Elaine of Artharia

At Riverside Residence in Skyline City…

Dominic Fleming dialed his wife while his daughter watched him with eager eyes. He smiled as he spoke. "Bella, are you off work yet? Lily and I are waiting for you at home!"

It was his 30th birthday, and a large cake already sat on the table.

"Honey…" Isabella Sinclair hesitated before finally saying, "I'll be late. The company just wrapped up a major project, and we're holding a celebration dinner."

Dominic's smile stiffened. Unwilling to let it go, he said, "Bella, can't the dinner wait until tomorrow? It's… my birthday today."

Silence pressed against his ear, sinking his heart.

At last Isabella spoke again, guilt lacing her voice. "Honey, the celebration's already set. I can't dampen everyone's spirits. I'll come back later and celebrate with you then, okay?"

The last trace of Dominic's smile vanished, and his tone grew heavy. "The dinner… it's for him, isn't it?"

"You've got it wrong," Isabella rushed to explain. "Yes, Alex led this project, but the dinner is for the whole company."

Dominic let out a cold laugh. "Keep telling yourself that."

His tone made Isabella bristle. "Must you always spin these meaningless suspicions in your head? How many times do I have to tell you? There's nothing between Alex and me! It's just a birthday. I'm still coming home."

Dominic sneered quietly. "Just a birthday?"

He held back harsher words for his daughter's sake and ended the call.

Lilith Fleming was six years old. When she saw her father put the phone down, disappointment clouded her eyes. "Mom's not coming home?"

Dominic forced a smile. "She'll be back later, Lily. Why don't you watch some TV for now?"

Lilith nodded reluctantly.

After settling her on the sofa, Dominic stepped onto the balcony, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

He wore casual clothes, standing tall with a strikingly handsome face. Every detail of his appearance was impeccable. Otherwise, how could he have won Isabella, the untouchable campus belle, back in university?

And Isabella had only grown more dazzling. At 28, her beauty seemed almost unreal, her figure fuller now, ripened with allure, like wheat heavy on the stalk. With such looks, paired with her role as CEO, she had become a name everyone in Skyline City knew.

As her image rose in his mind, Dominic smiled bitterly.

Back in university, before graduation, Isabella had fallen unexpectedly pregnant. Against her family's fierce objections, she had married him, a man with nothing to his name. That defiance moved him deeply. He had believed the universe favored him with such a woman, so he cherished her even more after marriage.

She built her company while he stayed home to raise their daughter, leaving her with nothing to worry about. One worked outside, the other inside, and together they lived in steady harmony. That balance held until this year—more precisely, three months ago, when Isabella's company welcomed an intern.

At first, Dominic had thought little of it. But she began mentioning the young man more frequently, and a creeping unease gnawed at him. Soon, she declared the intern her "sworn brother" and elevated him to personal assistant.

Dominic protested fiercely, insisting he wanted no part in that fabricated brotherhood. He could barely tolerate hearing the man's name.

Isabella always brushed off his concerns as overreaction. They had argued over it more than once, yet she pressed on.

Now, because this "brother" had completed a project, Isabella was hosting a dinner in his honor—even if it meant skipping her husband's birthday.

Dominic's chest tightened. Something in their marriage was quietly unraveling.

He sighed. "Isabella… what are you thinking?"

When his cigarette burned down, he went back inside. Isabella still hadn't called. The silence was hollow, leaving him helpless.

He checked his watch. It was 6:00 p.m.

"Lily, let's eat cake," he said.

"Yay!" She hopped off the sofa, her earlier disappointment swept away by the promise of sugar.

She clutched her slice and shouted brightly, "Happy birthday, Daddy!"

Dominic's eyes stung. He held her small hand. "Daddy just wants you to be happy every single day, Lily."

After the cake, he tidied the house, bathed her, and tucked her into bed. Only then did relief ease him, if only slightly.

Later, seated on the sofa, he scrolled through short videos on his phone, until one stopped him cold. The image on the screen clamped around his chest like a vise, and pain stole his breath.

His trembling fingers zoomed in. There was no mistake. The stunning woman raising her glass was his wife. A man's arm curved through hers in a crossed-arm toast.

The caption read: [Wishing Ms. Sinclair and Alex a lifetime of happiness together.]

Alexander Grant was Isabella's so-called sworn brother.

At that moment, Dominic's entire body went cold. He clutched his chest, the ache in his heart nearly unbearable.

He laughed bitterly. "So this is the sworn brother. So this is the celebration dinner."

His expression darkened, yet he forced a cold smile as he saved the screenshot, his hands trembling. Then he rose. Through the pain, a sharp, decisive light ignited in his eyes.

He had never been one to suffer in silence. He wasn't one to hide from confrontation. Now that he had seen this, he could and would not tolerate it. He would attend that dinner himself.

Dominic pulled out his phone and called his sister-in-law, Katherine Sinclair. She lived alone, one floor below.

Five minutes later, a woman who could have been Isabella's twin stepped into the apartment, clearly annoyed. "I was about to shower and sleep. Why did you drag me up here?"

Katherine had never thought much of Dominic, always seeing him as nothing more than a pretty face.

"Katherine, something urgent came up. Please watch Lily for me tonight," Dominic said calmly.

Katherine frowned. There was something different about him tonight. Still, she cared deeply for Lilith. With a resigned sigh, she said, "Fine. I'll stay with her."