Chapter 1

For the first time in his life, Caleb fell in love.

But he didn't dare trust it. He deliberately splashed coffee in her face and mocked her, saying she was no different from all the other women. He humiliated her without mercy.

Yet instead of getting angry, Elena simply handed him another cup of coffee.

She waited until he had calmed down before she spoke in a clear, gentle voice. "I won't fall for anyone else. After we're married, if you don't want me, I won't force you. All you have to do is stay by my side and be my husband. I'll protect you for the rest of your life."

Her almond-shaped eyes were bright and earnest.

There were no sweet nothings, no grand gestures, and no extravagant promises. Yet somehow, her words pulled him into a whirlpool.

He thought that maybe he could give it a try.

Three years into their marriage, Elena had kept every promise she'd made. She was the very model of a perfect wife.

Caleb had always lacked a sense of security, so Elena adjusted her work schedule to ensure she left for work and came home at the same time every day. Even when something unexpected forced her to work overtime, she always told him in advance.

Caleb couldn't bear the thought of sharing a bed with her intimately. No matter how restless or overheated Elena became, she would quietly take a cold shower before returning to bed. Then she would hold him as they fell asleep, without the slightest trace of resentment.

Whether outsiders questioned him or her own family reprimanded her, Elena always stood in front of him and defended him. "No one gets to question my husband."

Everyone said Caleb was aloof and withdrawn, yet somehow, he'd married a wonderful woman. Not only did she come from a powerful family, but she also loved and protected him.

For three whole years, Elena remained true to her word. Not a single red thread ever appeared above her head.

Those quiet days, ordinary yet filled with security, gradually drew Caleb deeper into their relationship. In the end, he finally let go of the trauma that had plagued him for years.

Hence, on their wedding anniversary, he carefully prepared everything. He transformed their bedroom into a romantic retreat, determined to take their relationship one step further.

But midnight came, and Elena still hadn't returned home.

She hadn't checked in, and his calls went unanswered.

Caleb couldn't help but grow anxious, but he wasn't afraid she'd done something wrong. He was afraid something had happened to her.

In desperation, he opened the GPS tracker for Elena's car to check her location. What he found made his heart leap into his throat.

Her car was parked at the police station!

He immediately threw on a coat. He didn't even have time to put on his shoes before he rushed to the station.

…

The moment Caleb arrived, he saw Elena, usually so composed, furiously scolding the young man in front of her.

"Jake, you've been overseas for a few years, and now you suddenly think you're untouchable? Sneaking back into the country without telling anyone was bad enough, but then you went drinking with a bunch of strange women. You're getting more and more out of control!"

'Jake Lawson?!'

He was the son of a much older friend of Elena's.

After his parents died, she had taken him in and raised him. She maintained to the public that he was her nephew.

This was the first time Caleb had met him.

Jake looked barely into his 20s. His flamboyant punk outfit couldn't hide his handsome face, and he seemed to be right in the middle of his rebellious phase.

The tension in Caleb's chest finally eased. A smile tugged at his lips, and he was just about to walk over when Jake stepped closer to Elena.

He raised his eyebrows with an arrogant, triumphant expression. "Aunt Elena, you're worried about me. That means you like me. Otherwise, those women didn't even touch me. Why else would you be so furious that you called the police and accused them of prostitution?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Elena snapped.

But the tension hidden in her expression made Caleb's breath catch. He stopped in his tracks, and his palms suddenly turned cold.

Before he could recover, Jake's forceful voice rang out again. "If you don't like me, then why did you send me overseas the moment I confessed my feelings to you?

"Why did you refuse to marry one of the wealthy men your family considered a suitable match and instead marry a man of lower social standing who couldn't even satisfy you?

"And why did you make a will when you were still so young and name me as the beneficiary?

"Because you know perfectly well that your family's rigid rules would never accept someone like me. Marrying that man lets you hide the dirty feelings you think can never see the light of day, and it means you don't actually have to fulfill your duties as his wife.

"Your family's fortune is worth hundreds of billions, yet you've already made it perfectly clear where your heart lies! Elena, you're nothing but a coward!"

As soon as he finished, he lifted Elena's face and leaned down to kiss her.

Elena trembled slightly. One hand rose instinctively and hovered in midair, as if she wanted to stop him and put an end to his recklessness.

But she couldn't bring herself to push him away.

Her restrained, suppressed love had nowhere left to hide.

Caleb stood rooted to the spot. Tears instantly blurred his vision, and all the love and concern he'd carried with him shattered in that moment.

'So Elena's refusal to be intimate with anyone else wasn't because she's faithful. It's because she loves someone she can never have. She married me to hide feelings that could never see the light of day,' Caleb thought bitterly.

She'd said she would never fall for anyone else. The truth was that apart from Jake, she would never fall for anyone.

All those daily check-ins, all that tenderness and protection, had merely been the easiest way to maintain the facade. She had been deceiving everyone, including him.

How was she any different from those hypocritical women?

Suddenly, the nausea Caleb had managed to escape for so long surged up his throat. He hurried to the side of the road and vomited, tears streaming down his face as bitter bile burned his throat.

Only when there was nothing left in his stomach did he shakily straighten up.

…

Caleb returned to the villa in the city center and opened the safe, then took out a divorce agreement.

Elena had drawn it up before their marriage. It stated that if she was ever unfaithful, he could walk away at any time and leave her with nothing.

Yet behind his back, she'd already made a will that left all her assets to Jake.

'How ridiculous.' Caleb gave a bitter tug at the corner of his mouth and called his lawyer friend.

"Alex, I want a divorce from Elena. Help me."

The moment he finished speaking, a clear voice suddenly came from behind him. "Who wants a divorce?"