Just one week into my new job, I was wrongfully accused of cooking the books, and it cost me five years behind bars.

After that, my wife found out she was pregnant. She insisted on having the baby and promised to wait for me to come home. Out of gratitude, I threw myself into work after my release. I did everything I could to give them a good life.

It was until one day, I overheard a conversation between my wife and our son.

“Mom, don’t let Dad come out with us. It’s embarrassing! Why did you pin Mr. Scott’s crime on him back then?! And now, the girl next door keeps making fun of me, saying my dad’s a criminal!”

My wife gently pulled our son close and comforted him, saying, “I promised Mr. Scott I’d help him. Your dad’s so naive. He’ll never find out.”

It turned out that my supposed happy life was nothing but lies and betrayal!

“When your grandma found out your dad was innocent, she went everywhere begging for help, kneeling to anyone who would listen. In the end, she just stayed home and wallowed in sorrow until she passed away. I felt guilty about that, and now, all I want is to stay by your dad’s side. I want to keep him company and make up for it.

“Besides, even though Mr. Scott is still getting his business off the ground and doesn’t have much money, he’s really kind to you. Why not just think of him as your second dad?”

From inside the room, my son gave a muffled hum in response.

Xena let out a soft chuckle and then pulled out a toy to cheer him up.

Standing outside the door, I felt like I was nailed to the spot. Every word from their exchange pierced my heart. Looking up, I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes.

Back then, I had just graduated from college and was assigned to work as an accountant at a factory. Who would have thought that after only a week, I would be falsely accused of cooking the books and sentenced to five years in prison?

When I was released, I received the terrible news that my mother had passed away.

I had grown up without a father. It was my mother who raised me against all odds, ignoring society’s judgment and doing everything she could to bring me up.

At the time, I collapsed in tears in front of her tombstone, sobbing until I lost my voice. It was Xena, holding our four-year-old son’s hand, who gently pulled me back up with a warm look in her eyes.

“Calvin, you’ve still got me and our little boy. We’ll always be here for you.”

Our son called out to me in his sweet voice as his chubby little hands wrapped tightly around me. Holding their hands, I decided then and there to pull myself together.

Now, I found out that it was Xena, along with her first love, who had sent me to prison back then. All those precious years of my youth were completely wasted!

What I had thought was salvation had really just been their way of keeping things easy and stable for themselves.

I clenched the 200-dollar bonus the company had just given me. I had planned to take Xena and our son out for a treat. Now, however, I shoved the bills into my pocket to keep them for myself.

At that moment, Xena came out carrying a bag of trash. She froze for a moment when she saw me standing at the door. She patted her chest and let out a sigh, looking anxious. “Calvin, why are you standing out here? Why didn't you come inside?”

As soon as he heard that, our son ran out all excited, holding up his arms for a hug. “Daddy, you’re finally home! I missed you so much!”

In the past, I would have smiled and lifted him up to spin him around. Today, I said in a calm voice, “I’m too exhausted today, so I’m not picking you up.”

He pouted, lowered his head, and ran off.

Perhaps my face was red from anger, but Xena immediately put down the trash bag and reached out to check my forehead for a fever. “Are you running a fever? Are you feeling okay?”

I shook my head and gently moved her hand away. “I’m just tired. I’ll be fine after a rest.”

Seeing nothing visibly wrong, Xena gave a small nod before turning to close the window. Just as she was about to leave, she handed me a steaming cup of hot water. “I’m taking out the trash. I’ll make dinner when I get back.”

I mumbled in response and placed the steaming cup on the table. Even though it was hot, the cup felt icy cold when I touched it. How much of her concern was really sincere?

I lowered my head and noticed a small hidden compartment below the coffee table. Pulling it open, I found a stack of papers inside. As I focused on them, I saw that they were hotel receipts.

The last one was dated October 13th, 1981—my very first day in prison.

Back then, Xena was still crying, promising she would wait for me and that we would spend our lives together. However, in no time, she was in bed with her first love, Lucas Scott.

On the back of one receipt, she even wrote about how she felt: [It’s my first time with him like this, and I’m so happy. I hope there will be more times like this in the future.]

They had been secretly meeting up with each other in hotels for over five years and had been doing it right under my nose since I got out six months ago! I felt so sick I almost threw up. Clutching the trash can nearby, I started shivering all over.

My son, startled by the noise, ran over and asked, “Daddy, what’s wrong?”

I quickly pushed the compartment back in and forced a calm expression. Staring at my son’s face, which was so much like Xena’s, I found myself unable to utter a single word of comfort. I could not help but wonder. Was this child even mine?

“Riley, I’m back to hang out with you again!”

A mature male voice called out as he casually opened the door and walked in like he owned the place. My son immediately ran toward him.

“Mr. Scott, you’re finally here! I was so bored at home!”

Just as he finished speaking, Xena stepped out from behind Lucas, holding up a small cake that they had just bought.

“Today’s your dad’s birthday, so we bought cake!”

The three of them looked so happy together that one would think they were a real family. There was nothing about this that felt like a birthday celebration for me.

I abruptly rose to my feet, speaking in a sharp and cold voice. “Go ahead and have it. I’m not feeling well. I’m heading to my room.”

Xena’s face froze, and Riley looked between us, unsure what to do.

Lucas smiled, trying to smooth things over. “Hey, come on, you’re the man of the house and the birthday boy. Just tell Xena what you want to have for dinner and she’ll make it for you.”

Even when he mentioned that I was the man of the house, his tone made it clear he thought he was in charge.

Xena chimed in, “Yeah, come on, Calvin. Don’t be so uptight."

My son jumped down from Lucas’ arms and grabbed my hand, swinging it excitedly.

“I want to have dinner with you, Daddy!”

I let out a scoff. I had been back for six months and had not seen Lucas once. Yet here he was, showing up on my birthday to celebrate with me.

Xena and Riley seemed to just accept it like it was normal. Perhaps they just wanted an excuse to openly appear together in my house under the guise of my birthday.

I looked up and caught the glint in Lucas’ eyes. I clenched my fists without thinking.

Xena’s expression immediately changed as she stepped in front of Lucas protectively. “What are you doing? Don’t bring that prison attitude home!”

I stood there stunned, wounded by the scene in front of me. Yes, I had thrown punches in prison, but only out of desperation. Usually, I was the one getting beaten up, terrified that getting involved might delay my release.

Xena knew that those five years in prison were a deep wound for me and that it had not healed. However, she was defending Lucas now and spitting out words like that.

The room fell silent for a moment before Xena realized she had crossed the line. She awkwardly apologized, “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. Please don’t take it the wrong way…”

Before she could finish, I walked straight back to my room. “You’re right. I should lock myself away so that no one else gets hurt.”

I ignored her protests and locked the door behind me.

Xena knocked a few times and was about to speak, but Lucas cut her off. “Xena, I’m starving. Hurry up and make dinner.”

She answered quickly and left without saying a word to me.

I lost track of time until I needed to use the bathroom. That was when I finally stepped out. Just then, I caught Riley leaning in to kiss Lucas on the cheek. He paused for a brief moment before kissing him anyway.

Lucas let out an awkward chuckle upon seeing me. “Don’t mind the kid. He’s just like this because we’ve been hanging out a lot.”

I had been back for over half a year, and sometimes, I wanted Riley to give me a kiss too, but I never got one. He said he was germophobic and did not want to kiss me. Apparently, that only applied to me.

I grunted, finished up, and headed back to my room, only to be stopped by Xena. “Don’t go back in. Come celebrate your birthday with us."

How ridiculous!

My own wife had asked her ex to celebrate my birthday.

Xena frowned and got upset when she did not get an answer from me. “How long are you going to keep this up? Lucas and I are completely innocent. It’s nothing like what you think.”

Innocent? If I did not know the truth, I might have believed her.

Lucas sat nearby, trying to calm things down. “It’s no big deal. Just think of this cake as a little dessert after dinner. If you want, you can even say it’s my birthday too. We had so much fun just now, the three of us eating together.”

He was clearly blaming me for ruining the mood.

I glanced over and saw that Xena had only prepared enough food for three people. Given that, I spoke calmly.

“Yeah, you three just enjoy yourselves. There’s no need to celebrate my birthday.”

Xena’s eyes turned cold and flashed with anger. “What are you being so snarky about? It’s because you said you didn’t want to eat that I didn’t make anything for you. Lucas came all the way here to celebrate your birthday, and you’re just standing there with a sour look on your face. I haven’t even made you apologize to him!”

Riley shouted at me too. “Daddy, you’re so mean!”

I remained silent. I knew if I did not play along with their little act, they would not let me be. Realizing that, I nodded and gave in.

The anger on Xena’s face instantly disappeared. She grabbed my hand and sat me down, telling me to close my eyes.

Riley and Lucas started singing the birthday song loudly. Xena turned off the lights, then came toward me while holding the cake with lit candles.

Following their lead, I slowly opened my eyes. However, when I saw the number on the cake, my heart dropped. I was 28 this year, but the candle read 29. Lucas was the one who was 29 years old this year.

Xena eagerly urged me to make a wish. Under her pressure, I quickly closed my eyes and silently wished, ‘From this day on, I’m going to stay away from them and live a truly happy life.’

Before I even opened my eyes, Lucas had already blown out my birthday candles.

Where I came from, there was a saying that if someone else blew out one’s birthday candles, one was bound to have bad luck.

Lucas gave a slightly embarrassed smile, but there was a trace of malice in his eyes.

“Sorry, the flames looked a little too big. I was worried they might burn you. That won’t bring bad luck, right…”

It was a pretty lousy excuse. However, Xena and Riley rushed to reassure him.

“It’s okay, we know you didn’t mean it.”

“Exactly, it’s just a superstition. There’s no way you get bad luck that easily.”

I did not say anything, but I did not have to. My feelings did not matter.

After comforting Lucas, Xena finally cut the cake. Riley was happily enjoying the cake when he looked up and ordered me to get him a Coke from the kitchen.

Lucas stood up and followed me there. I was not going to pay him any attention, but he suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Does it make you happy to see your wife and son like me but hate you? Don’t tell me you still don’t know it was me and your wife who got you thrown in prison? You’re really pathetic. You've been fooled for over five years, and your own mother died from the stress we caused her.”

My breath hitched and my heart clenched painfully.

Lucas let out a quiet laugh. “When you were wrongfully accused, I was the one who told your mom to plead for help everywhere. I was the one who told her you had been beaten in prison. I told her you wouldn’t get out. In the end, I even said it was all me. That old lady died from anger.

“Tsk, tsk, when she died, we just scattered her ashes somewhere. The tombstone you see now? We put it up hastily when we found out you were about to be released.”

I could hear my breathing getting heavier. My head was buzzing like it was about to explode. I never expected Xena to allow Lucas to treat my mother that way.

My mother had treated Xena like her own daughter while she was alive. She had even given Xena a family heirloom bracelet!

The last shred of reason snapped in my mind. Even though I knew Lucas was trying to provoke me, I raised my fist and slammed it hard into him.

Lucas’ pupils dilated. He did not have time to dodge and stumbled backward. Pots and pans clattered all over the kitchen floor. After getting hit, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

I was not satisfied and rushed forward to hit him again, but Xena grabbed me fiercely. “You’re crazy! Why are you hitting someone for no reason?”

Riley rushed over as well. He kept hitting me over and over.

“Daddy, you're bad! I won’t let you bully Mr. Scott!”

Breathing heavily, I replied in a cold voice, “What do you think? Don’t you know better than anyone what he did?”

There was a flicker of panic in Xena’s eyes, but she quickly shouted at the top of her lungs, “You put yourself in prison! And now you want to blame Lucas for it?”

I scoffed. I had not even said anything yet.

At this moment, Lucas swayed and clutched his head. “Xena, my head hurts so much…”

She ignored me and immediately took him to the hospital. Riley did not hesitate to follow.

The room fell silent again.

I gathered myself and, clutching the strands of Riley's hair I had secretly collected in the bathroom, headed to the hospital for a DNA test. The paternity test results came back quickly.

Sure enough, Riley and I were not related. Even though I had already expected the result, my heart ached sharply and burned with anger. Everything I learned today had crushed me to the point where I could barely breathe.

Over the past five years, I had regarded someone else's child as my own.

I was about to leave the office with the results when I ran into Xena, who was there to get medicine for Lucas. She let out a cold sneer when she saw me.

“You know you were wrong now, so you’re here to apologize, right? Come with me first.”

I said nothing at first but then quietly spoke up. “No, I came to confirm something and to let you know that I’m filing for a divorce.”