Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
I spent three grueling years working overseas, but my wife thought I was just a broke laborer breaking his back for pocket change.
Behind my back, she gave birth to a son for my cousin, a guy who flaunted a Maybach.
On the day of the baby’s first birthday bash, my parents hired dozens of private security guards just to keep me from crashing the venue.
"If that loser dares to show his face today and ruin this, I’m cutting him out of my life forever!" my father bellowed.
Yet, throughout the entire extravagant celebration, I never showed up.
My wife, Linda, smugly called me afterward.
"As long as you’re willing to be the boy's godfather, we can keep living our lives like normal," she said casually.
"But before that, I need to have a proper wedding with your cousin, Derek. It’s to make up for what he missed out on."
She genuinely believed there was nothing wrong with chasing a richer, better life.
Even my own parents thought Derek was the only one who could provide Linda and the boy with the high-class lifestyle they deserved.
Little did they know, I had already signed a legal human cryopreservation agreement.
In seven days, my legal identity would be officially wiped from the registry, and my body would be sealed inside a cryogenic pod.
As for the fifty million dollars I had earned over the years? Every single cent would be donated to charity.
By the time I walked back to the house from the hospital, the birthday party was already over.
I pushed the front door open and was greeted by a warm, lively living room. My parents were taking turns cradling the baby, their faces glowing with unrestrained joy.
"Look at this handsome boy. He has Derek’s gorgeous eyes," my mother cooed.
"Absolutely," my father agreed. "Thank God we were smart about this. If we’d waited for Austin to come back, who knows if we’d ever get to hold a grandson before we died?"
Their words were like poisoned daggers, stabbing straight into my chest.
Meanwhile, my cousin Derek was in the bedroom, intimately helping Linda express breast milk.
They acted so affectionate and natural with each other that any stranger walking in would have assumed they were happily married.
For three entire years, I had worked overseas, sending money home on the first of every month and shipping rare local gifts back for them.
To climb the corporate ladder as fast as possible, I spent late nights teaching myself three foreign languages by lamplight.
Within a single year, I had become the top sales executive in our regional division.
A stroke of brilliant fortune led to a major deal, earning me my first mountain of wealth.
All this time, I kept thinking of my family. The second I could, I rushed home, eager to share the triumph with them.
I never dreamed that they had written me off long ago.
I still vividly remembered the day Linda and I tied the knot.
She was the one who urged me not to pass up the lucrative overseas contract.
At the airport terminal, she clung to me with tears streaming down her face, swearing she would take care of our home until my return.
I sneered coldly and stepped further into the room.
The heavy thud of the front door slamming shut shattered the cozy family atmosphere. The smiles vanished from my parents' faces the moment their eyes landed on me.
Linda emerged from the bedroom, flanked by Derek.
She spoke with an expression that looked thoroughly rehearsed.
"Austin, I know this is hard for you, but it’s done. You’re better off just accepting reality."
"You were gone for three whole years. If Derek hadn’t stepped up and supported me, I wouldn't have survived this long. Can you try to be understanding for once?"
Staring at her feigned helplessness, I scoffed.
"Understanding? So I’m supposed to happily raise another man's bastard?"
Smack!
Before the word fully left my mouth, my father's hand cracked across my face.
He glared at me, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "Shut your filthy mouth! What bastard? He carries the Miller bloodline!"
"If you refuse to claim him, get the hell out of my house! And don't you dare call me your father ever again!"
Gasping, his face flushed a violent red, and he clutched his chest, coughing violently.
My mother immediately rushed over to hold him up, shooting daggers at me.
"Austin, do we owe you a debt or something? If you give your father a heart attack, I swear I’ll never forgive you!"
Even Derek chimed in, sounding like a smug peacekeeper.
"Austin, you're in the wrong here. Why can’t we talk like civilized adults? Uncle was only thinking about what’s best for you."
The four of them stood in a solid wall against me, weaponizing cheap moral superiority to beat me down.
I stood in silence, not uttering a word.
Linda curled her lip in annoyance, pulled an envelope from the entryway console, and shoved an invitation card toward me.
"Derek and I are having our wedding next week. Here’s your invite. Make sure you dress appropriately and show up."Her words hit like a physical shockwave. For a second, I thought I had misheard.
Just seconds ago, she was whining about how hard her life had been, and now she already had wedding invitations printed?
Seeing my silence, Linda quickly offered an excuse.
"Don't overthink it. Derek isn’t getting any younger, and he’s still technically a bachelor. People in our circle talk. We agreed to hold a formal ceremony just for appearances, so nobody gossips."
She hadn't even finished speaking when I reached out and took the invitation from her hand.
"Sure. I’ll be there on time."
Without another word, I turned on my heel and walked toward my old bedroom to grab my things.
Behind me, Derek's voice drifted into the hallway.
"The wedding dress is ready. Want me to go with you for the final fitting tomorrow?"
"I've been waiting for this day forever," Linda whispered back, giggling softly into his chest.
I pushed open the door to my room, only to see that our wedding portrait on the nightstand had been replaced by a framed studio photo of the four of them.
Even the suits and shirts hanging in the closet were all Derek's designer labels.
I looked around the empty space and suddenly realized: this place wasn't my home anymore. There were no belongings of mine left to pack.
My fingers trembling, I pulled a small prescription bottle from my pocket and dry-swallowed two white pills.
None of them knew that back overseas, I had worked endless graveyard shifts in massive industrial tech facilities.
Prolonged radiation exposure from specialized machinery had triggered aggressive terminal brain cancer.
The oncologist told me I had one month left, at best.
The moment I heard the diagnosis, I booked the first flight back home.
For the final chapter of my life, all I wanted was to be surrounded by family.
Yet when I walked through the door holding the signed paperwork to transfer all my assets to Linda, all I found was Derek rushing her to the maternity ward.
When the nurse called out for the father of the child to sign the consent forms, my cousin jumped up and signed his name without hesitation.
When I confronted them, my own parents defended him without blinking.
"Austin, you were gone for three years! Your father and I are getting old. We just wanted a grandchild before we died!"
"Derek is your first cousin. You share the same family blood! Can’t you just turn a blind eye and love the boy as your own?"
"Besides, Derek is a senior director at a publicly traded tech firm, pulling in over two hundred grand a year!”
“That’s a hundred times better than groveling before foreign executives like you do. He stepped up to take care of your wife, and you don’t even have the decency to be grateful?"
Growing up, Derek had always been the golden child, the standard my parents measured me against. And even now, they looked down on me compared to him.
In that quiet moment, everything cleared up for me.
Life's cruelest jokes were nothing more than this.
Later, on my specialist’s recommendation, I reached out to a private human cryopreservation research facility.
They offered state-of-the-art cryogenic pods that could preserve a human body in stasis until medical science discovered a cure for advanced brain cancer.
The doctor told me that plenty of ultra-wealthy elites chose this path to buy a chance at a second life.
With enough money, the impossible became achievable.
So, I took the entire fortune I had initially earmarked for Linda and purchased a fifty-year preservation contract in an advanced stasis pod.
Next week was my scheduled entry date.
Late that night, as I drifted in and out of a feverish sleep, heavy breathing and stifled moans came from right outside my cracked bedroom door.
Derek’s raspy voice followed.
"You really want to do this right here? What if Austin wakes up and catches us?"
Linda’s voice was breathless, dripping with naked lust.
"Who cares? Once that idiot falls asleep, he’s out cold like a dead pig. He won't notice a thing. If it weren't for you, I would've lost my mind these past three years..."
The sickening sounds washed over me. I pulled the comforter tight over my head and clenched my eyes shut.
My mind involuntarily flashed back to the day Linda and I stood before the priest, her eyes bright and steady as she swore to love me, and only me, until death did us part.
Turns out, eternal vows were just empty noise to pass the time.When I woke up, sunlight flooded the floorboards.
The apartment was dead quiet. Right by the entryway mat, I spotted two used strawberry-flavored condom wrappers discarded next to drying puddles of water.
I tightened my jaw, pocketed my personal documents, and walked out the door.
I was here to finalize my departure from this world.
Holding the medical certification from the hospital, I went to the federal registry office to formally freeze and archive my legal identity.
The clerk behind the counter stared at my paperwork for a long time, an unreadable mix of pity and awe in her eyes.
I watched the heavy metal seal press down onto the official documents, and a strange wave of pure relief washed over me.
From this moment on, Austin Miller ceased to exist in any public system.
Leaving the registry, I drove to the local charity foundation headquarters.
Keeping only a bare minimum to cover my final expenses, I transferred my entire remaining balance—tens of millions of dollars—into their humanitarian endowment fund.
The foundation president clasped my hand with deep gratitude, his eyes glistening.
An eight-figure bank account had vanished, distilled into a single, crisp donation receipt.
I walked back out to the parking lot and looked at the brand-new Rolls-Royce parked in the bay.
It was a parting gift from an overseas business partner who had insisted on buying it for me when he heard I was returning stateside.
As I stood by the door, pondering how to get rid of the vehicle, a voice called out behind me.
"Austin? Well, look at that. It really is you."
I turned to see Derek dressed in a sharp black bespoke suit, his hair slicked back without a strand out of place.
Behind him, Linda held the baby, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with my parents.
The moment her gaze met mine, her brows knit into a hard scowl. "Austin, are you seriously stalking us? We just came out to get family portraits taken. How petty can you get?"
So that was why they were dressed to the nines. A formal family portrait.
And I, the supposed pillar of this household, was completely kept in the dark.
Derek twirled his Mercedes key fob on his finger, his eyes roaming over the gleaming Rolls-Royce beside me.
A mocking snort escaped his lips.
"Austin, I heard you were bowing and scraping for scraps overseas, but I never got around to asking what your actual job was. Turns out you're just a private chauffeur?"
"No wonder you hid out abroad for three years and didn't dare come back. If people back home caught you driving other folks around like a servant, Aunt and Uncle would die of embarrassment!"
Chuckling, Derek stepped forward and slung a heavy arm over my shoulder with fake generosity.
"How much can a driver really make? Tell you what, come work at my company.”
“I can pull some strings and get you a spot on the corporate security team. At least that way, you can sleep in your own bed every night."
I sneered and shoved his arm off me.
Sleep in my own bed?
So I could lie awake and listen to him screwing my wife through the wall?
Before I could speak, Linda rolled her eyes and cut in, her tone dripping with venom.
"Derek is trying to help you, and you give him that attitude? Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Derek, don't waste your breath on him."
"If I knew you were just driving limos for rich folks, I would’ve told you to stay out of the country and stop humiliating us!"
My father let out a heavy, theatrical sigh, shaking his head with bitter disgust.
"An utter disgrace to our family name!"
They had conveniently forgotten that three years ago, I didn't want to leave in the first place.
I had just married Linda, and my father’s asthma was getting worse. I was terrified that leaving the country would mean neglecting my responsibilities at home.
It was Linda who pushed me out the door, sweet-talking me into believing it was a once-in-a-lifetime career springboard—promising that even if I started at the bottom carrying bags, I’d come home a made man.
And the second I turned my back, she traded me in for a taste of the easy life, kicking me straight into the gutter.
Derek’s smirk widened, yet he kept up the gracious act, casually gesturing toward the photo studio.
"Well, you are the kid’s half-father, technically. It might look weird in the future if he looks at the family album and doesn’t see you anywhere."
Before I could answer, Linda tugged Derek's arm in disgust.
"Look at the way he's dressed! He’d ruin the entire shoot! It’d be an embarrassment for our son to see this bum in the frame years from now!"
"Come on, let's get the shoot done. We still have lunch reservations."
My parents cast one last disappointed glare in my direction, then turned and followed the happy couple inside the studio.
I stood completely still, watching their backs vanish behind the glass doors.
A quiet calm settled over me.
This was fine.
An unwanted outsider like me had somewhere else to be.Over the next few days, I wrapped up every last detail of my legal existence, waiting only for the medical transport team to escort me to the cryo-facility.
After hours of contemplation, I went back to the house one last time. I walked up to my father and laid an embossed business card on the coffee table.
"Dad. This is the personal contact for a world-renowned pulmonary specialist I arranged through my overseas network. He's an authority on severe respiratory diseases."
"He happens to be in town for a medical conference this week. I gave him a heads-up about your condition. If you go see him, there’s a real chance he can treat your asthma permanently..."
Before I could finish, my father scoffed and snatched the card, tearing it into tiny shreds.
"You? Knowing a world-class specialist? You don't even blush when you lie, do you?"
"Derek spent nights pulling strings and paying thousands under the table just to secure an appointment with a top hospital chief for me.”
“Who the hell knows what back-alley quack you dragged up? Get out of my face and let me watch TV!"
I stared at the shredded paper resting in the trash bin, a faint, bitter smile tugging at my lips.
If Derek’s high-priced doctors were so competent, my father's condition wouldn't have deteriorated to this point.
In his eyes, everything I did was an offense.
If they hated me this much, why did they ever bring me into this world?
Just then, my father's phone rang. It was Derek. Whatever Derek said on the other end, my father lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Derek, we’re all one family now! Stop calling me Uncle. From now on, just call me Dad, like Linda does!"
I said nothing. I gently placed my house keys on the entryway table and walked out of the door without making a sound.
I would never set foot in this house again.
Soon came the day of Linda and Derek’s grand wedding.
I sat staring at the invitation card for a long time, deciding I wanted one last look at them before I disappeared.
I coordinated with the medical transport van to pick me up right outside the country club venue, then hailed a cab to the reception hall.
When Linda and I got married years ago, my maternal grandmother had just passed away. Out of respect, we didn't hold a lavish reception; we simply registered our marriage at city hall.
Aside from a handful of close relatives, almost none of our extended circle knew Linda was legally my wife.
The moment I stepped into the grand ballroom, distant relatives spotted me and pulled me into conversations.
"Austin! We heard you've been working overseas all these years! Did you fly all the way back just for Derek's big day? Derek stayed single for so long, and now he finally settled down—even had a baby boy already!"
"By the way, Austin, where’s your wife? You two need to hurry up and start a family of your own!"
I kept my mouth shut, letting my eyes wander to my parents standing near the stage, their faces beaming with pride.
In all my memories, my father had always been a stern, joyless man.
Now, he looked like he had won the lottery, chuckling heartily as my mother flaunted diamond jewelry to her church friends.
Derek’s parents had passed away when he was young, and my parents had practically raised him. No one found it odd that my parents were presiding over the ceremony as the honored elders.
Suddenly, my aunt, who had witnessed my civil ceremony with Linda years ago, pushed through the crowd toward me.
Her face was drawn in shock. "Austin, what on earth is happening here?"
I lowered my gaze, fighting back the metallic tang of blood rising in my throat.
"Exactly what it looks like."
"This is insane! Do they think you're dead?!"
Before she could say more, my father tapped the microphone on stage, his voice booming over the speakers.
"Friends and family, thank you all for gathering here to celebrate the union of Derek and Linda! Our family has been blessed with double happiness recently, and we hope the future only gets brighter!"
The crowd cheered, clapping and chanting for the bride and groom to kiss.
Derek, standing tall in his tuxedo, caught my eye in the crowd. He raised an eyebrow, a clear, smug provocation in his smirk.
"Today, I want to give a special shoutout to my younger cousin, Austin. If it weren't for him, I never would have crossed paths with Linda."
"Austin, you give us your blessing, don't you?"
All eyes instantly shifted toward me.
I held my head high, stepped out of the crowd, and walked steadily up the stairs to the stage. I reached out and took the microphone from his hand.
"Of course. As the groom's cousin, I actually brought a special wedding gift for the happy couple."
Behind him, Linda, clad in a lavish white ballgown, offered a practiced, graceful smile.
In the next second, I reached into my inner jacket pocket and slapped a laminated marriage certificate under the projector camera.
"This is the official marriage license Linda and I signed three years ago."
I turned to Derek with a calm smile. "Once your vows wrap up, should I take her down to the courthouse for a divorce first, or do you prefer being married to my wife?"
Chapters (4)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Watch & Promotions
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