Chapter 1

However, I was no longer the person I was seven years ago. I no longer had to tread carefully around Joseph Larkin and obey his every command without a shred of dignity.

I said, "There's no reason for me to lie to you, Joseph. I'm already married to someone else."

Joseph cast a sidelong glance at me and said mockingly, "You're still going on about this, Wendy? I'm only here to inform you, not ask for your opinion. I'm marrying Mabel, no matter what you think."

Mabel Reese's glossy black braids hung over her shoulders as she tugged innocently at Joseph's sleeve. "Don't start a fight with Wendy over me, Joseph. You should just send me back."

Despite saying so, Mabel refused to let go of his sleeve. The look she gave me was also full of determined confidence.

Joseph's expression mellowed upon hearing her. "I can't bear to watch you suffer anymore, Mabel. We promised to stay together no matter what. Don't worry. Wendy will agree to whatever I say. I'll make sure you have a proper place by my side."

Years had passed, yet he was still as shameless as ever.

Joseph's expression darkened before I could even say anything. "You've been enjoying the title of my wife all these years, and now it's time to make room for Mabel. She's suffered enough. I won't let you bully her anymore."

I picked up a glass on the side and took a sip of my juice. With a mocking smile, I asked, "And what exactly have I done to her? You'd better have proof if you're going to accuse me."

Joseph immediately frowned, glaring daggers at me. "Don't think you're that important. If it weren't for the fact that you've waited for me for all these years, I would've thrown you out long ago. You wouldn't even have the chance to run your mouth here!"

Throw me out? Joseph didn't have that kind of power.

Besides, where did he get the nerve to think I'd been waiting for him all these years? I had already given up for good the day he abandoned me on our wedding day.

Years back, I waited for Joseph to show up at the altar, but he never did turn up. His car had crashed into the river, leaving only his designated driver alive.

Everyone thought he was long dead for all these years. I even picked out a spot for his memorial.

While everyone cursed me for bringing bad luck to my husband, it was another man from the Larkin family who stepped up to marry me.

I would have forgotten Joseph entirely if he hadn't come back all of a sudden. As such, I felt nothing for him even when he reappeared years later.

I said, "Let me say this one last time. Joseph, we're not married. As far as the world is concerned, you're already dead. Who you marry has nothing to do with me."

Joseph scoffed. "Now that's more like it! If you hadn't clung to me back then, I wouldn't have had to go through that trouble to run off to the capital."

So something like that really did happen. I knew it.

That river wasn't even fast—it was a popular swimming spot for kids during the summer.

Besides, how could Joseph possibly be dead when his designated driver even managed to get away?

He was the same as ever—always putting his own feelings first and bearing no shred of responsibility.

Back then, when news of Joseph's death first spread, his mother, Lisa Elridge, fainted on the spot. Not long after she woke up, she fell seriously ill, looking as if she had one foot in the grave.

Just then, Adam Larkin, one of his cousins who had hurried over, heard what he said. "What are you talking about, Joseph? She's the plant manager's wife now."

"The plant manager's wife?"

At that, Mabel's gaze darted slyly before asking with feigned innocence, "Didn't you say that your grandfather would leave the plant only to you?"

Joseph's expression stiffened slightly. He then turned to look at me coldly and said, "I'm my father's only son. Who else would the plant go to if not me?"