Chapter 1

My husband was just named one of the Top 10 Young Visionaries.

The Wall Street Journal asked him during an interview why he worked so hard.

He looked distant and melancholic. "Because only by standing at the summit can I be seen by someone far away," he said.

I scoffed.

Later, the woman from his past returned. He protected her and paved her way with obsessive care.

Everyone thought he was the one who built my career.

Only I knew the truth. I was the one who built him.

1. My husband is the CEO of a top-tier talent agency.

I'm Seraphina Sterling, the agency's biggest star.

When I won the Best Actress award, he was hailed as the man behind the queen.

With an annual income exceeding a hundred million, he was crowned one of the world's most outstanding young entrepreneurs.

During a business trip to New York, he gave an exclusive interview to a major financial magazine.

The reporter asked him about his drive. He went silent for a moment, his eyes filled with a deep, haunting longing.

"Because only by standing at the peak can I be seen by someone far away."

The person "far away" was his first love, Cleo Chastain.

As soon as the magazine hit the stands, gossip rags leaked photos of him meeting Cleo in the city.

Social media was flooded with praise for this handsome, wealthy romantic.

No one knew that he and I had been secretly married for three years.

He claimed our secret marriage was for the sake of my career.

But whenever the paparazzi caught us together, the internet exploded with hate directed at me.

"A-list actress sells her body for roles."

"Aging starlet robs the cradle to land a CEO."

"The agency's rising talents will never stand a chance against a gold-digger."

My fans fought for me. They had seen me work through freezing winters and scorching summers, earning my spot one step at a time.

They knew I hadn't relied on his "resources."

They felt sorry for me, but I stayed silent. I knew Caleb Sterling was the one paying for those bot accounts to smear me.

I sat on the movie set, staring at the magazine with a cold sneer.

Oh, Caleb. You aren't even trying to hide it anymore, are you?

Everyone thinks you made me.

Only I know that I am the only reason you have a seat at the table.