Chapter 1

"Ms. Lucille, I've already checked it three times, but that doesn't change the fact that your marriage status is listed as 'unmarried.'" The employee sounded impatient, causing the other people around to shoot us curious looks.

I tightened my grip on my marriage certificate. My voice quavered as I said, "That's not possible. My husband gave me this marriage certificate himself. We even made our vows before God, promising that we would remain loyal to each other. Today is our third wedding anniversary…"

The employee looked at me with pity. "Ms. Lucille, it seems you've been tricked. According to the information you provided, your so-called husband, Lucas Yates, is already married. The woman registered as his spouse is one Yelena Jackman."

My mind went blank. "No, that's impossible! Yelena is in a coma. How could she possibly marry Lucas? There must have been a mistake when you were inputting the information!"

Growing exasperated, the employee replied, "Ms. Lucille, we cannot reveal any more information to you. If you still have any questions, please ask your lover, Mr. Lucas Yates."

Lover.

I was overwhelmed by embarrassment the instant I heard that term. I initially thought I was Lucas' lawfully wedded wife, yet it turned out that I was nothing but a mistress.

The crowd erupted into whispers, and I heard someone say, "My goodness, she sure is stupid! Did she seriously believe the certificate that man gave her was real? She's nothing but a homewrecker!"

I fled City Hall, feeling utterly devastated. Seven years of dating and three years of marriage… Was all of that just a blissful lie?

No, that couldn't be. Given how much Lucas loved me, there was no way he would marry Yelena.

In my desperation, I tried to contact Lucas, but his assistant, Miles Larson, told me that Lucas was in a meeting.

Refusing to give up, I rushed to the headquarters of Devil's Advocate, only to accidentally overhear Lucas talking to his best friends.

"Lucas, when Yelena was on the verge of death, her dying wish was to marry you. Now that she's out of danger and has recovered, when will you divorce her? What if Lucille finds out that your marriage certificate is fake and leaves you?"

Lucas shook his head. "Lucille will never find out. Back then, she cut off all ties with her family just to be with me. She has nowhere to go if she leaves me."

Before leaving, he gave his friends a stern warning. "Lucille must never learn of this matter! I only married Yelena and got a marriage certificate with her because she once saved me. I was just fulfilling her dying wish. The only woman I love is Lucille."

Then, he shook his phone at them, a blissful smile on his face. "It's our third wedding anniversary today, so I have to rush home to have a candlelight dinner with Lucille."

With that, he left the conference room and instructed Miles to buy two bouquets of roses—one for me and the other for Yelena.

As I hid around the corner, my heart ached so terribly that I found it difficult to breathe. Big, fat tears rolled down my cheeks relentlessly.

He had truly gotten a marriage certificate with Yelena. He had chosen another woman to be his lawfully wedded wife!

And on that very day, he had even handed me a fake marriage certificate, making me the third party who had intervened in their relationship.

When that realization dawned on me, I felt like my heart was shattering into pieces.

Since my position in this relationship had become so shameless and humiliating, I saw no point in staying here any longer.

My phone chimed relentlessly with messages, all from Lucas. Nonetheless, I didn't read a single one as I bought my plane ticket. All the while, my tears wouldn't stop flowing.

Three days later, I would be flying to Mannington to continue my studies.

I never, ever wanted to see Lucas again.