Chapter 2

"Julian, Caleb and I have talked it over. After the wedding's public attention dies down, we'll announce our 'breakup.' In a year at most, I'll tell everyone that you're my real partner."

"Everything I'm doing now is for our better future, don't you see?"

Seraphina probably sensed my mood was off and tried to salvage things. But I just found it utterly absurd. I was her rightful partner, yet I was hiding in the shadows, waiting for my wife to grant me official recognition. For her colleague, Caleb, Seraphina always went out of her way to ensure he was treated with the utmost respect.

When she and Caleb first started pretending to be a couple for publicity, he was a newcomer working with the famous actress, and many fans couldn't accept it, attacking him online. Seraphina then made a classic public defense, taking everyone who insulted Caleb to court. At a gala dinner, reporters pressed them about their relationship. Seraphina just smiled, then turned and kissed Caleb under a flurry of flashbulbs. The entire venue erupted.

And I, as her assistant, watched from below as my own wife kissed another man.

Later, Seraphina explained to me that it was "just a script" arranged by the company. But similar "scripts" kept piling up. They were inseparable in public, always together. Even at private gatherings with mutual friends, she stopped bringing me along. Gradually, even our shared friends started to think Seraphina and Caleb were the perfect match.

I felt wronged and pained, but Seraphina would always tell me not to care about other people's opinions, emphasizing that I was her legal partner.

"Julian, I know you've endured a lot of hardship with me these past few years. I don't want it to be like this either."

"Darling, please don't be angry, okay?"

Seeing my silence, Seraphina slowly moved closer, intending to kiss my forehead. She gazed at me deeply, as if in that moment, only I existed in her eyes. Many times before, I had been swayed by those soulful eyes, softening my resolve again and again, continuing to endure. I'd forgotten she was an actress; she could look deeply into anyone's eyes.

"I'm tired. Let's just sleep." As she leaned in, I turned my back to lie down. Seraphina raised an eyebrow, a little surprised, then lay down herself, wrapping an arm around me.

The simple ring on my ring finger lightly brushed against the one on her hand, making a faint click in the darkness. The sound vanished as quickly as it appeared. I lay in the dark, lost in thought.

When I met Seraphina, I was scouting film projects for my company at a studio lot. She was an extra, only getting roles as a corpse or a stunt double who got beaten up. Once, Seraphina offended an assistant director and was deliberately tormented, filming a beating scene twenty times. When I found her, she was sitting alone in the shadows, covered in bruises, looking so lonely and pathetic.

I brought her home, meticulously cared for her, and used my connections to help her get opportunities. But at first, Seraphina always thought I, a rich kid, was just temporarily amused, and she never gave me a kind look. Until one time, to help her secure a role with lines, I endured severe stomach pain and drank too much, eventually passing out at the dinner table. When I woke up, Seraphina was by my bedside, her eyes red, her body still trembling with fright.

"Julian, when I saw you in the hospital, I suddenly got so scared..."

I was a bit helpless. "Scared of what?"

"Scared of you leaving me."

After saying that, Seraphina paused, then seemed to understand something. She lifted her deep, captivating eyes and said earnestly, "Julian, I think... I've fallen in love with you."

From then on, she became incredibly attentive to me, working tirelessly on her acting. And I voluntarily stepped away from my family business, becoming her personal assistant, handling all her complicated affairs.

Soon after, Seraphina proposed to me. She saved money for six months to buy me a branded ring. Though it had no diamond, I, submerged in love, was deeply touched.

I wore that ring close to me for three years until I passed by that brand's store one day. On a whim, I went in to inquire, only to be told by the sales clerk that the ring I was wearing was a fake, not even a decent replica.

Meanwhile, Caleb? Over these three years, Seraphina had personally bought him countless designer gifts, their value immeasurable. And me? All I had was this fake ring.

The memories faded, and I felt a wave of nausea, instinctively wanting to remove the ridiculous ring on my ring finger. The moment I stirred, Seraphina seemed to sense it and held me even tighter.

"Don't move," she mumbled groggily. "Caleb…"

A sharp pain seized my chest, and I curled up in agony. Even though the person beside me breathed warmly, I felt only a chilling coldness, so cold that my heart went numb, almost suffocating.