Chapter 2

Episode 2

POV Lyra

My fingers moved instinctively, and the brightly lit phone screen was now glowing right before my eyes. An incoming voice call appeared, clearly displaying the contact name against the black background: Lovely. Without thinking, driven by the panic that had taken over my common sense, I snatched the phone from his hand and immediately swiped the green button to the right.

The voice on the other end came rushing through before I could utter a single word.

“How is it, Cas? Is your wife suspicious?”

My blood suddenly ran cold. My entire body stiffened, as though I had been doused with ice water under the scorching midday sun. The voice was so clear, filling the silent hallway of our house. My breath caught in my throat, and my eyes widened as I stared straight at Casian, whose face had instantly turned deathly pale.

Before I could respond or ask a question, Casian sprang forward with lightning speed. The man roughly snatched the phone from my hand, then pressed the red button to abruptly end the call.

“Who was that woman, Cas?!” My voice rose sharply, cracking under the combination of anger and terror creeping along my spine. “Tell me who she is! Why did she ask that?!”

Instead of showing the defensive or frightened gestures of someone caught red-handed, Casian merely put on a broad, obviously forced smile. He spread his arms, intending to move closer and embrace my trembling shoulders.

“Hey, calm down, darling. Don’t overreact like this,” Casian said in a deliberately softened tone, trying to ease my tension.

I stepped backward, roughly brushing his outstretched hands away. My chest rose and fell rapidly, refusing to be touched by the man who had just torn my peace apart. “Don’t touch me! Explain why she called you this early in the morning, and what did she mean by asking whether I was suspicious?!”

Casian let out a long sigh, putting on an expression as though he were the victim of a ridiculous misunderstanding. The man slowly shook his head, looking at me with eyes that seemed utterly sincere.

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you suddenly so sensitive and paranoid?” Casian said gently, slowly stepping closer without paying attention to my rejection. “You don’t recognize her voice? That was Kaila, darling. She’s my younger sister, your only sister-in-law whom we only met a year ago.”

My brows furrowed deeply, my head buzzing loudly as I rejected the logic he was offering. “Your sister? My sister-in-law? Then why did she ask if I was suspicious?!”

“Listen first, that’s why you shouldn’t get emotional right away,” Casian interrupted patiently, taking hold of both my wrists even though I tried to struggle free. “Her boutique business across the district has been quiet lately. She’s almost bankrupt and keeps crying to my family. Because I feel sorry for her as her older brother, I secretly gave her an injection of fresh funds to save her boutique without telling you first, because I was afraid you’d think I was being wasteful.”

The explanation flowed so smoothly, without even the slightest hesitation appearing on his face. Yet one major inconsistency immediately surfaced in my mind.

“If she’s your sister, then why isn’t her contact name in your phone Kaila? Why does it say Lovely?!” I demanded sharply, pressing him for a reasonable answer.

Casian snorted softly, then chuckled as though he had just heard a ridiculous question from a little child. He slapped his own forehead with one hand.

“Oh, my darling... You really are something,” Casian said affectionately. “Her full name is Kaila Lovely Moona. I deliberately saved her contact under her middle name so I wouldn’t confuse her with another business associate of mine who is also named Kaila. Honestly, where does your mind go sometimes?”

Hearing such a logical and coherent explanation, the defenses inside me slowly crumbled. I stood there stunned. My head suddenly felt terribly dizzy. I slapped my own forehead hard, feeling incredibly foolish and embarrassed for allowing my wild suspicion to take over my sanity.

Oh God, have I gone crazy? I scolded myself inwardly. All this panic must have happened because of that damn AI-manipulated photo I received last night. That anonymous message had poisoned my mind, turning me into a paranoid, suspicious wife, even though Casian was a faithful man who had never done anything inappropriate throughout our ten years together. I felt like the worst woman in the world for ever doubting the sincerity of the man standing before me.

Before I could utter words of regret or apologize for my hysterical behavior just moments ago, the cheerful laughter of a small child broke the tension in the living room.

“Dad!” Calvin, our five-year-old son, shouted as he came running over.

Casian’s face immediately lit up. The man ignored the tension that had existed between us moments earlier, ran to greet his beloved son, and then lifted little Calvin high into the air.

“Daddy’s little hero! Daddy missed you so much!” Casian exclaimed warmly, showering Calvin’s chubby cheeks with a barrage of kisses accompanied by the child’s bright, ringing laughter.

Watching the warm sight of a father and son before me, the last remnants of doubt that had lingered in a corner of my heart finally melted away without a trace. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to stabilize my heartbeat, which was still slightly irregular, before putting on my best smile to bury the suspicion that had briefly crossed my mind.

Casian lowered Calvin, then wrapped his arm tightly around my waist and pulled me closer into the warm embrace of our little family. I returned the embrace, squeezing my eyes shut as I enjoyed the warmth of my husband’s body and tried to convince myself that our marriage was perfectly fine.

The warmth of the embrace instantly shattered when a small object wrapped in white plastic suddenly slipped from the open pocket of Casian’s shirt and fell onto the living room carpet.

My eyes immediately dropped. They widened as I stared at the unfamiliar object lying right in front of my feet. A pregnancy test. Not only that, two bright red lines were clearly visible in its small indicator window, glowing like a curse that struck straight into the depths of my consciousness.

Whose is this?

The question thundered wildly inside my mind, tearing apart the remnants of sanity I had just desperately pieced back together. My heart, which had begun to slow, once again slammed brutally against my ribs. At the same time, Casian was still laughing freely, happily running around and chasing Calvin as he shouted excitedly in the corner of the room, completely unaware that the pregnancy test tucked inside his shirt pocket had fallen out.

“Oh God... Could it be that my husband has gotten another woman pregnant? But is that even possible?” I wondered to myself as I stood frozen, clutching the pregnancy test.