Chapter 1

My wife had been on a business trip for two days. I was cleaning up, and I casually told our smart speaker, "Aura, play some music."

Instead, a male voice, completely unfamiliar, replied.

"Alright, my little Moonbeam. And a reminder for Camilla, don't forget Leo's birthday surprise tonight~"

My entire body froze, the music instantly jarring. My wife's name is Camilla. Who the hell is Leo?

I immediately called my wife. "Did you do something with our smart speaker?"

On the other end, her voice paused for a beat, then she laughed, nonchalantly. "Oh, a friend came over a few days ago, maybe they linked their account? Why?"

I smiled and said it was nothing. After hanging up, I pulled up the speaker's login history, then hailed a cab directly to the company listed under that unfamiliar account.

The taxi pulled up in front of "Starry Design."

I looked up. Its glass facade shimmered, almost blinding in the sunlight, reflecting its aggressive rise in the industry over the past two years.

Our main rival, Dream Weaver Design.

The receptionist was highly professional. She didn't bat an eye despite me being the owner of a rival company, simply making an internal call as a matter of routine.

A few minutes later, a young man in a crisp white t-shirt hurried out, looking utterly clean and innocent.

Leo Hayes.

The moment he saw me, his eyes visibly flickered with panic, but he quickly composed himself, forcing a shy smile.

"Hello, may I help you?"

"The smart speaker," I said, getting straight to the point, my gaze calm as I looked at him. "The login history shows your account."

"Oh, *that* speaker!" He feigned realization, then scratched his head awkwardly. "That's my roommate's. She used my phone to log in a few days ago, said her premium membership expired and wanted to use mine. Did it cause you any trouble? I'm so sorry!"

He delivered his lines perfectly, deflecting any suspicion while appearing completely innocent and naive.

If I didn't know Camilla's personality, I might have actually believed him.

She was arrogant and fiercely private; there was no way she'd let some random intern use a personal account on our home devices.

My gaze slowly shifted from his seemingly innocent face to his wrist.

On it was a silver bracelet.

Two irregular circles intertwined, and on one of them, a tiny letter 'C' was engraved.

It was a gift I’d designed myself and had a craftsman friend make for Camilla last year for our wedding anniversary.

'C' for Camilla. There was only one in the world.

Leo noticed my gaze and instinctively tried to hide his hand behind his back.

But I smiled, stepping closer, my voice almost gentle. "That bracelet is quite unique. A gift from your girlfriend? She has excellent taste."

His face went ghost-white in an instant, his lips trembling, utterly speechless.

That was enough.

I didn't look at him again, turning to leave.

As soon as I was in the cab, I called my friend Marcus Bell, the best divorce lawyer in the business.

The moment he picked up, his loud voice boomed through. "Well, well, Julian, to what do I owe the pleasure? Did hell freeze over?"

"I need your help," I said, watching the streetlights blur outside the window, my voice unnaturally calm.

"I need you to dig into someone: Leo Hayes, an intern at Starry Design. And I want every single financial transaction and hotel booking record for Camilla from the last six months. Don't miss a thing."

Marcus was silent for two seconds, then dropped his joking tone. "...Are you planning to burn her to the ground?"

"Worse than that."

I hung up, the car falling into a dead silence.

Not long after, Camilla's call came through.

I stared at the name "Wife" on the screen, feeling an immense irony, and took a deep breath before answering.

"Julian, what's wrong?" Her usual gentle, refined voice came through the phone, laced with just the right amount of concern. "Marcus mentioned you asked him to dig into something. Are you having trouble at work?"

See? She'd already planted her little spy.

I pushed down the swirling emotions and said in my most normal voice, "Nothing. I just suddenly missed you."

On the other end, she seemed to relax, then chuckled softly.

"Silly goose, I miss you too. As soon as I finish this project, I'll fly right back to be with you, my little Moonbeam."

Those three words, "little Moonbeam," drilled into my ear, crystal clear.

My grip on the phone tightened abruptly.

So, I wasn't her only Moonbeam.

Or maybe, I'd never been.