Chapter 1

“Casandra, can you come to my house? There’s something important you need to know!”

A message from Vivian was sent to my phone. After reading it, I became curious about what she wanted to tell me. An uneasy feeling slowly crept into my chest, but I tried to shake it off. Maybe it’s something urgent, I thought.

I drove to her house with my heartbeat racing uncontrollably. When I arrived, the front door wasn’t fully locked, as if it had been deliberately left open for me. I stepped inside slowly, but the scene in the living room struck my heart and shattered it into pieces.

My husband, Sebastian, was holding Vivian tightly. He was kissing her neck with a passion I hadn’t seen in our marriage lately. The world seemed to stop spinning. The air around me felt thin, making it hard to breathe.

From inside, I heard Vivian’s voice asking in a deliberately spoiled tone,

“Sebastian, I’m tired of being your mistress. I think we should break up!”

Bastian was shocked by Vivian’s sudden request. He tightened his embrace, as if afraid of losing the source of his happiness.

“Why, Vivian? Is my love not enough for you to make you want to leave?” His voice sounded so gentle—the tone he used when we were newly married.

“I don’t want to just be your mistress, Bastian. I want you to marry me,” Vivian demanded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll divorce Casandra and marry you!”

That sentence completely shattered my world. A disappointment I had never felt before pierced deeply into me. Bastian had been loving another woman behind my back. He no longer cared about the five years of marriage we had built with sweat and tears.

“Are you sure you want to divorce Casandra? Isn’t she the woman who stood by you when you were struggling?” Vivian asked, as if she had a conscience—though I knew it was only bait to make Bastian declare his choice.

“I’d rather lose her than lose you, Vivian!” Bastian answered without the slightest hesitation.

Hearing those words, my weak legs suddenly found strength fueled by rising anger. I stopped hiding. I pushed the door until it slammed hard against the wall and stepped inside.

“Is it true you’re willing to lose me, Bastian?”

My voice sounded cold—far calmer than the storm raging inside my chest. Both of them were startled. Sebastian quickly let go of Vivian, his face turning pale as if he had just seen a ghost. Meanwhile, Vivian, though initially shocked, quickly replaced her expression with a faint, triumphant smile.

“Cas… Casandra? Since when have you been here?” Bastian stammered as he tried to step closer.

“If you want a divorce, then I’ll grant your wish, Bastian,” I replied in a flat, chilling tone. There were no more tears—only a deep emptiness.

Unexpectedly, Bastian didn’t show much guilt. After his initial shock faded, he let out a dry laugh, as if this situation were some kind of misplaced joke.

“Casandra, just listen first,” he said while straightening his wrinkled shirt. “Vivian is my first love—you know that. But you… you’re my wife who stood by me through hardships. I just want to have some fun with Vivian. Once I’m satisfied, I’ll come back to you!”

I was stunned, speechless at the twisted logic coming from the man I had respected all this time. “What do you mean, Bastian?”

Bastian looked at me as if asking for understanding—a manipulative gaze I had never noticed before. He glanced at Vivian briefly, then looked back at me.

“Let’s just pretend to get divorced. Don’t worry, it’s only to make Vivian happy. She wants a status, so I’ll give it to her formally. But behind it all, I’ll still be your husband. Once I get bored of her, I’ll divorce her, and we’ll go back to how things were! You just need to be patient for a while, Cas.”

Thump! My heart felt like it stopped—not because of love, but because of overwhelming disgust. This man had not only betrayed our commitment, but he was also trying to plan a dirty game that degraded my dignity as a wife. He saw me as a backup harbor he could leave and return to whenever he pleased.

Vivian, hearing Bastian’s words, didn’t seem to mind at all. Instead, she smirked at me, as if enjoying her role as Bastian’s “plaything,” as long as she got the status she wanted.

“What do you think I am, Bastian?” My voice trembled now—not from sadness, but from anger boiling to the top of my head. “An object you can store away when you’re bored, then take back when you need it? You want me to pretend to divorce you just so you can legitimize your lust with this woman?”

I stepped forward, staring straight into Bastian’s eyes, which now looked confused.

“For five years, I built the dignity of this family, kept your name clean, and supported you until you reached the top. Now I realize, I wasn’t standing beside a man with honor—I was raising a parasite with no self-respect.”

“Casandra, don’t be ridiculous! This is the best solution so everyone can be happy!” Bastian shouted, starting to lose his patience.