Chapter 1
It was the night we held a celebration party after finally setting a definite wedding date, after postponing my marriage to Ethan Crawford seven times.
Ethan’s assistant stumbled drunkenly toward us, barely able to stand straight.
She picked up a wine glass from the table and gave him a bitter smile. "This toast is for you. For six years, we’ve secretly been husband and wife. You even saved me from being forced into an arranged marriage with a man in a coma."
I froze for a moment, assuming she was just rambling nonsense while drunk. I had barely stepped forward to steady her when she tilted her head back and drained the entire glass in one gulp before suddenly bowing deeply to me.
"I’m sorry, Claire. It’s all because of me that Ethan blocked your return application six times. That’s why you were trapped suffering at that construction site in Alaska for so many years...
"...he didn’t even let you come back when your mother died because we were still legally married. He was afraid you’d discover the truth.”
My entire body went rigid.
For a moment, I genuinely thought I must have misheard her.
Her voice sounded soft and harmless, but every word she spoke cut into me like a knife.
"It rained the day your mother was buried. Ethan knew I was afraid of thunder, so he stayed home with me the entire day. He’s such a thoughtful and attentive husband. Any woman would be lucky to marry a man like him. You should treasure him, Claire."
My mind exploded into chaos, as if a bomb had detonated inside my skull.
I looked around the room and realized everyone else was deliberately avoiding my gaze, too guilty to meet my eyes.
Finally, I turned toward the man seated in the center of the sofa.
My voice trembled uncontrollably as I spoke, "Ethan… is everything she said true?"
*****
A dead silence fell over the room.
Thick, unnatural, suffocating.
Ethan glanced at the others, silently signaling them to leave. Only when the private lounge was emptied did he set down his wine glass, leaving just the three of us.
He leaned in, lifted a hand, and gently wiped the tears from my cheek. "You’re already an adult. Why are you crying over something so small?" His voice was low and impossibly gentle, but hearing it only made my heart tremble harder.
"Everything Sophie said is true. She was originally the one assigned to go to Alaska to avoid the arranged marriage. But I thought a young woman like her wouldn’t survive the harsh conditions at a construction site, so I decided to send you in her place...
"...after you left, Sophie and I got married. That’s how we stopped her from marrying that man in a coma.”
I blinked at him in stunned disbelief. I couldn’t believe these words were coming from the mouth of the man I had loved for ten years.
“Then why… why did you think I could handle it back then?”
The moment brought back memories from years ago. Back when I received that overseas assignment.
I had just stepped in front of a falling steel pipe to save him from being crushed. My shoulder had been severely injured. The pain was so intense I couldn’t even lift a small bag.
I didn’t want to go. I curled up against his chest and complained softly, "Our wedding is right around the corner. Can you ask them to let me stay, please?"
He sighed. "This was a unanimous decision from upper management. If you don’t go, people will think you’re getting special treatment because of me—"
Before he even finished his sentence, I had already agreed. I couldn’t let my own selfishness ruin his career.
When he walked me to the airport, he hugged me tightly and whispered reassurance. "Be good, Claire. You can apply to come home after just one year. I’ll fly out to see you often, too."
My heart was breaking, but I still forced a smile as I said goodbye.
I never imagined that my reluctant, sorrowful turn away would open the door to six years of marriage between him and another woman.
Six whole years.
He only came to see me once a year.
And every time, he left in a hurry, grumbling about the bitter cold and the bleak, dead-end life at the construction site in Alaska.
Meanwhile, I counted the days until our wedding and submitted six applications to return home, but every single one was rejected.
I never realized all those rejections were his doing.
Ethan seemed to remember the suffering I had endured. His voice softened slightly. "When you came down with that outbreak during your first year in Alaska and nearly froze to death, I was truly terrified. But after you pulled through, I was glad it wasn’t Sophie who went instead...
"...so every time you come to me complaining after that, I just believe you could handle it.”
A massive, gaping hole tore open inside my chest. The pain was suffocating, I could barely breathe.
"Why? What did I ever do to deserve this? You cheated on me. You betrayed me like that? You wouldn’t even let me come home when my mom died."
Seeing how emotional I was becoming, Ethan finally decided to lay everything out on the table.
