Chapter 2

I placed my phone on the coffee table, then grabbed the remote and changed the channels on TV.

There was a variety show playing. Several celebrities were laughing onscreen, and their laughter was especially loud and grating.

I leaned back on the couch, suddenly realizing how absurd I must've looked.

I was sitting in a 2,000-square-foot house, watching over a marriage only in name as I waited for a woman who never cared about me to come home.

Meanwhile, she was spending time with her first love as if she had every right to be, and she wasn't even sorry about it.

After all, back when we were getting married, Eva told me very clearly that if it weren't for me, they wouldn't have come to this point.

She was saying that I was the one who forced her to break up with Charlie, that I just abruptly entered the picture and came between them.

She claimed that I used my family's status and that lawsuit to force her into a marriage.

I wondered if she actually knew about the truth.

In reality, my father's company ran out of funding, so they were in urgent need of working capital. At the same time, Eva's company got involved in a tricky lawsuit, and they needed my family's connections to resolve it.

Our families' elders got together for a discussion over a meal, and just like that, the marriage was set in stone.

No one asked if I wanted to get married. No one asked her if she wanted to marry me, either. But in everyone's eyes, this was a fair deal.

Her family provided the funds while my family provided the connections. Everyone was getting what they wanted.

Only Charlie got the short end of the stick in this deal.

Eva probably thought that I had taken Charlie's position from him. Because of me, he went from being her official boyfriend to her secret first love.

That was why she felt so guilty about Charlie and why she was so cold to me.

On our wedding night, Eva had a little too much to drink, and she had to be helped into the bedroom. I helped her take off her shoes, but she suddenly grabbed my wrist with surprising strength.

"Jeremy Holden." Her voice was hoarse as she said my full name. "You know full well what the problem is with this marriage. I don't love you, and I never will. If you know what's good for you, just go to work and do your job. We have nothing to do with each other."

Then, she let go of me and stumbled over to the guest room.

Ever since then, we had been sleeping in separate rooms. She would take the guest room while I slept in the master bedroom.

I suddenly realized that in the past three years, she only entered the master bedroom twice. The first time was on our wedding night when she came over and gave me that speech. The second time was when I had a 103°F fever last year.

I was completely dazed. The maid, Mrs. Brown, called Eva, who only came home two hours later. Eva stood at the entrance of the bedroom, glanced at me, and then told Mrs. Brown to take me to the hospital.

After that, she simply left.

She said she had an important gathering with Charlie, so she had to be there.

…

Eva never came home. When I woke up at 7:00 am, I glanced at my phone, but there were no new messages from her.

After washing up, I went downstairs to find that Mrs. Brown was already making breakfast.

When she saw me coming downstairs all alone, she seemed hesitant to say something, but in the end, she just asked, "What would you like to eat today, Mr. Holden?"

I replied, "Just cereal. Thanks."

I took a seat at the dining table. Just then, my phone lit up.

Eva had sent me a message. "Charlie had a little too much to drink yesterday, and I took care of him all night. I have a meeting later this morning, so I won't be coming home."

Setting down my phone, I picked up a spoon and ate some cereal. "Mrs. Brown, can you help me buy some cardboard boxes over the next few days?"

Mrs. Brown froze for a moment. "Mr. Holden, are you moving out?"

I replied, "Yes, in a few days."

She parted her lips as if she were going to ask a question, but when she noticed my expression, she seemed to decide against it.

She had been here for three years, after all. She saw everything, and she knew exactly what was going on.

So, she just said, "Got it, Mr. Holden."

With that, Mrs. Brown turned around and went back to the kitchen.