Chapter 1

Xavier's POV

Waverly Gardner, my wife, made no attempt to chase after me once I left our home.

I could still hear her friends behind me, cheering and teasing.

"Xavier seems to have raised his game this year!"

"You shouldn't concede so soon, Waverly!"

Waverly chuckled softly. "He can't stand being without me. He'll definitely come crawling back in three days!"

That evening, Waverly started another betting pool in the group chat. She wagered 4,500 dollars, betting that I'd give in within 72 hours.

She even registered Tobias Lawson's, her best friend's, fingerprint to the smart lock and handed him the keys to the house, which signified that he belonged here, hoping to make me give in first.

Tobias posted a photo of the keys and his breakfast on his social media, with my home slippers on his feet in the shot. He included the caption, stating, "Stand-In Husband for a Week, Day 1."

Their friends all piled on, cheering and teasing.

"You should try 'conquering' the master bedroom tonight, Tobias!"

"Tobias should be allowed to drive Xavier's car for the next couple of days, right? He is Waverly's stand-in husband, after all."

Waverly didn't put a stop to it. She even replied, "You can grab the car key on the second shelf in the entryway."

I was sorting out my luggage in the small house Mom and Dad had left me when I saw the post. It had been unoccupied for years. Dust covered the windowsills, and the faucets were slightly rusty, but at least no one here treated my place like part of a game.

In the first year, after Tobias helped himself to my custom-made suit, I lost my temper in front of everyone. Waverly ran after me and stopped me, spending a long time explaining herself. She said she just wanted to know if I cared enough to get jealous. She even promised, "There won't be a next time, Xavier."

Tobias was going through my custom-made suits in the walk-in closet, trying them on one after another.

He even found my watches and cufflinks, then started a live stream so his friends could pick the best-suited outfit for him—something befitting Waverly's husband. He fastened the cufflinks while facing the camera, then adjusted his collar. "How does this one look?"

Waverly was sitting nearby. She looked up and said, "You look better in these clothes than Xavier."

Everyone on the live stream burst into laughter.

Then, someone suddenly asked why I hadn't made an appearance.

Tobias leaned back on the couch and smiled helplessly. "Xavier gets butt-hurt way too easily over a mere game. I was only doing Waverly a favor, but Xavier made a big deal out of it and moved out of the house. Then again, we all know he'll come back sooner or later."

Waverly chimed in. "He'll come back once he's done throwing a fit."

She then sent me a message. "You know very well that relationships need a bit of excitement every now and then, so stop getting upset over a harmless joke, Xavier. If you're going to keep playing the running-away-from-home card, you might as well come take the rest of your belongings."

I realized the smart lock no longer recognized my fingerprint when I returned to take the rest of my belongings. Tobias ended up opening the door for me. He was wearing my watch and walking around in my home slippers.

I noticed that the bed in the master bedroom had been swapped out with the light blue sheets he preferred. I found that all my toiletries had been dumped into a cardboard box.

I noticed that the wedding photo on the wall in the master bedroom had been taken down and propped against the corner of the wall, with the cardboard box covering half of my face and Waverly's in the wedding photo.

Waverly pushed the cardboard box toward me. "You only get to play this whole 'play hard to get' act once, Xavier."

Tobias leaned against the doorframe of the master bedroom and looked at me. "Do you want me to move into the guest room, Waverly?"

He had asked the question, but he didn't make a move to leave.

Waverly simply replied, "You don't have to do that. You, as the stand-in husband, should naturally sleep in the master bedroom."

Having said that, Waverly turned to look at me, with the familiar amusement in her eyes. She seemed to be waiting for me to blow up and throw Tobias out of the house or pressure her to choose between him and me in front of everyone.

Yet, contrary to her expectations, I merely picked up the cardboard box and asked, "Is that everything?"

Waverly's smile faltered for the very first time. She stared at me for a few seconds, then said coldly, "You're rather convincing this time, Xavier. I'll see how long you can keep it up."

I offered no response. I just turned around and closed the door behind me.