Diego extended his hand, the sheer force of his presence silencing everyone around.

Sienna Reed lowered her head and quickly walked to stand behind Diego.

Diego looked up, his eyes filled with contempt as he scanned the reporters, as if surveying a pack of mongrels.

"Miss Reed is a special guest I invited. My wife needed to rest today and was unable to attend. I apologize for the misunderstanding—it was my oversight. I hope you can forgive me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the reporters and guests who had been murmuring all started to smooth things over.

Anyone with eyes could see that Diego Prescott was not a man to be trifled with.

Opposing him was professional suicide.

The live stream had ended, but Diego's final words still echoed in my mind.

I didn't need to rest. I could have attended that event.

Diego just wouldn't allow it.

For all these years, very few people had ever truly seen me. I never attended those social events, and my father never forced me to.

I sighed, sitting on the balcony, lost in thought.

In my youth, I was fiercely proud and sharp as a tack.

Right after graduation, I won a major international architecture award and started my own studio. Everyone thought a young girl like me wouldn't get far in the world of architecture and advised me to give up, but I was defiant.

The more they doubted me, the more determined I was to succeed.

In just a few months, my projects became industry landmarks, and major companies were vying to collaborate with us.

As a result, the Vance Group solidified its position in the architecture world, becoming one of the industry giants.

Everything was going smoothly.

Until Diego returned from Stanford with Sienna Reed on his arm.

For her, Diego began pushing away all the women in his life, including me.

I started to feel anxious.

Growing up, I was always by Diego's side. In his world, it was as if no other girl existed besides me.

Let alone someone who could capture his interest.

No matter who it was, he always maintained a cold, distant demeanor.

During graduation season that year, my parents were abroad for a project inspection. The lights of the Columbia University library burned brightly, a tense atmosphere permeating the entire campus.

I holed myself up in the library for days on end.

As the deadline for my thesis submission loomed, I heard Diego's voice and thought I was imagining things.

"Nora."

I looked up and saw Diego standing by the bookshelf. He looked travel-worn, but his eyes were bright.

"Nora, I'm here to help you."

His bangs partially covered his eyes, and under the soft library light, his deep, dark eyes held a rare tranquility.

His pleasant voice washed over me as he stayed with me in the library for three days and three nights, helping me finish my graduation project.

In that moment, my heart skipped a beat.

So, this was it. This was what falling in love felt like.

I had always thought I was special to him. Sienna Reed’s arrival shattered that delusion. I’d been living in a fantasy all these years.

A thunderstorm broke over New York City.

I called Diego a few times, but he didn't answer.

Just as I was about to text him, he called back.

I pressed the answer button, and before I could speak, a woman's voice came from the other end.

"Diego, I said the wrong thing today. I shouldn't have answered the reporters' questions. I'm so sorry."

I paused. It was Sienna.

Before I could react, Diego's voice came through.

"Sienna, you don't have to apologize. You've been wronged all these years. You know you're the only one in my heart."

I gripped the phone, stunned.

The line fell silent, followed by a sound that made my stomach churn: the intimate rustle of clothing and the wet sound of a kiss.

I had heard scenes like this countless times over the past two years.

It was Diego who had proposed the contract marriage in the first place.

Two years ago, my father's company faced a hostile takeover. Its funding chain suddenly snapped, and panic spread through the company.

It was Diego who extended a helping hand, helping the Vance Group weather the storm.

Everyone thought it was just mutual assistance between two old family friends.

Only I knew it was nothing more than a transaction.

The day before Diego stepped in to help, he came to find me.

"Do you like me?" he asked.

"I do," I answered without hesitation. I did like him, and all our friends knew it. It was just that Sienna's appearance had turned that once-open affection into a secret.

He stood before me, looking directly into my eyes. His expression was no longer as close as it was when we were children, and his tone was chilly and distant.

"Will you marry me?" he asked.

I lowered my head, remaining silent. I knew he wasn't finished.

"I can help the Vance family get through this crisis, but on one condition: you marry me, to get my mother off my back."

"I can give you anything, except for love and my heart."

A bitter smile touched my lips. He wasn't marrying me for love. It was a transaction.

When Diego first returned with Sienna, his mother, Catherine, vehemently opposed their relationship.

Even when Diego bowed his head and begged, she wouldn't budge.

I heard from his Stanford friends that he and Sienna had met at a coffee shop on campus.

The two hit it off and became inseparable, especially in the early days of his startup.

Due to an accident, Sienna was hospitalized with a leg injury while saving Diego.

During her hospital stay, Diego cared for her meticulously.

From then on, their relationship grew closer, crossing the boundary of friendship.

The night Diego returned to the country, everyone gathered for a welcome party for him.

The moment I saw Sienna, everyone in the room turned their eyes to me.

I only found out later that Diego had told everyone about his relationship with Sienna, except for me.

I agreed to Diego's proposal because, in the world of business, true friends who would extend a helping hand in a crisis were a rarity. Without the Prescott Group's help, my father's company might have really gone bankrupt.

With a lawyer present, Diego and I signed a prenuptial agreement: non-interference in each other's financial and personal lives.

Therefore, in the two years of my marriage to Diego, I never pried into his life. I didn't know when he was on a business trip, where he was going, or who he was with. I had no right to know.

But in front of our parents, he never slipped up. He always played the part of a caring husband, ensuring they never worried about me.

In this, we were flawless partners.

We continued to play the part of a loving couple in public.