: 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.'

: The Broken Cup

4

The outside world saw the union of the Sterling and Valerius families as a marriage alliance.

And in essence, that wasn't far from the truth. Both families gained significant benefits from it.

In the spirit of getting along,

When Ian Valerius came home from business dinners, I would make him a cup of honey water.

When he got drunk, I would drive to pick him up.

Our life was quiet, but it was fine.

Of course, it was no surprise when arguments inevitably broke out.

I accidentally broke a cup. It was rather ugly and didn't look like anything important.

I gathered the broken pieces and casually mentioned it to Ian Valerius.

To my surprise, Ian Valerius flew into a rage.

"Next time, don't just touch other people's things."

His words left me standing there, at a complete loss.

"I'm sorry. I thought it was just a regular cup. I didn't realize it was so important to you."

Ian Valerius ignored me, snatched the shards, and went back to his study.

It was from that annoying butler that I learned Ian Valerius had made it with Rowan Harrow back in high school.

When he'd first brought it home, he had even made a point of finding a special place to display it.

Breaking the cup was my fault, yes.

'But shouldn't a cup from his White Moonlight be kept safely in his private study?'

'Left out in the open, how was anyone supposed to know it wasn't just some ugly, ordinary decoration?'

We gave each other the silent treatment.

The evidence was in the "Good mornings" that vanished from our daily routine.

For an entire month, we didn't say a single word to each other.

Then, the butler audaciously came to "enlighten" me.

"Madam Valerius, Mr. Valerius is not an unreasonable man. Though you were in the wrong this time, if you just lower your head and admit your mistake, I'm sure he will forgive you."

"It would be best for you not to be so proud, Madam Valerius. There's no need to fight for first place. After all, Miss Rowan Harrow and Mr. Valerius were childhood sweethearts."

Listening to the butler's long-winded, antiquated lecture, I couldn't take it anymore.

"You're a servant. Don't overstep your bounds."

"I didn't beg to marry him, nor am I some dependent living off his monthly allowance."

I fired that butler shortly after. I had been putting up with him for a very long time.

From that day on, the other servants in the villa became much more well-behaved.

Ian Valerius and I still weren't speaking to each other.

Unexpectedly, the first one to give in was Ian Valerius.

It just took a while. So long, in fact, that I'd almost forgotten we were fighting.

My life in this house was the same, with or without him.

I rarely went out, as I worked from home online.

The day Ian Valerius came home, he brought back a puppy to keep me company.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I went too far before."

I wasn't that angry with him anymore.

"It's fine."

And just like that, we had reconciled, though we still didn't talk much.

Just when I thought life could go on muddling through like this...

...Rowan Harrow was coming back to the country.