: The White Moonlight Returns

The day his White Moonlight returned to the country, my Overbearing CEO husband went to the airport to greet her. The moment he arrived, he received a call notifying him of my car accident.

He rushed home in a panic, only to learn that I had died instantly in the crash and had already been taken to the crematorium.

My brother cursed him out, "My sister loved you so much! How could you do this to her!"

In reality, my brother had arranged for me to move to a new city and start over. The so-called "ashes" were just Milk Powder.

I heard my Overbearing CEO husband was heartbroken for days, missed me constantly, and even vowed to never marry again.

That is, until his dog knocked over my Urn and started happily gobbling up my "ashes."

That day, he immediately put out a nationwide reward of 10 million dollars for my whereabouts.

1

My Overbearing CEO husband has always had an unforgettable White Moonlight in his heart.

I'd always felt that liking someone when you're young isn't a big deal.

Until I discovered the lingering affection he still held for his White Moonlight.

He thought he'd hidden it well, but I found out anyway.

I found a photo in a drawer in his study.

It wasn't just the two of them in the picture.

But there was an air between them that no one else could break into.

What's more, I found a love letter underneath the photo.

Out of courtesy, I didn't open it.

But I understood everything.

Why his friends never gave me the time of day.

And why he was always so lukewarm toward me.

Even the maids in our home would gossip about me in private.

"I think Miss Harrow and Mr. Valerius are a better match."

"Yeah, it's a shame how fate messes with people."

"Hey, keep it down. If Miss Sterling hears you, she'll give us an earful."

The moment I stepped out of my room today, I heard the maids gossiping.

If I remember correctly, I had never once raised my voice to them since the day I moved into this house.

I know that when you're down, everyone is quick to kick you.

I didn't want to confront Ian Valerius directly.

He would just think I was being unreasonable again.

And I would find that humiliating.

Ian Valerius's White Moonlight was named Rowan Harrow.

Her beauty seemed to be one of her most trivial assets.

She went to study abroad in high school.

In college, she racked up a string of awards.

Whenever I looked her up privately, all I found were words of praise.

Before getting married, I'd believed that even without love, we could live together with mutual respect.

So once I was sure his White Moonlight wouldn't show up to cause trouble, I put the matter out of my mind.

I didn't really care who was in his heart.

But that was on the condition that his White Moonlight would never appear in our lives again.

I received the latest update from the private investigator I'd hired.

Ian Valerius's White Moonlight was returning to the country soon.

'In that case, it's time for me to give up the title of Mrs. Valerius.'

I turned and went back into my room.

'There's no point in dwelling on who was right or wrong anymore.'

Pushing down my frustration, I lay on the bed.

I pondered how I was going to escape this marriage.

But the more I thought about it, the more agitated I became. 'So all this time, in everyone else's eyes, I was the villain who had broken up the happy couple.'

So I decided to go all in, landing on the most decisive solution.

'Fake my own death and escape.'

'It's the fastest, best option.'

'As for how to pull it off, I'm sure my brother will handle it for me.'

: Shen Wuyan

2

My name is Willow Sterling, a daughter of the Sterling Family from the south side of the city.

Ever since I was a child, I've been enrolled in all sorts of classes. My parents were dedicated to raising me to be the perfect, well-bred lady.

I've known since I was young that it didn't matter who my future husband would be, as long as the marriage benefited the Sterling Family.

I wasn't particularly resistant to the idea, because not getting married was simply not an option.

If I ever said anything about not wanting to get married, my parents would have been the first to object.

They would probably threaten to cut off my allowance and freeze my cards.

After all, whenever I did anything that displeased them as a child, they would reduce my allowance.

Later on, I never developed any strong passions of my own, so I just went along with their arrangements.

Growing up, my material needs were always met.

Aside from my parents' overbearing nature.

You could say the greatest hardship I've ever endured is an iced Americano.

My parents aren't terrible people. The blind date they set me up with wasn't some fifty or sixty-year-old with a beer belly.

They chose Ian Valerius for me—a man whose family background and capabilities were impeccable.

I met Ian Valerius on a blind date.

I had always lived a placid, desire-free life, and never even had a boyfriend in college.

There was no particular reason.

Chocolate-flavored shit, or shit-flavored chocolate.

I didn't want to choose either.

The moment I walked into the restaurant and saw Ian Valerius, I thought, 'He's not a bad option'.

It wasn't that my heart was fluttering or anything.

It was mainly his face, his physique, and on top of that, his family background.

It made me feel like settling for this would be acceptable.

As soon as I sat down, I got straight to the point.

"Mr. Valerius, do you have any plans to get married?"

He seemed taken aback by my directness.

He was silent for a long while before letting out a soft "Mm."

'Perhaps his silence then was just him thinking about his White Moonlight.'

"Then I'll be blunt. You're a good marriage prospect. If it's agreeable, I hope we can have a pleasant partnership."

Ian Valerius didn't waste any more time either.

"A pleasant partnership, then."

A month later, he threw me a grand proposal.

Surrounded by the blessings of our family and friends, Ian Valerius put the ring on my finger.

And just like that, we were married soon after.

At the wedding, my brother cried like a whistling kettle that had come to a boil.

He only reined it in after my dad shot him several harsh glares.

It was still incredibly embarrassing, though.

As the brother-in-law, he went on stage to give a speech.

My brother had barely gotten a few words out before he lost control of his emotions again and started bawling.

"Thank you all for coming to my sister's wedding, BOO HOO HOO..."

I was happy that day.

: 3

3

It was my wedding night, and I was about to have sex for the first time.

For once, I was a little nervous.

I mean, I'd run into plenty of Male Hosts at bars before.

But things with them never went further than just a little fun.

Staring at the shirtless man before me,

I couldn't help but swallow.

As I felt his fiery body heat, my hand roamed over his waist, tracing his eight-pack abs and V-line.

I'd heard from my more experienced friends that it was supposed to feel amazing.

And I was quite looking forward to finding out just *how* amazing.

I just never expected that Ian Valerius would actually be a virgin.

And he probably didn't expect his first time to be over so quickly either.

I hadn't even gotten a chance to properly enjoy it.

Seeing the color drain and then flood his face,

I tentatively reached out to touch his face.

"It's okay. Ten minutes is great, really. I felt good. Don't feel pressured or anything."

"And medical technology is so advanced these days..."

Before I could finish, Ian Valerius cut me off in a rage.

"Shut up!"

And then he proceeded to wear me out for the rest of the night.

Lost in the haze of pleasure, my vision blurred as I stared up at the chandelier on the ceiling.

I couldn't help but think, 'Okay, yeah. This is incredible.'

I was completely unaware that I had just walked into a den of fire.

On the first day of our marriage, I went into Ian Valerius's study.

It wasn't that I suspected him of anything; I just wanted to pop in and look at some business reports.

I figured that once we were married, we were a single entity.

The study wasn't some sacred, private place, so I didn't see the harm in going in.

But it wasn't long before The Butler rushed in and called me out.

"Miss Sterling, there are many sensitive documents in Mr. Valerius's study. If you have no specific business, it would be best not to enter as you please."

I had to laugh at the way The Butler was acting, as if I were a one-woman invasion.

"Anyone who knows the situation knows I'm Ian Valerius's new wife. Anyone who doesn't would think I'm some kind of corporate spy."

"Also, Ian Valerius and I are married now. It's about time you updated my title."

The Butler maintained his strictly-business demeanor.

"Miss—no, Madam Valerius. I am simply following Mr. Valerius's prior instructions. Whether or not you can enter the study is up to him. If he gives his consent, I will naturally not stand in your way. Please, do not make our jobs difficult."

'You'd think this was the Oval Office, the way he carries on.'

'If a classified document could be stolen that easily,'

'then the Valerius Group might as well just go bankrupt.'

But no matter how displeased I was, I still left the study.

Ian Valerius found out about the incident quickly.

It was obvious who'd told him, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the big deal was.

I just didn't understand at the time. Why raise such a fuss over such a trivial matter?

Ian Valerius, however, didn't seem displeased.

He just patted my head and chuckled softly.

"Of course you can go into my study," he said, though his tone was still lukewarm.

If I hadn't known for a fact that he was the same man who'd been so passionate with me last night, I'd have sworn he'd been replaced by an impostor.

From that day forward, I never set foot in his study again.

'It felt like charity.'