My Marriage Certificate Was a Forgery

Three years ago, to gather funds for my paralyzed tycoon father's overseas treatment, I entered into a peculiar cross-border marriage with Cara Scheinert.

Now, my father had finally recovered, and I immediately booked the earliest flight home, eager to give Cara a big surprise.

However, as I stood beneath our mansion, the scene before me sent a chill down my spineCara, with a visibly pregnant belly, was intimately nestled in another man's arms.

Seeing my shocked, frozen face, she merely paused for a moment. Then, an indifferent smirk spread across her face.

"Three years ago, I had a college student as my kept man," she said breezily. "You know the rules in our circle, and to keep him from being bullied, I had him take your place."

Those words were like an ice pick stabbing through my heart, leaving only a buzzing in my ears.

"Cara Scheinert, what the hell are you talking about?" I demanded, my voice trembling.

She reached out and snatched the signet ringsymbolizing the tycoon heir's statusfrom my finger, her smile growing wider.

"To outsiders, he's the tycoon's young master I officially married."

"As for at home, well, you're the 'big one,' and he's the 'little one.'"

"You'll always be my dearest husband. Isn't this arrangement satisfactory enough?" she said, her tone almost provocative.

I slapped Cara across the face, incredulous. She pressed her cheek, showing no anger. She just smiled at me, her voice laced with a threat.

"It's normal to be upset. You can take it out on me."

"But if you dare lay a hand on Christian, I won't tolerate it."

"Until the baby is born, you'll just have to make do as a servant, taking care of Christian and me."

Seeing no reaction from me, she stood on tiptoe. A flurry of kisses rained down on my cheek.

"Before, when you asked me to visit your father, I refused every time, not because I was busy with work."

"It's because Christian is too clingy; he can't be without me."

"Perhaps you should learn from him how to be cherished."

I felt as if plunged into an ice pit, a profound chill settling in my heart. Looking at the woman I'd been married to for three years, she felt utterly like a stranger.

Years ago, she had pursued me for a long time. My father didn't approve of her family background at all. I was the one who knelt before my father, begging for three days and three nights, before he finally agreed to our marriage. What did she say then? She said she would be willing to be my dog if it meant being with me. Everyone knew Cara Scheinert was fiercely protective of her husband; she'd get jealous if anyone even looked at me too long. After we married, even her best friends never saw my face. I never imagined it was all so someone else could take my place.

The intense humiliation and betrayal burned within me. I gritted my teeth and demanded, "You let another man impersonate me. Aren't you afraid I'll divorce you and kick you out?"

Cara chuckled, her gaze holding a pity I had never seen before.

"Such a naive young master, pampered by a wealthy family."

"Who doesn't know your father is terminally ill and doesn't have much time left? How many people are secretly eyeing your family's fortune?"

"If you make a fuss with me now, those uncles and cousins will just seize on your scandal and kick you out. Right now, I'm the only one you can rely on."

She stroked my face, her eyes filled with a tenderness, but her tone was threatening.

"If you hadn't come back, I could have kept Christian outside, so you wouldn't have to face any of this."

"But who told you to be so headstrong? You made Christian and me argue for ages, almost causing me to go into early labor."

"Who in this circle doesn't have a side piece or two? Just put up with it."

"You'll always be the husband in my heart. I still love you."

I stood frozen, staring at her shameless face. I felt utterly disheartened.

"Cara Scheinert, we're getting a divorce."

Cara's face darkened. She gripped my hand, squeezing until my bones creaked.

"Timothy, don't be ridiculous!"

I yanked my hand free and slammed my briefcase hard against her head. Blood trickled down her temple.

With an angry roar, Christian immediately shielded her.

"Clumsy oaf! Who gave you the guts to hit my Cara?!"

"Guards, grab him! Whichever hand he used to hit her, break it!"

He looked at me with a defiant gaze, clearly taking on the air of the man of the house. I scowled, about to intervene. Then I realized all the servants who used to follow me had been replaced by new faces. And Cara had no intention of stopping him; instead, she hugged Christian, her face indulgent.

"I'm carrying Christian's baby, I can't handle stress."

"Timothy, you'll just have to suffer a bit. I'll find you the best doctor."

"He's the heir to the Russo family now. If you cross him, even I can't save you."

I was pinned to the ground by the servants. A wooden club was raised high, followed by the crisp sound of bone cracking. Excruciating pain shot through my wrist, and my agonizing screams echoed through the entire hall. My vision blurred with tears, and in a daze, I was transported back years ago, to the night I was kidnapped by thugs.

Cara had single-handedly stormed the kidnappers' hideout. When one of the thugs fired a fatal shot at me, she didn't hesitate to step in front of me. She lay in the ICU for three days and three nights, and when she woke up, she only said one thing to me:

"I don't regret it if it meant saving you."

From then on, I completely fell for her. Despite my father's objections, I insisted on marrying Cara. On our wedding day, she knelt before my father and swore. She would spend her life protecting me forever. But her "forever" had lasted only a mere three years. My heart ached so much I could barely breathe, leaving only intense rage and hatred.

My eyes red from crying, I looked up. Cara lay in Christians arms, her hand on her swollen belly.

"If it's a boy, that would be wonderful."

"With his looks, I'll spoil him rotten, won't I?"

Then, as if remembering something, Cara pulled me up from the ground, gently tending to my wound.

"Don't mind Christian; he's just too worried about me."

"See how spoiled he is? Isn't he still cute?"

I stared coldly at Cara, then, without hesitation, slapped her again.

"I owed you a life back then, and I've repaid it with this hand."

"From now on, we owe each other nothing."

She froze, frowning as she looked at me.

"Timothy, what do you mean by that? What are you trying to do?"

I ignored her, raising my phone to call the police. But before the call connected, she snatched it and smashed it to the ground.

"Timothy, it's just a title, why are you so petty?"

"Tonight is Christian's birthday party. Many important people will be attending. Do you want to ruin his entire life?"

"Guards, lock him in the basement!"

I tried to struggle but was forcefully thrown into the basement. The pitch-black darkness around me made my limbs tremble, reminding me of the half-month I was kidnapped.

"Cara Scheinert, let me out! Have you forgotten I have claustrophobia?"

I screamed, almost losing my mind, frantically pounding on the door. But Cara simply stood by the door, and after a long moment, she sighed helplessly.

"Timothy, stop pretending."

"The doctor said your claustrophobia has long been cured."

"Stop making a fuss. After the birthday party, I'll make it up to you properly."

As the footsteps faded away, I felt a suffocating despair. After being kidnapped, I developed claustrophobia. Many nights I couldn't sleep, and Cara was by my side, patiently coaxing me to sleep.

"It's all my fault. If I had rescued you sooner, you wouldn't have suffered so much."

Her eyes were red, her face full of self-blame and guilt. I couldn't bear to see her sad, so I had the doctor tell her that my illness had been cured. I never expected that my love for her back then would now be a knife stabbing at myself.

A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I fainted from shock and rage. When I woke up again, I was being dragged into the center of a banquet. Four or five young socialites eyed me up and down, their faces full of disdain and contempt.

"Christian, is this the kept man your family has outside?"

"How rude, daring to come here and cause trouble?"

Christian, surrounded by them, smirked mockingly.

"Well, Cara is carrying my baby, so I won't bother with this trash. Just teach him a lesson and kick him out."

Everyone praised Christian's generosity and kindness. Someone, trying to curry favor with him, grabbed my hair and started dragging me out.

"You lowlife, don't you dare look at yourself in a mirror! How dare you offend Young Master Christian?"

"Who in this whole circle doesn't know Cara Scheinert is Christian's fawning wife? What are you, anyway?"

I gasped in pain, struggling to push their hands away, and held up my marriage certificate.

"You've all been fooled by him! I'm the heir of the Russo family, Cara's husband, and this is our marriage certificate"

Before I could finish, the marriage certificate was snatched from my hand. The young socialites glanced at it, then scoffed, tearing it to shreds and throwing it on the ground.

"This marriage certificate doesn't even have a stamp, it's clearly fake."

"Christian takes his mother's surname, Russo. We all went to his wedding with Cara; it was even front-page news. Who are you trying to fool?"

They held up their phones, and Cara and Christian's marriage certificate appeared on the screens. The clear official seal felt like a crisp slap to my face. My face instantly went pale, and I felt a chill right to my bones. It turned out that my three-year marriage, which I had faithfully protected, was fake from the very beginning.

Tears mixed with hatred splattered on the ground. I glared fiercely at Christian.

"Even if the marriage is fake, you can't impersonate my identity!"

"I am the eldest son of the Russo family! I have the signet ring that represents my status!"

Saying this, I raised my hand, only to see my finger was empty. The next second, Cara's voice echoed through the hall.

"Are you looking for this?"

She smiled casually, placing the signet ring on Christian's hand. I felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on me, chilling me from head to toe. That was the coming-of-age gift my father had given me, the signet ring symbolizing the heir of the Russo family! It had once accidentally fallen into the sea, and Cara had retrieved it after searching for three days and three nights. She had a high fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit, yet she found it and gently placed it on my hand.

"I will protect everything that belongs to you."

And now, my identity, my love. All of it had been handed over to another man by her. I completely broke down, lunging at Christian, trying to snatch the ring from his hand.

"That's my father's ring, the ring of authority! How could you give it to him!"

But before I could even touch Christian, he suddenly fell into Cara's arms. Cara clutched her belly, letting out a piercing scream. Blood flowed onto the floor.

"My baby, my baby!"

Before I could react, a sharp pain shot through my back. Christian kicked me, sending me flying backward to slam hard against the wall. Blood from my temple trickled down my cheek. Cara clung to Christians sleeve, sobbing hysterically.

"Call a doctor, quickly! Save our baby!"

As she was led away by doctors, she didnt even glance at me. She just coldly spat out a single sentence.

"If anything happens to Christian's and my baby, I'll make you pay with your life."

Bodyguards pinned me to the ground, and people around me pointed and jeered. Some had already pulled out their phones, recording and live-streaming.

"Shameless! A male home-wrecker dares to show up and impersonate the tycoon's son."

"Offending Cara and the Russo family, the city's wealthiest, he's probably going to end up in pieces."

I just kept a cold face, my heart so numb I couldn't feel any pain.

It wasn't until the next morning that Cara returned home with Christian. Her eyes bloodshot, she slapped me hard across the face.

"Christian and my baby is gone. Are you happy now?"

I scoffed at her.

"Are you blind? He fell on you himself. What does that have to do with me?"

"Don't you have surveillance at home? Did cheating for three years make you lose your mind?"

Cara's face turned green then pale, but she still glanced at the surveillance camera hesitantly. The next second, Christian screamed hysterically, lunging at me, tearing and punching me without restraint.

"You killed Cara's and my baby! I want you to pay with blood!"

Cara didnt stop him, merely watching with cold eyes. It wasn't until Christian was choking my neck that she pulled him away, coaxing him with red eyes.

"Timothy is the man I love most in this life. I promised his father I would take care of him forever."

"Let's choose another punishment. As long as it doesn't harm his life, I'll agree to anything else you want."

Christian wept heartbreakingly, his gaze at me filled with venomous hatred.

"Then I want him to be a useless man for life, unable to have children, to avenge our baby!"

"No!"

My face went white, and I glared fiercely at Cara.

"My dad has recovered! If he finds out you dared to do this to me, he won't let you off the hook!"

Cara looked at me as if she had heard a joke, her disappointment deepening, her gaze growing colder.

"Timothy Russo, you would even tell such a lie to escape punishment?"

"The doctor said your dad was at death's door; no one could save him!"

Seeing tears in the corner of my eye, she sighed, her voice softening.

"It's alright, Timothy. It's just a vasectomy."

"Anyway, you're busy with work; when would you have time to have a baby with me?"

"Christian and I will have children later. They can call you 'Dad.' Aren't you satisfied with that?"

I looked at her incredulously, a dull ache in my chest from anger. With unknown strength, I broke free from my restraints and picked up a nearby chair, smashing it towards her.

"Bang!"

The chair hit the ground, and the wound on Cara's forehead reopened, blood gushing out. Her face completely hardened, all traces of pity for me vanishing from her eyes.

"Tie him up and send him to the operating room!"

Bodyguards swarmed over, forcefully injecting me with a sedative. My body immobile, I could only watch helplessly as I was pushed into the operating room. A cold blade cut across my lower abdomen, finally stopping at my chest. Blood flowed, bringing sharp pains, and I heard the doctor's chilling voice.

"You've offended the Young Master Russo. He specifically instructed us not to let you leave here alive."

With that, he raised the scalpel high, aiming it at my heart, ready to plunge it in. I closed my eyes in despair.

The next moment, the operating room door was violently kicked open, and a majestic, familiar roar rang out.

"Stop! Who dares touch my son!"