Chapter 1

1.

Damon and I were rivals from the day we were born.

We grew up in the same affluent neighborhood of Connecticut, and whenever we met, our minds were already preoccupied with how to trip each other up.

He called me a "scheming control freak," saying my personality doomed me to die alone.

I called him an "arrogant bastard with zero emotional intelligence," predicting that even if he got married, it wouldn't last past the honeymoon.

We attacked each other all the way through our Ivy League university, where we both ended up becoming professors.

But when we were twenty-five, our grandfathers left behind a complicated trust fund agreement.

To unlock the massive inheritance, the lawyers told us, Damon and I had to get married and stay married for at least five years.

So, for that damn trust fund, Damon and I got married.

For five years, we weren't just husband and wife; we were partners in crime with a perfect understanding―we kept our marriage a complete secret from the world.

With his handsome face and academic reputation, Damon became the most sought-after professor on campus. Countless people wanted to get into his bed.

He would rather play games in those ambiguous relationships than ever publicly admit that I was his legal wife.

At the annual department gala, a few colleagues were chatting with me about my love life.

Damon strolled over, a glass of champagne in his hand and that signature fake smile on his face.

"Professor Vance, you're not getting any younger. Still single? Should I set you up? I know a few excellent single men."