I Cried for Him, I Unmask the Lie

The night Ivy Lynn was rescued from her third suicide attempt, she dragged her weakened body to the Blake family's house. She only wanted to ask her mother-in-law for a few of Noah Blake's belongings, anything that might ease the ache of missing him. But before she even stepped into the courtyard, she heard hurried voices arguing inside. "Noah, how much longer are you going to keep lying to Ivy? She's already tried to kill herself three times for you!" Ivy froze. Her nails dug so deeply into her palms that she barely felt the pain. The blood in her body seemed to turn cold all at once. 'Noah? Why is she calling Ryan by Noah's name?' "Mom, just a little longer." It was Ryan's voice. But the gentle patience in his tone was exactly the same as the way Noah used to comfort her. "Before Ryan died, he made me promise to take care of Julie. She's too fragile. If she found out Ryan was dead, she'd never survive it. The only solution was for me to become Ryan, give her a child, and give her a reason to keep living." The world tilted beneath Ivy's feet. So the man who died in the fire had been Ryan Blake, not Noah. Her husband had been alive this entire time, living under his dead brother's identity and sleeping beside another woman every night. "And what about Ivy?" Noah's mother demanded, her voice breaking. "You stay in Julie's room every night. Have you ever thought about how much Ivy is suffering?" "She's stronger than Julie." The words cut through Ivy like a knife. She stumbled backward and accidentally knocked over the flower stand beside the door. The entire courtyard fell silent. Panic crashed through her chest. She turned and ran as though something monstrous were chasing her. Halfway down the street, a sharp pain suddenly tore through her palm. Ivy looked down to find blood dripping between her fingers. The jagged fragment of Noah's burned firefighter helmet, the piece she had clung to every night for the past six months, had sliced deeply into her skin. For half a year, she had held that fragment while crying herself to sleep. And now it all felt like a cruel joke. Noah had never died. He had simply chosen to let her believe he was dead so he could "take care" of his brother's widow instead. Five years earlier, they had first met at a citywide firefighter commendation ceremony. Noah had been the cold, intimidating Captain of the Elite Fire Squad, while Ivy was only an intern at St. Aurora Medical Center. Plenty of women pursued him, and plenty of men pursued her, but that night his eyes never left her while she stood onstage accepting an award for the hospital. The moment she stepped offstage, he stopped her. Without a word, he took off his uniform jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "Ivy," he said quietly, "the night air is cold. Don't catch a chill." Wrapped in his jacket, she could barely steady her heartbeat. Even the tips of her ears burned. After that, Noah began pursuing her openly. Every time he returned from an emergency call, he would detour to the hospital just to see her for a few minutes. And on the day she finally agreed to date him, he was so happy he spun her around and around on the training grounds. "Ivy," he had whispered against her ear, "Noah belongs to you for life." After their wedding, everyone said Captain Blake spoiled his wife beyond reason. And she had believed it too. She had believed he loved her more than his own life. But now? For another woman, he had stolen his dead brother's identity, moved into Julie Morrison's home, and was even planning to have a child with her. Meanwhile, Ivy had nearly destroyed herself grieving for him, crying for him, trying again and again to follow him into death, until the pain had hollowed her out so completely she could barely survive it anymore. Had he ever once considered that her heart could break too? When Ivy finally returned home in a daze, Susan Caldwell from next door was already waiting outside again. "Ivy, Liam's transferring to the West Coast next week," Susan said carefully. "This is the eighth time he's asked me to speak to you. He said if you still refuse him this time, he'll leave for good." Liam Lawson had been one of Noah's closest comrades, and ever since Ivy became a widow, he had returned to her again and again, asking her to marry him. Seven times she had turned him down because, until this moment, she had truly believed she could only ever love one man in her lifetime. But now... She slowly lifted her head. "Alright," she said calmly. "I'll marry him." Susan stared at her in shock. "You're serious?" "I am." Ivy forced a faint smile onto her face. "Please tell Liam I'll leave with him in a week." At that moment, the curtain by the doorway was suddenly yanked aside. Noah stood there with a dark expression. "Ivy," he said coldly, "who are you leaving with?" Ivy looked at him and suddenly found the entire situation absurd beyond words. "Ryan," she said quietly, "that's my business." Though Noah's words were directed at Susan, his hand clamped hard around Ivy's wrist. "My brother may be gone, but I'll take care of Ivy in his place," he said sternly. "She loved my brother too deeply to ever marry another man. Mrs. Caldwell, don't come here again." Susan looked utterly confused. "But Ivy already agreed..." Ivy quickly grabbed Susan's arm and interrupted her. "Mrs. Caldwell, weren't you supposed to pick up your granddaughter? You should hurry before you're late." Understanding immediately, Susan nodded awkwardly and left in a rush. Once she was gone, Noah's expression eased slightly. He stepped closer, his voice rough with emotion. "Ivy, even though my brother is gone, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. I won't let men like that come near you again." The irony was almost unbearable. He was secretly sleeping in another woman's bed under his dead brother's identity, yet he still had the nerve to act possessive over her future. How could anything be more ridiculous than this? But Ivy said nothing. In one week, she would leave with Liam anyway. She would escape this suffocating nightmare forever. Late that night, Ivy was packing quietly when the creaking sounds of a bed frame drifted from the neighboring room. In the past, she had assumed it was simply Julie and Ryan acting like any affectionate married couple. Now every muffled gasp felt like a blade carving into her chest. Because she recognized that voice. That low groan of pleasure belonged to Noah. It was the same voice that had once breathed against her ear in the dark. Suddenly, a sharp scream shattered the silence. Ivy rushed out of her room just in time to see Noah hurrying downstairs with Julie in his arms. Julie's clothes were in disarray, and beneath the pale moonlight, bright crimson blood stained the hem of her white nightgown. The entire neighborhood woke up instantly. Patricia Harlow from across the street hurried outside in slippers, craning her neck for a better look. "Oh my God, what happened?" "I heard they got too carried away and she started bleeding..." "What! Ryan always looked so proper, too. Who knew he'd lose control like that?" Ivy stood silently at the edge of the crowd, her nails digging into her palms so hard they nearly broke the skin again. But this time, she felt nothing at all. She turned to leave, only for Patricia to grab her arm. "Ivy, you're Noah's widow. You should go with them!" Unwilling to create more gossip, Ivy pulled her coat tighter and followed them to the hospital. The sharp smell of antiseptic filled the hallway, stinging her eyes. Noah stood outside the operating room, tugging irritably at his collar. The moment he saw Ivy, his expression changed slightly. "What are you doing here?" "As your brother's widow," Ivy replied coldly, "showing concern is the least I can do." At that moment, the operating room doors finally opened. "Sir, there's no need to worry," the doctor said while pulling down his mask. "Your wife only experienced a threatened miscarriage caused by i*********e during pregnancy. From now on, you'll need to be more careful."