3

It was raining outside.

I had called Zac several times, but he didn't answer.

Just as I was about to send a message, he called me back.

I pressed the answer button, but before I could speak, a woman's voice came from the other end.

"Zee, I said the wrong thing today, I shouldn't have responded to the reporters. I'm sorry."

I paused for a moment; it was Stella.

Before I could react, Zac's voice came through.

"Stella, you don't need to apologize. These years, I've made you suffer. You know, the person I've always loved is you."

I stared at the phone in astonishment.

Until there was silence on the other end, followed by uncomfortable and ambiguous sounds.

Over the past two years, I have witnessed countless such scenes.

It was Zac who had initially proposed the business alliance marriage.

Two years ago, my father's company faced betrayal, and the financial stability suddenly crumbled. Panic and unrest gripped everyone in the company.

It was Zac who extended a helping hand to assist the Quinn Group in overcoming the crisis.

Everyone thought it was just family members helping each other out.

Only I knew that it was merely a transaction.

The day before Zac offered his help, he approached me.

"Do you like me?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied without hesitation. I did like him, and all our friends knew it. However, Stella's appearance turned this open affection into a hidden one.

He stood in front of me, staring directly into my eyes. His expression was no longer the same as when we were children, and his tone was as cold as a gentle rain.

"Will you marry me?" he asked.

I lowered my head and remained silent, knowing that he hadn't finished speaking.

"I can help the Quinn family get through this difficult time, but the condition for my help is that you marry me and deal with my mother.

"I can give you anything you want, except love."

I lightly curved my lips, letting out a bitter smile. He was marrying me not out of love, but out of necessity.

Initially, when Zac returned to the country with Stella, his mom vehemently opposed their relationship.

Even when Zac lowered his head to plead, his mom didn't budge an inch.

I had heard from his foreign friends that he and Stella Williams had met at a bar overseas.

They got along very well and were great friends who could talk about anything, especially when they were abroad.

Due to an accident, Stella got injured while trying to save Zac and ended up in the hospital.

During her hospital stay, Zac took meticulous care of her.

Since then, their relationship had grown closer and had surpassed the bounds of friendship.

The night when Zac returned to the country, everyone gathered to welcome him.

When I saw Stella in that moment, all eyes in the room turned to me.

Later, I found out that Zac had told everyone about his relationship with Stella, except me.

I agreed to Zac’ proposal because in the business world, true friends who lent a helping hand in times of need were few and far between. Without the assistance of the Jacobs Group, my father's company might have truly gone bankrupt.

Apart from signing the marriage agreement, Zac and I also signed another agreement.

【Our private lives shall not interfere with each other.】

So, during these two years of marriage to Zac, I never questioned anything about his life. I didn't know when he went on business trips, where he went, or who he went with, and I had no right to know.

However, in front of our elders, he never lost his composure, always looking out for me, ensuring that my parents didn't worry about me.

In this aspect, we had a perfect understanding.

We continued to play the role of a loving couple in front of others.