Chapter 2

"What affair?" Kiara looked at me in exasperation. "Do you still think I'm cheating on you with Sebastian? He's your best friend! How could you accuse him of something like that?"

After a brief pause, she added, "I already told you that I found the belt while I was cleaning. Didn't he send you a selfie earlier too? He's at home right now!"

I shoved the photo in her face. "Today's April 6, but this photo was taken on March 31. How do you explain that?"

"How am I supposed to know why he sent you an old photo? Why don't you go to his house right now and ask him yourself?" she asked with a frown. As she spoke, she grabbed my hand and tried to pull me toward the door.

Sebastian's villa was in the luxury neighborhood next door. It was barely a ten-minute walk from our house, but I wrenched my hand free and refused to take another step.

"Once I leave, Sebastian will finally be able to come out of his hiding spot, right?"

"What do you want from me?" Kiara demanded impatiently.

"You refuse to believe me, but you won't even head over to Sebastian's to check if he's at home. Instead, you insist on being unreasonable. When did you become so paranoid, Henry Smith?"

Kiara flashed me a disapproving look. She was the one who had cheated on me, yet she was making me out to be the unreasonable one.

"Paranoid? Me?" I asked incredulously. "Fine. Let's see if Sebastian is hiding somewhere in this house, shall we?"

I stormed onto the balcony and yanked the curtains open. But unfortunately for me, the balcony was empty.

Then, I immediately opened every compartment in the TV console, but all I managed to find were ordinary household items.

Just as I was about to check the bathroom, Kiara grabbed me.

"Enough! What's gotten into you, Henry? You've been gone for five days, and the moment you get home, you start hurling all sorts of accusations at me. When are you going to stop?

"If anything, I'm the one who should be suspicious of you! You went on another trip with that female executive of yours again. The two of you were out of town together. Who knows what you were up to? Maybe you've been cheating on me this whole time!"

I stared at her in disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about? Ms. Walter is a friend of my mom's! Besides, we weren't alone. The rest of the team was on the trip as well!"

"You're the one who started making accusations first." Kiara sneered. "You've been on countless business trips with women from work. When have I ever questioned your loyalty?"

She continued, "You come home from a business trip and suddenly accuse me of cheating out of nowhere! I bet you've been sleeping with some random woman, and now you are trying to make me look guilty to cover your own tracks!"

I was trembling with rage, but I forced myself to keep my temper in check. I knew she was deliberately provoking me to muddy the waters.

The harder she tried to shift the blame, the more convinced I became that she had something to hide.

"I'm not going to argue with you. This house isn't that big. If you have nothing to hide, let me search it."

"Absolutely not!" Kiara snapped. "This is my house. What gives you the right to search it?"

"I'm the one who's been paying the mortgage! How can you be the sole owner of this house?"

"Because my name is the only one on the deed! You have no claim to this house. In fact, I can throw you out right now!"

With that, Kiara grabbed me and forcibly dragged me toward the front door, clearly desperate to get rid of me.

I stared at her frantic demeanor and let out a mocking laugh. "What's the point of throwing me out? Are you planning to ask Sebastian to hide in here for the rest of his life? What do you think will happen if I take a picture of him leaving your house and send it to the Carters?"

Her face contorted with rage. "Then I'll just make sure you're nowhere near this place!"

She yanked the front door open. But the moment she saw who was standing outside, her expression shifted.

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?"