Chapter 1

I bought my girlfriend a designer handbag for Valentine’s Day.

When I switched everything from her old bag into the new one, I found a box of condoms inside.

But after my girlfriend and I decided to live childfree, I’d already had a vasectomy.

So who were those condoms meant for?

I smiled, put them back where I found them, and started gathering evidence of her affair.

In the end, I caught her having sex in a parking garage with her “rich boyfriend”—a man who rented a Porsche on credit and paid for it in installments.

I quietly filmed them. Then I ordered every adult toy I’d once been too embarrassed to even add to my cart.

If this bitch wanted to cheat on me, she could pay interest.

After making enough money in the stock market to become financially independent, I quit my job and focused entirely on investing.

Once I had enough saved, I planned to settle down and marry my longtime girlfriend.

Neither of us liked children, so after we decided to remain childfree, I went ahead and had a vasectomy.

There was no way we’d ever need condoms.

I stood frozen, staring at the entire box of birth control. One thought kept echoing through my mind.

Why did I suddenly feel like I was wearing a green hat?

Was she cheating on me?

A week before Valentine’s Day, I had enthusiastically researched gifts for Claire. After comparing countless options, I bought her a luxury handbag she’d wanted for ages but had never been willing to purchase.

While she was taking a shower, I decided to move everything from her old bag into the new one.

That was when I found the box.

The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that I’d been cheated on.

But years of investing had taught me how to stay calm. Without revealing anything, I placed everything into the new bag.

I wanted to see how Claire reacted before deciding what to do next.

“Daniel!” Claire shouted from the shower. “Can you bring me a hair towel?”

“Coming.”

Despite the storm in my mind, I didn’t let a single trace of suspicion show.

But the moment Claire saw the new bag on the couch, she rushed over.

“Who told you to touch my bag?”

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Normally, whenever I gave Claire a luxury bag or makeup, she would throw herself into my arms, kiss me, and cling to me while acting cute.

But today, when she saw the handbag she’d wanted for so long sitting on the couch, her first reaction was to demand to know why I had touched her things.

I quickly dropped to my knees and apologized, pretending to stay calm.

“I just wanted to surprise you.”

I held Claire and coaxed her for a long time, but the alarm bells in my head only grew louder.

Maybe because she saw no unusual reaction from me, Claire gradually relaxed.

She turned her attention to her “prize,” running her fingers over the leather before leaning over to kiss me like she always did.

“You’re the best, babe.”

The thought that I might have been pouring my heart out, buying her gifts, and treating her like a queen while she was cheating on me made my blood boil.

But before I could respond to her affection, she announced that she had a business meeting that night. She put on her makeup, grabbed the new bag, and prepared to leave.

Seeing that I looked unhappy, Claire assumed it was because she’d been going out so often lately.

“Daniel, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a grown man. You can’t spend every day clinging to your girlfriend. Ever since you quit your job, you’ve been lying around the house so much your arms and legs are probably going to stop working.”

Maybe because of the new handbag, her lecture didn’t last long.

She slipped into a miniskirt, picked up the new bag, and left.

I had quit my job after becoming financially independent through the stock market, but I’d never told her.

That was probably why her attitude toward me had been so hot and cold over the past month.

Maybe that was where everything had begun.