Ch 1

Rosemary strode up the stairs of the grand residence, her steps long and steady. Her face glowed, lit up with a happiness she could no longer hide. Clutched tightly in her hand was a white paper bearing the hospital’s letterhead. Her breath came slightly quickened, but the joy swelling in her chest seemed to erase every trace of fatigue.

“Bibi, where is Calvin?” Rosemary asked the middle-aged maid as she walked past the second-floor hallway.

The maid stopped and smiled politely, warmed by the bright aura radiating from her young mistress. “Master Calvin is in his study, Madam.”

“Thank you, Bibi!” Rosemary replied quickly, wasting no more time and hurrying toward the end of the hallway.

Her heart soared. She could not wait to share this extraordinary news with her husband. The doctor’s kind smile from that morning flashed through her mind.

“Madam, you are finally pregnant. After three years of waiting, your baby is growing strong within you,” the doctor had said warmly, handing over the test results.

Back then, Rosemary’s heart had felt ready to burst with joy. “Is it true? What wonderful news, Doctor! I must go home and tell my husband right away!” she’d exclaimed, her eyes shining bright.

Three years of waiting—marked by anxiety, prayers in the quiet hours of the night, and endless efforts—had finally borne fruit. Rosemary pictured how Calvin would pull her into his arms, spin her around in delight, or perhaps even shed tears of happiness upon reading the doctor’s note.

But the moment she reached the study door, left slightly ajar, her steps froze. A voice she knew all too well drifted from within—cold, sharp, and cutting.

“Do you really think I ever truly loved Rosemary? She’s nothing more than a tool to get revenge on her father!”

The words spilled from Calvin’s lips, shattering the silence of the room. Rosemary stood rooted to the spot. The smile vanished from her face in an instant, replaced by a deep, stunned confusion. Her body turned as still as a statue.

Inside, the call blared loudly through the speakerphone. Davian—Calvin’s closest friend—spoke from the other end, his voice trembling with barely contained anger.

“Calvin… are you serious about hurting Rosemary?”

“Absolutely!” Calvin replied, without a flicker of hesitation. His tone dripped with deep, seething hatred. “You know how much I loathe her father. If I can’t destroy his daughter, then my name isn’t Calvin!”

“Calvin, you absolute bastard!” Davian snapped. “You’d hurt Rosemary—your own wife—just to settle a personal grudge against her father?”

“I’ve told you countless times, Davian. It’s all been an act!” Calvin’s cynical laugh rang out, piercing Rosemary’s ears as she stood trembling outside. “If it weren’t for revenge against her family, I never would have deigned to marry her!”

Rosemary’s limbs went suddenly numb. Tears she’d once held back now spilled freely, streaming down cheeks that had turned deathly pale. Unconsciously, she crumpled the paper in her hand.

So it was all just a performance, she thought, her chest throbbing with unbearable pain. The happiness that had filled her heart only moments ago now lay shattered into dust. I was never the woman he loved. All this time… I’ve been living in a delusion.

Meanwhile, the argument inside continued. Davian was furious at his friend’s deception.

“Calvin! You know Rosemary is one of the kindest women alive! If you intend to hurt her, I won’t stand for it!”

Calvin let out a venomous chuckle. “Why? Do you want my ‘ex-wife’ for yourself later, is that it?”

“You’re despicable!” Davian snarled with rage. “You once begged me to back off! You asked me to stay away from her! And now you want to break her heart—all over a blind hatred for her father?”

“Davian… a convincing performance demands total commitment!” Calvin cut in sharply, his voice cold and untouchable. “If I hadn’t pretended to love her so perfectly, how could I have ever lured her into my trap?”

Just then, the maid Rosemary had spoken to earlier passed by again. She spotted her mistress standing motionless before the door, trembling violently.

“Madam? Why don’t you go in?” the maid asked, confused.

Rosemary flinched. She said nothing, only tightened her grip on the paper as she fought the storm of anger and heartbreak raging inside her.

The sound from outside caught Calvin’s attention.

“Enough, Davian. Stay out of my marriage!” Calvin said curtly and ended the call abruptly.

Footsteps approached the door. The heavy mahogany door swung open to reveal Calvin—striking and composed. In a matter of seconds, his cold expression melted into a warm, familiar smile—one that had deceived Rosemary completely for three years.

“Darling, what’s wrong?” he asked gently, stepping closer. “It looks like you have something very important to tell me?”

Rosemary looked back at him with hollow eyes, brimming with deep, raw disappointment. “Calvin… stop. There’s no need to pretend anymore.”

Calvin’s eyebrows lifted slightly. He glanced at the retreating maid, then back at his wife. “Oh? So you heard everything?”

Rosemary let out a bitter, hollow laugh—a sound that spoke of her heart’s total ruin. “Mr. Calvin… I truly can’t believe how brilliantly you’ve acted these past three years.”

Calvin folded his arms, dropping his mask of kindness completely. His eyes were now sharp and icy. “Why do you look so shocked?”

“Not shocked!” Rosemary’s voice shook, but her words were firm. “Not at all. It’s just… I was such a fool to believe in your false love all this time!”

Calvin took a step forward, looking her up and down with not a trace of remorse.

“Rosemary, don’t blame me for any of this,” he said, his tone cold to the bone. “Blame your father. He’s the one who drove mine to his death!”