I had been with my frigid girlfriend for eight years, and she had never even let me hold her hand.

I thought she was simply disinterested in intimacy, so I still treated her wholeheartedly.

Until one day, while working part-time as an NPC in a haunted house, I saw her pinning her “true love” against the wall, kissing him with passionate reluctance to part.

“Ryan, my mother values Adrian Foster’s ‘prosperous-wife’ fortune. If she won’t let you and me get married, then I’ll save my first time, and every time, just for you.”

“When our child is born and I gain the Morgan family inheritance rights, I’ll divorce that useless man immediately.”

Claire Morgan’s words were laced with venom.

But later, after I took a hit to ward off misfortune for the New York socialite, she regretted it.

“But whenever I think about Adrian Foster openly and legitimately holding a wedding with you, Claire, I get so jealous I could lose my mind.”

“You…” Claire reached out to tap Ryan Morgan’s nose. “I already went with you to Ireland to get our marriage license, signed a hundred-year contract, and you’re still not satisfied?”

Though her words sounded like a scolding, anyone could hear the affection in her tone.

I stood not far away, the cheap headpiece mixed with the greasy paint on my cheeks suffocating me to the point I felt I might pass out.

“When Adrian Foster proposes to me, I’ll tell him I’ve been cured of my frigidity. Then, at our candlelit dinner, I’ll slip in some sleeping pills to make sure we won’t have too much physical contact.”

“In this way, my little jealous darling, will you be satisfied?”

Seeing Ryan Morgan keeping up his act without answering, Claire laughed and let her hand drift lower.

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll have to ask my little Ryan!”

Ryan let out a soft hum, wrapped his arms protectively around Claire’s head, and turned to pin her against the wall.

I froze where I stood.

Claire’s words were like ice picks stabbing into my heart again and again—cold and painful.

Eight years with Claire, and even though she put on a good act, I always knew—

Her favoritism toward Ryan had never lessened, not even a little.

Eight years ago, to keep Ryan from being kicked out of the Morgan family, she compromised and got together with me.

Six years ago, just because Ryan said he wanted hotpot, she abandoned a press conference and flew overseas without a second thought.

Three years ago, to keep Ryan company during a thunderstorm, she nearly got me killed at the hands of kidnappers.

Now, to prevent Ryan from being wronged, she tricked me into a sham marriage and even planned to drug me, making sure I’d wear that green hat firmly.

I respected her, cherished her, gave her my heart and soul.

I thought that one day, I could warm her heart.

And the result?

For a fleeting moment, I wanted to rush up and ask Claire—

Did she really have no heart at all?

But when I saw the two of them burning like dry tinder meeting a raging flame, I suddenly felt it was all meaningless.

I unclenched my fists and turned toward the surveillance room.

The Morgan family valued my “prosperous-wife” fortune and had sponsored me for decades.

But as soon as I graduated from college, I was sent to Claire’s side to manage her company and take care of her daily needs.

By now, I had long since repaid the Morgan family’s kindness.

I wanted to escape.

But the words “let’s break up” could not come from my mouth…

Just as I finished saving those surveillance files, a sudden scream rang out from outside the door.

Ryan Morgan, a grown man, was trembling in Claire’s arms at that moment.

“Claire, I’m scared!”

Seeing his affected posture made me almost vomit up yesterday’s meal.

But Claire, of course, ate it right up.

Without saying a word, she walked up and slapped me twice.

“Didn’t I say my husband is afraid of ghosts? I booked the whole venue today, gave all the NPCs the day off—so why are you here?!”

No one had ever informed me about this.

I glanced at the smug look on Ryan Morgan’s face, and in an instant, I understood everything.

“Claire, I’ve heard that many people, in order to climb to the top, will think of all kinds of ways to attract the attention of the wealthy. Could it be that he wants to…”

Ryan trailed off, tears streaming down his face as he spoke.

Claire Morgan would never allow Ryan to suffer such humiliation.

She shot me a look full of disgust, then wrapped her arms even tighter around Ryan’s waist.

“In that case, I’ll have someone give him ninety-nine slaps. Consider it a celebration of us getting our marriage license.”

Hearing her words, my eyes flew wide open.

“Claire Morgan!”

But before I could even finish shouting her name, the bodyguards hiding in the shadows rushed out.

A slap landed so hard it made my head spin.

Smack!

Smack!

Each strike was louder than the last.

It wasn’t until blood seeped from the corner of my mouth and I was about to lose consciousness that they finally stopped.

Even though my headpiece had fallen off, leaving only smears of melted greasepaint on my face, Claire still didn’t recognize me.

She looked down at me from above, her eyes full of contempt and loathing.

“People should know their place. Don’t dream of reaching a class that isn’t yours. Consider today a little lesson—if you dare to harbor such foolish hopes again, you won’t be so lucky next time!”

She finished speaking, lifted the high heel pressed on me, and kicked me hard.

Watching the two of them walk away arm in arm, I suddenly laughed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Claire Morgan, perhaps the most foolish, wishful dream I’ve ever had was to see the day you’d fall in love with me…

Claire had all the haunted house surveillance from that day destroyed.

But she didn’t know—I had already backed up every single video.

I sat on the couch, torturing myself by replaying over and over the footage of their lips and breaths entwined.

Finally, I pressed a hand to my chest.

It turned out that the heart which had once pounded so fiercely had already grown numb.

Before switching off my phone, I dialed a number to New York.

“Miss Summers, hello. I agree to go to New York to ward off disaster for you.”

There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end, followed quickly by an ecstatic female voice.

“Great! I’ll send someone to San Francisco to pick you up right away! And I’ll transfer the ten million deposit to your account immediately!”

I paused. “Miss Summers, could you also arrange a private jet? I don’t want my travel plans leaked.”

If I wanted a clean break, there was no need to let unrelated people know my whereabouts.

But before I could hang up, Claire Morgan’s voice rang from the entryway.

“What do you mean, ‘don’t want your travel plans leaked’? Where are you going?”

Emily Summers, the little princess of the New York Summers family, had been told by a master that she would face a major calamity. To avert it, she needed to find someone whose birth chart perfectly complemented hers in yin, yang, and the five elements.

And I happened to be that person.

But I hadn’t told Claire. I only said I was going to inspect a branch company in secret.

Before she could think much of it, she caught sight of my badly swollen face and froze.

“Adrian Foster! What happened to your face? Did you get into a fight with someone?!”

Claire sat down beside me, reaching out as if to touch me but pulling back at the last second, afraid of hurting me.

The concern in her eyes wasn’t an act.

But I didn’t know whether she was worried about me—or about this face that so resembled Ryan Morgan’s.

When I was first sent to Claire’s side to take care of her, I had naively thought I was chosen by Margaret Morgan to be her live-in son-in-law.

But the moment Claire saw me, there had been emotions in her eyes I couldn’t understand.

After that, we dated like any ordinary couple.

Just when I loved Claire Morgan the most, a phone call from an unfamiliar number shattered all my dreams.

It was Ryan Morgan—the adopted son of the Morgan family, Claire’s younger brother with no blood relation to her.

He told me that he was Claire’s true love.

Even her so-called frigidity, he said, was nothing but an excuse she made to keep herself pure for him.

That day, I lost control and stormed into Claire’s study.

It was a place she had strictly forbidden anyone to enter—inside, it was filled with countless photos of Ryan Morgan…

So from the very beginning, I had only been a stand-in she kept by her side.

And on that day, I finally understood the look in Claire’s eyes the very first time we met.

“Adrian, does your face hurt so much you can’t speak?”

Claire leaned in, trying to examine the injury on my face.

She carried the scent of someone who had just been intimate, making my stomach churn in disgust. I frowned and dodged her touch.

She thought I was angry because she had come home late, and braced her hands on either side of me, trapping me in her arms.

“Adrian, I have some good news for you…”

The distance between us shrank.

Finally, just as her red lips were about to touch mine, I couldn’t hold it back any longer and retched.

The wound at the corner of my mouth tore open again, blood flowing freely.

Startled, Claire rushed to the bedroom to fetch the first aid kit.

She dipped a cotton swab in iodine and began gently tending to my wound, her face full of concern and guilt.

“If I find out who dared to hurt you like this, I’ll make sure they pay!”

Hearing her words, I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

“Even if it was Ryan Morgan, would you still take my side?”

“Adrian Foster, how many times have I told you? Ryan is just my little brother…”

Her reply was impatient and without a shred of hesitation.

All lies fell apart instantly when Ryan’s name was involved.

I said nothing more, just stood and started toward the stairs.

Claire moved as if to grab me, but a ringing phone interrupted her.

When she answered, I caught a glimpse of the screen flashing the word “Husband.”

I didn’t know what was said on the other end, but Claire’s expression instantly turned anxious. She responded with several hurried “Alright”s before pulling me toward the door.

“Adrian, my mom just found out Ryan is back. She’s had someone take him to the old family estate. You need to come with me now to put her at ease, or I’m afraid the people there might use the family’s disciplinary methods on him—he wouldn’t be able to withstand it!”

When she failed to budge me after several tries, a trace of anger appeared on her face.

“You’re not still jealous, are you?”

“I’ve told you so many times—I was late today because I was working overtime. It has nothing to do with Ryan!”

Her scolding, like always, came down on me like a torrential downpour.

No matter how good she could be to me at other times, when it came to Ryan Morgan, everyone else had to step aside.

I let out a cold laugh and suddenly flung her hand away.

“When Ryan loses a single strand of hair, you’re ready to fly overseas for him. Are you seriously telling me you didn’t know about something as big as him coming back to the country?”

Ever since I learned that her heart belonged to someone else, I had kept my feelings in check and put myself in the right place.

All these years, I stayed silent, so Claire assumed I didn’t know.

Now, a flicker of guilt passed through her eyes.

But soon enough, she straightened with righteous confidence.

“Ryan has been an orphan since childhood, always living under someone else’s roof. I think of him as my own brother—what’s wrong with taking a little extra care of him?”