In their fifth year of marriage,Jessica went to renew their marriage certificate.

However, she was told that the certificate was fake, and her husband's legal wife was someone else.

The love that had seemed inseparable for five years turned out to be a lie.

When she returned home, she overheard Anthony, her husband, talking to his lawyer:

"Linda is building her career abroad, and to establish herself in the business world, she needs the title of Mrs. Harris. I have to help her."

"As for Jessica, she's completely devoted to me. She's already cut ties with her family for me, and she will never leave."

Hearing that, Jessica's heart turned to stone.

By the time Anthony brought back the real marriage certificate, Jessica had disappeared, and he was unable to find her again.

"Mrs. Sullivan, there's a problem with your marriage certificate. It appears the seal is a forgery," said the clerk with an unsettling nonchalance, leaving Jessica Sullivan, who had come to get a duplicate of her marriage certificate, completely bewildered.

"That's impossible. My husband Anthony Harris and I got married five years ago. Could you please double-check?"

The clerk typed their social security numbers into the computer once more.

"The system shows Anthony is married, but you, Mrs. Sullivan, are listed as single."

"Who is Anthony's legal wife?" Jessica asked, her voice shaking.

"Linda Brown."

Jessica gripped the back of the chair, struggling to keep herself upright.

The marriage certificate, with its bright cover and bold letters, was handed to her. The sight stung her eyes.

If Jessica had any doubts before, thinking perhaps it was a system glitch, the mention of 'Linda' crushed all her hopes.

The lavish wedding from five years ago, the years they spent seemingly inseparable, the marriage she had been so proud of—everything was a lie.

Holding the worthless piece of paper, Jessica walked back home, her spirit crushed.

As she was about to open the door, she overheard a conversation inside.

It was the Harris Group's family lawyer speaking, "Mr. Harris, it's been five years. Isn't it time to give your wife the legal status she deserves?"

Jessica stopped dead in her tracks, holding her breath.

After what felt like an eternity, Anthony's deep voice filled the air.

"Just hold on a little longer. Linda is out there making her mark overseas, and she needs to be Mrs. Harris to stand her ground among the business elite."

The family lawyer cautioned. "However, since you and the missus never made it official with a marriage certificate, she could walk out on you if she ever decides to."

Anthony's gaze fell as he mulled it over, then said, "Linda did give me a daughter. I'll do everything in my power to keep her safe.

"Jess? She's so in love with me, she wouldn't dream of leaving.

"Besides, she burned bridges with the Sullivan family to be with me. She's got nowhere else to go."

In the height of the August heat, Jessica felt a chill as if she had fallen into an icy pit.

Her once defiant choice to marry him, defying her parents' wishes, was all part of Anthony's grand scheme.

All her lingering doubts suddenly clicked into place.

Harris Group, never one for philanthropy, had out of the blue started a charity.

Anthony, who could not stand the noise of kids, showed nothing but warmth to Tracy, the little girl from the orphanage.

It all made sense then why he had been dropping hints about wanting to adopt Tracy—she was his and Linda's child.

Jessica's head spun as she looked into the blinding sun.

Her legs buckled, and she crashed down on the stone steps.

Hearing the commotion, Anthony burst from the house, swept her up, and carried her back inside.

He laid Jessica down on the couch with a gentleness like she was made of the most delicate crystal.

"Jess, is something wrong?"

Jessica raised her head and peered into his eyes brimming with love. She tried to gauge the truth behind them. Was it all real, or was there deceit lurking beneath?

However, she could not unravel the mystery.

Anthony's composure slipped when she did not respond.

"Jess, did you catch wind of something..."

She shook her head. "I think the heat's got to me. I'm all dizzy and sick to my stomach."

Relief washed over Anthony. He stood and turned his ire on Jessica's driver.

"How could you neglect her like this? Go get your pay for the month, and then you're out of here."

Jessica waved him off. "It's such a beautiful day, and I wanted to walk. It's not on him."

Anthony crouched beside her, gently blowing on her scraped knee.

"Your heart is just too big, Jess, too kind."

For five long years, she had been duped, lost in the fantasy Anthony had woven around her.

Jessica's grip tightened on his hand, her heart refusing to believe that Anthony, who loved her so deeply, could lie to her.

Maybe the County Clerk's Office had made a mistake. Maybe Anthony was in the dark too.

Clinging to a final hope, she asked, "Our marriage certificate has been ruined. Should we get it replaced?"

Panic flickered in Anthony's eyes before he regained his cool.

He looked away, avoiding her gaze. "Let the lawyer handle that. You just focus on getting better."

With a sense of despair, Jessica closed her eyes.

That night, Jessica was tormented by nightmares.

In her dreams, her parents' stern voices clashed with Anthony's tender words, a cacophony at the edge of her consciousness.

"If you marry Anthony, you'll never be welcome in the Sullivan family home again."

"Jess, I'll never let you down. From now on, I'll be the closest person to you in this world."

…

Five years earlier, she had courageously defied her parents. She broke off the engagement they had arranged since her childhood, determined to marry Anthony.

Her father was so enraged by her decision that he suffered a heart attack, and her mother bitterly cursed, "You'll regret this one day."

However, Jessica chose to believe in love. She packed her bags and left Hudson City for Capital City, all on her own.

Anthony's love for her had not faded in the slightest over the years. In fact, it had only grown stronger.

His friends would joke, "If Jess pointed to a star and said she liked it, you'd climb up there and pluck it from the sky for her."

Jessica would just laugh when she heard that because Anthony had, in a way, plucked a star for her.

One day, she had casually admired a blue star in an astronomy magazine, calling it 'very special'.

On their anniversary, she received a certificate from the Britannia Star Name Registry. That twinkling blue star in the cosmos was then hers alone.

Anthony had installed a powerful telescope on their bedroom balcony.

Nearly every night, Jessica gazed through it, watching her star sparkle.

With her joyful marriage, she showed her parents that she had made the right choice, that Anthony was the person she was meant to trust all along.

If marriage were a high-stakes game, then the flawless fake marriage certificate was the undeniable proof of her loss.

Amid the turmoil, Linda materialized before her.

"Jessica, you're an impostor. I'm the one and only Mrs. Harris!"

Jessica frantically shook her head, her voice tinged with panic, "No! I can't believe it!"

Then, out of nowhere, Anthony appeared behind Linda, his eyes icy and distant as he observed the scene.

Seizing what felt like her last hope, Jessica pleaded, "Anthony, tell her, please, I'm Mrs. Harris."

However, Anthony did not even glance her way. He clasped Linda's hand and they turned to walk away together.

"Anthony!" she called out, her voice echoing with desperation.

Startled awake, Jessica found herself back in reality.

"I'm right here, Jess. Bad dream?" Anthony's voice was full of concern as he soothingly rubbed her back.

Tears welled up in Jessica's eyes. "Anthony, who am I?"

For a moment, Anthony looked surprised, then he smiled warmly and playfully pinched her nose.

"You're Jessica, the love of my life, my Mrs. Harris."

Really?

She wanted to confront him, to ask why—if she meant so much to him—he felt the need to create a sham marriage certificate.

"Anthony, about the marriage certificate..."

Just then, Anthony's phone buzzed on the nightstand.

Jessica caught a glimpse of the screen. The caller ID displayed 'Linda'.

Anthony gently tapped her hand and said with a hint of distraction, "I'll get the lawyer to sort out our marriage certificate as soon as possible. There's an emergency at work I have to take care of."

He barely stepped out of the bedroom before he snatched up the phone with urgency.

"Linda, hang tight, I'm on it," he said.

Meanwhile, Jessica got a call from the head of the welfare center where she had been helping out.

"Jessica, a couple's interested in adopting Tracy. Mr. Harris said you were considering it too. Can you swing by to discuss it?"

Quickly changing, Jessica drove to the welfare center.

She spotted Anthony at the stairwell, about to wave, when a figure darted past her and into his embrace.

"Anthony, you're here! Please, we have to save Tracy!"

Holding Linda close, Anthony reassured her, "Don't worry. No one is taking our girl."

Linda was back in the country?

Through her tears, Linda said, "Anthony, I can't bear the thought of Tracy calling anyone else 'Mom' and 'Dad'."

Anthony whispered in her ear, "I promise, Tracy will be a Harris, officially and forever."

Her tears gave way to laughter.

"Anthony, when you think about it, legally, we're the ones who are married. Jessica..."

Anthony's brow creased with worry. "I only registered our marriage before the wedding to protect you from being pushed around overseas.

"I can offer you the world, just not the Harris name. Jess is innocent, so leave her be," he implored.

Linda's frown betrayed her irritation, yet she knew they had to focus on Tracy for then, so she shelved her feelings.

"You needn't worry about me vying for the title of Mrs. Harris. I'm not even worthy."

Anthony sensed his earlier words had been too cutting and quickly knelt to soothe her.

"What are you saying? If you're not worthy, then who is? You're the one who blessed the Harris family with Tracy. My mom hasn't stopped thinking about you."

Jessica's balance wavered. Anthony's mother was aware of his affair with Linda!

She envisioned her mother-in-law, haughty and aloof.

The Harris family had looked down on her because her parents refused to provide financial support for the marriage, and her mother-in-law had been especially harsh, never once offering a smile.

Jessica had clung to the naive hope that her earnest efforts to please her mother-in-law would win her acceptance.

At this moment, it dawned on her that her mother-in-law had already welcomed another woman into the family. How could Jessica matter to her then?

Her legs turned to lead as she trailed behind Anthony and Linda up the stairs.

Anthony had maintained a gentlemanly facade, but as soon as they were out of sight, he yanked Linda close and pinned her to him.

"Let's put Tracy's situation aside for now. Shouldn't we focus on resolving my issue?"

He pressed against her, sending a wave of heat across Linda's cheeks.

He and Linda slipped into the empty storeroom. It was not long before the muffled cries of passion, broken and sporadic, seeped into Jessica's ears.

Just a wall away, she trembled, sliding down against the cool surface to the floor.

Anthony's breath came in ragged gasps. "Linda, after having a kid, how are you still so...?"

Linda's breathy response followed, "Oh, and Jessica isn't?"

The sounds of their encounter grew more intense, culminating in Anthony's low roar. "Jess is too buttoned-up, nothing like you—so free-spirited from your time overseas."

Jessica's nails bit into her palm, the pain a sharp contrast to the shock coursing through her. She had always seen the president of Harris Group as a paragon of virtue, one who looked down on any woman who dared to approach him, except for her. Then she knew he was nothing but a libertine.

As the moans started anew, Jessica pushed off the wall and staggered away.

The director was already waiting in her office. "We need to confirm, Jessica. Are you and Mr. Harris still planning to adopt Tracy?"

Jessica did not answer right away. Instead, she asked to see Tracy's personal file.

The file revealed that Tracy was born in the spring five years earlier, just six months after Jessica and Anthony had married, around the time he had proposed. Rage and bitterness surged within her.

Handing back the file, Jessica's voice was steady. "I've decided not to adopt Tracy. You can proceed with her adoption."

The director gave a pensive nod.

"Jess!"

Anthony barged in, grabbing Tracy's file from the desk.

"Since when did I back out of adopting Tracy? Who said you could decide for me?"

Jessica's gaze was icy as she met him. "And you were going to adopt Tracy without asking me, right?"

Anthony was speechless.

Linda popped up from behind him with a grin. "Hey, Jess, it's been ages."