Chapter 1

At my twenty-fourth birthday party, I simply offered Marta—the impoverished student my fiancé Andre had been sponsoring—a glass of wine, and she miscarried.

That day, I discovered they'd been having an affair all along.

I insisted on breaking off the engagement. Andre knelt before me, begging for forgiveness.

Under our parents' mediation, considering the five billion dollar partnership between our families, I compromised.

But unexpectedly, three days after the wedding, he got into a car accident that supposedly caused sexual dysfunction.

To save his dignity, I had to lie to everyone that I was childfree by choice, claiming I didn't want children.

Four years later, on an international reality show, I saw Andre playing games with a little boy.

It turned out Andre had secretly had a child with Marta long ago.

For four years, he'd been lying about his sexual dysfunction all along.

In that case, this arranged marriage partner could get lost.

I burst into his office intending to confront him, only to accidentally overhear him talking with a friend.

"To punish her for that one glass of wine she gave Marta, you actually faked a car accident and didn't touch her for four years. That's really something."

Andre lounged lazily in his executive chair, sneering coldly,

"Who told her to cause Marta's miscarriage back then? This is her lesson."

"Eventually when Marta's son grows up, I'm considering bringing him back and having him acknowledge her as his mother. She'll get a free son that way—she should be satisfied with that."

The conversation inside continued,

"Andre, actually Kingsley's been pretty good to you. A pampered princess, searching everywhere for famous doctors on your behalf."

"Isn't treating her this way a bit harsh?"

Andre's mocking laughter rang out,

"This is the price she pays for hurting Marta."

"So what if she's a rich heiress? Does that mean she can bully Marta? I'm just making her taste the bitterness others have suffered, so she won't spend her whole life bullying people."

His friend sighed,

"Andre, aren't you afraid she'll find out the truth and make a huge scene about divorcing you?"

Andre's gaze immediately sharpened,

"You didn't soften up and tell her, did you?"

His friend shook his head, helplessly lowering his head to sip his tea.

Andre's cold voice continued,

"I promised Marta I'd never touch Kingsley for the rest of my life, and that Marta's child would be my only heir. I can't disappoint her."

Andre's tone was full of warning, terrified of leaking even a bit of information, worried his scheme would fail and make his dear Marta sad and upset.

I couldn't help thinking of those humiliating nights, when I'd actively climb on top of him, imitating methods from porn videos to stimulate him.

What an effort it must have been for him—face flushed red, holding it in, forcibly suppressing his desire.

I stood there humiliated, listening to the conversation inside, my heart pierced by thousands of icy swords.

I wiped away my tears, turned and left, canceling the appointment I'd made for Andre with a British specialist.

The other end still asked in confusion what happened.