Chapter 1

The second time they met, Sylvia Carter heard that Jason Porter never drank and disliked noisy places.

She deliberately chose a bar as their meeting spot. She danced and partied wildly right in front of him. She even picked up a glass of strong whiskey and pressed it against his lips.

She expected him to frown in displeasure. Instead, he drank it all in one go before coughing lightly from the burn. His lips didn't look so pale anymore.

Jason retrieved a white handkerchief and calmly wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Sylvia caught the cedar scent lingering on the handkerchief. It perfectly complemented the cool, woody cedar fragrance that he had.

The third time they met was at a banquet.

Sylvia's nemesis sneered sarcastically. "Sylvia is an infamous player. Who knows how many men she's slept with? She might even have some disease!

"Mr. Porter marrying her must be the worst luck imaginable."

Before Sylvia could react, Jason, who was seated at the head of the table, asked calmly, "What's your name?"

Sylvia's nemesis excitedly introduced herself. Jason nodded. "From now on, you are not welcome at any event hosted by the Porter family."

He stood up. His tall figure was imposing to say the least.

His voice wasn't loud, but it sounded irrefutable.

"Everyone here, please keep this in mind. Sylvia is the woman I chose, and she is the rightful Mrs. Porter.

"To me, she is the best person in the world."

At that moment, the sounds around them suddenly seemed to fade into the distance. Sylvia could hear nothing but the thunderous pounding of her own heart.

She accepted the marriage. Before she knew it, she had fallen hopelessly in love.

Despite being married, Jason remained perpetually calm and restrained around her. Even in bed, their intimacy was carried out with the same rigid formality as if it were business. There wasn't the slightest trace of passion or desire in his eyes.

Even after she discovered she was pregnant, Jason merely paused before saying, "Good job."

His tone was so calm that it sounded like he was offering a word of encouragement to an employee who had completed a task. There was none of the joy of a first-time father.

Sylvia still convinced herself that theirs was a marriage in which both sides had chosen each other. Jason was simply not good with words.

It wasn't until three months into her pregnancy that she witnessed the usually cold and composed Jason punching a potbellied man repeatedly. His eyes were red with fury.

She had no idea what was happening and quickly grabbed his sleeve. "He's passed out! You'll kill him!"

Jason turned around and glared at her. His voice was ice-cold. "What right do you have to stop me? Let go."

Sylvia's breath hitched. She felt a chill down her spine and instinctively released his sleeve.

The next second, a slender woman ran over and wrapped both arms tightly around Jason's lean waist. She was trembling as she choked out, "Jason, stop!"

Jason turned around.

For the first time, Sylvia saw mixed emotions on his usually impassive face.

There was shock, surprise, guilt, longing, and a love so overwhelming it seemed ready to spill over.

Jason immediately noticed the red marks around the woman's neck where she had been strangled. His expression darkened instantly. Without another word, he scooped her into his arms and headed for the door.

He never once recalled the fact that his actual wife was standing alone nearby.

Sylvia's hands and feet went cold. She stiffly raised her head and met the pitying yet unsurprised gazes of Jason's childhood friends.

"Five years have passed, and Jason still can't let her go."

Someone who didn't know the story asked curiously, "What happened? Is she Jason's first love?"

"More than that. She's the one person he'll never forget. She's the love of his life." Jason's friend shook his head regretfully. "Unfortunately, their parents forced them apart. The woman couldn't withstand the pressure and was the one who asked to break up.

"But Jason never blamed her. He even willingly entered this arranged marriage.

"How could Jason ever fall in love with Sylvia? He only wanted to use this marriage to pretend that he was living well now so that the woman he loved wouldn't worry or feel guilty. In Jason's heart, as long as she could be happy, he was willing to sacrifice everything, even his marriage.

"It's just a shame she married the wrong man. Her husband beats her, sleeps around, and when Jason found out, he completely lost his temper. I haven't seen him this angry in a long time."

Sylvia's mind went completely blank. She gripped the edge of the table tightly and barely managed to keep herself from collapsing.

It turned out their marriage had been nothing more than a performance for Jason. It was a massive deception that had kept her in the dark.

No wonder the man who was so indifferent to her in private had repeatedly stepped forward to defend her in public.

It wasn't the special treatment she had imagined. It was merely a show staged for his first love to see.

It also explained why the usually low-key and reserved Jason had invited more than a hundred media outlets to photograph their wedding.

It wasn't the weight of his love she had believed it represented. It had all been carefully arranged for another purpose.

As wave after wave of dull pain tore through her, Sylvia heard someone ask, "What's the woman's name?"

"Naomi Luther."

Sylvia's heart skipped a beat. She stared at them in disbelief as Jason's friend repeated, "Jason's first love is Naomi Luther."

The name struck Sylvia like a blade, stabbing her until she bled from the inside out.

She hurried toward the door. The moment she stepped outside, she placed a trembling hand over her slightly protruding stomach. Tears streamed down her face.

'Naomi.'

When Jason learned she was pregnant, the first thing he did was choose a name for their baby. "Naomi Porter for a girl, and Noam Porter for a boy," he'd said.

At the time, Sylvia had softly repeated, "Naomi. Noam. That sounds nice."

She smiled cheerfully and asked in a soft voice, "You decided on the names so quickly. Were you looking forward to this little one arriving from the very beginning, just like I was?"

She had mistaken his guilty silence for agreement and happily thrown herself into his arms.

She never realized that the names were derived from Naomi Luther's name.

Jason had declared his longing for Naomi in front of a room full of distinguished guests.

Sylvia was the fool who knew nothing about it.

In a dim corner, Sylvia's face was covered in tears. Her fingertips turned pale as she dialed a number.

"Mr. Cooper, draw up divorce papers for me." Her voice was hoarse and trembling, yet every word was clear. "I want a divorce from Jason."

She, Sylvia, was the eldest daughter of the Carter family. She was free-spirited and determined to live life on her own terms.

She couldn't deny that she had once loved Jason deeply, but she would never accept a marriage built on deception even if ending it meant breaking her own heart.