Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Alistair and I met in high school. I was being pestered by a suitor I couldn't stand, and I happened to see him working at a café.

The sun was bright, and the light hit him, making him look radiant. I admit, I was attracted to his looks. I was a privileged socialite, and I always got what I wanted.

I walked up to him right in front of my suitor and held his arm.

"I have a boyfriend now. Leave me alone."

That suitor was a guy from our circle, likely pushed by his parents to date me. He had been indifferent until he saw me up close.

Alistair's reaction was priceless―a mix of surprise, embarrassment, and confusion.

I whispered to him, "I know you need money. I'll keep you. Is two hundred thousand a month enough?"

He thought for a moment and finally nodded.

From then on, Alistair became my kept boyfriend. Strangely, he kept working at the café, and he never touched my money.

I found out later that his family owned the entire restaurant chain, and he was just following orders to experience the life of a regular worker.

I felt so foolish and embarrassed when I found out. I demanded to know why he didn't tell me sooner. He just laughed and held my hand.

"I was afraid if you knew, you wouldn't keep me anymore. What if you found someone else? Who knows what kind of habits a socialite might have."

Under the streetlights that night, he made that joke with such sincerity. The light from the fireflies danced in his eyes. He leaned in and kissed me, his whisper sounding like a desperate plea.

He said.

"So, promise me you won't keep anyone else."

I have to say, he really knew how to charm me. My long-closed heart hammered in my chest that night, ready to burst.

Three years into our relationship, my family faced a massive crisis. I don't know exactly what happened, but one day I woke up to find my parents gone, leaving no word. Debt collectors were pounding on my door. I was still reeling from the loss when I was hit with even more fear.

It was Alistair who rushed over, paid off all our debts, and pulled me out of that nightmare.

Alistair was like a beam of light hitting the abyss I was falling into.

Our love story wasn't smooth sailing. My family was no longer the power player in the city, and our former friends avoided us like the plague. Those who used to grovel at our feet were now stepping on us.

That was the darkest year of my life.

I gritted my teeth and said to him through tears,

"Alistair, I don't have a home anymore."

He held my hand tight and never let go. He looked at me with such devotion. "Avery, let's get married. Anywhere I am, that's your home."

He defied his family's objections to marry me.

But now, looking back, did he secretly look down on me when he stood me up at the wedding? Was it just duty and obligation that kept us together?

Stories always start with a spark, but they often end in tragedy.

"Oh, and what were you doing at the hospital? Were you tracking me?"

Alistair's voice snapped me back to reality as he questioned me.

I shook off his hand and sneered.

It was a coincidence. When I was at the hospital for my procedure, I saw Chloe and Alistair. He was supporting her, looking incredibly intimate.

And Chloe was wearing the exact same couple's outfit he had given me for our anniversary. I don't know what I felt then―betrayal, deception, or the shock that the only man I trusted had another woman.

Chloe was his new secretary, five years younger than me. She was sunny, loved to laugh, and had cute dimples. She was beautiful.

I didn't approach them. I admit, I retreated. I was afraid of the answer I might hear. I was the wife, yet I felt like the mistress.

I snuck a look at Chloe's medical file later―it was just a minor scrape. The doctor laughed.

"If she had come any later, the wound would have already healed."

Yet, Alistair had protected her so carefully. That look in his eyes―I knew it too well. He used to look at me like that.