He Cheated, I Exposed His Double Lif

Chapter 2

Only 2 nights earlier, Andrea had kissed the camera during a video call and murmured, "Honey, I miss you."

His voice had been deep and commanding, the kind that made it easy to remember how he could pin me beneath him and take control of everything.

Our marriage had always seemed happy.

Andrea spoiled me. He placed 200 million dollars in family assets and businesses under my management and never questioned how I handled them.

Every birthday and Christmas, he bought me one of the diamond rings I loved from an auction house.

Then, 11 months earlier, he told me the family's underground business in Port Dorian needed his personal attention. They were opening three new smuggling routes, and he would have to stay there for at least 1 year.

He said he had to do it for our future.

Once everything was stable, he promised he would bring me over and we would settle there together.

I agreed.

Only now did I realize how unreadable Andrea had always been.

Like the sea around Valedoro at midnight, he had looked calm on the surface while hiding an entire life with another woman beneath it.

"Andrea is incredible. The Port Dorian operation should make around 500 million this time. The family is thrilled with him."

"He's secured his position in the family and treats his wife like a queen. You couldn't find another man like that if you tried."

That was when I realized the assets under my control were only a fraction of Andrea's wealth.

The rest had been supporting another household.

Sophia beamed.

"We're all doing well."

Another woman sighed. "Time flies. We were at your wedding 6 years ago. Who would've guessed you'd be here now?"

They had even held a grand wedding, surrounded by relatives and friends.

When Andrea married me, he said he wanted something discreet. We held only a small ceremony at the Evermont Lake Estate.

He told me the Vittore family had complicated alliances and enemies. A lavish wedding would put too much attention on me. He said he wanted to protect me from blood feuds and family scrutiny.

So he invited very few relatives.

I stood among them, listening as strangers filled in the pieces of my husband's life he had kept hidden from me.

A woman linked arms with Sophia and lowered her voice conspiratorially.

"Sophia, teach me your secret. How do you keep a man like Andrea completely devoted?"

Despite myself, I became curious and looked toward Sophia without making it obvious.

Her smile was radiant.

"Andrea is just a good man. I was lucky to meet him. Still, a woman can't rely on a man for everything. If you're worried he'll stray, keep control of the money. Every anniversary, he buys me a diamond ring at auction. You can tell where a man's heart is by where he spends his money."

The ache in my chest sharpened.

Andrea bought Sophia diamond rings too? Then what were the ones in my safe?

A wave of emotion rose so sharply that my throat tightened.

They kept talking, completely unaware that I sat frozen among them, silent and out of place.

Sophia's phone rang.

She smiled. "It's Andrea."

Without thinking much of it, she placed the baby in my arms.

"Hold her for me, sweetheart."

I froze.

The baby was soft and light in my arms. She gazed up at me with bright eyes without crying or fussing.

I looked down at her with emotions I couldn't name.

I had nearly broken down several times already, but faced with such a small, helpless child, I forced everything back down.

Sophia answered beside me. Andrea's voice carried clearly from the phone, deep, commanding, and unmistakably possessive.

"My love, you only just had the baby. Don't wear yourself out. I picked up Mom and Dad. Traffic's a little heavy, so don't worry if we're late."

Sophia's voice turned honey-sweet. "I'm fine. Take your time and drive safely."