Chapter 1

When I registered my son—Alfie Leighton—at an elite school, I discovered that my marriage was nothing but an outrageous farce.

"Apologies, ma'am. Your marital status is single according to our records."

"That can't be right. I've been married to my husband, Chandler Leighton, for seven years!" I protested in disbelief, but the parents behind me started muttering impatiently.

"Chandler Leighton? She's got nerve."

"How naive she is to think that a fake certificate will get her kid into this school."

"Whose mistress is this? Get her out already; I'm in a hurry to register my daughter!"

Clearly annoyed, the staff repeated. "Ma'am, without legal proof of family relations, you can't continue holding up the line."

I had no choice but to leave and head over to the local city hall to check. The records said the same thing—that my marriage status column stated "Single".

Refusing to believe it, I asked, "Who's listed as Chandler Leighton's legal wife?"

The staff glanced at the screen and flatly uttered a name, "Heather Hammington."

My hands clenched around the forged marriage certificate I'd carried for years, my vision swimming as I could barely keep my balance.

Heather Hammington… Of course, I knew that name.

During the third year of my marriage with Chandler, I returned early after a month's business trip and didn't tell him. I'd been planning a surprise, and it never occurred to me that I'd walk in on him kissing an unfamiliar woman in his office.

She was the new intern at his company—Heather Hammington.

When I exploded, Chandler looked stricken and even fell to his knees to beg for forgiveness. He claimed he was drunk and had mistaken her for me.

For six whole months, he pestered me relentlessly and repeatedly swore that he'd have no further contact with Heather. That was when I eventually forgave him.

Later, Heather was fired and went abroad, and I never heard anything about her again.

I thought everything had finally returned to normal, but I never imagined the entire marriage was a lie from the very start.

I drove home as fast as I could, needing to confront Chandler and demand why he'd done this to me. But before I could open the bedroom door, I heard voices inside.

"It's been seven years, Mr. Leighton. Aren't you going to give Mrs. Leighton a legal status?"

My hand froze mid-air. It was the voice of Chandler's most trusted butler, Gordon Dariel.

After a long silence, Chandler's voice finally followed. "Just a little longer. Heather lost both her parents, and I'm the only one who can help her now. She needs this status."

"But what if Mrs. Leighton finds out?"

Chandler replied, "Doesn't matter. Danielle loves me so much, and Alfie's all grown up. She'd never leave me, even if it's just for our son.

"Once Heather has secured her footing in the business world, I'll give Danielle a true marriage certificate."

He spoke with such certainty, never realizing I was standing outside the door, tears streaming down my face. It seemed that every step of it had been calculated. My love for him and Alfie was nothing more than his bargaining chips.

I quietly stepped away, then took out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't touched in years.

"Mom, I accept the Atwoods' marriage arrangement."