Chapter 1

In the third year of her marriage to Adrian Blackwood, Chloe Evans received good news at last.

She could finally leave him.

"In one more month, your sister will be back.

Until then, keep playing her part."

Her mother’s voice over the phone was as cold as ever. "After everything is over, you’ll get thirty million. Enough to live the life you want."

"I know."

She replied softly, her voice as still as stagnant water.

After hanging up, Chloe looked up at the huge wedding photo on the wall.

In the photo, Adrian stood tall in a tailored suit, impossibly handsome. She wore a gown worth a fortune, smiling softly beside him.

"Three years..." she murmured, her fingertips gently tracing the frame, "It's finally ending."

Three years ago, the strategic marriage between the Blackwood and Evans families, two powerful clans, was a global sensation. And the chosen bride was her twin sister, Berkley Evans..

But on the eve of the wedding, Berkley ran away, leaving behind a letter:

"Dad, Mom, I don't want to be tied down by a strategic marriage, but I know this is my responsibility.

Give me three years to find my freedom. After three years, I will come back."

To save the partnership between the two families, Mr. and Mrs. Evans had no choice but to bring back their younger twin daughter, who they had left in the countryside since she was a child.

And so Chloe, who grew up in the countryside and wasn't even qualified to attend family gatherings, took Berkley's name and became the substitute bride.

"Adrian doesn't like your sister. He loves that poor student his family once sponsored."

The night before the wedding, her mother coldly warned her, "Life won't be easy for you after you marry him, but you just need to behave yourself, live under your sister's identity, and get through these three years."

Chloe remembered just nodding obediently at the time.

Of course, she knew who Adrian was—a regular in business magazines, the most famous scion of the upper class, and the object of affection for countless socialites.

She had also heard the story of him and Sophia Padilla.

The poor student sponsored by the Blackwood family, who got into a prestigious university on a scholarship. Adrian loved her deeply, wanting to be with her despite his family's opposition. But Sophia was proud and aloof; unwilling to accept a relationship with no one's blessing. Therefore, she chose to break up with him and go abroad.

The Blackwood family was overjoyed and immediately arranged a strategic marriage for Adrian.

Married life was even harder than she had imagined.

Adrian's study was filled with photos of Sophia, and he flew to Paris every week to see her in secret. Meanwhile, Chloe, his wife, wasn't even allowed into the master bedroom and could only sleep in the guest room at the end of the hall.

Chloe was cautious and meticulous. Still, she played her role perfectly. To not jeopardize the partnership between the two families, she had been treating him with an almost insane devotion for the past three years.

When he worked late, she left the light on all night by the door until he came home. When his stomach acted up, she woke at five every morning to make porridge. He liked silence, so she made herself the quietest presence in the house.

Gradually, rumors began to spread in their circle that Mrs. Blackwood was desperately in love with Adrian, and the way Adrian looked at her seemed to have a subtle change.

The photos of Sophia in the study disappeared. The weekly trips to Paris were canceled. He started remembering her birthday.He would come home early when she had a cold, and even... would share a carnal union with her.

Chloe almost believed that some real feelings had blossomed in this substitute marriage.

Until three months ago, Sophia came back.

Everything was back to square one.

Adrian's heart was once again consumed by Sophia. He started staying out all night, and his study was filled with Sophia's photos again. Everyone laughed at Chloe, calling her a joke, but she just smiled quietly, never making a scene.

Because she had never loved Adrian.

The only reason she stayed with him was for the money and freedom her parents had promised. His love would certainly make her life easier, but if he didn't love her, she didn't care.

No one knew that even though Chloe and Berkley were twins, their fates were completely different.

When their mother gave birth to Chloe, she hemorrhaged and almost died. From then on, her mother always looked at her with disgust, and her father, who doted on his wife, saw her as a jinx.

At the age of five, she was sent to live with a nanny in the countryside.

She remembered that winter, the nanny's furnace was broken. She was shivering from the cold, but she didn't even have a thick cotton coat.

Meanwhile, Berkley was in a warm mansion, wearing an expensive wool dress, cherished and spoiled by their parents.

Eighteen years of different treatment had long since worn away any expectation she had for family affection.

Now, in just one month, she would get the thirty million for playing the part of Berkley for the past three years, leave this city, and live a life that was truly her own.

As she was enjoying the moment, her phone vibrated, the caller ID flashing on the screen.

Adrian.

She took a deep breath and answered, "Hello?"

"Bring some tampons to Midnight Lounge in twenty minutes."

Adrian's voice was as cold as ice. "The overnight kind."

The call ended with a click. Chloe stared at the screen for a few seconds, then understood immediately. They were for Sophia.

Adrian remembered Sophia's period more clearly than his company's IPO date.

Outside, rain poured down in sheets.. The drive from the Blackwood family mansion to The Midnight Lounge normally took at least forty minutes.

But Chloe grabbed an umbrella and went out anyway.

The traffic came to a dead stop halfway there. She checked her watch—twelve minutes left. Gritting her teeth, she pushed the car door open and ran into the rain.

The rain quickly soaked through her clothes. Her high heels slipped several times on the slick pavement, and with a stumble, she fell hard into a puddle, her knee stinging with pain.

But she couldn't worry about that. She got up and kept running, finally arriving at the club in the nineteenth minute.

At the door of the private room, just as she was about to knock, a burst of laughter came from inside.

"Adrian, seriously? In this downpour, you really made your wife bring... that?

"It's at least a forty-minute drive from your place, isn't it?"

"Sophia is in a lot of pain."

Adrian's voice was flat. "She'll find a way to get here."

"True. Everyone knows your wife is crazy about you.

"For the past three years, even with someone else in your heart, she's stayed by your side without any complaints."

Someone teased, "But seriously, Adrian, a beauty who's so crazy about you... in these three years, you haven't been tempted at all?"

The private room fell silent.

Chloe held her breath. She heard Adrian stay silent for a few seconds, and then he said:

"Between Sophia and her, I'll always choose Sophia."

Such merciless words, but Chloe wasn't sad; she was relieved. She waited for them to finish talking inside, then raised her hand to knock.

When she pushed the door open and walked in, everyone stared at her in shock.

"Holy shit, she's right on time!"

"Oh... how did she get so soaked?"

Adrian stood up, his brow furrowed. "Why are you such a mess?"

Chloe handed over the carefully protected sanitary pads. "You said you needed them within twenty minutes?

I was worried you were in a hurry, so I got out of the car and ran over."

She didn't mention the fall she took, nor did she say her knee was trembling with pain.

Adrian's expression shifted. He suddenly took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her. "Put this on."

Then he pointed to the sanitary products in her hand. "Take them to the women's restroom."

Chloe nodded and obediently walked to the restroom.

As she knocked, she heard Sophia's delicate voice from inside. "Who is it?"

“Your things,” Chloe replied.

There was silence for a few seconds, then the door opened a crack. Chloe handed the items in and turned to leave.

Back home, she took a hot shower, the cut on her knee aching faintly.

Lying in bed, she thought about how she would soon be completely free, feeling an indescribable sense of relief.

She had almost drifted to sleep when the bedroom door suddenly slammed open.

Adrian rushed in and grabbed her by the wrist. "Get up!"

Before Chloe could react, she was violently dragged out of bed and stumbled as she was pulled to the top of the stairs.

"Adrian?

What are you do—"

Before she could finish, a massive force hit her. She fell backward, her head slamming hard against a step as she tumbled all the way down the stairs.

Excruciating pain instantly shot through her entire body.

She lay at the bottom of the stairs, her vision blurry, as a warm liquid trickled down from her forehead.

"Why..." she struggled to prop herself up, "are you doing this... to me?"

Adrian stood at the top of the stairs, his expression obscured by the backlight, but his voice was bone-chillingly cold:

"Did you push Sophia?"

Chloe looked up blankly. "What?"

"Stop pretending!"

He walked down the stairs step by step. "You've been pretending to be magnanimous these past few months, just waiting for today, weren't you?

Do you have any idea that you pushed Sophia from the window ledge, causing her to break bones all over her body and nearly die!"

"I didn't..." she shook her head weakly, but the movement aggravated the wound on her head, and a wave of dizziness washed over her.

Adrian crouched down and grabbed her chin. "Berkley, has my kindness to you these past few years given you the wrong idea?

I'll tell you again, ours is just a strategic marriage. There are no feelings involved."

He leaned close to her ear, enunciating each word. "The love you want—I’ll never give it to you!"

Chloe's vision went black from the pain, and she suddenly wanted to laugh.

But she had never... wanted his love in the first place.

Just as Chloe was about to speak, Adrian, with a cold expression, yanked her to her feet.

"What are you pretending for?"

His voice was as cold as ice. "Sophia fell from the fifth floor. You just tumbled down from the second."

"Get up and go to the hospital to apologize to her."

He dragged her out without hesitation, ignoring the blood running down her face, ignoring how the wound on her knee had split open again. Each step sent a sharp stab of pain through her body.

Chloe was forcefully shoved into the car, remaining silent the entire way.

She watched the scenery fly by outside the window, thinking only, just endure a little longer.

Just hold on. It’ll all be over soon.

In the hospital room, Sophia was weakly propped up against the headboard, her face pale and a bandage wrapped around her wrist.

The moment she saw Chloe, she flinched, and her eyes instantly turned red.

"Adrian..." Her voice trembled, like a frightened deer. "I-I don't want to see her..."

Adrian immediately stepped forward, gently taking her hand. "Don't be afraid. I'm here. No one will dare to bully you."

After speaking, he turned and looked coldly at Chloe. "What are you standing there for?

Apologize."

Chloe looked exhausted, yet unusually calm.

She stared straight at Sophia and asked softly, "Miss Padilla, when you fell from the windowsill, did I really push you?"

Sophia's eyelashes fluttered, and tears instantly fell. "Ifyou doesn't want to apologize, then forget it. I never intended to cause you trouble anyway."

She sobbed, her voice filled with grievance. "I know Adrian has been with me these past few days. It's normal for you to be upset.

But your relationship was just a strategic marriage. He doesn't love you. If it weren't for our mismatched family status, he wouldn't belong to you..."

The more she spoke, the harder she cried, and Adrian's expression grew darker.

"Berkley !"

He cut her off sharply. "I told you to come here to apologize, not to provoke her!

Are you going to apologize or not?"

Chloe closed her eyes.

She knew Sophia was framing her.

But... she was leaving soon.

She couldn't let the cooperation between the two families have any problems. Otherwise, she wouldn't get the thirty million, nor would she get her freedom.

"I'm sorry."

she said softly, "I was wrong."

After saying that, she turned to leave.

"Stop."

Adrian called out to her coldly. "Since you're the one who pushed her, you'll stay and take care of her until she's discharged from the hospital."

Chloe's fingertips curled slightly. In the end, she still nodded. "Okay."

In the following days, Chloe never left Sophia's hospital room.

Adrian practically lived at the hospital too, abandoning all company matters to personally feed Sophia oatmeal, wipe her hands, and coax her to sleep...

These were things he had never done for Chloe.

But Chloe never got jealous. She just quietly stayed by the side, taking care of Sophia, her expression calm, as if none of it had anything to do with her.

The nurses gossiped among themselves.

"Oh my god, I've never seen such a magnanimous wife!"

"You don't get it. This is the highest form of love."

Another nurse sighed, "Because she loves him so much, she's even willing to take care of the person he likes, just hoping he'll spare her a glance. It's so pitiful."

These words happened to be overheard by Adrian as he passed by.

He paused, his gaze unconsciously falling on the slender figure inside the hospital room.

Chloe was looking down, carefully peeling an apple, her side profile quiet and docile.

A strange feeling inexplicably arose in Adrian's heart.

The day Sophia was discharged, Adrian said directly to Chloe, "“I’ll be taking Sophia on a trip for the next few days. Don’t reach out unless it’s important."

Chloe nodded. "Okay."

Watching his back as he led Sophia away, she actually felt a sense of relief.

Finally, she didn't have to face them anymore.

Back home, she began to pack her bags, preparing for her departure soon.

A few days later, she scrolled through Sophia's moments.

Adrian had taken her to the Maldives, made a blank-check bid for her at an auction, and spent a fortune to buy the jewelry she liked...

Chloe only glanced at it before calmly scrolling past.

She didn't care.

She had never cared.

Chapter 3

A week later, the Blackwood family's monthly dinner was held as usual.

Adrian wasn't there, so Chloe had to attend alone.

The moment Mrs. Blackwood saw her, her face darkened. "Where's Adrian?"

Chloe lowered her eyes. "He's busy. He can't come back for now."

Mrs. Blackwood sneered and was about to speak when the butler suddenly hurried over and handed her a gossip paper.

The headline was a picture of Adrian and Sophia kissing on a yacht!

"Smack!"

Mrs. Blackwood slammed her chopsticks on the table, furious. "Berkley!

Come with me. Now!"

Once inside the study, Mrs. Blackwood commanded sharply, "Kneel!"

Chloe knelt in silence.

"Useless!

You can't even keep your own husband in line!"

Mrs. Blackwood was trembling with rage. "I'll give you two choices now. Either call him back immediately, or... face the family disciplinary punishment!"

Chloe's eyelashes trembled.

She knew that even if she called, Adrian wouldn't come back.

And she couldn't disturb his time with the one he loved. If he got angry, the partnership between their two families would likely be in jeopardy.

"I’ll take the punishment."

She said softly.

Mrs. Blackwood flew into a rage. "What did you say?!

"

"I’ll take the punishment."

Chloe looked up, her eyes calm. "Go ahead and hit me."

Mrs. Blackwood's face was ashen with anger. She grabbed a whip from the wall and struck her hard across the back!

"Will you call him now?!

"

"Crack!"

"Will you?!

"

"Crack!"

Chloe bit her lip hard, a burning pain spreading across her back, but she just kept shaking her head.

Finally, the pain became so intense that her vision went black, and she passed out.

When she woke up again, she was lying face down on a hospital bed, her back covered in bandages.

And Adrian was sitting by her bed, his brow furrowed.

"My mother gave you a hard time. Why didn't you call me back?"

he asked coldly.

Chloe gave a weak smile. "I didn't want to interrupt your date with Miss."

Adrian froze.

He stared at her pale face, and what the nurse had said came back to him.

"Because she loves Mr. Blackwood so much, she's even willing to take care of the person he likes..."

She... loves him that much?

Loves him enough to take a punishment herself rather than disturb him?

That strange feeling in Adrian's heart grew stronger.

For the next few days, he did something he'd never done before and stayed at the hospital to take care of her.

Chloe said he didn't have to, but he didn't leave.

On the day she was discharged, Adrian got a call about an urgent matter at the company and had to go to a meeting.

"Go back on your own."

He said this and turned to leave.

Chloe nodded and slowly walked out of the hospital.

Just as she got to the bottom of the steps, she accidentally bumped into someone.

"Are you blind?!

"

The person started yelling, "Do you have any idea how expensive this outfit is?

You look like a beggar, can you even afford to pay for it?!

"

Just as Chloe was about to apologize, a cold, sharp voice cut in from behind her.

"Get lost."

Adrian had gotten out of his car at some point and threw a wad of cash in the person's face. "Is this enough?"

The person was about to get angry, but after seeing Adrian's clothes and his commanding presence, they scurried away in embarrassment.

Adrian gave Chloe a cold glance. "Berkley, did the Evans family and the Blackwood family not give you any money?

For you to be dressed like this?"

Chloe was silent.

The Evans family had never given her any money. And although the Blackwood family had a black card, she never used it, since she wasn't the real Mrs. Blackwood.

When she didn't say anything, a strange anger flared up in Adrian, and he just pulled her into the car.

"We're going shopping for clothes."

At the mall, Adrian picked out several designer outfits for her, each one costing a fortune.

Chloe quietly went along with it the whole time, like an emotionless puppet on a string.

But just as they were walking out of the mall.

"Adrian?"

A trembling voice called out.

Chloe looked up and saw Sophia standing not far away, still in her part-time waitress uniform.

Her eyes were red as she stared at them in disbelief, "Didn't you say you were in a meeting at the office?"

"Sophia..." Adrian's expression faltered.

"You don't have to love me..." Sophia's tears started to fall. "But how could you lie to me?

I shouldn't have come back. I'm interrupting you..."

With that, she turned and ran.

"Sophia!"

Adrian immediately ran after her.

Chloe stood still, watching his retreating back, her heart perfectly calm.

But in the next second—

"Crash!"

A loud crash!

Glass from high up on the mall suddenly shattered, falling right on Sophia's head!

She didn't even make a sound before collapsing into a pool of blood...

Chapter 4

Adrian's face paled as he rushed forward, scooped up the unconscious Sophia, and ran for the hospital without looking back.

Chloe stood frozen, her fingers curling slightly, but in the end, she followed them.

Under the cold, fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor, the red Operating sign stayed lit.

Adrian stood outside the door, his suit stained with Sophia's blood, a rare hint of anxiety on his usually calm and composed face.

Chloe sat quietly to the side, saying nothing.

The operating room door burst open, and a doctor hurried out. "We have a problem. The patient is hemorrhaging and needs an emergency transfusion, but she's RH-negative, and the blood bank is critically low!"

Adrian's brow furrowed, and just as he was about to speak, Chloe stood up. "I'm RH-negative. I can give her blood."

Adrian whipped his head around to look at her, a flash of shock in his eyes.

Chloe met his gaze calmly. "Saving a life is more important."

She followed the nurse to have her blood drawn?

?

400cc of blood flowed slowly from her veins. Her face grew pale, but her eyes stayed steady, clear.

Adrian stood to the side, watching the needle in her slender arm, and that strange feeling in his heart grew stronger.

Just... how much did she like him?

After giving blood, Chloe walked out pressing a cotton ball to her arm and saw Adrian still standing motionless outside the operating room.

She hesitated for a moment, then walked over and said softly, "Don't worry, she'll be fine."

Adrian looked up at her, his voice a little hoarse. "You haven't left?"

Chloe shook her head. She has the wrong idea about us. I need to explain things to her when she wakes up."

Adrian stared at her pale face and suddenly asked, "Do you really like me that much?"

Chloe froze.

Just as she was about to speak, the operating room door opened again, and the doctor came out. "The surgery was a success. The patient will wake up once the anesthesia wears off."

Adrian's tense shoulders finally relaxed.

Chloe silently stepped aside and said no more.

A few hours later, Sophia woke up.

The moment she saw Chloe standing by the bed, her eyes instantly filled with tears. "Adrian, did you bring her here again so I could bless you two?"

Chloe quickly took a step forward and explained softly, "Miss Sophia, you've misunderstood.

Adrian really did have a meeting that day. He only took me shopping because it was on the way. It wasn’t a date, and he didn’t lie to you."

Adrian also nodded. "We're just in a strategic marriage. There are no feelings involved."

Sophia bit her lip as tears fell. "Then how will you prove it?

Prove that you don't have a single shred of feeling for her?"

Adrian frowned. "How do you want me to prove it?"

Sophia thought for a moment, then suddenly pointed out the window. "Throw her into the frozen lake."

Adrian's expression changed slightly. "Sophia..."

"You're hesitating?"

Sophia's voice trembled. "You do like her!"

Adrian was silent for a few seconds, finally sighed, and turned to wave at the bodyguards. "Throw her into the lake."

Chloe's pupils contracted.

She knew he would do anything for Sophia, but she never thought he could be this cruel.

But she couldn't fight back.

She had to endure it.

The bodyguards dragged her outside. Adrian stood still, his expression unreadable.

The water of the frozen lake was bone-chilling.

The moment Chloe was pushed in, she almost suffocated.

The icy water rushed into her nose, making her limbs go numb from the cold.

She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay afloat, but her body kept sinking uncontrollably.

The guards watched from the shore, their faces expressionless. Not one of them moved.

Chloe's consciousness began to fade. In a daze, she seemed to see herself as a child.

Abandoned by her parents in the countryside, with no warm clothes in winter, shivering from the cold, she could only huddle in the nanny's woodshed for warmth.

In her entire life, no one had ever cared about her.

After an unknown amount of time, Chloe was finally pulled out.

Her body was freezing, her lips were blue, and she had already lost consciousness.

In a daze, she felt someone wiping her body with a hot towel, the movements uncharacteristically gentle.

She subconsciously grabbed that hand and murmured, "Just endure a little longer... I can leave soon..."

The next moment, the hand suddenly gripped hers back, the force so strong it could almost crush her bones.

"Leave? What leave?!

"

Adrian's voice was as cold as ice.