Chapter 1

My fiancé was about to become a father, but I was not the one carrying his child.

On the day of my debutante ball, I accidentally overheard him talking to my brother: "Keep this from Faye for now. If she hadn't thrown such a tantrum back then, why would I have had to pretend to deploy to the icy Northern Border?"

The man I loved, Lance Lockhart, who promised to marry me once he returned victorious, had never even stepped foot in the North.

To evade my affection, he had kept the estate gates shut tight and secretly fathered a child with his cousin. I had been the only fool kept in the dark the entire time.

I wiped my tears with a faint smile. I did not scream or break down like I used to, but simply turned around and accepted the marriage proposal from the wealthy South.

Once something turns filthy, why cling to it?

1.

Hearing his words, Austin let out a heavy sigh. "Faye really has been far too spoiled. Keeping it from her for now is for her own good."

Lance sighed softly. "I just feel terrible for making Maisie suffer in secret for two years. Now that she is pregnant, I owe her a proper status once she gives birth."

"Faye has been obsessed for all these years. I cannot keep coddling her forever."

Austin paused for a moment before answering with a hoarse agreement.

All these years, I truly had been obsessed.

My love for Lance Lockhart was known by everyone in the capital. Relying on the fact that I had once saved his life, I truly believed he held some feelings for me.

During the autumn hunt, if he so much as glanced at another woman, I would lose my temper in public and demand he hunt a wild beast to apologize to me.

Whenever I made a scene, Lance would always yield with a helpless smile. "Since Faye has spoken, all I can do is apologize."

It was that very indulgence that made me lose my mind with conceit.

Lance touched the sachet at his waist and smiled at Austin. "The girl at home can be quite demanding. She insisted I wear this hand-embroidered sachet. It could not have been easy for Maisie to stitch such fine pair of lovebirds while carrying my child."

Tenderness filled his eyes as his fingers stroked the fabric with utmost care.

Austin pointed at the other sachet hanging from Lance's belt. "Then what about this one?"

"The stitching on this one is all crooked. Why are you still wearing it?"

Lance looked down at the ugly sachet and cleared his throat. "Faye forced me to wear this a long time ago. I completely forgot to take it off."

He casually unhooked it and tossed it straight onto the ground.

"I only wore it to humor her. Good thing you reminded me, or Maisie would have cried again if she saw it."

Austin felt a pang of pity and asked with difficulty, "Faye has loved you for five whole years. Did you really never feel a single spark for her?"

Lance reached the doorway, his hand pausing on the door handle.

He gave a careless chuckle. "What has gotten into you today? I have never felt romantic love for Faye. She did save my life, but all these years of putting up with her have repaid that debt in full."

"I cannot actually marry her and spend the rest of my life with a woman I do not love, can I?"