Chapter 1

I lazily watched the numbers climbing on my phone screen.

The story about me had quickly overshadowed the rumors surrounding Katrina Salt and her new lover. It shot straight to the top of the trending charts and stayed there.

Less than an hour later, Katrina stormed through the door.

She marched straight up to me, snatched the wineglass from my hand, and smashed it hard against the floor.

"Felix Jaeger, how could you be so shameless?"

She was absolutely livid. "How dare you associate with those lowly women?"

I laughed mockingly and looked up at her. "And are you any better? If you counted every man who's been in your bed, you'd have enough for a whole soccer team. You knew I hated Eason Cooper, and you still slept with him."

I lifted my chin, and my smile turned even frostier. "I'm just paying you back in kind. Just so we're clear, I've slept with every woman here."

"Get out! All of you, get out!" Katrina screamed in fury.

The bodyguards behind her immediately shoved all the women out of the room.

Her cold gaze settled on me as if she were looking at an expensive possession that had been soiled.

She commanded, "Strip him."

Two bodyguards stepped forward and tore off my clothes roughly.

"Wash him clean with ice water."

Freezing water mixed with chunks of ice was poured over my head. The sudden cold made me jerk violently. My muscles cramped uncontrollably, and my teeth chattered.

One bucket, and then another followed.

The icy water left me freezing and miserable. I was soaked and utterly humiliated. Still, none of it came close to the pain I felt inside.

Through the blurred curtain of water, I saw Katrina standing a short distance away. She watched my pathetic, disheveled state with a cold, grim expression.

Katrina sneered, "Don't test my patience, Felix. This had better be the last time. Don't forget your place as the Salt family's live-in son-in-law."

I choked on the water and broke into uncontrollable laughter. The laughter was harsh and almost manic.

She kept stressing that I should know my "place" as her husband and watch her bring back one lover after another. At the same time, I had to keep a straight face and cover for her, pretending I didn't care. I even had to play the part of a loving husband before the media.

When I was younger, I had been miserable and stubborn. Whenever a man started showing up beside her, I desperately tried to drive him away. But the moment I got rid of one, another took his place. There was never an end to them.

I'd almost forgotten that we'd once gotten together because we loved each other.

Katrina looked at my crazed state with displeasure and warned me again. "Someone of your background should consider it the greatest stroke of luck just to marry into the Salt family. You'd better learn to be grateful. If you make me angry, your good days will be over."

Our families had been worlds apart in status. She had once fought with her family for a long time just to be with me. To get her father to approve our marriage, she'd knelt outside their private chapel for three whole days. She'd nearly wrecked her knees that time.

She had held me in her arms and said, "Felix, for you, anything is worth it."

I had compromised for her, too. I gave up a full scholarship and the chance to pursue my studies abroad. I willingly signed that brutally restrictive agreement and became the Salt family's live-in son-in-law.