Chapter 1

My best friend, Zach Taylor, was complaining to me again. He said his girlfriend had a crazy high sex drive and he could barely keep up with her in bed.

I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Because my own fiancée, Chloe Vance, was completely ice-cold. She absolutely detested intimacy.

Years ago, Chloe was assaulted, leaving her with severe psychological trauma. Ever since, she panicked whenever a man touched her.

I loved her, so I respected her boundaries and locked my own desires away.

Today was Zach's wedding day.

He asked me to take the ten-carat diamond ring he'd prepared and deliver it to his bride in the bridal suite.

As I walked in, I saw a familiar back sitting in front of the vanity mirror, wearing a stunning white lace wedding dress.

When my eyes locked onto the butterfly tattoo on her shoulder blade, my entire body went numb.

I could never mistake it. Zach's bride was none other than my frigid fiancée, Chloe.

Sitting next to her was our mutual friend, Ashley. "Chloe, are you really going through with this? If Ethan finds out, he's going to lose his mind."

Chloe paused, a flash of pain crossing her eyes before instantly vanishing. "He's in New York, thousands of miles away. My assistant locked down all the media channels. He won't hear a single rumor."

Ashley panicked. "But you can only have one legal husband! What about your five years with Ethan?"

"We won't divorce because Ethan and I never legally registered our marriage at City Hall. The papers we signed were fake."

Chloe's voice was bone-chillingly cold.

I leaned against the hallway wall, clutching the ring box so hard that the metal edges cut deep into my palm.

Drip. Drip.

Fresh blood splattered onto the marble floor.

She admitted it. Our marriage was a lie.

What did those five years of romance, surprises, and devotion even mean to her?

Chloe's expression softened into something tender as she continued. "Years ago, when I was drugged at that party, I ended up in Zach's bed by mistake. I got pregnant with his child. I couldn't let our daughter grow up without a father."

I moved, slipping the ring box into my pocket.

The two people I trusted most in this world had been sleeping together behind my back, and they had a four-year-old child to show for it.

I wanted to storm in. I wanted to tear those two cheaters apart.

But Chloe's next words stripped away any right I had to complain.

"When Victoria found out about Zach and me, I thought she would hate me for betraying Ethan," Chloe murmured, her eyes shimmering with emotion. "But instead, she thanked me. Because of this, she found her biological son. Zach is the real heir to the Reynolds family. Ethan has been living high on the hog in Zach's place for over twenty years, while Zach was suffering out there. Zach was the one who was supposed to be my childhood sweetheart. He was the one who was supposed to live this luxury life with me."

Ashley was stunned. "Then what about Ethan? You're just going to throw him away like trash?"

"He only got to be with me because he stole Zach's identity. All I feel for him now is a bit of pity..."

As Chloe's voice drifted off, I clenched my teeth so hard they nearly shattered.

The words *child of a fraud* and *thief who stole a life* echoed relentlessly in my head.

I turned and walked out of the wedding venue. Behind me, the minister was starting the vows.

I paused, my footsteps dragging.

At our commitment ceremony years ago, Chloe's father had thought she hated the arranged marriage with me and tried to swap the groom. When Chloe realized it wasn't me at the altar, she had thrown a massive tantrum, chasing me all the way to London to beg me back.

It was the same grandeur, the same luxury cars, the same church.

But today, the man she was marrying was someone else.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

It was a text from Victoria.

*"Ethan, there's something I've kept from you for a long time... You were switched at birth. My real son is refusing to return home. He says he will only come back if you pack your things and go back to your biological parents."*

My throat tightened as I watched the stage. My finger hovered over the screen.

On stage, Zach was sliding the ring onto Chloe's finger.

She held Zach's arm, and as she looked out at the crowd, she finally spotted me. Her face paled, and she quickly rushed down the aisle toward me. "Ethan, don't get the wrong idea. Zach was being forced by his family to marry a twice-divorced, ugly older woman. I only did this to save him. I didn't want you to watch your best friend get miserable."

Her excuse was pathetic.

Seeing her standing up there, softly accepting another man's kiss on her forehead, compared to the countless nights she had recoiled from my touch... It was a sickening joke.

Noticing how white my face was, Chloe dragged me into the dressing room.

She poured some of my heart medication into her palm and held it out. "Ethan, you look terrible. Take this."

I didn't take it. The pills slipped through her fingers, scattering all over the floor.

"Chloe, those nights you refused to sleep in my bed... was it really because of your PTSD? Or did I just disgust you?"

My voice shook violently, my chest heaving.

I wanted an answer. I wanted her to admit she had loved me, to admit her physical rejection wasn't because of who I was.

Suddenly, a little boy rushed out from behind the rack, shoving me hard against the wall. "Bad man! Don't hurt my mommy!"

I stumbled backward, my head slamming hard against the sharp edge of the window sill. A warm liquid instantly flowed down my forehead, staining my white collar crimson.

The little boy sat on the floor, wailing.

Chloe's hand, which had instinctively reached out to catch me, froze. She pulled her hand back and scooped the boy into her arms. "Ethan! No matter how angry you are, you can't take it out on a child!"

I leaned against the wall to steady myself, looking at the two of them. My head had never been clearer.

I tapped my screen and sent the reply to Victoria.

*"I understand. I'll swap back. I'll pack my things and move out within a week."*