Chapter 1

In three years of marriage, I had been punished by Frederick Ashton one hundred times.

Every single time was because I went to see my terminally ill brother, Marcus.

He said Marcus and I were having an affair, forcing me to kneel in the snow and locking me in the basement.

Until that night, when I walked to the bedroom door carrying a glass of warm milk, I found him in bed with his adopted sister, Felicity.

"I married Vivian just to cover up our relationship, didn't I?"

It turned out he'd known all along that Marcus and I were innocent.

He was simply using my suffering to protect the person he truly cherished.

The next day, I handed him divorce papers.

He had no idea I possessed evidence of his crimes.

Vivian's POV

I was only five minutes late coming home, yet my husband stripped me naked and forced me to kneel in the snow as punishment.

The cold wind cut through me like knives as I looked up at Frederick Ashton standing on the steps in his black coat, his gaze sharp as a blade.

"There's nothing between Marcus and me. Why won't you believe me?"

Frederick looked at me coldly, his eyes devoid of anger, only calm.

"Kneel here for twelve hours, and I'll believe you."

Kneeling in the snow at ten degrees below zero for twelve hours would kill me, or at least cripple me for life.

Yet I slowly straightened my body.

"Understood. I'll prove my innocence."

I'd always known Frederick had trust issues.

In three years of marriage, I'd endured ninety-nine punishments from him-slaps across the face, confinement in the basement... And today was the hundredth time.

Every single time was because I had visited Marcus.

Marcus, the brother who had raised me from childhood.

We weren't blood-related. Two children who'd grown up together, relying on each other. Marcus treated me as his little sister, and he was my only family. But Frederick still couldn't accept it.

He forbade me from calling Marcus my brother and forced me to cut off contact with him.

But Marcus was sick now. Terminal stomach cancer. He was only five years older than me, and when we were children, he'd rather starve himself than let me go without that last piece of bread. I couldn't abandon him.

The snowy ground was damp and freezing. I trembled from the cold.

Then I suddenly remembered I hadn't brought Frederick his nightly glass of warm milk yet.

After years of marriage, this habit was carved into my bones. Frederick had once held me close and said,

"Without milk, I can't sleep well at night."

Heating up a glass of milk and then coming back to kneel should be fine, right?

So I crawled out of the snow and went to the kitchen. But when I reached the bedroom door carrying the milk, I heard two voices coming from inside.

"Being able to hold you while I sleep, this is what I've dreamed of."

"Silly girl. Why do you think I married Vivian, if not for this?"

My heart clenched. I nearly dropped the glass of milk, then immediately clamped my hand over my mouth.

What did I just hear?

Frederick was actually sleeping in the same bed with his adopted sister, Felicity Ashton!

Just like Marcus and me, Felicity had been adopted by the Ashton family as a child and grew up with Frederick.

Frederick was incredibly indulgent toward his sister. Even after our marriage, he'd moved her into his villa, her room separated from ours by just a single wall.

I never could have imagined, even in my wildest nightmares, that Frederick and Felicity were involved!

I bit down hard on my lip. Then Felicity's voice came again from inside the room.

"What if Vivian discovers us someday?"

"She won't."

Frederick's voice was decisive.

"She's too busy proving her innocence with Marcus. She doesn't have time to pay attention to us."

"So you're deliberately making her suspicious?"

"Yes." Frederick gave a soft laugh.

"I've always known she and Marcus only have ordinary sibling affection. She's incredibly naive. I'm the only one in her heart. Otherwise she wouldn't have cried when I proposed... Besides, given how much she loves me, even if she found out, she'd never leave me."

I felt a metallic sweetness in my throat. My heart felt like it was being stabbed with needles, throbbing with pain.

Three years.

How many times had I knelt on the ground swearing that Marcus and I were innocent? Even when I stripped naked, Frederick only called me filthy.

And now I discovered he'd been doing it deliberately all along!

This was too much!

Too humiliating!

I left the villa and found the nearest law office to draft divorce papers.

Afterward, I went to the hospital.

Marcus's business partner and friend, Julian, was just leaving the hospital room. He looked surprised to see me.

"Vivian, didn't you just go home? Why are you back?"

"I'm worried about Marcus."

I sniffled and forced a smile.

"Julian, don't worry about me. I'll just sit here for a while."

"That won't do. The hallway's freezing. Here, take this."

Julian handed me a warm cup of coffee, accidentally touching my hand. He immediately frowned.

"Why are you so cold?"

Without another word, he took off his wool coat and draped it over my shoulders.

The sudden warmth made me unable to suppress the ache in my nose any longer. Tears broke through like a dam.

In this world, only Marcus cared about me. Only his friend would show me concern!

Julian looked flustered when he saw me cry.

I quickly wiped away my tears.

"Julian, can you help me investigate something?"