Chapter 2

I forced myself to wash my face with cold water. After the overwhelming rage passed, my mind settled into a terrifying calm.

I did not rush out to confront Vera, nor did I call Keith and curse him out. Tears and hysterics were weapons only the weak relied on.

Instead, I went into my study, opened my computer, and created a new anonymous account. Using the username from that confession post, I began digging through Keith’s online history.

He had been extremely careful. His main account showed nothing but the carefully crafted image of a successful man living a peaceful, perfect life.

Yet the anonymous account he used to pour out his thoughts revealed his deepest desires.

As I scrolled through his posts one by one, the timeline slowly overlapped with my own memories.

The posts dated back to May from six years ago.

[Today, I went with him to the hospital for his biopsy. I felt awful watching him break out in a cold sweat from the pain.]

[I have to put my plan into action. Someone else’s child will always be someone else’s. Only a child I give him will let me feel at ease.]

[But his wife is incredible. I think I’m starting to fall for her.]

That was my first round of IVF. Vera told me her company had an urgent business engagement, so she could not be there with me.

It turned out her so-called business engagement was actually her preparing this self-righteous “surprise” with Keith.

I came across another post from October five years ago.

[The baby kicked her today! I saw it during our video call, and I got so emotional that my eyes welled up. I wish I could be there with her, but I’ll have to wait until she finishes her training.]

By then, Vera had already been “abroad” for three months.

During that time, Keith disappeared for three or four days every month, claiming he was traveling out of town for work projects.

I found another post from three years ago dating back to New Year.

[Maya’s New Year gift actually came from her real dad. Seeing the three of them together as a happy family sometimes made me jealous. But then she secretly slipped into the guest room at night to kiss me, and I felt at peace again.]

The moment I read that, I felt my blood rush straight to my head.

Three years ago during New Year, Keith told me that his rental apartment felt too lonely with him all alone. I felt sorry for him, so I brought him home to celebrate with us.

That night, I had taken medicine for a cold and slept deeply.

Meanwhile, my dear wife and my best friend were in the guest room just a wall away, doing the most disgusting thing imaginable right under my nose.

I gritted my teeth until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Then, I picked up my phone and arranged for an expedited paternity testing service through a reputable local DNA lab.

The next morning, after Vera left for work, I went into Maya’s bathroom and carefully used tweezers to pick up several strands of hair with the follicles still attached from her brush. I placed them into a sealed bag.

My next stop was the guest room. Keith had come over for dinner the night before and taken an afternoon nap there earlier that day. I found several strands of his short hair on the pillow.

Finally, I collected a few strands of hair from Vera’s vanity.

I submitted all three sealed bags for expedited DNA testing.

“Vera, Keith, you two love keeping everything ‘balanced,’ don’t you? Let’s see if you can still keep it together after I rip away the cover hiding your shame,” I thought.