Chapter 1

Robert's POV

"Congratulations! You're one lucky guy to have married such a beautiful woman! We're all so jealous of you!"

I snapped out of my daze the moment I heard the guests offering their congratulations.

I realized that I had returned to the day I married Sophia Quinlan. It was supposed to be our wedding today, but the groom they were congratulating wasn't even me.

Leaning against the wall in the hallway, I looked ahead. I spotted a man and a woman surrounded by a group of people.

The woman looked stunning in a pure white wedding gown—and she happened to be my wife, Sophia. That man standing beside her was Zachary Lund, her first love.

I could see from where I stood that Zachary was wearing the exact same suit I was wearing.

They were standing right next to each other, and since Sophia didn't bother to correct anyone, it was no surprise people had no idea who the actual groom was. She simply smiled as she introduced friends and family to Zachary. It was easy to see why people mistook him for the groom.

It was my second time witnessing this scene, but I still felt a slight ache in my chest.

Sophia used to be the heiress of the Quinlan family, surrounded by endless suitors, but Zachary was the only one she ever loved.

I gave up all my wealth to help her build a vast business empire and rejoin the Quinlan family even after her family disowned her and Zachary walked away from her. Yet, all she offered in return was an indifferent "Thank you" and "I'll repay you someday."

She apparently never understood that marriage meant we were one and that there was no such thing as "mine" or "hers" between husband and wife. She had also completely forgotten why she had been cast out of the Quinlan family in the first place.

In addition, the Quinlan family was eager to build ties with our Lister family. David Quinlan, the patriarch of the Quinlan family, was subtly trying to push Sophia and me together, but at that time, Sophia was entirely devoted to Zachary.

Zachary had average abilities and was terrible at dealing with people, which left him with little room for advancement at Quinlan Group. He was overly ambitious and hated being average, though.

Sophia handed him a multi-billion-dollar project that I was close to finalizing to help build his skills and get him noticed by the company's top executives. His ambitions far exceeded his talents, though, ultimately causing him to ruin the project.

That multi-billion-dollar project eventually collapsed, forcing the Quinlan family to face tens of billions in payout liabilities.