Chapter 1

My wife, Chloe, had another man's scent on her.

It wasn’t sweat, and it certainly wasn’t alcohol or cigarettes. It was a bold, aggressive woody fragrance.

Expensive, sophisticated, with an underlying, seductive warmth.

I don't wear cologne.

As an interior designer who spends his days surrounded by drywall dust and paint fumes, I usually smell like sweat and construction materials.

To me, cologne is an unnecessary luxury.

My wife never used it either.

"You're back?"

Chloe walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a plush bath towel. Water droplets slid down the smooth curve of her calf.

She dried her wet hair with a towel, but her eyes didn't linger on me for a second. She walked straight to her vanity.

She had been like this for the past two months.

Cold, distant, as if an invisible wall had sprung up between us.

The woman who used to cling to me every single night had completely vanished.

I swallowed hard, walked up behind her, and wrapped my arms around her waist. My hand slipped slightly beneath the edge of the towel.

Her skin was still as smooth and captivating as ever.

"Stop it."

She grabbed my hand, her voice laced with irritation.

"I'm exhausted. I’ve been running around with clients all day."

My nose brushed against her neck, and I caught that familiar yet foreign scent again.

My eyes darkened. I decided to test her.

"What shampoo did you use today? The scent is pretty unique."

Chloe’s body stiffened for a fraction of a second before she forced herself to relax. She replied casually, "Oh, I got my hair washed at the spa. It must be whatever they used."

The spa?

I scoffed inwardly.

We had been married for five years. I could find her favorite day spa with my eyes closed. They only used sweet, floral products that smelled like cheap candy. They definitely didn't use this crisp, heavy, masculine scent.

"Really? It smells expensive. Take me with you next time," I said half-jokingly.

"Why would a grown man go to a spa? Don't be ridiculous."

She pushed my hand away, a flash of panic and disgust crossing her face.

"I said I'm tired. Do you not understand English? If you're that desperate, go handle it yourself!"

With that, she switched on the hairdryer. The loud hum cut off any further conversation between us.

I quietly walked back to the living room and sat on the couch. The seed of suspicion in my heart was growing into a thorny vine.

I had smelled that scent somewhere earlier today.

I pulled out my phone, opened Amazon Luxury, and searched the fragrance section based on my memory.

Finally, a familiar bottle popped up on the screen.

*Creed Aventus.*

The description read: *An exceptional fragrance that pays homage to strength, power, and success. Rich, hand-selected ingredients make this a masterpiece for the modern, successful man.*

The price? $450 for a 3.4 oz bottle.

My heart sank into a cold abyss.

Chloe worked as an administrative assistant at a mid-sized firm, making barely $3,000 a month. There was no way she could afford this level of luxury.

More importantly, this was a cologne purely for men.

So, the scent didn't come from a spa. It came from a man who could easily drop $450 on a bottle of cologne.

And for the scent to linger so clearly on Chloe even after she showered, there was only one logical explanation.

My chest tightened, and my hands clenched into tight fists.

They had just shared an extremely "intimate" encounter.