When Serena learns that the new investor at her design firm is Ethan Cole, her husband, she already knows she is about to lose.

Not because her work is weak, but because her rival Yvonne is Ethan's unforgettable first love.

For years, Serena has fought Yvonne over everything: family, status, love, and now career. But after one more public humiliation, Serena finally stops competing.

This time, she gives up Ethan and chooses herself.

The company had been buzzing all morning about our newest investor.

He was handsome, brilliant, born into money, and already running one of the most powerful family-owned groups in the country.

His name was Ethan Cole.

My husband.

The moment I found out he was the client, I knew the quiet war between Vanessa and me was already over.

In the break room, my coworkers were whispering about him like he was a celebrity.

"Apparently, the investor is the CEO of Cole Group. Ethan Cole himself."

"If our team's design gets picked by him, our numbers are going to look incredible for the rest of the year."

"My bet is on Vanessa's team. I heard Mr. Cole's first love works in our design department."

"That's Vanessa, right? They dated back in college. They were each other's first everything. I bet this whole investment is really because of her."

My chest tightened.

I walked back to my office in a daze.

By then, everyone knew Ethan was involved.

A little later, our department head called Vanessa and me into his office.

"Sophie. Vanessa.

"The investor for this project is Ethan Cole from Cole Group. Each of you will lead your own team and submit a proposal in one month."

He looked at Vanessa with open approval, barely bothering to hide it.

Clearly, he had heard the rumors too.

Clearly, he understood why Ethan had chosen our company.

Before I even left the office, I knew my team's proposal would probably be treated as a formality.

Against Vanessa, I was most likely just the runner-up arranged to make the competition look fair.

Outside the office, Vanessa stopped in front of me.

We stood face to face.

I met her gaze. She smiled.

It was smug, bright, and completely certain.

"Sophie, may the best team win."

But her face said she already knew who would win.

Between the two of us, Ethan would always choose her.

I watched her walk away, then turned in the opposite direction.

The design department was nearly celebrating.

If my team's proposal was rejected, I would spend the next phase of the project working under Vanessa, swallowing every correction and every condescending comment she threw my way.

I had no desire to be trapped under her.

Before the workday ended, everyone crowded around Vanessa.

They praised her like she had already secured the contract.

"Vanessa, you're amazing."

Across the room, our eyes met.

She stood in the center of the crowd, surrounded by warmth and noise.

Compared to her, my side of the office looked almost deserted.

I stood alone in the corner.

She smiled at me.

I looked away, put on my coat, and left.

That night, Ethan came home with his usual cool, effortless expression.

I still could not stop myself from asking.

"Ethan, did you invest in our company?"

He looked up.

Our eyes met. His expression barely changed.

"Yes."

I asked again, "Why did you choose us?"

Then, trying to make it sound like a joke, I added, "Are you going to pull strings for me?"

Ethan's brows drew together.

He answered seriously. There was not the slightest trace of humor in his eyes.

"This was a decision made by senior management.

"The final proposal won't be decided by me alone."

In other words, even as his wife, I would not be an exception.

I stopped asking.

He was always like this: calm, distant, principled, logical. He never made exceptions for me.

And I was always humiliating myself by hoping that one day, I might become one.

Ethan walked away and entered the study.

He did not close the door completely.

From the living room, I could hear him on the phone.

The woman on the other end was Vanessa.

Every now and then, Ethan answered her with a low laugh.

After the call, he came out of the study, picked up his coat from the entryway, and changed into his dress shoes.

"I have a dinner meeting tonight."

I nodded.

Ethan was painfully handsome. Sharp features, a straight nose, thin lips, a tailored suit under a dark overcoat that made him look even taller and more untouchable.

Then he disappeared through the front door.

He came home very late that night.

Any question I might have asked died the moment I saw Vanessa's post.

She had posted a photo with four people in it.

Vanessa. Ethan. And two of their old college friends.

Once I saw it, I no longer needed to ask whether he would favor Vanessa.

I knew he would.

In the past, whenever Ethan came home late, I left a light on for him.

That night, I turned it off and slept better than I expected.

The next morning, Ethan and I missed each other completely and went to work separately.

In the design department, everyone revolved around Vanessa.

They all understood that if not for her, Ethan would never have chosen our company.

My conflict with Vanessa was my own problem.

Everyone else only cared about bonuses and whether the year's targets would be met.

That day, Ethan came to the office as the investor.

Our department head called Vanessa in to meet him.

When she returned, every pair of eyes landed on her.

"Vanessa, is Mr. Cole scary?"

Vanessa's lips curved. Her answer was vague enough to invite imagination.

"I've known him for a long time. He's not scary.

"Don't worry."

Several people exchanged knowing smiles.

By then, I had already clicked through the link someone had shared about Ethan and Vanessa's college romance.

If I were not Ethan's wife, I might have sighed and called young love beautiful.

But as his wife, all I could taste was bitterness.

Vanessa still had an old college blog she had never deleted.

It was filled with entries about their relationship.

I scrolled through them like a person pressing on a bruise.

The more I read, the clearer it became.

Ethan had loved her.

He read every post she wrote, liked them, commented on them, and remembered every small detail.

He was the one who pursued Vanessa.

I had spent an entire year chasing Ethan.

When I first learned that Vanessa was his ex-girlfriend, I felt a brief, shameful flash of satisfaction.

It felt like revenge.

But I quickly realized I had lost completely.

For Ethan to still carry his ex in his heart was not a victory for me.

It was an insult.

And it gave Vanessa one more way to stand above me.

Vanessa and I had been enemies since middle school.

We hated each other on sight.

Her mother entered my home like she belonged there.

My mother spiraled into depression and tried to end her life.

I almost lost her.

In high school, Vanessa and I ended up at the same elite school.

She missed the cutoff by one point, but my father, Richard Reed, pulled strings to get her admitted.

That same year, my mother left the country.

I stayed in the Reed house.

I thought if I behaved badly enough, Vanessa and her mother would get the message and leave.

My methods were childish, even stupid.

I poured ink into their cups, but because I was afraid they might actually drink it, I used obvious black ink they would see.

I only wanted to scare them.

I wanted Vanessa to know I would not be easy to push around.

Instead, Vanessa complained to Richard.

His face turned dark with anger as he scolded me.

I hated them, but I never dared to do anything truly cruel.

Everything I did only made Richard feel more sorry for them.

After graduation, Vanessa and I finally went to different universities.

What finally killed the last of my hope in Richard happened during my first winter break in college.

Richard took Vanessa to a formal business dinner.

He did not deny that she was his daughter.

He even wanted Vanessa to take the Reed name.

I told him that if he let her become a Reed, I would take my mother's last name instead.

His eyes filled with rage.

His hand lifted into the air.

Before it could fall, a tall figure stepped between us.

That person was Ethan.

After graduation, I met Ethan again.

I pursued him for an entire year.

Just when I was ready to give up, he agreed to be with me.

It was only after we were married that I learned Vanessa was his ex-girlfriend.

And Ethan had once visited the Reed home as Vanessa's boyfriend.

When Richard found out I had married Ethan, his face went ashen. He clutched his chest and nearly lost his breath.

"You did this on purpose?

"You knew Mr. Cole was Vanessa's ex, and you still married him?"

I was stunned for a long time.

One New Year, I did not want to return to the Reed house, but Ethan insisted on taking me.

At the house, Vanessa and I clashed again.

We both slipped in the courtyard.

Ethan moved fast. He caught Vanessa.

I hit the ground.

At the hospital, my eyes were red as I asked Ethan why he had not caught me.

He sat there peeling fruit, his expression flat.

"I didn't see you."

After he left the hospital room, Vanessa came to visit.

She smiled as she studied me in the bed, then told me story after story about Ethan in college.

Through her, I heard about a version of Ethan I had never known.

My chest tightened until it hurt.

After I was discharged, Vanessa and I crossed paths again.

We ended up working at the same company.

We competed for every opportunity, neither of us willing to give an inch.

She carried the identity of Richard Reed's "daughter," and leadership treated her with careful respect.

Now she had another identity too.

Ethan Cole's first love.

Everyone put her on an even higher pedestal.

I knew my proposal would most likely lose.

Still, I led my team through late nights, revisions, and endless drafts until our design was as strong as I could make

A month later, I walked into the conference room with our finished proposal.

Everyone was there except Vanessa.

She entered with Ethan.

The light landed on them as if someone had staged it.

Ethan occasionally lowered his head to listen to her, adjusting himself to her height.

His profile was sharp in the light, his features calm and elegant.

For one careless second, our eyes met.

I tried to read something different in his gaze.