Chapter 1

After six years of maintaining a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend, I finally saved enough money to buy a house. Without telling him, I travelled to his city.

I had only wanted to surprise him and get our marriage officially registered.

When the people at the front desk learned that I was there to see Andy, they smiled and handed me a wedding favor.

“Are you here to give us the wedding gift? Our CEO, Mr. Ferrell, is getting married today. Here’s a wedding favor for you.”

I was about to explain to them that the Andy I was looking for was merely a low-level employee at the company, when I saw a familiar figure step out of the elevator.

It was Andy’s ex-roommate.

When I saw him dressed as a groomsman, I earnestly asked, “Is someone getting married today? Why hasn’t anyone informed me?”

Just then, his phone rang. My best friend’s voice came through the speaker.

“Why aren’t you here yet? Andy and Sophia’s wedding is about to start.

“How can the best man not show up? We’re going to give you the noogie when you get here!”

Chapter 1

Quennie's POV

Peter Zafron’s original casual indifference instantly turned into sheer panic. He instinctively hid his phone behind his back.

“Is Andy getting married today?”

Peter’s silence told me everything.

An inexplicable mix of emotions churned inside me.

All I could do was to pull myself together and say to him, “Take me there. We’ve been together for ten years, after all.”

It felt as though someone had torn open a wound inside my heart, and the pain was unbearable.

We had been together for ten years. We dated four years before starting six years of a long-distance relationship.

I had brought up the intention of getting married many times. But Andy Ferrell always either used the distance as an excuse or complained that he had no chance of getting promoted.

He had once told me, “Quennie, I’ll marry you only after I buy a house in Sea City.”

That was why I had worked myself to the bone only to save enough money to buy a house, and then travel all the way there to give Andy a surprise.

But I had never imagined to be the one getting surprised in such a manner.

On the way, Peter looked like he had something to say to me, yet no words came out of his mouth.

When we arrived at the banquet hall on the third floor, he hesitated for a long time before blurting out, “Maybe we shouldn’t go in…”

When I pushed open the doors, the opening notes of the wedding march immediately filled the room.

I saw the photos of Andy with another woman lined both sides of the hall. They had carefully framed and displayed every major moment of theirs from the day they met to the proposal.

I saw my friends in the photos as well. Even my best friend was in some of them.

I counted the years. It had been five years.

I looked around the hall. Most of the guests were our mutual acquaintances.

As for the bridesmaid’s group, they were all my closest friends.

So, everyone knew that Andy was never some sort of low-level employee at the company. They all knew that he would get married that day.

I did the math.

When Andy travelled abroad with Sophia Brandt, I had nearly drunk myself sick at a business dinner while working on a project.

When they were taking their once-in-a-lifetime wedding photos, I had worked nonstop at the office for weeks and nearly pushed myself to the brink.

Yet, not a single person had told me about all these.

I could imagine the looks on their faces. To my face, they had probably acted concerned about how hard I was working, only to turn around and mock me behind my back for thinking I could ever measure up.

While I had agonized over whether to buy a discounted twenty-dollar dress, a single pearl on Sophia’s wedding gown already cost more than two thousand dollars.

Even their wedding favors cost over ten thousand dollars. Yet, Andy had constantly pretended to be broke whenever he was around me.

The more I remembered, the more unbearable the pain became.

When the bride and groom came down to make their rounds and toast the guests, Andy finally noticed me.

His expression finally changed a little. Meanwhile, Sophia stared at me in puzzlement.

“Who’s she?”

Andy said in a lackadaisical manner, “A college friend.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

But he only fixed his gaze on Sophia.

Sophia smiled as she clinked her glass against mine. “Since you’re Andy’s college friend, you should have another drink. Thank you for coming today.”

I could not help but laugh bitterly. After ten years together, Andy did not even bother to acknowledge who I really was.

My phone chimed. It was Andy’s message.

[I’ll explain everything later. Just behave yourself for the next few days.]

The next second, a nondisclosure agreement landed in my inbox.

The gist of it was simple: if I interfered with his marriage to Sophia, I would be liable for an enormous amount in damages.

But what terrified me most was the fact that I had already signed my name in the agreement.

Chapter 2

Sophia noticed something was wrong. “Are you alright?”

I forced a smile. “I’m fine. It’s just that this is my first time seeing Andy care about someone this much. I’m a little surprised.”

They held their hands tightly. Their fingers intertwined perfectly.

Over my ten years relationship with Andy, he had never once taken an initiative to hold my hands.

There was a special glow in Sophia’s eyes, the kind that only newlyweds seemed to have.

“He’s usually pretty stern and intimidating. I’m about the only person he’s gentle with.”

Andy treated her with an almost overwhelming tenderness.

On the giant LED screen in the banquet hall, their wedding photos played one after another.

Over the ten years, I could count the number of pictures Andy and I had taken together on one hand. Whenever we did take one, he made me delete it.

But on the screen, I saw him laugh and make silly faces. His ears even turned red when Sophia secretly kissed him on the cheek.

Just then, Andy asked, “Do your feet hurt? Do you want to change shoes?”

“They don’t hurt,” Sophia said with a smile.

“Well, that’s another one of his good qualities. He’s very thoughtful and attentive. He remembers my period, and he remembers all my favorite things. “

Tragically, Andy’s thoughtfulness had never been meant for me.

Whenever my period cramps got so bad that I could barely get out of bed, I could never get through to Andy.

He was always “busy with work,” and he would only call me back the following day.

The next time it happened, he ignored me all over again.

I always thought that was just the kind of person he was. He was not good with words.

I always made excuses for him.

I thought he totally forgot our anniversaries only because he did not care about things like that.

I believed he ignored my needs only because he was too busy with his work.

I finally realized that all this tenderness and romance were meant for someone else.

I had no idea how I managed to make it through the rest of the reception.

By the time I returned to the budget hotel, I finally broke down and cried.

When Andy and I were together, we were very poor.

I grew up in the mountains. Whenever I had free time, I took on part-time jobs.

Andy was a local, but from what I had heard, his family was not well-off either. We often worked part-time at the same places.

After we started dating, he never let me spend any money. He always insisted on paying.

He used to tell me, “I may not be rich, but that’s all the more reason I can’t let you spend yours.”

While other couples spent their time wondering where they should go for fun, he and I spent our time figuring out how to save money.

As such, I never saw the slightest hint that he came from a wealthy family.

The year we graduated, he told me that his family had found him a job. I, on the other hand, moved to another city.

Over the years when we were in a long-distance relationship, he worked late every night to save enough money to marry me.

My heart ached for him, so I decided to help ease his burden.

Whenever he complained that his supervisor had docked his commission again, I sent him half of whatever I earned from my part-time jobs.

Those days had been exhausting and difficult, but I felt very happy.

I felt so happy that even after seeing all of this with my own eyes, I still could not bring myself to believe it.

Chapter 3

That night, Andy knocked on my door.

He got straight to the point. “There’s an arranged marriage between me and Sophia. When you come from families like ours, a lot of things are beyond your control.”

Instead, I asked, “When did I sign that nondisclosure agreement?”

Andy’s eyes flickered a little. “Three years ago.”

I was startled for a moment. I had worked the hardest for that year and had saved money like there was no tomorrow.

I stayed up working for an entire week and nearly passed out at the bus stop.

When Andy heard something was wrong with my voice over the phone, he rushed over that same night with a stack of documents with him.

“It’s a nondisclosure agreement for a new company project. A direct family member has to sign as a guarantor.”

I was a little puzzled. “But we’re not even married yet.”

He sounded so certain when he replied to me, “Isn’t that just a matter of time?”

I happily signed my name.

Just when I thought Andy had finally made a place for me in his future, he had already planned to marry another woman.

There was a trace of reluctance in his gaze.

“As long as you behave yourself, you can still remain by my side.

“I won’t treat you badly. Pick any house you want. I’ll give you one hundred thousand dollars every month.”

I stared at him in shock. “Do you want me to be your mistress?”

Andy did not seem to think there was anything wrong with that.

“You’re always saying how exhausting your job is. Staying by my side would definitely be easier than working—”

Before he finished his sentence, I slapped him across the face.

He knew perfectly well that my mother had developed depression after being forced to become a mistress.

He knew that was the one thing I hated the most. Yet, he still said it matter-of-factly.

Andy’s expression darkened. When he saw my teary eyes, his tone softened.

“Quennie, think about what your mother went through all those years. Do you really want to follow in her footsteps? At least I won’t abandon you the way your father abandoned your mother.”

I kicked and shoved him until I forced him out of the room.

Little did I know the next day, my mother, Mary, called me in a furious tone.

“How could you do something like this? I’m so ashamed to have even given birth to a disgrace like you!”

It was only then that I knew someone had secretly photographed Andy coming to my hotel and turned the pictures into a post on a social media account.

The headline read: Freshly Married Tycoon Secretly Keeps a Mistress on the Side.

The comments were filled with insults. Someone even dug up my phone number and ID. A flood of vicious harassment came pouring in.

Mary cried on the other end of the phone.

“Quennie, why did you become someone like that? You know a mistress is the one thing I’ve hated the most my entire life.”

I could only explain, “Mom, I’m not a mistress—”

Mary’s voice abruptly turned shrill.

“You’re still lying! If you’re not his mistress, why did Andy go to your hotel to see you?!”

I had no way to explain that. All I could do was post evidence online proving that I was not a mistress.

For a moment, the internet descended into chaos.

They quickly reported and took down my post.

Just then, Sophia came for me. “Quennie, we need to talk.”

Chapter 4

“I’m sorry that the incident circulated online has caused you trouble. I’m here to apologize on behalf of my friend.

“But the post you made has caused a lot of problems for both the Ferrell family and my family. We need you to go live and publicly admit that you’re the mistress.”

While Mary’s furious accusations still rang in my ears, Sophia’s words were no different from holding out a knife and asking me to drive it straight into my heart.

“What if I refuse?”

A trace of coldness showed up in her eyes.

“Have you forgotten about that piece of paper you signed? If you interfere with our marriage, do I need to remind you how much you’ll have to pay?

“If you apologize publicly on the livestream, I’ll compensate you an additional five hundred thousand dollars.”

I agreed. “Fine. I’ll apologize.”

The moment the livestream started, a flood of people poured in and cussed at me.

The corners of my lips twitched. “I’m sorry. I apologize for refusing to swallow my anger and quietly take the blame.

“I should’ve just accepted that the man I’d been with for ten years has become someone else’s husband. So what if I’m the one getting cheated on? I should’ve just swallowed it and moved on.”

The phrase “Sophia Brandt, the mistress” quickly shot to the top of the trending searches.

Andy angrily ended the livestream.

He was so furious that he laughed. “Quennie, you grew up in the mountains, so maybe you don’t understand the rules in our world.”

I felt a chill run down my spine behind my back.

“Do you still remember how your mother was publicly condemned by everyone back then?”

He took out his phone and tapped the screen before showing it to me.

It showed an old web page from more than a decade ago. The headline was glaringly sensational.

It read: College Professor Willingly Becomes a Mistress, Attacked by Wife in the Street.

“If this starts making waves online again, do you think your mother can withstand another round of online harassment?”

I broke down and begged Andy to leave Mary alone. She already had depression. If she had to go through something like that again, she would not survive it.

A trace of sympathy flashed in Andy’s eyes. But he still pressed the send button.

“You’ve caused Sophia so much pain. You need to pay the price!”

“No! Don’t—”

I dropped to my knees and apologized to Sophia. “I’m sorry, Ms. Brandt. I was out of line just now. I beg you, please leave my mother alone!”

Before long, the old scandal erupted online all over again.

Back then, it had not been easy for Mary to claw her way out of that darkness, only to be subjected to another wave of online harassment.

When Sophia saw that I was completely broken down, she smiled lightly.

“Ms. Maya, if you apologize to me on the livestream, I’ll forgive you.”

I had no choice but to go live again. This time, more people flooded the comments to attack me.

Andy’s expression softened slightly as he comforted me.

“Your mother will be fine. I already sent someone to look after her.”

Right after he finished the sentence, he went outside and made a call.

Sophia asked me, “Aren’t you curious how we knew about what happened back then?”

It was only then that my best friend, Sally, stepped out of the shadows.

My mind went blank. So, Sally was the one who had provided them with the information.

“Why would you do this to me?”

Sally smiled.

“I’m doing this for your own good, Quennie. Andy has always loved Sophia. Why are you still clinging to someone else’s husband?”

Sally had been my best friend since childhood. Back then, her parents had refused to let her attend high school because they wanted to marry her off for a wedding gift.

I had paid her school fees so that she could continue her studies.

Even when she chose to keep Andy’s marriage from me, I never blamed her.

But I never expected Sally to be the one who pushed me to the brink.

Before the security guards escorted me out, Sophia reminded me.

“One more thing. I already called back the people Andy arranged to watch over your mother.”

It felt like a bolt from the blue. I frantically called Mary, only to receive the news that she had died after falling from a building.

The despair that followed was overwhelming. I could barely breathe. My hands and feet felt cold.

Through my blurred vision, I saw a message from Andy.

[I already deleted the post. I also have people deal with the public backlash online.]

[Sophia won’t bother you anymore. We can still go back to the way things were.]

I started another livestream. I ignored the flood of hateful comments as I slowly headed toward the river. Then, I jumped into it.

“Andy, we can never go back to the way things were.”

Meanwhile, Sophia was with Andy, when she unexpectedly came across my livestream.

Sophia glanced at the screen. “She’s probably doing it for your attention.”

The tension in Andy’s chest immediately eased. “That made sense. Quennie was not the kind of person who would do something so reckless.”

The next second, his assistant came stumbling into the room.

“Mr. Ferrell, something’s wrong! Ms. Maya really jumped into the river!”