Surprise, Surprise: I'm the Real Homewrecker

After working as a dishwasher abroad for five years, I've finally paid off all the debts my wife, Nora Palmer, owes. I'm thinking of going back home to give Nora a surprise. But when I get home with our son, Rick Moore, I realize that our rented apartment is worn-down and locked. A neighbor who's passing by asks in shock, "Didn't you break up with Nora? What are you doing here?" I immediately head to Nora's office, but the receptionist stops me. "Are you looking for Ms. Palmer? It's her child's sip-and-see party today, so she's not at work." A notification rings on my phone, and the contents show up on the screen. "CEO of Palmer Group, Nora Palmer, drops millions of dollars on her child's extravagant sip-and-see party, and the couple looks completely in love!" Just then, I receive a voice message from Nora. "Honey, I bought some clothes on discount for Rick online, and they're getting delivered to your place today. Remember to pick up the package, okay?" In the background, I can hear the grin in a man's voice as he says in a teasing tone, "The bet is already over. How much longer are you going to fool Adam with that fake marriage certificate? You've been pretending to be poor for years. Haven't you had enough?" I have had my doubts before, but this confirms it. All this while, I'm the only one who's actually penniless. Turns out, after all that hassle, I have turned into the homewrecker instead. Chapter 1 Nora Palmer's best friend, Jill Baker, rushed over to me. She looked anxious as she pulled me aside. "What's a disgraceful homewrecker like you doing here? If Nora finds out, she might cut off funding for you and your kid!" Noticing that I was silently staring at my phone in my hand, she seemed to have realized something. Her hands shot up to her mouth, and when she spoke again, she sounded shocked. "Don't tell me… you actually don't know anything?" Then, she began to look panicked. "Um, that was all nonsense. Don't mind me. I have some matters to attend to, so I'll be off now." As we watched Jill hurry off, my son, Rick Moore, tugged at my hand. Looking up at me, he asked in a confused tone, "Dad, what's 'a disgraceful homewrecker'?" I smiled wryly as I said in a soft voice, "I guess that's me." Maybe because it was my first time failing to respond to Nora's messages right away, my phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Nora. The other end of the line was extremely noisy, and I could make out voices congratulating someone. Nora asked, "What's going on? Didn't you see my message?" Instead of responding to Nora's questions, I simply asked in a low voice, "Nora, where are you right now?" Nora replied, "Where else can I be? Of course, I'm working in my office. Alright, I have to go. Remember to pick up the package." With that, before I could even say anything else, she hung up in an instant. As I gazed at my phone screen, which indicated that the call had ended, I forced a smile on my face. I never knew. I had no idea that Nora could sound so calm when she was lying. Something occurred to me. I tapped on my phone screen and navigated to an app in a corner. It was a location tracking app. Five years ago, before I left the country, Nora handed me my phone with tears welling up in her eyes. "I've installed location tracking apps on our phones so we can see where the other person is at all times. Please take care of yourself when you're abroad. When all my debts are paid off, we can finally reunite and live happily ever after." But I had been so busy working part-time to pay off the debts that I never had time to check Nora's location. I tapped into the app and found Nora's current location. She was at the most luxurious restaurant in all of Einbrook. … When Rick and I arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, I spotted Nora standing nearby. She was holding a child in her arms, and she gently rocked the baby while playfully teasing a smile out of her. I was stunned when I saw that. Rick was already five years old. From what I could remember, Nora had never held him before. Not long after Rick was born, he had a high fever, and he was crying at the top of his lungs. The doctor said that his mother's embrace would be more effective in helping Rick calm down. Back then, Rick had been crying and refusing to go to sleep for three days. But even so, Nora simply lay on her hospital bed and rolled over without much emotion. She said, "I don't like children." Now, as I looked at the same woman with so much love in her eyes, I finally realized something. It wasn't that she didn't like children. She just didn't like my children. Someone shouted nearby, and the loud noise jerked me back to reality. I turned to the side, but Rick was nowhere to be seen. I subconsciously looked up to see Rick standing in front of Nora. His head was tilted back, and his small face was filled with anticipation as he called out, "Mom! Mom, look! I made this gift just for you." But in the next second, Nora simply stared at the boy with a bewildered look in her eyes. Then, she slapped the gift out of Rick's hands. "What is this, some kind of scam? I only have one child. I don't know you." Chapter 2 When Nora finished speaking, Rick tried to reach out to her again, but she just brushed him off with an annoyed wave of her hand. Then, she turned around to leave with the baby in her arms. I hurried over to them. Picking Rick up, I stepped in front of Nora to block her path. "Nora, what's the meaning of this?" She probably didn't expect to see me just then. She could also have been shocked that I had returned without her knowledge. Either way, for a moment, she was rooted to the spot. Her gaze was filled with disbelief as she looked at me. Some time later, Nora held the child in her arms closer to her. She spoke in a soft voice, but I could hear some guilt in her voice, which was quite rare. "Why… are you here?" With that, she seemed to have realized something as she whipped her head up. She looked at Rick, who was wiping his tears. "Is this Rick?" When I heard that, my gaze darkened, and I forced a bitter smile on my face. Rick was already five years old, but even now, Nora failed to recognize her own biological son. I asked, "Nora, aren't you going to explain yourself? You…" Before I could finish my sentence, several cars pulled up at the entrance of the restaurant. A group of people spilled out of the cars. I froze when I saw the man in the lead. My heart was instantly filled with agony. "Long time no see, Adam." It was Carl Moore, my half-brother. Back then, he and his mother had destroyed my originally happy family. They forced my mother to her death and sent me to a mental hospital. Faced with Carl's provocative gaze, I couldn't help but recall all the horrible experiences I had in the past. My body began to tremble uncontrollably. "Why are you standing out here? It's cold outside," Carl said affectionately as he put an arm around Nora's shoulders with practiced ease. Even before I could say anything, Carl spoke up first. As if he were making sure everyone present could hear him, he said loudly, "Adam, Nora told me everything. You're so stubborn about being with her that you'd even willingly be the other man. "But now, Nora and I already have a child, so please stop bothering her. She and I are already married. Do you really want to get in the way of other people's marriage, just like your mom did back then?" In an instant, the crowd turned to look at me and began whispering among themselves. They were hurling insults at me. Clenching my fists, I turned to look at the woman standing next to Carl. Then, I asked in a low voice, "Nora, is that true?" But before Nora could say something, Rick shook off my hand and pulled out the marriage certificate from my backpack. Approaching Nora, Rick took her hand and asked in a choked voice, "Mom, aren't you married to Dad? Why do you have a baby with someone else? Did I do something that made you upset? Mom, look, this is yours and Dad's marriage certificate. Dad always keeps it on him." Carl stepped forward, ignoring Rick's protests as he grabbed the marriage certificate and examined it. The next second, Carl held it up and waved it at me. He said in a mocking tone, "Adam, you've gone too far. This marriage certificate is fake. When are you going to stop lying to yourself? I mean, this certificate isn't even stamped!" With that, Carl pulled out another marriage certificate from his bag. Then, he smiled as he handed it to me. "Here, this is what a real marriage certificate looks like. By the way, when Nora and I went to get our marriage certificate, I made sure to record the whole process. Take a good look at this." Carl then showed me his phone. It was playing a video of them getting their marriage certificate. In the video, Nora was smiling blissfully, but the sight was so unbearable that I almost teared up in pain. Chapter 3 "Forget about him. Let's get inside," Nora finally said, but when she did so, she didn't even spare me a glance. Realizing that Nora was turning around to leave, Rick dashed up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Mom, please don't leave me…" In the next second, Nora frowned in annoyance and shoved him away. Then, she said in a cold tone, "I am not your mom." With that, she headed inside the restaurant without another glance back. I couldn't remember how we left the restaurant. I only knew that when I rushed over to pick Rick up, Carl was standing in front of me. He was towering over me as he said, "You will always be beneath me for the rest of your life." … I had just put Rick to bed when I received a message from Nora. "Things got a bit out of hand today. Don't read too much into it." As I stared at the words on the screen, I felt an unknown bitterness welling up in my heart and spreading to my throat. Nora seemed to do this all the time. She would hurt me and then half-heartedly hand me a peace offering. A notification sounded on my phone again. It was a message from Carl. "Since you're back now, come over to the company tomorrow. It's time we finally decide who inherits the company." Gazing at Rick, who was fast asleep, I called a good friend of mine, Ben York. Picking up the call, Ben said, "Oh, look at you, calling me out of nowhere!" I asked, "Are you free tomorrow? Can you help me take care of my son?" Ben asked, "Your son? Since when do you have a son? Who's the mother?" I froze. "Nora." Ben sounded shocked over the phone. "Nora? Didn't you guys break up years ago? How did you two end up with a kid? Also, if I'm not mistaken, Nora already got married long ago." A thought seemed to have occurred to Ben as he continued, "Dude, don't tell me you love her so much that you'd willingly be the other man…" When I heard that, I forced a smile on my face, but my gaze was filled with sorrow. "Turns out, I'm the only one who doesn't know." After ending the call, I stared at my phone as messages kept popping up. I was completely lost in thought. The messages were all from Nora. First, she sent me an address. "I've been busy lately, so you can stay in our old rented place with Rick for the time being. From tomorrow onward, you can deliver my meals to the office. I still prefer your cooking over anything else." "By the way, it's Carl's birthday tomorrow. You're his brother, so don't forget to get him a gift, okay?" When I saw the messages, I felt anger rising up inside me all the way to my head. Even now, Nora still hadn't explained anything to me. She just ordered me around like she always did, and she even forgot that it was Rick's birthday today. With trembling fingers, I slowly typed out a message on my phone. "Nora, do you still remember what day it is today?" I sent the message, but I didn't receive any response. I was probably too exhausted, so in my daze, I fell asleep just like that. The next morning, when I groggily woke up, Rick was sitting on the bed with my phone in his hands. He looked excited as he smiled at me and said, "Dad, Mom sent you some money." I instinctively took my phone and looked at the screen. Nora had replied to my message in the early hours of the morning. "What day? Are you running out of money again? You don't have to come up with excuses just to ask for money, you know. Here, I just sent you some money." I checked the amount she had sent. It was only 2.50 dollars. It wasn't even enough for a single burger. Chapter 4 By the time I opened the door to the meeting room at the office, documents in hand, everyone else had already gathered there. At that moment, Carl was sitting in the CEO's seat. When he saw me, he smiled. "Since everyone's here, let us begin. Everyone still remembers this, right? Ten years ago, when my father passed away, he stated clearly in his will that only the person who manages to develop a high-sensitivity robot can inherit the company. "And now, I have developed the high-sensitivity robot he wanted. The help from my wife has been instrumental in the development of this robot. So now, I'd like to have my wife, Nora Palmer, give us a thorough introduction." When Carl finished speaking, Nora entered the room in a white suit. She had the slides displayed on the screen as she gracefully delivered the presentation to the audience. However, the wall of words on the slides described the fruits of my labor, which I had painstakingly worked on for years. In the end, I couldn't stand it anymore. Stepping forward, I gripped Nora's arm and shouted at her with reddened eyes, "Nora, what are you doing?" But in the next second, she shook off my hand. Then, turning to the audience, she parted her lips and said, "Everyone, I'd like to confess something right now. A year ago, Carl and I successfully developed the high-sensitivity robot. Adam somehow caught wind of it, so he wanted me to steal the core technology and hand the robot to him. "But I knew that this was Carl's pride and joy. I'm also aware that with his hard work and capabilities, he more than deserves the position as CEO of Moore Group." In an instant, I heard people hurling insults and accusations at me. Meanwhile, Carl was receiving all the acknowledgment and praise. As I stood among the crowd, I looked up at Nora. Our gazes only met for a split second before she hastily lowered her head to look away. For so many years, I had spent so much effort on developing the high-sensitivity robot. I hid nothing from Nora at all. Nora knew better than anyone what the success of that project meant for me. She also knew just how much I suffered and sacrificed over the years. I had never expected her to ultimately trample my trust and weaponize it with another man to ruin my reputation. I opened my mouth to speak, but in the next second, my phone suddenly rang in my pocket. It was a call from Ben. Ben said Rick had gone missing. Without a second thought, I got up and immediately rushed out. However, Nora ran after me and grabbed my arm. "Adam, you owe Carl an apology." With reddened eyes, I screamed at the woman in front of me, "Nora, your child's missing!" In the next moment, a flash of panic crossed her face. "Mia? What happened to Mia?" Getting up, Carl held Nora's hands and said softly to her in comfort, "Mia's fine. The nanny just told me she's sleeping at home." Nora immediately let out a sigh of relief, and her expression relaxed as well. Looking at the woman whose demeanor had just completely shifted, I clenched my fists as I turned around and ran outside. I left her with the words, "Nora, you've failed as a mother!" I had just exited the building when I spotted Rick on the opposite street. He looked like a mess, and there were bruises all over him. I rushed up to him and held him in my arms. Rick told me everything as he sobbed. "Dad, Ben took me to the amusement park, and I saw the baby Mom was holding yesterday. I just wanted to take a closer look, but while Ben was getting ice cream for me, they took me away and beat me up. They even said I shouldn't have existed and that I should die…" I was just about to comfort Rick, but in the next second, a strong force pulled me to my feet, forcing us apart. By the time I finally registered what was happening, Rick and I were already pinned down by bodyguards. Nora was standing in front of me. She raised her hand and slapped Rick across the face. "How did I end up giving birth to a wretch like you? What were you trying to do to my daughter? I should've aborted you!" I struggled against the bodyguards' restraints with all my might. Then, I suddenly caught sight of a large truck speeding toward us. It was about to run into Nora. And Rick was running straight in Nora's direction. I had no idea how a five-year-old could be so strong, but he managed to shove Nora aside. "Rick!" I shouted. Almost in an instant, Rick was lying in a puddle of blood. I rushed over to him and picked him up in my arms. Tears were streaming down my face. Rick smiled weakly at Nora, who was rooted on the spot. Then, he asked in a faint voice, "Mom, if you don't love me, why did you give birth to me?" Nora staggered forward. With reddened eyes, she reached out to touch Rick's face, but I quickly swatted her hand away. Holding Rick tightly in my arms, I screamed at Nora through the tears, "Don't touch him! Nora, it's been five whole years, but you've never looked him in the eye! It was his birthday yesterday. It was his birthday, but he made a gift specially for you!" As Nora looked on in shock, I took a deep breath. Then, I raised my head, closed my eyes, and said in a low voice, "Nora, from this moment on, my son and I never want to see your face again."