CHAPTER 2

THREE years had quietly slipped by since Cindy married Alexander Choi—the formidable billionaire CEO of Choi Global Holdings, an empire with deep roots in finance and investment. To the outside world, their marriage had been nothing short of a fairytale: the orphan girl who married into unimaginable wealth and power.

It was also the very company that had poured money into her adoptive family’s real estate and infrastructure business, giving it the fuel to rise higher, stronger and more prominent than ever before.

In society’s eyes, Cindy had become the bridge, the jewel that tied her family to an empire.

But behind the glittering façade, Cindy herself remained a stranger to it all.

She never understood the intricate workings of Choi Global Holdings, nor did she have the chance to. Words like investment portfolios, subsidiaries, equity shares—they were foreign sounds to her, nothing more than murmurs in conversations she was never invited to join.

And the reason was painfully simple.

Her adoptive parents had made it clear from the very beginning that she didn’t need to understand business. She didn’t need knowledge, ambition or power. And her only role in life had already been assigned. She was to be a wife, no more, no less.

A decorative figure standing silently at her husband’s side.

“A housewife, that’s what you are, Cindy. That’s all you’ll ever be.”

Those words echoed in her mind whenever she looked at the towering glass walls of Choi Global Holdings, wondering what kind of world unfolded inside those boardrooms where Alexander reigned like a king.

She was married to him, yet she lived in the shadows of his empire, her existence reduced to nothing more than a silent accessory in a life she didn’t choose.

And though the world saw her as fortunate, Cindy couldn’t help but wonder if she was nothing more than a pawn—an offering used to elevate a family that had never once given her love.

Even her husband never truly loved her.

“Don’t be such a baby, Cindy. You’re an adult, surely you can take care of yourself, yes?” Those were the words Alexander told her over the phone, his voice clipped and impatient. Cindy had only called because she was sick—fever burning through her body, her hands trembling as she clutched the phone like it was her lifeline.

Her lips quivered as she forced her voice to stay steady, though every part of her wanted to break. “B-but, could you at least come home? I’m alone here…” Her words came out fragile, her throat tightening as she tried to hold back the crack in her voice.

But on the other end, Alexander only scoffed, the sound sharp enough to slice through her hope.

“Don’t waste my time and just rest there. What else do you need? Just meds? Fine, I’ll send my secretary over. Don’t call me again for this.” His tone was cold, detached and not even a sliver of worry touched his words.

It was the same with everyone.

Everyone around her treated her this way—like she was a burden, like her pain was something inconvenient.

She was about to respond, to beg even just for a moment of kindness, when she heard it. A woman’s voice, faint but unmistakable, filtered through the line.

“Alex, here you are. Let’s go wash up together?”

The words shattered her.

Her eyes widened as her body drained of strength until her knees gave out beneath her. Then she collapsed to the cold floor with the phone slipping from her trembling hands as tears welled uncontrollably in her eyes.

With the sound of laughter and muffled movement carried through before the call ended abruptly, leaving her in a suffocating silence.

Her sobs broke free, raw and unrestrained, echoing in the emptiness of Alexander’s mansion. “Why are you always hurting me like this?” Her voice cracked as she pressed her face into her hands, shaking with grief. “Why did you lie to me? I love you, but all you made me feel was pain. You’re no different from them, Alexander…”

Her tears soaked into the floor as her body weakened not just from sickness but from the crushing weight of betrayal.

Alone in that vast, cold house, she curled into herself, her cries muffled but relentless.

Yet outside her bedroom door, someone stood silently in the shadows. They listened to every sob, every word she choked out between her pain. Phone in hand, they whispered into their own call, their eyes fixed on the door where Cindy wept alone.

For the first three months of their marriage, Alexander had been nothing but gentle, attentive and caring—the kind of husband every woman dreamed of. Cindy had been swept away by the warmth of his words, the small acts of kindness and the way he made her feel cherished.

In those fleeting months, happiness bloomed in her heart and for the first time in her life, she thought marrying a stranger might not have been so bad after all. Day by day, her love for him grew stronger, fragile yet sincere and she clung to that love as if it could finally anchor her restless soul.

But she never expected him to change so quickly.

The tenderness she once held onto vanished like smoke, replaced by cold indifference and cruel truths. Alexander was not the man she thought he was.

He was a womanizer, a man who toyed with hearts for amusement, a man who took pleasure in playing with people’s trust.

And Cindy—naïve and desperate for affection—had trusted him completely.

She had given him her heart, believing he could be the one to fill her life with happiness, only to discover he was just another illusion.

At twenty-six, she had dreamed of feeling butterflies in her stomach, of experiencing love that made her heart race. But reality had always been merciless to her. Her husband’s family despised her presence, whispering scorn behind her back. Her adoptive family had never truly cared for her, treating her as nothing more than a tool for their ambitions.

Everywhere she turned, rejection followed, leaving her with the suffocating weight of loneliness.

It felt as though the entire world had no place for her, no corner where she truly belonged.