After we got back together, I kept the Winter family’s rules in mind all the time.

I never threw any tantrums and was content with being the man supporting Winona Winter, my wife.

Within the upper-class society, I became well-known as a magnanimous husband.

However, when Winona became pregnant with another man’s baby again, everyone thought that I would fight against that man, but I only brought her back calmly and took care of her.

Yet Winona lost her composure and grabbed my collar. “Shaun, why aren’t you arguing with me?”

I only smiled and calmly took out a copy of the family rules. “According to Rule 137, the husband needs to be magnanimous and tolerant. He must understand that his wife has needs and cannot be unreasonable.”

Winona tore the copy to shreds, and in her hysteria, she shouted, “But this isn’t what I want! I want the Shaun Zimmer who will cry, laugh, and be jealous! Give me back my husband!”

She grabbed me and started pleading with me in a choked-up voice.

I picked up the torn copy and put the pieces back together. “It took me a long time to copy down the family rules until I got to this part. Now that you’ve ruined it, I’ll have to start again.”

Winona just smacked the pieces from my hand, and her breathing turned hurried and chaotic. “Shaun, I’m talking to you. Could you stop ignoring me?! I was the center of your world back then!”

I rubbed the scar on my arm and could not understand why she was so angry.

She was the one who wanted me to behave.

I said nothing and simply looked down at the ring on her ring finger.

Winona hid her hand awkwardly, and there was a hint of frustration she could not hide in her voice. “That’s Jacob’s birthday wish. I couldn’t say no. It’s just a small thing. Don’t hold it against him.”

I stared at my own finger where there was the imprint of a ring.

It hurt and itched.

We dated for five years, then were married for another five.

I treated my ring as a treasure and refused to take it off, but Winona thought that it was a burden and kept her ring in a box. It sat there collecting dust for years.

No matter how I tried to win her favor and convince her to wear it, she refused to budge. Instead, she called me childish and lame.

In the end, she readily wore someone else’s ring.

This marriage was truly just a one-man show on my part.

I just grunted calmly and asked nothing else.

She wanted to continue defending herself, but I interrupted her. I asked, “What do you want for dinner? Once you’re done, I need to continue copying the family rules.”

Winona’s chest heaved, and she started shouting, “Stop copying them! Shaun, are you my husband or my servant?! Aside from driving me crazy, you’re accomplishing nothing else by doing this! Or do you really think that you’re a good husband by doing this?”

Driving her crazy?

When I went to the company to settle all her troubles, she was giving birth to Jacob’s baby in another country.

It was only when Jacob brought the child to us that I found out just how stupid I had been.

I had grabbed her wrist in a vice-tight grip and demanded an answer, only for her to say that I was a jealous man and could not even tolerate a child.

She then threw that dictionary-thick family rulebook at me and told me to copy it down.

I was doing it, but she was still making a fuss.

I asked her in confusion, “Don’t you like what I’m doing?”

Winona felt frustrated, but in the end, she melted into grief and helplessness. “I’m sorry, dear. I shouldn’t have said that, but I just couldn’t control myself.”

She hugged my waist and started trembling. “I really do love you. I’ll cut down on contact with Jacob from now on. I really do want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

I nodded but gave no other reaction.

Right after Winona sighed in relief, she got a phone call.

“Winona, Zephyr is sick and wants you. Could you drop by for a bit?”

Winona clenched her phone tightly and cast me a hesitant glance. “Dear, it’s not easy for Jacob to raise a child alone…”

I tensed up and clenched my fists. Then, I asked in a hoarse voice. “If I say no?”

Jacob started apologizing in a show of consideration. “It’s okay, Winona, your husband is more important. No matter how hard it is, I’ll take good care of Zephyr alone.”

Winona’s face instantly turned pale, and she growled at me. “Why are you being so aggressive? That’s my son too! You can’t be a father. That’s why you have no idea how hard it is for Jacob to raise Zephyr. Am I supposed to just ignore them and let them both die?”

I clenched my fists even harder, and my breathing turned labored as my eyes stung.

Did I not want to be a father? Was I sterile?

No. It was her.

On the second day of our marriage, I resigned and stayed home to take care of her because I wanted to have a child with her.

I trained hard and took all sorts of supplements, but she never gave it any thought and just kept telling me that we should let things happen on their own.

I was wondering why she was not anxious about it. It was because she already had a family elsewhere!

I was the only one who thought that I was doing her wrong and had felt guilty about it for years.

When she saw my chest heaving, Winona reached out to me but stopped short. “Dear, I didn’t get pregnant because I wanted you to pay attention to me. But it’s hard for Jacob to take care of Zephyr. I have to go.”

She left me standing there watching as she made her quick exit.

I started trembling nonstop as I remembered the medicine I found in the bedside drawer.

I started crying and laughing.

She kept calling me a husband, but she had been giving sterilization drugs for years.

Was this the love she mentioned?

The next morning, Winona stuffed a brand-new suit into my arms. “Zephyr’s fever was too high yesterday. It’s not like I didn’t want to come back. I swear that nothing happened between Jacob and me. I can show you the security footage.”

“There’s no need. I trust you.” I shook my head calmly.

Winona stiffened up, and her expression remained sour. After a moment, she dragged me into her car. “Let’s go get a couple’s tattoo to show our love to the world.”

I froze. “I’m allergic to tattoos.”

Winona did not lift her foot from the gas pedal. “You won’t have an allergic reaction. Jacob’s friend owns the shop. He’s a doctor. He won’t harm anyone.”

The moment the car stopped, she dragged me into the shop. “Jacob has already sent you the sample. Tattoo it on his face.”

I turned my face away. “Don’t touch my face.”

No one listened. They pinned me down, and it hurt so much that my knuckles turned white.

A long time passed, and I looked into the mirror. I read the words that were covering my whole face.

[I’m the affair partner]

I grabbed Winona. “Do you have to humiliate me like this, Winona?!”

Winona was stunned before shaking my hand off. “Jacob just sent the wrong sample. Stop kicking up a fuss over nothing. He has already apologized to me.”

So, just because Jacob made a mistake, they could pretend nothing ever happened.

I grabbed her waist this time. “This is my face!”

Winona frowned in faint annoyance. “You’re a man. Since when have you become so superficial? It’s just your face. No matter what happens to you, I will always love you. Am I supposed to yell at him and make him feel guilty forever? He’s already having a hard time alone.”

I was so angry that I raised my fist, only to see one word on her neck.

[Awakening]

I was stunned.

Jacob had a word at the same part of his neck.

[Love]

Combined, it would form the phrase “Love Awakening.”

What about me?

Was I the shallow one?

Winona struck my hand and dragged me out. “Stop making a fuss already. It’s Zephyr’s birthday today. We have to go.”

I kept fighting back. “Winona, do you want people to laugh at me?!”

She just ignored me. “Stop it already. With me around, no one will dare to treat you badly. Once it’s over, I’ll have someone get rid of the tattoo for you.”

I grabbed my knees tightly, and I could feel my heart bleeding.

Ever since I got married to Winona, I suffered every day.

The moment we got out, the mocking words got louder. I could even hear grating laughter.

“Oh my! So, he’s the affair partner! Even though he’s been with Winona for so many years, he still hasn’t managed to help Winona conceive an heir, right?”

“He’s just trying to marry rich and climb the social ladder. How disgusting.”

“I need to take a picture so that my friend can do it too.”

“No. I’m not.” I ducked my head as I retorted, and the veins on the backs of my hands bulged. Instinctively, I turned to Winona, only to find her pursing her lips. She then turned to pick up Zephyr. She cooed at him while listening to Jacob’s words of jealousy.

They were the ones who looked like a family.

I suppressed my instinct to hit them. I did my best to hold my tears back.

My mind returned to the time I was in university. I often suffered from allergy reactions, and my coursemates insulted me.

However, no matter how horrible the insults were, they would always apologize to me the next day. Meanwhile, Winona’s body was always covered in wounds of various sizes. When I saw them, she would throw herself into my arms and whine that it hurt. She would also let her hands start wandering around my body.

She had changed a long time ago.

When I snapped back from my daze, I found Zephyr collapsed beside me while cradling his stomach. “It hurts! I told you that I can’t eat it! Why did you force me to eat it?!”

Before I could react, Winona had already rushed over and slapped me in the face. Her nails scratched my chin. “You’re horrible, Shaun! How could you hurt a child?! Jacob has already swallowed his pride so that you can come back to my side. I already owe them enough! It’s no wonder that you kept pretending that you have no desires. It’s because you’ve always wanted to kill Zephyr!”

I collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain. I swallowed the blood in my mouth.

Jacob knelt beside me with Zephyr in his arms. “If you don’t like us, just say so. I’ll leave with Zephyr right now. I’ve spent all these years raising him. Just spare us already.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t do it. The cameras can show you.”

“That’s enough! Jacob is kind! Are you saying that he set you up?! You just hate him and can’t bear to see them live good lives.”

Then, Winona stomped on my hand and crushed my fingers. Blood spread on the floor. “I must have been blind to have chosen you. Enough with the act already. Once you’re done, leave!”

“The bones are too shattered. You might lose some basic functions in your hand. It’s such a pity.” The doctor looked regretful.

I forced a smile as I stared at my heavily bandaged hand.

For three whole days, Winona did not even call me, but I saw her sweet love with Jacob trending online.

The moment I lay down, I received a phone call from Nina Marsh, my godmother. “Shaun, Winona posted online that Nathan took bribes, and he got so worked up that he was hospitalized because of a stroke!”

I hurried to the hospital.

Nathan Marsh, my godfather, was still in the ICU, and Nina cried into my arms as she trembled.

While keeping my anger in check, I called Winona. “How could you do this to my godfather?! You wouldn’t be where you are today without him!”

I grew up in an orphanage, and I only got a family after getting to know my best friend, Apollo Marsh.

Before Apollo passed away from an accident, he had asked me to take good care of his parents, and his parents treated me like their own son.

When they learned that I was getting married, they gave me all their money. In order to support Winona, they also got a lot of investments to help her. They even threw their retirement savings into her company.

Back then, with teary eyes, she had sworn, “I’ll always be good to Shaun and treat you both well!”

This was her version of treating them well?

Winona answered coldly, “Jacob was kind enough to send Zephyr over to learn how to draw from Nathan, but they chased him out. Zephyr’s eyes were swollen from crying, and he nearly died. Nathan also shouted at Jacob for being my affair partner in the residential area. If I had reached the place any later, he would have jumped into the river with Zephyr!”

I was livid. “You’re the one who cheated, and you won’t let anyone talk about it?!”

I only realized after I finished shouting that she had hung up on me long ago.

With my still-bandaged hand, I started going everywhere in search of evidence. When I finally got some results, I got news from the hospital that my godparents had jumped off the hospital building.

However, the security footage showed that it was Jacob who did it.

I wanted to deck him, but Winona stopped me. “Calm down, Shaun.”

I grabbed her collar. “They’re gone! How can I possibly calm down?!”

Winona scowled. “Jacob didn’t do it on purpose. Who would have known that your godparents were so useless? Besides, if Nina hadn’t started running her mouth, he wouldn’t have lost control over himself.”

She was absolving him of his crime just by saying that he did not do it on purpose.

She always did that.

Without any remorse, Jacob said, “I’m sorry, but their words were just too harsh, and I got so angry. I couldn’t control myself, so… Why don’t you hit me? I won’t complain.”

Right when I wanted to kick him, Winona shoved me away and said to Jacob, “It’s no big deal. You still have Zephyr to take care of. Head back first.”

I grabbed Winona’s arm. “I’m going to make him pay!”

However, whenever I filed a police report with the security footage, I was rejected. In the end, while gritting my teeth, I posted their past online.

[I worked hard for my wife, only to find that her illegitimate son was already three years old. Her affair partner even killed my parents. Please help me.]

The video quickly caught the public’s attention, and many people comforted me. Some also insulted them.

[Don’t worry. Those who do bad things won’t live long. The kid also doesn’t seem like the type who will live a long life.]

[How shameless! She should just hide her face when she leaves the house.]

Some people even threw paint at the company’s entrance.

I felt much better, but in just two days, Winona sued the people who did this.

She also falsified evidence to continue accusing Nathan of receiving bribes and being an immoral person. She even publicly held a press conference with Jacob.

“I’m sorry, everyone. Jacob and I are in love. That’s when we got Zephyr. My husband drugged me and forced me to marry him. Then, he refused to let me divorce him. It’s not easy for Jacob to raise Zephyr, and I will have Shaun apologize publicly.”

Then, she posted the videos of her sweet moments with Jacob, along with evidence of me giving her the drug.

I felt my heart clench from pain and anger. She was the one who said that she wanted to experience what it felt like to be high and had me give her the stronger drug. She had even begged for it. “Come on, dear. Let’s just try it.”

She was even the one who asked to keep a video for memory’s sake!

In the end, she twisted the truth with it.

Public opinion turned against me.

They started pitying the star-crossed lovers who could not be together. They also started leaving insults under my video.

[They say that men don’t scheme? Here’s one!]

[You have hands and legs, but you still have to rely on a woman to survive? You’re a disgrace to all men.]

[How many people have you scammed? I heard that you already have some kind of STD. Miss Winter is the one who’s an honest, down-to-earth person.]

[If you like making noise so much, do it in my bed.]

They had even found that photo, and they started spitting in my face when I walked on the streets.

Winona then dragged me over to Jacob. “Apologize!”

I refused, and she stepped on my stomach. “If you don’t want Apollo’s name to be ruined, you will do it.”

I shut my eyes, and right before everyone’s eyes, I said to Jacob, “I’m sorry.”