The moment I saw the post, whatever hope I had left vanished instantly.

In his photo, he rested his hand on Vanessa's bare, rounded belly, a blissful expression on his face. Vanessa, on the other hand, was gazing at him with adoration. If I hadn't known any better, I'd think they were a happy family of three.

"Thank you, Vanessa, for helping me achieve my dream of becoming a father. It wasn't easy to go through ovulation tracking, egg retrieval, and implantation. You've been through so much. Our child is lucky to have you as a mother!" the caption read.

My heart immediately began to ache. My wife was carrying another man's child. And to make matters worse, that man was her ex-boyfriend.

While I was out making a living, she had been busy carrying another man's baby. No wonder she hadn't been answering my calls.

Vanessa came out of the kitchen and saw me holding her phone. Snatching the device out of my hand, she barked, "Have I been too nice to you? How dare you go through my phone?"

I stared at her, feeling completely lost. I couldn't understand why she would rather have a child with another man than have a child with me.