Chapter 1

“Sign it!” Darius Blackwell’s voice was flat and cold.

The divorce papers lay on the table.

Lenora Whitmore stared blankly at the several sheets of paper before her, as if the neatly printed words required more time for her mind to comprehend. The five years of marriage she had spent with Darius Blackwell could apparently be ended with nothing more than a few sheets of documents.

Across the table, Darius stood with an emotionless expression. The man had just lost his grandfather, yet the old man’s death had become the reason Darius finally dared to let go of a marriage he had never wanted from the beginning.

As long as the old man was alive, Darius had never dared to make that decision because their marriage had been one of his grandfather’s greatest wishes. But once the funeral was over, there was no longer any reason for Darius to maintain a relationship that, in his opinion, had long since lost its meaning.

Lenora was still wearing mourning clothes when she sat before the divorce papers. The black dress wrapped around her body still held a little moisture from the rain, while the white headband on her head made her round, pale face look even more contrasted. Her eyes were swollen after crying too much since morning.

That day was supposed to be nothing more than the day the Blackwell family sent someone they loved to his final resting place.

Yet the old man’s death had brought something far greater than just loss.

That morning, the cemetery grounds were still wet from the rain when the old man’s coffin was slowly lowered into the grave. People stood dressed in black, some lowering their heads, others wiping away their tears, while the sound of rain falling against umbrellas and trees was the only thing filling the cemetery.

Lenora stood not far from Darius.

For years, she had always tried to fulfill her role as a wife as well as she could. Therefore, losing Darius’s grandfather still hurt her deeply. The old man was the only member of the Blackwell family who had never judged her based on her body, appearance, or shortcomings. Among everyone in that family, he was the only one who made Lenora feel that her existence as Darius’s wife was truly valued.

But on the old man’s final day, Lenora’s attention was drawn to a sight that hurt far more.

Corinne Bellamy had been standing beside Darius since the beginning of the funeral. With her long, wavy hair and black dress that followed the curves of her body, the woman looked beautiful even in the midst of mourning. Her body trembled several times as she struggled to hold back her sobs, until Darius pulled her closer, making the two of them look incredibly intimate among the crowd.

Darius wiped Corinne’s tears with a tissue, then held an umbrella over her to protect her from the rain. The attention the man gave her seemed so natural, as if he were already accustomed to taking care of his adopted sister and had never once minded doing so.

Lenora could only stand where she was and watch everything.

No one came to wipe away her tears. No hand wrapped around her body when her shoulders trembled from crying. No umbrella was deliberately tilted to protect her from the rain.

Even when Darius finally noticed her, the look in his eyes was filled with displeasure at the tears still wetting her face.

Lenora knew that, to Darius, her sadness looked like an attempt to gain sympathy. Yet for five years, she had grown far too accustomed to swallowing all her sadness alone.

That was how their marriage had been from the beginning.

They had lived together for years, but had never truly been a married couple. Every morning, Lenora and Darius had breakfast with his grandfather. Afterward, they went to the office in the same car. There were no light conversations like those shared by other couples, no hand-holding or small gestures of affection that usually existed between husbands and wives. They simply sat beside each other on the way to work, like two colleagues who happened to have the same destination.

Once they arrived at the office, their lives seemed even simpler.

Lenora worked as a project manager and always completed her responsibilities professionally. Darius was busy managing the company as the CEO and heir of Blackwell Company. Whenever there was a problem they had to solve together, they would sit in the same room, discuss the matter calmly, determine the best decision, and then return to their respective duties.

There was never any discussion about feelings. There were never the typical arguments of a married couple. There was never any affection.

Even when they returned home together at night, they only ate dinner as necessary before entering their bedroom. They slept in the same bed with their backs turned toward each other. Darius always took the right side, while Lenora stayed on the opposite side.

There was always a distance between their bodies. And for five years, that distance had never truly disappeared. They had never embraced.

Even simple skin-to-skin contact almost never happened.

They had the status of husband and wife, but their relationship was more like that of two colleagues who happened to live under the same roof. Five years had passed like that until today.

Lenora looked at the divorce papers before her again while Darius remained standing across the table with a cold expression.

“Grandfather is dead. There is no reason for me to maintain this marriage anymore,” Darius repeated firmly.

The words brought Lenora back to reality. She slowly raised her face.

“So, because Grandfather is gone, I’m no longer needed either?”

Darius did not answer. His silence was enough of an answer.

Lenora fell silent. The sentence was simple, but it felt like something had struck her directly in the chest.

She had known Darius did not love her. She knew the man had never considered their marriage something he wanted. Yet hearing Darius say it directly still felt different. Her heart ached even though she had known from the beginning that this day would come.

Lenora lowered her head and looked at the divorce papers once more. Her chest felt tight, but she refused to let her tears fall again.

Darius picked up a pen and placed it on the document.

“Sign it right now!” Darius ordered coldly.

Lenora did not move.

“We just attended your grandfather’s funeral. His grave is still wet, and this is what you want to talk to me about?”

Darius began to lose his patience. “Lenora, don’t make this more difficult.”

Lenora finally raised her hand, but not to take the pen. Instead, she closed the folder and pulled it away.

“I’m not going to sign it until I find out the proper reason.”

Darius’s eyes immediately turned sharp. “What?”

“I said I’m not going to sign it.”

“Lenora.” Darius’s tone became a warning.

Yet Lenora simply closed the folder and pushed it back. Then she stood straight. There was no fear in her eyes.

“You’ve already made your decision. I understand that. But that doesn’t mean I have to sign it whenever you want me to. I sacrificed everything I had for five years, and I can’t accept the fact that you won’t even give me a proper reason!”

Darius walked around the table and stared at her sharply.

His voice was low. “Don’t play games with me, Lenora. There’s no one left to protect you. Or perhaps you should dig up that wet grave and hide inside it?”

Lenora continued standing straight before Darius without trying to avoid his gaze as he moved closer.

“Don’t make me lose my patience. Sign it!”

“No!” Lenora retorted, reaching for the documents as if she intended to tear them apart.

Seeing Lenora’s movement, Darius hurriedly reached out to take the documents back. At the same time, Lenora tried to hide the same folder behind her back. Their movements collided, causing Lenora to lose her balance.

“Ah!” Lenora cried out.

Instinctively, Darius caught her by the waist.

Darius’s body was pushed forward until one of his palms pressed against the surface of the table, while Lenora was trapped within his arms.

Their eyes met, and both of them froze. Neither said a word.

For a moment, the room became utterly silent.

Darius’s hand was still around Lenora’s waist. Their skin was touching.

It was only a simple touch, yet for some reason, Darius’s body stiffened and reacted.

Five years!

For five years, they had slept in the same bed without ever touching each other. For five years, they had lived like two colleagues who happened to be bound by a marriage certificate. Even on nights when they were so close to each other, there had always been a distance they deliberately maintained.

Yet now, Lenora’s body was truly in his arms.

Darius could feel the warmth of her body through the clothes she wore. A fresh scent that awakened something wild within him.

Darius felt strangely unsettled and knew that he should let her go immediately.

But for several seconds, his hand did not move.

Lenora did not dare to move either. She could feel Darius’s breath near her neck, making her heart beat faster. All this time, she had always thought she was accustomed to the man’s presence, but only now did she realize that physical closeness like this was truly foreign to them.

Lenora’s eyes kept blinking as she stared at her handsome husband, whose appearance she had always admired from afar as well as up close.

Darius’s gaze slowly traveled down Lenora’s face and then toward the line of her chest visible beneath her dress.

For some reason, for the first time, he did not see his wife as the woman he had always considered too fat and unattractive.

He only saw a woman standing so close to him.

And the strange feeling that arose within him left Darius himself unable to understand it until the door suddenly opened.

“Darius...”

The voice of the woman who had just entered made him come to his senses.