Chapter 1

Seth's POV

I was handling Mom's funeral arrangements, but my phone wouldn't stop ringing.

"Seth, congratulations on becoming a father! We didn't hear so much as a whisper about such a big deal. You and Regina sure know how to keep a secret."

I smiled bitterly. To be honest, I'd only found out recently myself. To make matters worse, the baby wasn't even mine.

I raised my hand and tapped on my wife, Regina Morgan's, social feed. She had posted a photo of herself with the newborn baby, captioned. "Ten months of waiting, a lifetime of love and protection. There's another little man in the family to protect me now."

It was a heartwarming photo. Her smile was gentle, and her eyes were filled with tears of happiness. Our friends congratulated her in the comments, calling me one lucky guy.

My nose prickled as I looked at the photo. This was a scene I had pictured in my head countless times.

However, she was a classic career woman. She insisted on being DINKs, claiming that having a baby would set her career back and make her look ten years older.

I loved kids, but I loved her more, so I'd always supported her decision. However, both our families were old-fashioned, and our elders never missed an opportunity to nag us about having children.

The last time we visited the cemetery to pay our respects, Mom had merely mentioned the word "children" by accident, and Regina flew into a rage, digging up Dad's grave right then and there.

We had a huge fight because of it, and we gave each other the silent treatment for nine months.

Ironically, Regina, who had been adamantly opposed to having children, was now willing to take fertility drugs, injections, and IVF just to give her first love, who had cancer, an heir. She'd even given birth to his child.

Mom had only gone to find out what was going on. Yet, Regina had called her crude and ill-mannered and locked her inside a coffin to teach her a lesson...

I closed my eyes, as I couldn't find it in me to recall the gruesome state Mom was in before she died. She suffered from severe claustrophobia and couldn't even ride an elevator. Yet, she was locked in a coffin by Regina for ten hours.

Her eyes had been wide with terror, and her entire body had been covered in claw marks from her desperation to escape... I crouched down, clutching my chest. It hurt so much I couldn't breathe.

Everyone kept tagging me in the group chat.

"This calls for a celebration, Seth! You can't get away without sending us all a little something!"

The chat was overflowing with joy, yet all I heard was the funeral dirge and anguished cries.

I silently dropped a message. "The baby isn't mine."

At last, the world was quiet again.

Moments later, Regina called me. It was the first time she'd reached out to me on her own since our months-long cold war began.

However, the moment I answered, all that came through was her impatient voice. "Haven't you had enough? Do you have any idea how much trouble you're causing me by running your mouth in the group chat?"

Regina was my wife, yet she'd secretly given birth to another man's child behind my back and caused Mom's death. The second she parted her lips, she accused me of being unreasonable without a second thought.

"Am I wrong, though?" I sneered.

Regina fumed, "Seth, you've been giving me the silent treatment for nine months; you haven't replied to my messages or shown up for work at the company. I haven't even gotten angry with you, and I had the finance department pay your salary as usual. What gives you the right to throw a tantrum?"

Right after saying that, she broke into a severe coughing fit. The voice of her first love, Lucas Jenson, immediately came through.

"Reggie, you're still recovering from childbirth. Don't let him upset you and jeopardize your health. It's perfectly normal for someone like Seth, who grew up in a poor, remote village, to have a hard time seeing eye to eye with you.

"You're beautiful and kindhearted, Reggie. Now that you're a mother, you should be more patient and understanding with him."