Even Cameron was confused. "Mr. Bailey, that day at Alder & Ash Cafe, I only saw Mrs. Bailey there."

Jenson suddenly realized something. "So it was her... She scared my Summer away."

I sighed helplessly. He could accuse me after he learned to recognize my face first.

I had known all about the feud between the Baileys and the Tillmans long before I married into the family. I grew up studying finance and business management, preparing to take over the Tillman Group someday.

My mother stayed awake night after night, terrified that I’d suffer after marrying Jenson.

I cried too. "Mom, why is my life so miserable?"

The second I closed my bedroom door, though, the facade dropped and a massive grin spread across my face

I had always believed that self-reliance far outweighed depending on any man. My logic was simple: if marriage was inevitable, I should aim for the wealthiest candidate available. In the worst-case scenario, a divorce would still leave me with half of his substantial fortune.

To be honest, things turned out exactly as I expected.

Ever since marrying Jenson, I no longer had to wake up at dawn and bury myself in textbooks. Besides romance being missing from the equation, I pretty much had everything.

Well... maybe there was a tiny spark of attraction involved, too.

The night I performed at a bar, I ran into Jenson again. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, looking elegant and untouchable as always.

I heard him murmur softly, "That lead singer’s voice has a wild edge to it. Interesting."

Then he walked straight toward me. Obviously, he didn’t recognize me. He sat through my entire set before gently handing me a glass of water afterward.

I looked into his deep, dark eyes, and my cheeks immediately started heating up again. I was just about to tell him who I really was.

Then, in the next second, he said, "You're special. Like a rose covered in thorns. You're the strongest girl I've ever met."

I froze.

Wait a second.

Why did that opening line sound so familiar? Exactly how many women had he used those lines on before?!

The warmth in my chest instantly cooled.

This was all my dad’s fault. He’d protected me too well growing up, leaving me completely defenseless against handsome men.

I ran back to the Tillman house in tears to confront my father, only to discover he had his own grievances.

"He used that line on me, too," Dad said bitterly.

I was horrified.

What?

Jenson had flirted with my father, too?!

My father was a middle-aged man! Did Jenson seriously have no limits?

Dad slowly explained what had happened years ago.

Back when Jenson still hadn’t fully secured control of Bailey Holdings, he struck a deal with Byron Walsh, a businessman whose firm was then partnering with our own.

Jenson said that once he officially took over Bailey Holdings, he would gift Byron the high-value development land located in the Southpoint District.

However, fate took a bizarre turn when my father went to visit Jenson. In a moment of total confusion, Jenson mistook my father for Byron and recited that very same pitch to him.

"Mr. Bailey, do you recall a man named Harrison Tillman from the Tillman Group up north?" my father had managed to ask.

Jenson appeared completely baffled by the question. "Harrison Tillman? He's far too ambitious," he replied dismissively. "He's the type who is never truly satisfied."

Publicly humiliated right to his face, my father couldn’t stomach that kind of insult. That very night, he switched sides and partnered with Jenson’s biggest rival instead.

With that move, he offended Jenson.

After returning to the Bailey mansion, I continued living my life comfortably, eating and drinking without a care in the world. Whenever I got bored, I’d purposely wander around in front of Jenson a few times just to mess with him.

This time, Jenson had learned his lesson. Whenever he started giving me that intrigued look again, he’d quietly ask Cameron who I was first.

"Mr. Bailey, that’s your wife."

Jenson’s expression instantly darkened.

"Why are you dressed like this?" he demanded. "Anyone who didn’t know better would think you worked for the housekeeping staff."

I blinked innocently. "Should I go change into an evening gown right now?"

His face darkened even more. Despite being furious, he was completely powerless about it.

Right in front of me, he demanded Cameron hand him his phone so he could call his so-called "soulmate".

His temper only worsened when he looked at the screen and saw that the number for "Summer McCain"—the solitary contact in his list—was no longer in service.

"What’s going on? How is it that we still haven't tracked down those two girls after all this time?"

Cameron stood there trembling, too scared to say a word.

Then, Jenson issued an order: I was banned from his presence for the next two months.

I pretended to run off in heartbreak, but the second I turned around, I called my best friend, Abby Palmer, to help me pack for a vacation.

Honestly, this arrangement was perfect. Since neither of us wanted to see the other, we were soulmates in the most bizarre sense.

What I didn’t know was that Jenson had also left town on a business trip to avoid me.

When I was setting off fireworks by the sea, I suddenly spotted a familiar figure walking toward me. Jenson held a cup of juice in one hand, his charming eyes curving slightly as he smiled.

"Are you here by yourself, Miss?"

I looked around to make sure he was actually talking to me.

Dear God. In a swarm of people this massive, how did he still manage to zero in on me with such pinpoint accuracy?

I lowered my head and quietly told him I was married.

Married! Surely that would be the end of it. This had to be the deterrent that would finally make him leave me alone, right?

Jenson froze for a second, obvious disappointment flashing through his eyes.

I immediately turned to leave.

However, Jenson frowned, as if he were weighing a monumental choice. "I don’t mind. But when exactly does your husband intend to step out of the way?"

I stared at him, completely shell-shocked.

This...

The path I was on seemed to lead straight toward a divorce that would leave me penniless.

"Sir, please maintain some self-respect," I snapped, my anger rising.

Jenson offered a calm rebuttal, "If your husband truly cared for you, he would be standing here by your side watching the fireworks tonight."

The sight of happy couples strolling along the shore only heightened the pathetic reality of my solitude.

Standing under the palm trees, I met his gaze and spoke with deliberate intent, "My husband is actually a terrible man. The day after we got married, he was already thinking about someone else. He detests me and treats me with utter contempt. But given his family's immense power, I'm trapped..."

Jenson immediately exploded with moral indignation. "What a scoundrel!"

The moment he finished cursing, he sneezed. Yet when he looked at me again, there was suddenly a glimmer of sympathy in his eyes.

Before I could react, he seized my wrist. "You need to leave him. I will assist you with the divorce."

I nodded absentmindedly, not taking a single word seriously.

However, Jenson was suddenly gripped by a strange resolve. "Spend the night with me. It's not what you think. It's just that I'm worried… that your face will slip from my memory."

He told Cameron to bring the car around.

Realizing I couldn’t break free, I bit down hard on his hand and bolted while he was distracted by the pain.

Being married to a man with face blindness did have its perks. Provided there were no cameras around, the person responsible could escape right under his nose.

However, the very next day, Jenson stopped me outside my hotel while I was wearing sunglasses and a mask. He demanded to know whether I still had feelings for that "scumbag husband" of mine.

I froze.

Beside him, Cameron tried to persuade me kindly, "Miss, you really are lucky. You solved a problem that’s been troubling Mr. Bailey for years."

Jenson suddenly tightened his grip around my wrist. "I can’t remember anyone’s face... except yours. We really must be fated."

Ha. If he hadn’t already used the exact same routine on me twice before, I might actually have believed him.

I quickly forced myself to calm down and analyze my situation.

Under absolutely no circumstances could Jenson discover that I was the "vulgar and boring" wife he despised. Otherwise, my easy life would be over.

In the worst-case scenario, I’d just start wearing heavy makeup at home so he wouldn’t recognize me.

I shook off his hand and declared firmly, "As long as my husband is still around, I will never leave him."

A dangerous darkness flashed through Jenson’s eyes. "Then, we’ll make him disappear."

I stared at him speechlessly.

'Buddy, maybe learn to recognize my face first before plotting murder.'