I spend an entire year preparing to get my daughter, Quincy Lindell, into a top international school.

By the time the application review date rolls around, I have all the documents ready. I just need my wife's and my original marriage certificate to seal the deal.

However, when I reach the admissions office, my wife, Wendy, blames me for taking matters into my own hands.

I am about to explode when the school staff member says with a strange expression, "Mr. Howards, our system shows that you are not Ms. Lindell's spouse."

My blood turns to ice.

Before I can react, Zachary Shea, who has been quietly standing behind Wendy, passes his wedding certificate to the person in charge.

The school staff member nods after checking her computer. "Ms. Lindell, Mr. Shea, your certificate was validated seven and a half years ago. You can now register your child for this school."

Seven and a half years ago…

That was the date of Wendy's and my engagement party.

She held my hand in front of a room full of guests and said that I would be the only man she ever loved.

That one sentence was enough to fool me for seven years.

Wendy Lindell's red sports car slowed to a stop in front of the school gates.

Once the door opened, Wendy stepped out in a high-quality tailored outfit. Her makeup was perfect, and a smile lit up her face.

I felt my heart leap in joy and was about to go greet her when the door to the passenger's seat opened and a man walked out of the car.

It was Zachary Shea. He was one of Wendy's important business partners, and he was also the heir to the Shea family fortune.

The moment he stepped out of the car, he reached out and wrapped an arm around Wendy's waist.

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow as if showing off his dominance.

Before I could say anything, my daughter's eyes lit up. Quincy tossed my hand away and rushed forward excitedly.

"Uncle Zach! Is my customized music box here?"

A tender smile immediately bloomed on Zachary's face. He took a delicate gift box out of the pocket of his suit jacket and passed it to Quincy.

"Of course. I would never forget a promise I made to you. I'll buy you whatever you want from now on."

"Thank you, Uncle Zach! You're so much better than my naggy old dad!"

She held the gift box tightly as she stood by Zachary without even looking back at me.

I froze, feeling my blood turn to ice in my veins.

I looked at Quincy, who stuck her tongue out at me before turning to hug Zachary's leg.

Wendy approached me. She didn't look guilty at all. Instead, she looked impatient.

"Who told you you could come on your own? I told you I would handle it. Look at what you're wearing. It's way too casual. The school board is going to think we can't afford good things."

I looked down at my outfit. It was a high-quality casual set with no obvious brand logos plastered on it.

I looked at her with a frown. "Wendy, what's the meaning of this? What is he doing here?"

Before Wendy could speak, Zachary scoffed lightly. It was a sound that was full of disdain.

"Mr. Howards, you're probably uneducated about the world of business. After all, all you do is clean the house and take care of Quincy. You didn't even know that today was the day that Lindell Corp officially got on the market. Wendy and I have been partners for years, and she needs a proper companion.

"That's why I joined the celebration party with her, which made us a little late. You probably won't blame us for that, right, Mr. Howards?"

I suppressed the rage burning in my chest as I looked at Wendy. How did I not know it was the day Lindell Corp joined the market?

At that moment, a teacher from the international school approached us and politely reminded us, "Ms. Lindell, Mr. Howards, the interview is about to end. Please give us the necessary documents as soon as possible."

Wendy huffed impatiently in response, but she was looking at Zachary.

My frown deepened as my frustration began to build.

This was about Quincy's future. I spent a year carefully paving the road for her. Was Wendy about to let Zachary swoop in and claim all my hard work?

I quickly stepped forward and handed my marriage certificate to the teacher.

"Hello. This is our marriage certificate. We have already handed in the rest of the documents prior to this."

The teacher nodded politely after taking the marriage certificate from me. She turned and walked into the school.

Wendy's expression immediately darkened.

As for Zachary, he stood next to her with his arms crossed. He had a cold smirk on his face as if he was waiting for something to happen.

I felt confused. What did their demeanor mean?

After a moment, the door opened once more.

Instead of the teacher from before, the head of discipline walked out.

She approached me with a stoic expression and handed me the marriage certificate.

"My apologies, Mr. Howards. We just ran an official check on this certificate. It cannot be found in the government's system. That is to say, it's invalid."

My vision began to blur as my mind buzzed in confusion.

Almost immediately, I said, "Impossible! I got this certificate with Wendy seven years ago!"

The head of discipline, Jasmine Zane, looked at me with a frown. "Our system shows that you are not Ms. Lindell's official spouse."

Right after she said that, the parents standing around us burst out into laughter.

"Oh my! A fake certificate? How desperate is he to get his daughter into this school?"

"How humiliating! No wonder he's dressed so cheaply."

"Men nowadays are really willing to do anything to get a rich wife."

Suddenly, Zachary let out a scoff.

He pushed me aside and approached Jasmine. "My apologies, Ms. Zane. My wife's driver seems to have made a foolish mistake."

He glanced at me and took a marriage certificate out of his briefcase before passing it to her.

"This is the official marriage certificate between Wendy and me, as well as Quincy's guarantor form. This is all you need, right? Can we go in now?"

I ran forward and snatched the marriage certificate from Jasmine.

The registration date was seven and a half years ago.

It was registered a whole six months before I had my wedding with Wendy, and before I got that fake marriage certificate.

I held the marriage certificate in my hands as I looked at Wendy in disbelief.

She finally dropped the act and looked at me with disdain.

"Terence, I might as well be honest at this point. Zachary and I are legally married. Your marriage certificate is fake."

"Fake?" I murmured to myself, feeling like my world had been turned upside down.

Other parents had already surrounded us as they began to talk about us loudly.

"Oh my god. Did he catch his wife's boyfriend in the act?"

"Lord, he dated a married woman for seven years and even took care of her daughter. Is he trying to make it official now? How shameless of him!"

"He looks boring. He's probably a boy toy that she got bored with."

I looked at Quincy, whom I had raised as my own for the past six years. She had to be on my side, right?

However, Quincy ducked behind Zachary and peeked out at me with a hateful stare.

"You big liar! You're not even Mom's real husband! Good. I've always wanted a dad like Uncle Zach! He's the boss of a big company and can buy me anything I want. What about you? You just force me to do my homework all the time. You can't give me anything."

Zachary hugged Quincy proudly as he looked at me, gloating like a peacock.

I was blinded with fury. I immediately tore Wendy and Zachary's marriage certificate into pieces.

Wendy's expression darkened as she yelled at me, "Terence, are you crazy? Just because you don't have one doesn't mean you can ruin somebody else's! You're such a shameless hooligan!"

I froze.

Chills began to run through my body.

At that very moment, all I could think about was how everything I'd done for the Lindell family had been seen as a huge joke.

For the past few years, she kept telling me that she was busy with the company, so I willingly watched Quincy and did all the chores. I didn't care that everyone else saw me as a marry-in son-in-law.

Whenever we went out, she used me to show off her perfect family and successful business. Instead of calling her bluff, I went along with it.

Who knew she'd end up with such an inflated ego? I couldn't believe she dared to do such a thing!

She had no idea that I was the head of the richest family in Javeton — the Howards family. She couldn't afford to mess with me.

I laughed. "Wendy, if I'm a hooligan, then you're a street rat. Your mother chose me to be your husband. Are you sure you want to do that to me?"

Wendy's expression faltered for a moment, but she quickly calmed down and smirked disdainfully. "So what if my mom chose you? I was just being polite, but I guess you mistook it for kindness. You didn't assume I loved you just because I married you, right?"

Zachary became even more cocky after hearing Wendy publicly insult me.

"Terence, you can't blame Wendy. You only have yourself to blame for being so gullible. You're just a nobody. How can you help her with her career? I can give her Shea Group's resources and help her rise to new heights. What do you have to offer? Your love? That's worthless!"

I shook with anger. My fury rushed to my head, and I raised a hand, about to slap her.

However, Wendy grabbed my wrist and screamed, "Can you stop? Terence, stop embarrassing yourself!"

She tossed my wrist away, causing me to stumble backward and almost fall.

She looked at me and said coldly, "For Quincy's sake, I won't embarrass you any further. If you continue, don't blame me for teaching you a lesson. Our family is about to go in for an interview. Stop blocking the way!"

Wendy didn't even look at me after speaking.

She held onto Zachary's arm with one hand and held Quincy's hand in the other. The three of them walked into the school without turning back.

I stayed where I was with my hands clenched into fists. I felt pure rage burning in my chest.

I wasn't going to let any of them get away with this.

I had only just managed to collect myself when Zachary came back with Quincy.

In the very next moment, he swung a punch at my face. I wasn't prepared and stumbled back with the force of his punch. I could taste blood in my mouth.

"A shameless homewrecker like you should be taught a lesson!"

Zachary was about to hit me again as he said angrily, "I'll make sure you end here! I'll kill you, you shameless boytoy!"

My daughter cheered him on as she clapped and said excitedly, "Yes! Hit him! Punch him! Come on, Daddy!"

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

It was a message from Gregory, my assistant.

"Mr. Howards, I've completed the tasks you assigned to me."

I stood up straight and glared at Zachary, who was still restless with anger.

When he saw that I wasn't afraid of him, he rushed forward and wanted to punch me again as he yelled, "How dare you glare at me!"

I shoved him aside and straightened my messy clothes. I stood firm as I glared at everyone around me.

Zachary was taken aback by my sudden confidence and shrank back.

However, he came to his senses and yelled at me angrily, "Terence, what are you acting so cocky for? If I weren't here to enroll Quincy into school, I would really teach you a lesson. Just you wait!"

After that, he walked back into the building with Quincy in tow.

I looked down at the shreds of the wedding certificate around me, which was covered in footprints.

The pieces lay on the ground, just like my dedication toward the Lindell family for the past seven years.

I took a deep breath and called Gregory.

"I'm at Erudite International School. Come clean up this mess!"

After hanging up, I walked into the building, ignoring the surprised stares around me.

…

Everything seemed to be going well during the interview.

The plump principal, Vincent Lynch, was in the midst of buttering up Wendy and Zachary.

"Ms. Lindell, Mr. Shea, don't you worry. Your daughter is gifted beyond her age, and we can't wait for her to join us. I can personally ensure that your enrollment goes through."

Wendy looked incredibly pleased. She clearly enjoyed the feeling of being complimented.

Zachary picked up his coffee and looked at me with disdain.

Vincent picked up the official school stamp and was about to confirm Quincy's enrolment when his personal phone suddenly rang.

He looked at his screen and answered the call immediately.

In just a few seconds, his face became incredibly pale as beads of sweat started running down his forehead.

"Yes…I understand! I'll settle that right away!"