Chapter 1

"Ms. Ford, we've verified that your marriage certificate is a forged copy. Forging marriage certificates is a federal offence. Please cooperate with our investigation."

"Wait, there are still people forging marriage certificates in this era?"

"She must have got duped by a man, right? How pitiful…"

Stephanie Ford stepped out of the courthouse in a daze. Around her, the staff members and the few couples were all shooting her weird looks.

It was a hot and sunny day outside, but Stephanie only felt chills permeating her body. Yesterday, her boyfriend of five years, Tyler Grover, suddenly agreed to register for their marriage. Naturally, they had celebrated the occasion by engaging in bedroom activities in the middle of the night.

But an abrupt phone call ruined the mood just as the couple's passion was reaching its peak. Weirdly enough, Tyler had stopped in his actions just to answer it.

"Stop it with your tantrum. The marriage certificate that I've obtained with Stephanie is fake. After all, I've already received the real marriage certificate with you two years ago."

Tyler used a foreign language that was scarcely used in this country. But the thing was, Stephanie actually understood him.

Since Tyler's friends all knew how to speak in this particular language, Stephanie had secretly registered for language classes just to learn it. That way, she'd be able to get along with Tyler's friend group.

"But I'm still jealous! Ugh, if only Stephanie had never existedin your life at all!"

"Stop being wilful. Also, Steph is innocent. Haven't you vented your frustrations enough after staging her accident? Her leg is already crippled from that accident, so she can never dance again for the rest of her life. No one's going to fight you for the mantle as the Dance Diva. If you stir up any more trouble, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to help clean up your mess."

"What about your future child?"

"Once Steph gets pregnant and gives birth to my baby, I'll find a way to register you and me as the baby's birth parents. Alright, that's enough. Just be a good girl at home. Remember, Steph is nothing compared to you. How can I ever fall for her?"

While Stephanie was shell-shocked to hear the conversation, what little rationality she had was able to help her regain her senses bit by bit.

So, that meant the car accident that she was involved in two years ago was actually a manmade accident.

At that time, a truck had gone out of control and crashed into her. She almost lost both legs, and she'd most likely be reduced to a disabled person.

After spending more than half a month in the hospital, Stephanie managed to save one leg. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to dance ever again.

Having inherited her mother's amazing talent for dancing, Stephanie could've had a bright future ahead of her. But Tyler was the one who told her that the car crash was an unfortunate accident.

He never showed any disdain toward Stephanie's condition, so she was very grateful to him. That was why she became even more devoted to him.

Alas, it all turned out to be a scheme. Tyler had lied to Stephanie and even married the actual culprit behind the accident. Not only that, but they also wanted her to give birth to their child for them.

That night, Stephanie never slept a wink. She went to the courthouse first thing in the morning to get her marriage certificate verified, only to get slapped by the cruel reality in the end.

With a strained smile, she told everyone that it was just a joke. Thankfully, the staff didn't look further into Stephanie's excuse. They gave her a quick lecture before letting her off the hook.

By then, her phone had been ringing for quite some time. She finally snapped out of her trance and answered the call.

"Are you on the way to the company already?" Tyler asked huskily. There were still traces of drowsiness tinging his tone, which made him sound more seductive than usual.

Stephanie did her best to control her voice so that she could sound normal over the phone.

"Not yet. I had something to tend to first."

"Where are you right now? I can pick you up."

Stephanie's eyes reddened instantly. She remembered Tyler telling her before that regardless of where she went at whichever hour, he'd pick her up, and they'd go home together.

But did she still have a home with him now?

After all, Tyler had already become someone else's husband two years ago. He had cheated on Stephanie, both physically and emotionally.

"Steph?"

"It's fine." Stephanie was already tearing up, but her voice was still composed. "I still have other things to do. I'll head over on my own later."

Seeing how insistent Stephanie was, Tyler decided to let her do whatever she wanted.

After ending the call, Stephanie began sorting out her messy thoughts. She had been nothing but loyal to Tyler throughout their five-year relationship.

Back in their university days, Tyler was the charming student president. After graduation, he was known as the handsome and rich CEO of his own company. He had tons of female admirers flocking him everywhere, yet he was cold and ruthless toward them… save for Stephanie.

Who on earth was the woman whom he had married two years ago?

There was also the matter of that accident…

Stephanie reached Tyler's company when it was almost noon.

"Hello, Ms. Ford."

Everyone in the Executive Office greeted Stephanie right away. She just nodded at them in response.

Many documents were already piling up on her desk. After she went through them, she picked out a few documents before sending them to Tyler's office for the latter to sign.

The CEO himself was already sitting behind his desk. His striking features made him look intimidating despite him just sitting there without doing anything.

When Tyler saw Stephanie entering his office, his expression softened instantly. After signing all of the documents she had brought to his desk, he raised his head to gaze at her, his expression one of concern.

"You don't look well."

"It's nothing. I'm just a little tired."

"Thank you for your hard work on this project."

Then, Tyler raised a hand and pinched Stephanie's cheek gently. He produced a long box out of nowhere, as though he had just performed a magic trick.

"Surprise!"

Stephanie quietly accepted the box and opened it. There, nestled in the box, was a beautiful diamond necklace. She instantly recognized it as Solara's newest creation, available only as a limited-edition piece.

Tyler rose to his feet before pulling Stephanie into his arms. He dipped his head in an attempt to kiss her on the forehead, only for her to tilt her head and avoid his kiss.

To her, he was already tainted.

"Steph?" Tyler's gaze darkened slightly.

He had given Stephanie many gifts over the years. Whenever she received something from him, she'd look delighted. But what was with her reaction this time?

"Thank you. I like it a lot." Stephanie lowered her gaze before closing the lid on the box. "We're in your office right now, so we should mind our behavior."

Tyler smiled in response. He soon raised a hand to ruffle Stephanie's hair.

"You've always been a thoughtful person, Steph."

Upon returning to her own workspace, Stephanie placed the box aside carelessly. She had to admit that Tyler knew her preferences very well. If not for the fact that she had already found out about his betrayal, she'd have been over the moon the moment she received the necklace, just like how she had reacted in the past.

During her lunch break, Stephanie snooped through all of Tyler's personal social media accounts, but she was unable to find any clues about his infidelity. The posts he had made were either related to his company or her.

Tyler tended to make various posts on his lovey-dovey interactions with Stephanie on his social media accounts. As such, his friends often complained about how much he was rubbing his relationship in their faces.

As Stephanie scrolled through the romantic moments of the past, all she felt was numbness in her heart. That was when she caught sight of a particular profile picture belonging to the user who had liked one of Tyler's posts.

Her sixth sense flared up at the sight, prompting her to click into the user's homepage. The latest status was posted a day ago, with the caption saying, "A certain someone has mailed this necklace from a place far, far away. I love it so much!"

The post came with a photo as well. The necklace shown in the photo was an exact replica of the necklace Tyler had just gifted to Stephanie.

There were only two pieces coming from Solara's latest limited-edition collection.

Stephanie chuckled bitterly at the sight of the photo. So, Tyler thought he was being fair by giving both his lovers the same necklace, huh?

After closing the social media website, Stephanie booked a flight ticket connected to a flight that would depart in a month.

At the moment, she was still stuck with a project that she had been working on with her team members. Said project would only get wrapped up in a month. Everyone had put their blood, sweat, and tears into this project, which was why she couldn't just ditch the project and leave.

In a month, Stephanie would leave Tyler and his company.

After booking the ticket, she opened another private chat window.

"Dad, I've thought things through. I'm willing to go home and help out with the family business. Also, I've decided to get involved in the marriage alliance."