Three years after marrying the movie king, I learned that his first love was returning to the country. To protect everything I had now, I decided to seduce the movie king and make him fall completely in love with me.

I was going to climb to the top!!!

Later, I deliberately pushed the divorce papers to him. In response, he aggressively pinned me down for the entire night and said,

“Elara, if you speak nonsense again, I’ll make sure you can’t get out of bed next time.”

...

I looked strikingly similar to Caleb Hart's first love. After she sacrificed her love with him for her career, Caleb turned to me and asked me to marry him.

“Brand endorsements, movie scripts, popular variety shows... Whatever you need, I can give it to you.”

“The only condition is that you marry me.”

As an eighteen-line actress who was practically paying to act, I readily accepted. That very same day, I signed the marriage certificate with Caleb and moved into his villa.

Elara’s rule for surviving in poverty: never turn down money, no matter the situation.

I enjoyed the abundant resources Caleb provided, living in his spacious villa while only having to sleep with him once a month, whether at home or in the hotel during a shoot.

It was a pretty good deal. Not only was Caleb incredibly handsome, but he was genuinely kind to me. He never flirted with anyone else, and whenever fans insulted me, he’d stand up for me, helping to clear my name.

But I knew this life wouldn’t last forever, because Caleb’s first love was coming back.

I wasn’t sure if Caleb had gone abroad to find his first love during these three years, but my intuition told me that he probably did, because there were times when, for some reason, he was especially rough with me in bed, determined to draw blood.

One time, it was on his first love’s birthday. Another time, it was on the day his first love left the country.

And last month, Caleb didn’t let me sleep with him, and I suspected it was because his first love was coming back.

Elara’s rule for surviving in poverty, part two: do whatever it takes to cling to your sugar daddy.

So, before his first love returned, I decided I had to win Caleb over and climb to the top.

Step A: The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

I signed up for a cooking class, dedicating three days to perfecting my skills. When I served him a beautifully prepared lobster with cheese, the aroma and flavor just right, I watched as Caleb poked at the fish’s tail with his chopsticks. To my surprise, the fish flipped over in the plate, and that’s when I switched to plan B.

Step B: Increase my presence and make sure he remembers me.

We had just finished filming our previous drama, and if it were any other time, I would’ve been rushing to pack and join another production. But things were different now. I decided to take a break and be in Caleb’s face every day. Unfortunately, Caleb disappeared the day after filming wrapped. I couldn’t get my face time.

Damn it.

Step C: Create a chance encounter, add some romance.

Using my position as Caleb’s wife, I got his assistant’s help to obtain Caleb’s schedule. Turns out, he was filming a public welfare short film in Lunaris Lake, Asteria.

I immediately booked the earliest flight to Asteria. After several transfers, I finally arrived at the small town where Caleb was filming.

I found him at Havenly Café, sitting by the window facing the sea, reading a book. Outside, the reeds swayed, the seagulls flew low, and the sunset bathed the rippling ocean in gold, casting a shimmering glow on him.

That scene was breathtakingly beautiful.

It only made me more determined to win Caleb over.

I waved off the server’s questioning look and slowly walked up behind Caleb, covering his eyes with my hands and whispering in his ear.

“Guess who I am.”

I tilted my head and saw Caleb curl his lips into a smile. His eyelashes fluttered against my palm, tickling me.

Caleb deliberately answered with the name of his assistant, Miles. Annoyed, I slapped his shoulder lightly. The action was intimate, like a playful gesture, something I had never done before.

Before, I was always respectful.

“Miles knows his voice sounds like a woman’s, doesn’t he?”

Caleb just smiled.

Plan C seemed to be a success.

Time to take the next step: create the moment of attraction.

It’s a big project, after all. Everyone has different triggers for falling in love. For someone like Caleb, who’s successful and was crowned Best Actor at such a young age, his moments of attraction are probably as easy as grabbing a handful of sand in the desert. So, novelty is the secret weapon to success, but it still needs a bit of the familiar to spice it up.

First, I need to change my persona—I have to be more active than before.

Second, physical contact is essential.

According to Caleb, his microfilm shoot at Lunaris Lake is nearing completion, and they only need to film the sunset over the sea and the sunrise scene to wrap it up.

The sunset shot will be done soon, and Caleb is currently retouching his makeup.

I finish my iced Americano and borrow a blue bicycle with a basket from the cafe staff. Pedaling down the road by the beach where Caleb is filming, I let the wind rush past me.

Since marrying Caleb, I haven’t had a moment this carefree. Most of my year is spent contributing to the set, moving between scenes for various shows. Even when shooting modern dramas in picturesque places like Northan City or Long Beach, I never have time to appreciate the scenery or the trees around me.

I gained money, but I lost the ability to enjoy life.

Is that sad?

Not really, I can’t complain about money.

Lunaris Lake is a romantic place. I want to stay a few more days with Caleb, deepen our connection, and relax.

Caleb finishes shooting quickly. By the time he finds me, the sky hasn’t completely darkened, and half a red sun still hangs on the beach.

"Caleb, take me with you."

I ring the bike’s bell and, speaking, I shift my weight to the back seat of the bike.

Without hesitation, Caleb swings his long leg over the bike, presses his foot on the pedal, and starts cycling forward.

I throw my arms around his waist, holding on tight. I can even feel the rhythmic vibrations of his abs through his thin shirt, caused by the beating of his heart. I sense Caleb stiffen for a moment, so I smugly shout for him to ride faster.

The sky soon darkens. We stop beside a white building, and Caleb pulls his shirt sleeve from his elbow, trying to mimic me by ringing the bike bell.

“Hungry?”

“Want to kiss?”

Caleb and I almost ask at the same time.

When he hears my “Want to kiss?” he seems momentarily stunned, turning to look at me with a strange expression.

I stare directly at him. “Don’t want to?”

“Aren’t you going to do something with this beautiful view?” Caleb says, showing me with his actions that he’s more than ready to prove he’s up for it.

I don’t believe I can’t make you feel the attraction.

Just wait!

Because of my sudden appearance, the filming crew jokes about me coming all the way to supervise, and when they learn I haven’t found a place to stay, they laugh and tease that it’s quite a coincidence. Caleb’s room is large, and he’s staying alone. Since Elara isn’t a stranger, they say I could just stay with him.

I cling to Caleb’s arm, looking up at him with innocent eyes, silently asking if that’s okay.

Caleb and I have always agreed that we only share a bed when we’re planning to make love. Otherwise, we sleep in separate rooms. If he agrees this time, it will be the first time I officially stay in his room.

And, I purposely didn’t book a room before coming, knowing Caleb wouldn’t dare refuse me in front of so many people. After all, everyone knows that we’re a legally married couple with an official certificate.

If we don’t stay together, there’d be a problem, right?

Sure enough, Caleb nodded, his face betraying neither anger nor happiness. I quickly backed off, hurriedly bouncing into his room.

I came alone, without my assistant. My luggage was just a small suitcase, packed with a few changes of clothes, sleepwear, some skincare products, and cosmetics.

While I was showering in the bathroom, Caleb was on the rooftop reading. When I came out in my sleepwear, towel in hand, I was struck by the realization that the room only had one bed.

Oh damn, I had only thought about creating more opportunities for us to spend time together, but I hadn’t considered the question of where to sleep tonight. It slipped my mind that a room only had one bed.

Caleb wasn’t going to make me sleep on the floor, right? Although it was early summer, it was already hot enough that sleeping on the floor wouldn’t freeze me or give me a cold.

I had forgotten to pack slippers, so I walked barefoot to the rooftop. Caleb glanced up, scanning me from top to bottom before returning his attention to his book.

"Was this part of your plan too?"

I froze for a second, feeling a little embarrassed. Caleb was no fool; he had already sensed the change in me, probably figured out my intentions too.

But this wasn’t part of my plan. How could I think that simply using my looks would make Caleb fall for me? If that were the case, after three years, he would have already been madly in love with me.

"Who loves you to the point of dying for you?"

I jumped, instinctively covering my mouth.

Caleb lifted his gaze again, his deep eyes locking onto mine, as though they could swallow me whole.

"No one. It's me. I'm in love with myself. I could die for myself."

I chuckled awkwardly and turned to run, but then thought, since he already knew what I was up to, why not just go all in? What if, against all odds, he really did end up liking me?

For my first love, this could be a good thing. Caleb had already betrayed her, after all, and found someone like me as a replacement. She had given up on him for her career, and now that he was successful, he wasn’t exactly the man she remembered, was he?

I twisted my foot as I turned, the movement a little too forceful, and ended up kneeling hard on the wooden floor. In the process, I accidentally tugged at Caleb's loosely hanging shirt.

With a rip, Caleb’s shirt sleeve tore, and my fingernail snapped in the process.

"Uh, I swear, I didn’t mean to do that. Do you believe me?"

I stuck the torn piece of his shirt on his shoulder, trying to casually peek at his six-pack abs through the open space in his shirt.

"No, I don’t believe you."

Caleb responded, then raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does it look good?"

I looked up at him, nodding sincerely, my mouth quicker than my brain. Before he could even finish his sentence, I blurted out, "Can I touch it?"

Caleb seemed to be amused by my boldness. He put his book down, propping one leg up, and leaned back with a grin, teasing me.

"I never knew you were such a little perv."

I shot back, "Times have changed, you know? Now, I’m all about food and sex."

Caleb’s eyes flickered, as if he had a sudden epiphany, then he nodded approvingly.

"Go ahead."

He pulled his shirt out from his pants and began unbuttoning it with one hand, before pushing the fabric aside to reveal his toned chest.

Caleb sat up straight, and before I could react, he grabbed my hand and placed it firmly on his abs.

Holy hell.

I was so embarrassed I could feel my entire face, and even my ears, burning. I scrambled to my feet and dashed back into the room.

I needed to cool down and calm my nerves.