Chapter 1

At our wedding reception, we were playing a game of "Undercover".

In this round, the secret words were "The Bride" and "The Best Friend."

When it was my husband Asher's turn to describe his word, he said:

"We slept in the same bed last night."

The crowd erupted in cheers. I blushed and lowered my head, thinking he was showing off our love.

But when the cards were revealed at the end, his card actually read: "The Best Friend."

Before I could process it, he smiled and looked at his female bestie, Chloe.

"Why didn't you describe your card properly, Chloe?"

"That hickey on your neck..."

I stiffly raised the card in my hand.

"Asher, my card is the one that says 'The Bride.'"

Asher just shrugged carelessly.

"Come on, it's just friends helping each other satisfy some physical needs. It doesn't mean anything."

Chloe leaned in close to my ear, a provocative smirk on her lips.

"He told me I'm much better in bed than you are."

The cheering in the room instantly died.

I suppressed my trembling voice.

"Asher, say that again."

Asher immediately shielded Chloe behind his back.

He frowned, looking at me with nothing but impatience.

"We're all adults here. It's just a game."

"Elena, you're not seriously getting jealous over this, are you?"

"Everyone is out here having a good time, and you just have to ruin the mood and throw a tantrum."

He turned to the crowd and laughed it off.

"I was just doing that for the drama, you guys get it, right?"

I stared at his collar.

There was a blatant lipstick stain on it.

The exact same shade of temptress red that Chloe was wearing.

I looked up, meeting Asher's eyes.

"For the drama?"

"What do you think our marriage is?"

"What do you think the vows we just took in front of all these guests were?"

Asher snorted.

"Marriage is just a legal obligation."

"Chloe and I share a soul connection. How can you even compare the two?"

I looked coldly at Chloe.

"Chloe, let me remind you."

"Asher is a married man."

"Your lack of boundaries and this fake 'bestie' act is crossing the line. You won't be able to handle the consequences."

Hearing this, Chloe's eyes welled with tears.

She took a half-step back, tugging at Asher's shirt.

"Asher, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"I made Elena mad. I should just leave."

"Please don't fight because of me."

She made a move to walk away.

Asher grabbed her wrist tightly.

He turned around and shoved me back hard.

"Elena, why are you so incredibly narrow-minded?"

"Chloe did your duty as a wife for you. You can't even tolerate a man's basic physical needs, so what right do you have to call yourself Mrs. Sterling?"

"This dinner is over."

With that, he took Chloe's hand and stormed out of the private dining room.

The reception ended in a disaster.

The guests avoided my gaze, lowering their heads as they quickly rushed out.

I stared in the direction they had vanished.

My palm was cut by a piece of broken glass, but I didn't even feel the pain.

When I returned to our new house, I thought I had walked into the wrong place.

The throw pillows that used to be neatly arranged on the sofa were scattered all over the floor.

A bright pink suitcase was parked right in the middle of the living room.

Asher had just walked out of the master bedroom wearing a bathrobe.

Seeing me walk in, he broke the news to me casually.

"There's been a string of burglaries near Chloe's apartment lately."

"She's too scared to stay in a hotel alone."

"She'll be staying with us for a while."

I pointed at the door.

"This is my legal marital home."

"Take your things, take your girl."

"And get the hell out."

Asher's face turned completely cold.

"She's in trouble, and I'm just helping her out. What's wrong with that?"

"Do you have a single shred of compassion?"

Just then, Chloe poked her head out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a skimpy towel.

"Asher, the water is a bit cold."

Asher's expression softened instantly.

"Don't catch a cold, babe. Go back inside."

He wrapped his arm around her waist and walked into the master bedroom.

And slammed the door right in my face.