She Saved That Spot for Her Secret Lover

Hudson's POV

The funeral of my mother-in-law, Rebecca Leston, had reached its final stage. According to tradition, my wife, Grace Rivera, and I were supposed to complete the candlelight vigil together as husband and wife. Just then, two messages came through on my phone.

One was from Jason Shaw, my best friend. "Hey, don't get the wrong idea. Our relatives and friends are just outsiders gossiping. Mrs. Rivera only treated me like a son when she was alive."

The other message was from Grace. "Hudson, it's only to avoid suspicion. This isn't the right time to make our relationship public."

Actually, I wasn't getting the wrong idea. Throughout our seven years of marriage, everyone had always believed that Jason and Grace were a match made in heaven. They were childhood sweethearts. Whenever the three of us were together, I always felt more like an outsider.

I lost my mother when I was a teenager. Throughout our seven years of marriage, I always treated Grace's mother as my own and took good care of her. Every weekend, I would visit their family home to play chess with her. When she fell ill, I took time off work to stay with her overnight at the hospital.

In fact, for the past six months, I had spent my days working and my nights looking after her mother, who was in a coma, all so Grace could concentrate on her career. So, naturally, I should be the one standing beside her at her mother's funeral.

But she had never spoken up about our relationship. In fact, she had always made a point of avoiding me. To avoid suspicion, everyone simply assumed I was Jason's good friend.

Even then, Grace still wouldn't say anything. Under everyone's watchful eyes, she reached out and handed Jason a candle. Together, they made a candlelight vigil.

At that moment, tears welled up in my eyes. I clenched my fist until my palm went numb. Even so, I couldn't feel the pain.

By the time the funeral ended, the crowd had gradually dispersed. I walked to the entrance and stood by the window at the end of the corridor, trying to get some fresh air. That was when I ran into Grace.

She was carrying a paper bag. When she reached me, she held it out. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Eat something."

I looked down and saw a sandwich inside, but I didn't reach out to take it.

Grace thought I was throwing a tantrum, so she frowned and explained, "Hudson, we agreed that we wouldn't make our marriage public. In a situation like this, we have to be even more careful about maintaining appearances."

"Maintaining appearances," she had said. This had defined our seven-year marriage. Since we had to maintain appearances, Grace couldn't even spare me a glance when she took over a case at the bureau. Since we had to maintain appearances, all her colleagues thought I was just a foolish simp, even though we had been married for seven years.

Since we had to maintain appearances, I, her legally wedded husband, had to give way to my own best friend and my wife. I couldn't even say goodbye to my mother-in-law.

I looked at her and hoarsely asked, "Grace, how far am I supposed to take this whole thing? Do you want me to have Jason be your husband instead?"

When Grace heard my words, her expression darkened. "Hudson Zeller, watch what you say. Jason is your best friend. Don't drag him into our business."

My nose stung as I fought back my tears. However, Grace didn't say another word. She simply shoved the sandwich into my hands, turned around, and walked away.

I looked down. It was mango-flavored. Once again, Grace had forgotten that I was allergic to mangoes.

Sunlight streamed in through the glass, making my eyes ache.

I leaned against the wall, took out my phone, and dialed a number. Then I said, "Louis, I've made up my mind about that transfer to Haddon you mentioned. I'll take it."