The day before my wedding, my best man, Nicholas, hit and killed my father with his car. My fiancée, not only did she not blame him, she posted a picture of their marriage certificate online. I dragged Nicholas to court. I crashed their wedding, demanding justice, and became a laughingstock. At my lowest point, my childhood friend, Rose, proposed to me in front of everyone, promising to be my harbor for life. I said yes. I handed the accident case over to her, trusting her completely. She told me Nicholas was in prison, and I believed her. But in the third year of our marriage, I overheard a conversation between her and her lawyer. “Ms. Monroe, you married Julian just for a pardon letter? For a traffic accident? Was it really worth throwing your own life away?” “It was the only way. By marrying him, I could write the letter in his name, as his family, and set Nicholas free.” “As long as he’s happy abroad, that’s enough. As for me… it doesn’t matter.” So, the marriage I saw as my salvation was nothing but an elaborate lie. The pardon letter, written in my name, and Nicholas’s freedom—that was all she ever wanted. It was me. I was the one who needed to leave. 1 In her office, Rose gazed at a photo of Nicholas on her computer screen, a photo taken somewhere beautiful and far away. Her smile was a fragile, heartbreaking thing. “It’s been three years,” she murmured. “Seeing him happy is enough, even if I’m not the one who gave him that happiness.” “As for Julian… I’m giving him the rest of my life. That should be enough to make up for it. It’s over.” The company’s legal counsel was practically vibrating with frustration. “Ms. Monroe, the company is finally stable. You can’t play games with a homicide case! If our competitors find out about this, it won’t just be you—the entire Monroe family enterprise will be ruined!” “The fact is, Mr. Vance intentionally killed him. Why are you wading into this mess? He doesn’t even love you!” Rose’s face hardened. “That’s enough,” she snapped. “I told you never to bring this up again. I don’t believe Nicholas killed him on purpose. It was an accident. I handled Mr. Jiang’s funeral arrangements myself. I’ve done right by the Jiang family.” Her voice dropped, becoming a fierce, determined whisper. “To save him, I’d give anything. Not just this company. My life.” The lawyer’s voice rose with urgency. “And what about Julian? He’ll find out eventually! The moment he decides to visit Nicholas in prison, your entire plan will fall apart! You used his name to free the man who killed his father! What do you think that will do to him?” Rose was silent for a moment, her fingers reaching out to enlarge the photo on the screen. “Then he’ll never know,” she said finally. “It’s been three years. Nicholas should be getting out soon. Make the arrangements. And remember, don’t let Julian find out.” “Ms. Monroe, as your lawyer, I must remind you: the law has a long reach. You can’t do something like this and not leave a trace. For a murderer, you’re hurting an innocent man. If Julian finds out, you’re finished.” A tear traced a path down my chin. I was shaking so hard the lunchbox I was holding nearly slipped from my grasp. Footsteps approached. I scrambled into the stairwell, my heart hammering against my ribs. So, my father’s fatal accident was never even a real case. Nicholas was never in prison, paying for his crime. He was living it up, free as a bird, in some foreign paradise. And the architect of this whole deception was the woman I loved, my wife. Her humility, her quiet strength, her patient endurance—it was all a performance, all to save the man she truly loved. For three years, I had been living in her beautifully crafted lie. I thought I had found happiness, but I was in hell. The irony was suffocating. I stumbled down the stairs and stood outside the gleaming office building, waiting. For five hours. Finally, the last light in the building winked out. Her silhouette appeared in the doorway. The moment she saw me, her face softened with concern. She took my hand. “You’re here! Why didn’t you come in? How long have you been waiting?” “Not long. I just got here,” I lied. “I know you’ve been busy, so I brought you some soup. Your secretary said you were in a meeting, so I came back out.” “Don’t do this again,” she chided gently. “You’re not well. I’d be heartbroken if you tired yourself out.” She leaned in, pressing a soft, familiar kiss to the corner of my mouth. The gesture was as tender as always, but for the first time, I felt no warmth. A person could really do this. For someone else, they could go to such lengths. She led me to the passenger seat of her car. As she started the engine, she spoke, her tone casual. “By the way, Nicholas should be getting out of prison soon. You two used to be close, and he’s served his time. Besides, the company is working on a lot of projects with the Vance family now, so maybe—” “It’s fine,” I cut in. “It’s all in the past. I won’t cause any trouble. Don’t worry.” She let out a visible sigh of relief, a smile touching her lips. “Thank you for being so understanding, darling. I’m so lucky to have you.” I turned my head to look out the window, silent tears tracing paths down my face. Back at home, while she was in the shower, I opened her laptop. The password was Nicholas’s birthday. The desktop wallpaper was a stunning photo of a beach in the Maldives. That’s where Nicholas had been living for the past three years. I logged into her social media. The profile banner was a photo of her and Nicholas, smiling together. She was only following one person. I clicked on it. The feed was a shrine to Nicholas’s life abroad. The watch on his wrist was the latest model from a brand owned by Monroe Corp. The suit he wore was from Monroe Corp’s newest campaign. Even the villa he was tagged in was a Monroe Corp hotel property. A hotel that had been established three years ago. The only overseas project the Monroe family had ever undertaken. My hand trembled as I clicked on her transaction history. There was only one recipient: Nicholas Vance. A million dollars a month, every month, for three years. I scrolled through the records, my heart turning to ice. I remembered the single word in her social media bio: Waiting. I had asked her about it once. She’d brushed it off, saying it was something she’d written a long time ago. Now, I understood. In three years of marriage, besides the wedding photo on the wall, we didn’t have a single picture together. No matter how much I begged, she’d always say we saw each other every day, so there was no need. Now I knew. It wasn't that there was no need. It was that I wasn't a need for her. I let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh and closed the laptop. I bought myself a one-way ticket out of the country, for a flight three days from now. And I filed the paperwork to cancel all my official documents. Three days to say goodbye to three years. It was enough. I set a countdown as my phone’s wallpaper, a constant reminder. When she came out of the bathroom, I was already in bed, pretending to be asleep. She didn’t say a word. I didn’t sleep a wink. The next morning, as I was getting ready, my phone buzzed. Rose’s voice, laced with confusion, followed immediately after. “Julian, what documents are you canceling?” I quickly snatched the phone from her. “It’s nothing,” I said smoothly. “My ID expired. I just made an appointment to get it renewed. Don’t you have that project meeting today? You should get going.” She didn’t seem to suspect anything. She just nestled into my arms, her warmth a familiar, painful lie. “Thank you, darling. I’m so lucky to have such a thoughtful husband.” I smiled, saying nothing. “As a reward,” she murmured, “how about your wife gives you a big present tonight?” “Okay,” I said. “I’ll be waiting at home.” She was willing to do anything to keep me from causing trouble for Nicholas. This three-year charade was finally coming to an end. The moment she left, I went to the government office and filed the rest of my cancellation papers. Then I went to see a lawyer. When I asked about the pardon letter, he confirmed that a letter from a family member carried legal weight. It was a done deal, irreversible. I didn’t press further. I just had him print out two copies of a divorce agreement. With the papers in hand, I went to Rose’s office. As I walked in, I overheard some employees gossiping. “Is that Ms. Monroe’s husband? I heard he just got back from abroad. That charisma, that physique… no wonder Ms. Monroe is so smitten. I mean, even I’m feeling it!” “It has to be him. That watch he’s wearing is the new Patek Philippe, one of only ten in the world. I saw Ms. Monroe looking at it in her office several times. She even bought him that… so sweet.” “You don’t think that hotel abroad was built just for him, do you? I heard they were childhood sweethearts. You couldn’t even write this stuff in a movie!” I stood outside the door to the top-floor office. I could hear a familiar voice from within. “These past three years… have you been okay?” “Yeah, great. Waking up to the ocean every day, the air just smells like freedom. And I haven’t even thanked you yet. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be—” “Don’t say that. It’s all in the past. I know you didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Helping you… was like helping myself.” Nicholas’s laugh was confident, affectionate. “You haven’t changed a bit. If Julian knew you were secretly helping me, he’d probably lose his mind.” “This watch is too much, I can’t accept it. You should give it to Julian. If I take it, I’m afraid he’ll sue me again.” Classic Nicholas. Taking everything for himself while pretending to be the magnanimous one, shifting all the blame onto me. Three years ago, at the wedding. I had exposed him as a murderer, turning against him and his new bride—my ex-fiancée—completely. But every guest in that room had sided with him, calling me unreasonable. I became a joke. Rose’s arrival had been my only salvation. And now, she was the one who had pushed me into the abyss. Her secretary, rushing to deliver a contract, threw open the door before I could move. Rose’s eyes widened in surprise. “Julian? When did you get here? Don’t get the wrong idea. Nicholas just got out, we were just catching up, that’s all…” “Julian. Long time no see,” Nicholas said, standing up. He was wearing a new, custom-tailored suit from one of Monroe Corp’s brands. His skin was glowing, his body fit. He looked nothing like a man who had just been released from prison. I forced a smile, pushing down the knot of pain in my chest. “It’s fine. I was just in the neighborhood. Since you’re busy, I’ll head home.” Rose, thinking I was angry, chased after me, explaining frantically. “Don’t be like that. I was just asking him how he was doing in prison, that’s all…” “It’s been three years, shouldn't we let bygones be bygones? Didn’t you say it was all in the past?” Seeing her so flustered, I had to laugh. To save Nicholas, she had sacrificed her own marriage, playing a part for three years. Now that he was safe, who was she performing for? “Yes, it’s in the past. Don’t worry. I’m not an unreasonable person. I keep my word.” “You go back to work. I’ll be good and wait for you at home.” The relief on her face was palpable. She had her secretary personally escort me downstairs. Before I left, she reminded me about the Vance family’s banquet the following night, a celebration for Nicholas’s return. He was the president of their company now, he had an image to maintain. The official story was that he’d been studying abroad. No one mentioned prison. I nodded and said I understood. I wouldn’t cause a scene. Only then did she seem to relax.
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