Chapter 2

That night, Arthur held me in his arms while he slept soundly.

Meanwhile, I stayed awake all night but only pretended to be asleep. It was not until he left the next day that I finally opened my eyes.

It was only a short distance from the bedroom to the study where he kept everything related to me. It included everything from our first anniversary to my most recent birthday. He had everything neatly organized.

If anyone saw the collection, they would be moved by his devotion towards me.

Only I knew that nested within a secret compartment of a drawer was a diary that did not belong to me.

He had told me about it once when he was drunk. I remember how apologetic he had been about it. At the time, I did not think much of it because I was completely obsessed with him.

When he woke up the next day, he had no memory of revealing that secret to me.

With this in mind, I opened the secret compartment and dusted the diary.

An elaborate password was needed to access its contents, a clear indication of how much the owner treasured it.

I did not expect the cryptography course I took in university to come in handy in this way.

After I deciphered the password, I flipped to the first page. I was immediately greeted with the word 'Ely' that he had scrawled firmly with a pen.

The first ten pages detailed his affection toward Ely. It was written cautiously, imbued with equal parts passion and reservation. I had never seen anything like it.

He had always been so nonchalant around me. I had assumed it was because he had long passed the phase of teenage passion.

As it turned out, it was simply because he did not love me…

The last page was scribbled down with frantic handwriting.

"Someone tried to assassinate Ely. She’s right. People in our line of work can never have a lover! I have to send her away!"

The page turned into a sallow yellow, and the handwriting became fainter.

"That girl sure is gullible."

"I thought about Ely today, and Juniper thought I was referring to her. It’s fine. I’ll let her think whatever she wants as long as Ely stays safe."

"I’m sure she won’t mind being killed as long as it means she can be my wife."

"I’m going to be punished. I orchestrated a kidnapping and made sure everything was under control. She broke down just like I knew she would. She’s never going to want to leave me from now on. I will spend forever making it up to her."

I pressed my fingers against my eyes to stop the tears from falling.

This entire time, I was never the person he wanted to be with publicly.

Everything from our first meeting to falling in love and getting married… All of the happiness from the beginning until now had been nothing but a real-life Truman Show.

I shut the diary and carefully returned it to its original spot. It was only after I left the study that I finally let the floodgates open and bawled my eyes out.

As I curled up in a ball, I recollected the events of the first time I was kidnapped.

Arthur and I had been inseparable at the time. I had just left the hospital and was about to surprise him with the good news of my pregnancy when I lost consciousness as soon as I got into the car.

Those animals dragged me across the pavement. They sadistically tortured me without mercy and caused my miscarriage.

When Arthur charged in and took me into his arms, I was barely conscious.

That was around that time that my psychological scars took hold. I could not stand to be away from Arthur for long periods of time, and my health deteriorated completely.

He comforted me and assured me that it was fine even if we did not have children.

This entire time, he never wanted to have children with me. He was the one who had taken measures to squash out the possibility.

The salvation I found in him, as well as the affection for him, was nothing but a ruse. He was the one who orchestrated everything!

I felt suffocated from the despairing pain. Unable to fight my body’s reaction, I began to convulse on the bed.

After enduring the grueling pain for a while, I gradually calmed down.

All the times I spent with Arthur began to replay in my mind. I recalled every detail.

I had experienced countless life-or-death situations in the last five years, and each time, he was the one who risked his life to save me.

His concern for me was genuine. However, it was coming from a place of concern for his true lover’s safety if I were to die.

I reached for my phone with shaking hands and checked his transaction records over the years.

He managed a foreign company that specialized in jewelry, and all the gifts he showered me with over the years were sourced from that very company.