Chapter 1

My name was Ryder Kessler.

Ever since I read my younger brother, Jack Kessler's post, the air around me grew unnervingly cold. It was as if I had been thrust straight into the dead of winter.

In that post, Jack proudly detailed how he had seduced my wife, Tara Knight. He even boasted that all three of my children were actually his.

He wrote, "Sharing the same blood type as my brother is perfect. He would never realize that the children he had raised with such care weren't his own.

"The most absurd part was that he had once been suspicious and had even ordered a paternity test for them. And who did he assign to carry it out? Naturally, his most trusted brother—me."

Indeed, that was exactly how it had happened.

Tara and I went to high school together. I gave her everything I possibly could.

When we got married, her family asked for 38,800 dollars as part of the marriage arrangements.

I couldn't afford it at the time, so I worked during the day and delivered takeout at night. With nothing but my own hard work, I gradually saved every dollar.

For all those years, I survived on just 500 dollars a month. That sum had to cover gas as well. I handed every remaining penny to Tara.

But as our three children grew, they looked less and less like me. Had no one else said anything, I would never have considered having them undergo a paternity test.

Seeing the line on the report that confirmed they were indeed mine haunted me with guilt for a long time. I even took on extra side jobs just to buy Tara a diamond bracelet.

In the end, it was the children's biological father who ensured I bore the crown of shame.

Suppressing the ache in my chest, I kept reading Jack's post.

"While my brother’s out working his fingers to the bone, I’m right there in their bedroom, enjoying his wife..

"Not only can I sleep with her whenever I want, but all his assets will eventually go to my sons. He'll even spend his whole life working for me. Hahaha. It feels insanely good."

In the comment section, people mocked Jack, posting things like, "You've clearly been watching too much TV," or, "Stop dreaming, man."

Jack wasn't satisfied and decided to post a photo.

"I knew you bunch of losers wouldn't believe me. Here's the proof."

In the photo, a woman leaned shyly against a man's broad chest. Their bare, smooth shoulders were exposed, and the intimacy between them was almost tangible.

Even so, the man holding her looked nothing like the one in the wedding photo behind them. Though their eyes were blurred, I recognized them at once. The couple embracing was none other than Tara and Jack.

As for me, I was the groom in the photo behind them.

In that instant, a booming noise rattled my mind, and the world went utterly silent.

Jack went on, "You can't deny our relationship now, can you? My sister-in-law had vowed to remain chaste for me. That's why she hasn't shared a bed with my brother for three years.

"The last time she allowed my brother to sleep with her was purely out of duty. She wanted our child to be legally registered under his name.

"Anyway, I had already grown bored with her. Were she not my brother's beloved wife, I wouldn't have touched her. Not even money would have tempted me."

His words dripped with the smug satisfaction of someone who knew he had complete control in this relationship.

When asked if he was afraid I would see the post, Jack shot back arrogantly, "Afraid? Ha! My brother's such a dinosaur. All he ever thinks about is work. He doesn't know a thing about anything else. Come on, why else would his wife have cheated on him?"

Jack was right. If I hadn't needed to conduct market research, I never would have opened this app in the first place.

But a few minutes later, Jack deleted the photo. Fortunately, I had already taken screenshots of his entire post.