The heavy wrought-iron gate slowly closed behind us. A servant silently took the soaked black coats from me and Isaac.

Just as I was dragging my legs, which felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, towards the stairs, under the warm, bright light of the living room, two figures that shouldn't be here suddenly appeared in my sight.

Sofia had changed into a soft, off-white cashmere sweater and was sitting on the expensive leather sofa in the living room. Jack, like a child who had done something wrong, stood beside the sofa with his head bowed, his hands fidgeting nervously.

A surge of anger instantly replaced my fatigue and surged straight to my head. “Why are they here?” My voice carried a bone-chilling coldness and unmasked accusation, shattering the hypocritical calm of the living room.

Isaac lifted his head. The heavy grief from the funeral still lingered on his face, now tinged with a touch of awkwardness and irritation.

He avoided my burning gaze and cleared his throat before speaking in a tired, almost matter-of-fact tone. "Riley, you’ve been through so much... I just didn’t feel comfortable leaving you alone. I thought it’d be good for Jack to stay here to accompany and talk with you for a while. It's better than being alone. Let them stay here for now to take care of you."

"Let them stay here?" My voice shot up in pitch. "You want them to move in? To ‘accompany me’? To ‘take care of me’?" Each rhetorical question was laced with scathing sarcasm and hatred. "Are you afraid I’ll die too slowly, or are you just impatient to have your little family reunion under my roof?"

"Riley, calm down!" Isaac’s face darkened, his tone growing stern. "I know you're grieving, but you can't be this unreasonable. Sofia means well! She genuinely wants to care for you. Just look at yourself right now..."

Sofia went pale under the ruthlessness of my words. Her eyes quickly rushed down her cheeks like a broken string of pearls that brought out a sense that she had been horribly wronged and misunderstood.

“Riley, how could you say that to me?” she sobbed softly. “I’m worried about you. Yosef is gone and you have no family left. Isaac is a man, so how could he know how to take care of someone? I genuinely wanted to come and take care of you.”

She cried with such sincerity that it looked like she might faint any second.

Isaac immediately stepped forward and supported her. His eyes, when he looked at me, filled with disapproval and blame, as if I were the unreasonable, ungrateful villain.

Sofia leaned against Isaac's arm and, while sobbing, made an even more absurd and repulsive suggestion, "Riley, for the sake of all our years as sisters … please let Jack stay here. After all, not only he is your nephew, but he’s always respected you like a mother."

She gave Jack, who was still frozen like a statue, a hard tug and her voice suddenly turned desperate and manic. "Jack! Quick, beg your Aunt Riley! Beg her to let you stay and take care of her. And … and …."

She looked at Isaac, then back at me and as if she’d finally made up her mind, her eyes blazed with determination. "Let Jack recognize Isaac as his godfather. That way, he becomes your godson and we’ll be a real family. In the future, he can take Yosef’s place to be filial to you and care for you in your old age. Riley, please … take pity on us, a widow and son and give yourself and Isaac, a little something to hold onto too."

"Recognize Isaac as Jack's godfather?" That word hit me like thunder, leaving me frozen in place.

I stared blankly at the scene before me … at Sofia’s tear-streaked face, Isaac’s satisfied expression and Jack's eyes that glinted with a hint of hidden longing.

Suddenly, a sharp, metallic taste surged in my throat. “Pfft—!”

Just before losing consciousness, I heard myself scream a broken roar that filled with every last ounce of hatred I had left, “Get ... Out...”

When I woke up again, I was in the master bedroom. I struggled to force open my eye, only to see Isaac standing beside me, looking so worried.

“Riley, you’re awake?” His voice was low and gentle, laced with just the right amount of concern and pity. He was acting as if the intense confrontation at the funeral, in the living room and the blood I had spit out had never happened.

“How are you feeling? The doctor has already come by to examine you. He said you had a heart attack due to a sudden surge of anger, so you need to rest and avoid any further stimulation," he explained

He carefully helped me sit up and then tenderly brought a glass of water to my lips.  

I lowered my eyes, staring at my pale, almost translucent fingers.

These hands once held this family together, but now, they didn’t even have the strength to clench.

Isaac watched me in silence. After a moment, he seemed to come to a decision. Carefully, he pulled out a delicate, gold-embossed envelope from the pocket of his robe.

“Riley,” he coaxed, his voice even softer now.

“I know this period has been too painful for you. The matter with Yosef… and the kidnapping… I want to take you away from here, just the two of us, to find some peace and clear our minds," he continued.

Then, he gently placed the gold-embossed envelope on the silk blanket covering me. The envelope featured an abstract design of icy blue glaciers and snow-white auroras, with a line of elegant English text below, “A Romantic Journey to the Arctic.”

As soon as I saw the plane ticket, my heart clenched and a bone-chilling coldness surged through my spine, making my fingertips grow even colder.  

The Arctic? As in the land of ice and snow that symbolizes eternity and exile? How perfect. That's an ideal place for a “redemption” trip.

In a land where life is so fragile, who would question an “accident”? They’d never even find my body.

Isaac did not realize how my body stiffened or the storm churning in the depths of my eyes. He remained immersed in his own “loving” script. He leaned forward slightly with eyes glowing with anticipation toward me and his expression was full of approval.

“Riley, let’s start over, okay?" he pleaded. "Forget about the pain … It's just you and me.”

I slowly raised my eyes to look at Isaac's eyes, which were filled with pretend tenderness.

He couldn't possibly think I'd submit to his every arrangement like I had for the past forty years, including this “recreational trip” to hell, could he?

“Start over?” My voice was eerily calm. “Isaac, without our son, what exactly is there to start over from?”

His tender expression froze in a second, his eyes flickering with surprise and barely concealed irritation. He hadn’t expected me to reject his offer so bluntly.

“But…” I paused deliberately, my gaze lingering on the fake marriage certificate on the bedside table. “I’ve also come to realize that Sofia and her daughter have had it tough. Since we no longer have a son, recognizing you as their godfather is also a good thing.”

Isaac was stunned. He clearly hadn’t expected me to agree to the “adoption” so easily.

“Isaac,” I called out softly, “Although I agree to the adoption, you are still the head of the Braun Corporation. How can the matter of adopting a son that is so important be done in secret, like a thief?”

I met his bewildered eyes head-on and delivered the line that would both thrill him and nail him to the cross of humiliation for good, slowly. “Let’s throw a grand banquet. Five days from now.”

My voice was calm and composed, as if discussing the most ordinary household matter, “Invite every prominent figure, media outlet and business partner you can. I want you to acknowledge Jack as your son in front of everyone, with dignity and honor. Give him his rightful status and everything he deserves.”

“Let the whole city know that Isaac Braun has an heir again.”

Isaac shot up from the bed in an instant. He gripped my cold hand, which was on the quilt, tightly and asked, “Riley, are you serious?”

His voice cracked with excitement. “I knew it! I knew you still understood me the most. You ….”

Isaac was so excited. He acted as if he had been injected with adrenaline. Without saying another word, he turned and rushed out of the bedroom, eager to share this “great news” with Sofia.

He also wanted to prepare for the “reunion banquet” that would become the most glorious and most fateful turning point in his life.

The master bedroom fell silent once more.

I extended my pale, almost translucent fingers and gently traced the Arctic flight ticket that was with the aurora. The banquet was about to begin.

Wrapped in my robe, I stood barefoot by the window, gazing down at the warm and cozy living room below.

Sofia, who was wearing a soft pink loungewear set, occasionally turned her head to whisper a few words to Isaac, who responded to her with a gentle gaze and a doting smile.  

That look, that smile, that effortless intimacy between them … there wasn’t even a trace of the so-called "best friend" and "husband" dynamic left.

They were clearly a real couple who were deeply immersed in happiness.

Meanwhile, Jack, who had been so reserved in my presence just moments ago, was now beaming with excitement and chatting animatedly after learning he was about to join the Braun Family.

Isaac listened intently, his eyes brimming with unhidden admiration and pride. The kind of approval a father gives to a “promising” son.

It was a blindingly nauseating scene of “family bliss.”

I clenched my fists tightly, letting my nails dig into my palms, using the sharp pain to suppress the destructive urge that was about to burst out of my body.

Just then, the screen of the phone on the bedside table lit up silently, flashing the name “Lawyer Wilson.”

I took a deep breath and picked up the phone. Displayed on the screen was a zoomed-in scan of an official marriage certificate.

The groom was none other than the tall and handsome Isaac when he was younger.

However, the woman who was leaning beside him with a shy and sweet smile was not the naïve and innocent me in my early twenties! Instead, it was Sofia … when she was younger!

Below their photo, the registration date was clearly printed. I noticed that the date was three full years before Isaac “pursuing” me and taking me to get our marriage certificate.

The next document was the paternity test between Isaac and Jack and as expected, they were biological father and son!  

Below the document, Lawyer Wilson's brief message read like a cold verdict.

[Miss Harper, after multiple cross-checks and official records verification, we confirm there is no marriage registration record between you and Mr. Isaac Braun in the national database. Mr. Isaac and Miss Sofia Miller are legally married and Jack Miller is their legitimate son. The chain of evidence is solid.]

So that’s it. It wasn’t the marriage certificate between me with Isaac that was forged. It was actually Isaac and Sofia's that was the real one after all.

And I, Riley Harper, have been nothing more than a complete outsider. I was tricked for forty years by a carefully forged lie.

A colossal farce where I had spent my money, youth and entire life to support this genuine couple and their son!

The phone slipped from my hand and landed soundlessly on the thick carpet below.

And I, Riley Harper, have been nothing more than a complete outsider. I was tricked for forty years by a carefully forged lie.

A colossal farce where I had spent my money, youth and entire life to support this genuine couple and their son!

The phone slipped from my hand and landed soundlessly on the thick carpet below.