With the Spring Festival approaching, I went to the temple as usual to pray for my doctor husband.

While offering incense, I stumbled upon him behind the Buddha statue—tangled up with his ex-wife in a frenzy.

"Finn, you remarried so quickly just to forget me. Now I'm back—when are you divorcing her?"

Finn Gilbert pinched Kate Simmons's chin, pulling her waist tight against him.

"My wife is pregnant," he said with a teasing smile. "We're not getting divorced. You abandoned me back then—what status do you expect now?"

Then came the urgent panting.

I lost my balance stepping back and hit the ground.

When my family's company went bankrupt, my parents fled abroad to escape the debt. Overnight, I became a fallen heiress.

Finn Gilbert took me in when I was sleeping on the sidewalk. He bought ten thousand acres of flower fields just to make me smile.

Now he was telling me it was all to forget his ex-wife.

But when I went abroad to inherit my parents' new business, he came to this very temple and prayed for my return.

1.

A master helped me to my feet.

"Miss, praying for love before the Buddha is asking for eternity. Don't disturb them."

"Dr. Gilbert has a benevolent heart. The temple is happy to accommodate the romantic interests of husband and wife."

I took a deep breath and unclenched my fists.

Like a walking corpse, I left the hall.

I wandered until I reached the scripture hall—and ran straight into Finn and Kate at the entrance.

He panicked, dropping her hand. His expression flickered when our eyes met.

"Bella, weren't you buying Spring Festival couplets today? Why are you here?"

"But it works out. I was about to tell you—Katie just got back and has nowhere to stay. She came straight from the airport to pray for me, her ex-husband. Can she stay with us for now?"

My heart seized. After a long moment, I forced a smile.

"Sure."

Finn's face darkened.

"Bella, you really don't mind?"

"Really."

I said it firmly. His expression soured further.

Kate looped her arm through his and shot me a smug look.

"Finn, your wife is so generous. Thanks."

Inside the scripture hall, Kate dragged me along to browse scriptures—then deliberately cut her own hand and cried out.

"Miss Henson, you agreed so nicely earlier, so why are you using the scriptures to cut my hand?"

Finn rushed over, worry flooding his face as he examined her hand.

Before I could react, he slammed the scripture into me, eyes blazing.

"Isabella Henson, don't you know Katie is terrified of pain? If anything happens to her, you won't be okay either!"

"I didn't—"

I covered my bruised arm, but Finn had already scooped Kate up and shoved past me.

"Katie, don't be scared. I'll take you to the hospital and bandage it myself."

After they left, everyone in the scripture hall stared. Whispers rose around me.

"She's probably fighting for favor with the real wife and snapped. Mistresses these days are so vicious—and she still has the nerve to come to a temple!"

"Look at her playing the victim. The actual girlfriend's hand is bleeding and she didn't even cry."

Only then did I realize a tear had slipped down my cheek.

I ran to the Buddha and pulled out the incense I'd just offered for Finn.

For five years, I'd come here three times a year to pray for this man—my way of thanking him for being my light.

He'd sworn before this very Buddha: one lifetime, one man, one woman.

But the moment Kate Simmons appeared, none of it counted anymore.

When I got home, Kate had already changed into my pajamas and was sprawled across the bed.

My head was pounding. Something in me snapped—I stormed over and grabbed at the fabric.

"This is mine. Take it off!"

Finn shot to his feet. A bowl of porridge crashed to the floor.

"Isabella, are you done? You're the one who agreed to let Katie move in. What's with the jealousy now?" His voice was ice. "She's my ex-wife. We have a normal relationship. Can you stop being so neurotic?"

Kate sat up, eyes glistening with hurt, and tugged at Finn's sleeve. "Finn, don't be harsh to her. I'm clearly the problem here—I've upset Miss Henson. Just let me change back into my own clothes. I'll leave right away."

Finn pressed her back down and patted her head. "It's not your fault. I've spoiled my wife too much."

He reached for my face. I flinched away.

He paused, then withdrew his hand. His tone softened. "Alright. I know you're sensitive because you love me, but Katie and I are completely innocent. You've been the one picking on her." He gestured at the mess on the floor. "Clean that up, make her a fresh bowl, and apologize. Then we're done."

I stared at him, eyes burning.

Who was this man? I didn't recognize him at all.

I remembered once bumping into a stranger on the street and blurting out an apology. Afterward, Finn had looked at me with such seriousness. "From now on, you never have to say sorry to anyone. I'll say it for you."

I believed him.

But I should have known—promises are like wind. They scatter the moment they blow.

When I didn't respond, Finn grabbed my arm and dragged me down the hall, shoving me into the study.

"Stay in there and reflect. You can come out when you've thought this through!"

The door slammed. The tears I'd been holding back finally spilled over.

I crouched on the floor. In less than two minutes, my sleeves were soaked through.

Half an hour later, I noticed a folder on his desktop computer—separate from his medical research files.

Kate Simmons's Little Space.

I opened it.

Hundreds of her photos. Intimate ones. The save dates were almost daily, spanning over a year. More than three hundred in total.

So that's what this past year had been. He and Kate, rekindling everything behind my back.

With trembling hands, I scheduled an abortion for the day during Spring Festival.

New year. New life.

At dinner, Finn opened the study door with a trace of satisfaction on his face.

"Food's ready. Katie's very forgiving—six hours locked up was enough to let her vent. Come eat. The baby needs nutrition."

So that was it. Kate was happy, and his mood followed hers like a tuning fork.

I walked to the table expressionless and picked at my food in silence.

Finn, meanwhile, was a whirlwind of attentiveness—peeling shrimp, serving dishes, ladling soup. All for her.

"Katie, you haven't had my cooking in five years. Taste it—how is it? Everything's just the way you like."

I froze.

Finn had told me he couldn't cook.

Not only that, he'd never remembered what I liked to eat. Whenever I asked, he'd say his job was too demanding—he didn't have the mental bandwidth for that kind of thing.

Turns out it was only because he didn't love me.

As I headed back to my room, Finn called out.

"Bella, sleep in the guest room tonight. Katie's used to the master bedroom—she'll have trouble sleeping otherwise."

I stopped.

Then I turned toward the piano room instead.

It didn't matter where I slept. After the abortion, I'd be gone.

That night, I woke to the rhythmic creak of the bed. And beneath it, their hushed voices.

"Finn, the soundproofing here is terrible. Aren't you worried she'll hear?"

"Worried about what? Isn't it more exciting this way? Just let go a little. Even if she finds out, I can explain."

"She owes me for saving her—that washed-up heiress. She'll believe anything I say."

"Besides, her parents are bankrupt, and she's carrying my child. She can't leave me."

My eyes flew open. My nails dug into my palms, and sleep was no longer an option.

I dragged myself up and sat at the piano, letting the music drown out their noise.

It didn't take long for them to show up at my door.

The moment I opened it, I was met with Finn's deep frown—and Kate in a short skirt and plunging nightgown.

"Isabella, do you have any idea what time it is? You're banging away on that piece of junk just to keep Katie awake, aren't you?"

Kate chimed in, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "I'm really sensitive to noise. Even a little sound keeps me up. I hope Miss Henson can be more considerate."

I looked at them both and let out a cold laugh. I had nothing left to say.

"Fine. Got it."

I shut the door and called my dad.

"Dad, I want to come abroad and take over the new company."

I heard him leap up from his office chair. "That's wonderful! Your mom and I miss you so much. Hurry and come!"

After hanging up, I made a pallet on the floor of the piano room and slept there.

When I woke the next morning, half the piano keys had been pried off.

This piano was the only thing Mom and Dad left me after the bankruptcy. It had been with me for six years. I was deeply attached to it.

I couldn't hold back anymore. I stormed into the bedroom and yanked Kate up by the arm.

"Who told you to touch my piano? Who said you could go into my room?"

Just as I was about to slap her, Finn grabbed my wrist.

He was holding a pack of sanitary pads—probably something he'd just bought for her.

"Isabella, have you lost your mind? Who said you could hit anyone?"

I ignored him and tried to wrench free.

Finn's face went cold. He roared at me.

"Enough! You're just looking for reasons to pick on Katie. You're attacking someone over a broken piano!"

"And the house is mine. Since when is that room your private space? Katie has every right to go in. Stop acting like you own the place!"

I lowered my hand. In his eyes, I was just a lunatic.

While I was trying to figure out how to repair the piano, Finn called in a few workers.

He ordered them to drag it out and throw it away.

I tried to stop them. I fought so hard I split my head open.

In the end, I lost my strength and could only watch as the piano was hauled off like scrap metal.

After that, Finn sealed up the piano room and took back my key.

He brought over a first-aid kit and carefully bandaged the wound on my forehead.

Seeing me sitting there in a daze, he leaned in to kiss me—but I pulled away.

His brow furrowed, a flicker of disappointment crossing his face. "Bella, why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm doing this for your own good. So you'll stop fighting with Katie over a piano. It's not good for either of you."

"You're pregnant. You can't afford intense mood swings, you know?"

I almost laughed. This piano room had been personally designed and renovated by Finn.

Knowing I'd loved piano since childhood, he'd bought stacks of sheet music for me.

He used to sit with me for hours while I played.

When he got lost in the music, he'd pull me into his arms.

"Bella, will you play piano for me for the rest of our lives? What I mean is—I want to spend my life with you."

I cut off the memory and ripped off the bandage he'd just applied.