Web of Deceit

For five years, Serena and Silas had been married in secret. Though they did everything a married couple did, there was no love involved.

Though, perhaps it was more accurate to say that Serena's love for her husband was hidden without a trace.

On New Year's Eve, the city was covered in a thick blanket of snow, and each household was filled with holiday cheer.

In Southbrook Manor, however, Serena sat there all alone. She had cooked herself a bowl of vegetarian noodles, yet she hadn't even taken a single bite. Her full attention was on a social media post.

In the video attached, a man's hand, elegant and slender, slipped a massive diamond ring onto a woman's delicate ring finger.

As he did, the woman, with a soft and coy tone, said, "I'll be in your care, Mr. Ford."

Serena stared at the watch the man was wearing—a limited-edition global release, a sure sign of his identity.

Bitterness flooded her heart as she replayed the video again and again, as if the act of confirming itself was a form of self-torment.

Half a year ago, the woman in the video added Serena on social media. From then on, she continued to see her husband appearing in the woman's posts.

Ironically, after five years of marriage, the woman's social media was the first time Serena saw her husband being gentle, romantic, and attentive.

The noodles, steaming mere moments ago, went cold completely. Serena tried lifting her chopsticks to eat, yet it seemed all the strength had been sapped from her fingers.

Just like her doomed marriage, she couldn't stir the noodles any longer.

Serena closed her eyes as the tears fell. She stood, washed up, turned off the lights, and lay down in bed.

Later in the night, the silence of the bedroom was broken by the familiar sound of rustling clothes.

On the bed, Serena was lying on her side. She knew Silas had returned, but she continued acting as if she were asleep.

After a few moments, she felt the bed sink from a weight beside her. A tall figure pressed onto her, making her brows furrow slightly. The next moment, her nightgown was pushed up. A dry, warm hand pressed onto her skin underneath…

With a shudder, Serena's eyes flew open.

The man's chiseled, handsome face was right in front of her, a pair of silver-framed glasses still perched on his nose.

The nightlight was still on, lighting his glasses with a dim, orange glow. Yet, it did nothing to hide the desire in his eyes.

"Why did you come back so suddenly?" Serena asked, her voice naturally soft and delicate.

The man caught sight of her slightly reddened eyes and raised his eyebrows slightly. "What, am I not welcome?"

Meeting his dark pupils, she explained softly, "No, I was just surprised…"

The man's slender fingers caressed her pale cheek lightly, his voice a low, attractive baritone, "Take off my glasses."

Serena frowned slightly. As her cheek was being caressed, she stared at the handsome face that she had been infatuated with for so many years. All she could think of was the video she had seen earlier.

For the first time ever, she turned him down.

"I'm not feeling well."

"Are you on your period?"

"No, just…"

"Then don't kill the mood." He cut her explanation short with a low voice, eyes growing darker.

Serena knew that he had no plans on letting her off the hook.

After all, she had always been the one who compromised in their marriage.

Sourness bloomed in her chest as tears welled up to the surface.

The man took off his glasses, leaving them haphazardly on the bedside table as he reached to grab her slender ankle…

The dim light flickered off, plunging the room into full darkness, heightening every sense.

After a whole month of not being together, Silas was rough, almost aggressively so. Serena struggled, to no avail, before finally relenting and enduring it through gritted teeth.

Outside, snow fell harder, the wind howling in the night.

She didn't know how long it lasted, soaked completely in sweat. Her lower abdomen ached slightly, a reminder of her period that hadn't arrived for ages.

"Silas, I…"

He, however, was displeased that she was distracted, and became even rougher.

Her voice, barely audible, was swallowed by his dominant kisses.

By the time it was all over, dawn still hadn't come. Serena was dazed with exhaustion, her abdomen dull with pain. It wasn't sharp, but it was impossible to ignore.

When the phone rang, she forced herself to open her eyes. In her blurry vision, she caught sight of the man walking up to the window to pick up the call.

In the deathly silence of the bedroom, she could hear clearly the delicate voice coming from the other end.

Silas, true to fashion, patiently soothed the caller, ignoring his wife lying just inches away.

Soon, the sound of a car echoed from downstairs.

Silas had left.

-

The next morning, the bed beside Serena was empty and cold. She rolled over and touched her stomach, and it wasn't hurting anymore.

Suddenly, her phone rang. It was a call from Silas' mother, Freya.

"Come here right this instant," she ordered, without any room for refusal.

Serena made a soft noise in acknowledgement, and Freya hung up immediately.

Serena was already used to it. In the five years that she had been married to Silas, Freya had never treated her with any respect.

The Fords were an influential family in Northlorn. Even though Serena was born in the Vale family, she was practically abandoned by them.

Her marriage to Silas was one that resulted from a trade.

Five years ago, her mother killed her abusive father in self-defense. Her little brother, grandmother, and the rest of her family testified against her mother, pushing for the death penalty.

The Johnsons, her mother's family, immediately cut ties with her mother after the incident.

Back then, Serena had tried to speak in her mother's defense, only to be targeted by both the Vales and the Johnsons. At the end of her rope, her mentor recommended she seek aid from Silas.

In terms of influence, even the Vales and Johnsons combined weren't powerful enough to even touch the Fords.

In terms of law, Silas had never once lost a case.

In the end, he managed to secure her mother a mere five-year sentence.

In exchange, Serena got married to Silas in secret—as promised.

According to Silas, his adoptive son Shawn had lost his biological parents in an accident. He was close friends with Shawn's father, so he adopted the boy, who was still a baby.

Now, five years had passed, and her mother's release was only a month away.

The marriage had been a clear transaction, and they each got what they needed, so Serena had no complaints.

However, Serena made the worst mistake a woman could make in a loveless marriage fated to end—she fell in love.

Cutting her reverie short, Serena got up to shower. As the water hit her skin, the discomfort in her abdomen returned.

They had always used protection—except one time, a month ago, when he was drunk.

She had taken a pill the very next day, but birth control that was used after the act was never foolproof.

Just to be safe, she stopped by a pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test on her way to the Fords' family estate.