Chapter 1

(1st POV)

When I set down the ring, my wife, Hannah Neate, finally looked up at me indifferently.

“Are you actually taking off your wedding ring over a photo?”

I looked into her eyes and said calmly, “Yes. It’s worth ending a marriage over, too.”

A flicker of emotion finally crossed her face as she peered at me.

“Lucas Bourne, you’re being really ridiculous right now.”

I caught my breath.

“Am I?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Then, I guess the husband who’s been married for three years and still doesn’t have a single wedding photo is even more ridiculous, isn’t he?”

Her expression darkened.

“I’ve mentioned this to you before. I don’t like having my picture taken.

“It’s been three years. What are you still hung up on? Did you marry me, or did you marry a photo?”

She turned away indifferently, as if I was a bitter wife making a scene over nothing.

I recalled the day when we took our wedding photos.

Just as the photographer was about to press the shutter, she threw up beside me.

She apologized. I had believed her and let it slide.

That changed when I saw the photos. She and the young man had taken multiple shots, posing intimately together.

Meanwhile, our marriage felt nonexistent, just like our wedding photo.

Persisting with the marriage was a poor use of my time and energy.

“Hannah, do you think the black one looks better, or—”

The office door was pushed open, and a man in a black suit barged in with a bright smile.

He was Hannah’s assistant, Dwade Farley.

He was also the man in the photo.

“Mr. Bourne?” Dwade stopped in his tracks and said, “Sorry, I didn’t know you were here.”

He lowered his head in a fluster, then froze when he saw the photo and the ring on the desk.

He hurriedly said, “Sorry, Mr. Bourne, I didn’t mean to drag Hannah into taking that photo!

“I’ve always thought of her as a big sister. I just asked her to play along....

“Why’d you take your ring off? Did I cause some kind of misunderstanding?”

I stayed quiet.

His voice grew softer as he cast Hannah a wounded look.

“Lucas, apologize to Dwade,” she said coldly.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

“Apologize to him, you say,” I sneered. “For what?”

“For jumping to conclusions and hurting Dwade’s feelings.”

My heart went cold and numb.

She lost her patience when I refused to budge.

She looked away and said gently to him, “It’s okay. That’s not a wedding ring.

“I just grabbed it on a whim. Take it and wear it. It goes perfectly with the suit I bought you.”

His eyes lit up when he saw the expensive ring.

“Thank you, Hannah!”

His face beamed with delight when he put it on his finger.

I turned and walked away, no longer feeling any reason to stay.

Hannah called out from behind me.

“Lucas, I’ll deliver a new ring tonight—”

I slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Then, I rushed into the bathroom and threw up. My head was spinning.

I somehow made it home.

That evening, Hannah indeed had someone deliver a new ring.

The craftsmanship was better, and it was even more expensive.

I took a cursory glance and tossed it straight into the trash.

I collapsed onto the bed in the bedroom and stared blankly at my phone screen.

Then, I kept scrolling until I came across a familiar image.

It was the wedding ring I had taken off earlier that day.

It was on another man’s finger.

“A new ring from Hannah. I love it!”

My heart pounded like a drum as I tapped on Dwade’s profile.

Every single day, he posted something.

In every photo he posted, there she was.