That day, I sat on the judges' panel of a music competition show, my identity as the biggest investor concealed. My secretary suddenly sent me a screenshot of a social media post. The poster was my wife, Rora—the reigning queen of pop—who had blocked me long ago. The caption read, "Only the greatest stage is worthy of my shining star." The accompanying photo showed a young man, smiling and flashing a peace sign at the camera. I had just saved the screenshot, ready to text her a furious question, when the very same young man from the photo walked onto the stage. Pinned to his chest was the antique brooch I had won at an auction for five million dollars. And the song he was singing was the love ballad I had written for my wife. I thought for a moment, then raised my phone, recorded a clip of the performance, and sent it to Rora. "Honey, you didn't tell me you were taking my things to do charity work." I followed up with another text. "If I were to misunderstand and sue him for theft and copyright infringement, his career would be over before it even began, wouldn't it?" The moment I hit send, the stage lights went black. A single spotlight hit a corner of the auditorium. Rora, holding a bouquet of flowers, walked gracefully toward the young man. Without a second's hesitation, I took off my mask. I smiled at the adoring couple on stage. "Darling," I called out, my voice carrying through the silent venue, "when did you announce your new relationship?" 1 A collective gasp swept through the audience. Rora's face turned into a mask of pure horror. I acted as if I hadn't noticed, my smile never wavering as I waited for her answer. "Mr... Mr. Vaughn, you must be joking." "Isn't Rora single?" The host, having barely regained his composure, scrambled to smooth things over. A songwriter on the panel next to me also chimed in. "Exactly. Rora has been in the industry for years without a single scandal. She's completely dedicated to her music." "That global hit she released a while back? She spent six months in seclusion writing it. Where would she find the time for romance?" "Besides, she treats her fans like family. If she got married, she would never hide something that huge from them!" He then turned warmly to Rora. "Rora, is this contestant your protégé? I was just thinking how similar his musical style is to yours!" It seemed that in all the commotion, he hadn't quite heard what I'd said. I picked up my microphone, raising my voice just enough to be clear. "Honey, when did you take on a student? You never even told me." "And you still haven't answered my question." Rora unclenched her fists, forcing a stiff smile. "No, Kai is just a new trainee at the company. We just get along well. I happened to have some free time today, so I stopped by to watch." She stammered through her excuse. Faced with a sea of confused and probing eyes from the audience, she finally bit the bullet. "I'm sorry to take up everyone's time." "Allow me to introduce my husband—Alexander Vaughn." The revelation that Rora was secretly married sent a shockwave through the venue. Her guilty eyes refused to meet mine. She kept her head down and asked, "Honey, would you like to come up so everyone can meet you?" I didn't let her squirm for long. As everyone stared in disbelief, I walked confidently onto the stage to stand beside her. "Hello, everyone," I said, my voice steady. "I'm Rora's non-celebrity husband, Alexander." Just as Rora let out a sigh of relief, I turned to the boy, Kai, my expression one of polite curiosity. "You must be a new trainee this year, right? That song wasn't bad. Did you write it yourself? What was your inspiration? Would you mind sharing it with us?" The color drained from Kai's face. He shot a panicked look at Rora, silently begging for help. Rora, thinking she was being subtle, gave him a sharp, warning glance. Kai flinched, then bowed his head meekly. "The... the inspiration for the song came from a little melody that Ms. Rora was humming one day. There might be some similarities." "It was my mistake! I... I'll withdraw from the competition voluntarily. I'll post a public apology to Ms. Rora right away. I'm so sorry!" With that, his eyes reddened, and he gave me a deep, formal bow. His pitiful act made Rora tug at my sleeve, her heart clearly going out to him. But I didn't back down. In that brief moment our eyes had met, I had seen the undisguised malice in his. I turned to look at Rora, letting Kai remain bent over in his bow. "Darling, you know how possessive I am." My gaze, a mix of amusement and ice, landed on the brooch pinned to Kai's chest. "Whether it's a brooch or anything else... everything that's mine always finds its way back to me, doesn't it?" "After all, if some shortsighted little thief were to fall into my hands, the price they'd have to pay would be far from simple." "Ghastly" didn't even begin to describe the look on Rora's face. She grabbed my hand, her voice tight. "Alex, let's just go. We shouldn't hold up the show." 2 The driver, sensing the mood, discreetly raised the partition in the car. I stared coldly at Rora. "Explain yourself." She grabbed my hand, her voice desperate. "Alex, I swear, there's nothing going on between us!" "I just saw how hardworking he is, how much he reminded me of myself when I was starting out. I was moved, that's all. I just lent him a piece of jewelry to help him make an impression." I let out a cold laugh. "He's a new kid with no money and no endorsements. I have no problem with you helping him out." "But that song... I poured my heart and soul into writing that song for you. You had no right to give it to someone else." "Tomorrow, I'll have my secretary confirm this with his manager. From now on, he can work his way up like every other trainee—on his own." I looked down at her, my voice low as I delivered my final verdict. "As for you, make sure he returns everything that belongs to me by tomorrow. And cut off all contact with him." "You are not to have anything to do with him ever again." Rora's face went from white to red. "Alex, you still don't believe that there's nothing..." I cut off her pathetic excuse, my gaze drilling into her. "Rora, I am not a fool." "Why would I ever believe that a man my wife blocked me over is 'just a friend'?" She opened her mouth to argue, but then slumped in defeat. "I understand," she finally conceded. "Alex, I won't see him again." I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes. The next day, when I came home from work, Kai had indeed returned everything. And on the display shelf in our walk-in closet sat a new pair of ruby cufflinks. Rora stood nearby, watching my expression nervously. "Alex, I've already deleted all of Kai's contact information." "These cufflinks are a new limited edition from your favorite designer. Please, just forgive me this once, okay?" She wrapped her arms around mine, her voice a sweet, cloying purr—a world away from the cool, sophisticated diva the public knew. Seeing her submissive attitude, most of my anger subsided. I didn't say anything more. As soon as Rora went to take a shower, a friend request popped up on my phone. It was Kai. I had no idea how he got my private number. I was about to ignore it and head to my study to work when another request came through. This time, it wasn't the default message. It was a long paragraph. [Mr. Vaughn, you can't possibly think that just because you have money, you can force a woman who doesn't love you to stay with you, do you?] [Even if you force Rora to take back your stupid brooch, I can get her to give me other things.] [Don't get too comfortable. One day, you'll be the one crying while you watch us together!] I read the defiant words, a cold smile touching my lips as my eyes hardened. So this little clown wasn't just an idiot. He was a venomous snake who didn't know his place. I slowly typed out my reply. [You should learn your place. You're a homewrecker. Rora and I are legally married.] [If you're skilled enough to get her to spend our money on you during our marriage, that's your talent.] [But if she does, I can sue you for malicious appropriation of marital assets. My firm's legal team will not only make you pay back every single cent with interest, but they will also utterly destroy your reputation.] [And when that happens, a public apology and a little show of weakness won't be enough to save you.] The chat window on his end went silent. No more friend requests came through. I quickly put the matter out of my mind. I'd seen plenty of little parasites like him, trying to claw their way up by destroying other people's marriages. Men far more clever than him had failed spectacularly. What chance did he have? But the next day, in the middle of a morning meeting at my company, my phone began to ring insistently. 3 It was my mother. "Alex, your father was admitted to the hospital again this morning. His old issues." "Your sister is filming in the mountains and I can't reach her. The doctors have scheduled surgery for this afternoon. Can you and Rora come?" My father's health had been declining for years. Hospital visits for his high blood pressure were common. My mother only ever called us when it was serious. "Don't worry, Mom," I said instantly. "We'll be right there." I gave instructions to my secretary as I texted Rora. [Rora, where are you?] [Dad is having surgery this afternoon. I don't want Mom to be alone. I'll pick you up and we can go together.] She replied almost immediately. [Alex, please tell Mom and Dad I'm so sorry. I have to re-record a part for a song I did last month. The producer is on a tight deadline. I can't get away.] Her tone was apologetic. She added another message. [I'll try to be as quick as I can. The second I'm done, I'll head straight to the hospital.] I knew how much her career meant to her, so I replied with an understanding "Okay." My mother and I sat in the waiting room while my father was in surgery. Suddenly, she pointed to a figure across the corridor. "Alex," she said, uncertainly, "does that look like Rora to you?" I frowned and followed her gaze. It was Rora. Even from the back, I recognized the custom-made dress I had helped her pick out just two days before. She and Kai were pushing a woman in a wheelchair. The woman was holding Rora's hand, laughing and chatting happily. I forced down a surge of rage and changed the subject with a smile. "Mom, you're mistaken. Rora just texted me. She's out of town. There's no way she could be here." My mother nodded, accepting my explanation. My father came out of surgery safely. Once I had them both settled in his room, I drove home, my foot heavy on the accelerator. On the way, I sent Rora a text. "Rora. Be home in thirty minutes. I want to see you there." Her call came almost instantly. "Alex, don't be ridiculous. I'm not done with the recording. How could I possibly fly back..." "The same way you flew to the hospital is how you're going to fly home!" My voice was glacial, leaving no room for argument. Rora paused, then stammered an excuse. "Kai's mother twisted her ankle this morning walking her dog. I... I had a car, so I just..." "I don't want to hear your excuses." I cut her off. "Thirty minutes. I want to see you at home." To my shock, she refused without a moment's hesitation. "Alex, not this time. Kai can't leave his mother, and I still need to get them dinner." "I know Dad's out of surgery and he's safe. I promise I'll go and apologize to him properly tomorrow." I took a deep, steadying breath. "Rora, if you are choosing an outsider over—" Before I could finish, the line went dead. I called back immediately, only to be met with the cold, robotic voice of her voicemail. My hands were shaking with rage. It took every ounce of my self-control not to smash the phone against the car window. Late that night, my secretary sent me a screenshot of Kai's social media. [Outsiders, please don't disturb~ My girl had to turn off her phone just to protect our happy little family time!] The picture was of Rora's back as she unpacked containers of food from a thermal bag by a hospital bed. Rora, who hated the smell of cooking so much that we never used our own kitchen, was now personally serving a meal for someone else. My anger burned so hot it turned to ice. I called my secretary, my voice eerily calm. "Cancel all of Rora's upcoming engagements that the company secured for her. And pull all funding for her team." Then, I saved the screenshot from Kai's post and logged into my company's official social media account. [Help. My wife blew off her father-in-law's surgery to cook for her boy toy, then blocked me. How would you handle this?] The post was like a drop of water in a vat of boiling oil. [Wait, if I remember correctly, isn't this Alexander the guy Rora just officially announced she was married to? So the one cheating is...] [I knew something was off at that show. A star of her level wouldn't be fawning over some no-name trainee unless there was something in it for her.] [Has his account been hacked? We need an official statement! Our queen would never be that kind of woman!] Within a minute of posting, the comments and shares exploded exponentially. My own inbox was a war zone. Friends, family, business rivals—everyone was messaging me. Just as my notifications hit 99+, Rora's calls started coming in, one after another. I looked at the name "Honey" flashing on the screen, declined the call, and blocked her number.
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