Chapter 1

Early morning, top floor of Titan Tower, the CEO's private lounge.

A cold wind pushed through the open window, instantly dissolving the lingering warmth of the night.

Sore and aching, I supported my lower back and carefully slid out of bed, terrified of waking the sleeping Ethan.

Yet, the man on the bed abruptly opened his eyes, pinning me with a sharp, piercing gaze as his brows knit in displeasure. "I told you, I don't want to see you still here when it's light out."

My heart skipped a beat, and I bit my lip, murmuring softly, "I'm sorry. I overslept. Next time I will definitely—"

"Get out."

The dismissal was raspy, harsh, and utterly without mercy.

I clenched my hands, fighting to suppress the sharp ache blooming in my chest. Summoning all my courage, I asked, "Ethan... can I skip the morning-after pill this time?"

The freezing draft swept over my pale skin, and I couldn't stop shaking.

"What do you think?"

Ethan threw back the comforter and stood up, his eyes flashing a dangerous warning.

I didn't dare look him in the eye, my fingers intertwining nervously. "I've been taking them for four years. The doctor said my body can no longer handle the side effects of the drug..."

"Do I need to remind you that you were the one clinging to me last night?"

With those words, the man threw me a frigid look and walked toward the bathroom without another word.

I stared blankly in his direction, slowly tightening my trembling, bloodless hands.

Even though we were husband and wife, I was being treated like nothing more than a paid convenience.

Because Ethan forbade anyone from ever mentioning me, the outside world had no idea I was his wife.

Yet four years ago, when we got married, it was Ethan who had proposed the idea.

I loved him. I had loved him since the first moment I saw him. On the day high school ended, I secretly slipped a love letter into his backpack, but I never received a reply.

It wasn't until a high school reunion four years ago that I finally saw him again, and I heard he had broken up with his girlfriend.

I gathered all my courage just to go over and say hello. To my utter shock, after staring at me for a long moment, he asked directly, "Do you want to marry me?"

To this day...

I still remembered the dizzying euphoria of that moment, but I never anticipated that four years of marriage would look like this.

Dressing quickly, I left the room in a state of utter humiliation.

Just as I reached the elevator, my phone chimed.

I opened it, only to find an automated birthday greeting generated by the system.

A bitter smile crossed my lips. Today was my twenty-sixth birthday, yet before I could even mention a single word to Ethan, I had been thrown out.

Hiding the loneliness in my eyes, I looked up just as a woman in a beige coat stepped out of the elevator.

Recognizing her face, my entire body went rigid.

Melanie!

Ethan's ex-girlfriend!

Hadn't she moved abroad years ago?

Compared to my absolute shock, Melanie was entirely composed. "Long time no see, Miss Clara."

"What are you doing here?"

I knew that four years ago, Melanie had been forced out by Ethan's father due to a massive scandal, with strict orders that she was never to step foot inside Titan Entertainment again.

The smile remained on Melanie's face, though her eyes flared with a trace of triumph. "Didn't Ethan tell you? He personally invited me back to take over as the Public Relations Director for Titan."

Her words felt like a bucket of ice water poured over my head, and an unnameable dread began to spread through me.

Melanie glanced down and casually tilted her phone toward me. "Excuse me, Ethan is eager to see me. We'll catch up later."

On the illuminated screen, there were only three short words—

[I miss you]

I felt as though countless needles were piercing my heart, a dense, suffocating pain flowing through my veins to every inch of my limbs.

Unable to bear it for another second, I turned and fled.

Outside, snow had begun to fall from the sky.

I stood by the curb, staring up at the eighty-eight-story Titan Tower.

One hour, two hours... an entire morning passed, and still, there was no sign of Ethan coming out.

My heart grew colder with each passing second.

This marriage, which had been unequal from the very beginning, had been fiercely opposed by my mother. But I had refused to listen. In a fit of rage, she had completely disowned me.

My eyes grew hot and stung with tears. For the very first time, I found myself asking: was my stubborn persistence really worth it?

Without realizing it, the falling snowflakes had already covered my head.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my phone.

Aside from the automated system notification, there wasn't a single message from anyone.

Staring at the contact pinned to the top of my list, labeled simply as "Ethan," I dialed the number as if possessed by a ghost.

By the time I snapped out of it and frantically tried to disconnect, the call had already gone through.

Then, Melanie's voice echoed from the other end of the line. "When do you plan on telling Clara about the divorce?"

My pupils dilated, and I felt as though a massive hand had instantly clamped down on my throat, choking the air right out of me.

In the very next second, Ethan's low but crystal-clear response rang through my brain like a clap of thunder.

"Tonight."

Chapter 2

With those words, the line went dead.

But those two short words from Ethan felt like a white-hot blade twisting deep inside my heart, leaving me trembling so violently that my teeth chattered.

I gripped my phone so tightly that my knuckles turned white, yet a profound sense of helplessness washed over me.

From the moment Melanie appeared, I already had a dark premonition, but I never expected Ethan to be so desperately impatient to demand a divorce.

The wind grew sharper.

Taking a ragged breath, I lifted my foot to leave, but the freezing air I drew into my lungs suddenly felt as heavy as lead, trapping itself in my throat so that I couldn't breathe or move.

Panic mounted, suffocating me until I felt on the verge of death—

"Cough!"

After coughing up a sudden splatter of blood, I finally regained control over my stiffening body.

Cold sweat rolled down my temples. After a moment of hesitation, I decided to go to the hospital for a thorough checkup.

...

By the time I returned home, darkness had completely fallen.

Dragging my exhausted body through the front door, a heavy scent of tobacco mixed with the faint aroma of alcohol drifted into my face.

I looked up, my eyes widening in surprise.

Clad in a bathrobe, Ethan was sitting on the sofa, a nearly finished cigarette resting between his fingers. Droplets of water from his hair traveled down his sharp jawline, rolling past his prominent Adam's apple.

Throughout our years of marriage, Ethan rarely came to this house on his own accord. Every single time he did, it was driven by an alcohol-induced physical desire.

Even so, I always found myself looking forward to his arrival. But today...

"Why are you here?" I asked, my voice laced with anxiety.

Ethan exhaled a slow plume of smoke, his deep, bottomless eyes resembling two swirling black holes. "Come here."

His voice was deeper than usual, carrying an irresistible magnetism and an overwhelming pressure that I couldn't fight.

By the time I realized what I was doing, I was already standing right in front of him. Before I could speak, the man grabbed my wrist with a firm grip and yanked me down, forcing me onto his lap.

The familiar rush of adrenaline instantly made my body go soft. If this had been any other day, I would have already submissively closed my eyes, letting him do whatever he pleased.

But today, I couldn't close my eyes. Suppressing my ragged breathing, I couldn't stop myself from asking, "Why did you bring Melanie into the company?"

The moment the words left my mouth, regret flooded through me.

Ethan absolutely loathed being questioned by anyone, especially by me.

Predictably, his expression darkened, and he pushed me away with a frigid stare. "I told you before we married, you are never to question my personal affairs."

I fell hard onto the floor, the hardwood surface biting cold against my skin.

But compared to the floor, I felt Ethan was far colder—like a block of solid ice that could never be warmed.

From the age of fifteen to twenty-six, from a hidden crush to a secret marriage, I had been so terrified of his rejection that I never dared to utter the word 'love' in his presence. Yet, I had done everything a person could do to love him.