Chapter 3

That night, Claire and I happened to arrive home at the same time.

Claire broke the silence first.

Standing by the door, she dusted off her clothes. Her expression was as calm and emotionless as ever.

“We need to talk, Adrian.”

My hand paused as I changed into my slippers.

What was there to talk about? What else could we talk about?

Was I supposed to listen to her give me another unconvincing excuse and continue deceiving myself? Or should we keep discussing the intimate trip she hadn’t finished describing earlier?

Either way, I would only be humiliating myself.

I heard my own voice come from my throat. It was barely more than a whisper.

“Fine.”

Claire frowned in displeasure. “Have you really fallen this far?”

“You’re actually manufacturing publicity with another woman just for attention?”

“I’m so disappointed in you.”

“Did you ever stop to consider how I feel?”

I hadn’t expected Claire to question me first. As far as I knew, I hadn’t done anything terribly wrong to her. The agency had arranged the publicity campaign, and I couldn’t interfere.

Outside of promotional appearances, Chloe and I kept our distance. We never spent time together unnecessarily.

Besides, the whole publicity campaign…

“I told you about it.”

As soon as we decided to promote our pairing, I had sent Claire a message.

If she had replied that she was uncomfortable or unhappy,

I would have considered changing my mind.

“Oh?” Claire dug a finger into her ear, looking completely unconcerned. “I might have forgotten.”

It was obvious she hadn’t even read it.

Then she tried to cover for herself. “I still trust you, Adrian.”

I didn’t expose her pathetic performance. My voice remained calm. “Claire, do you remember that we’re married?”

What exactly had she done? How could she justify it to me? How could she justify everything we had been through together?

There were so many questions I wanted to ask.

But at that moment, I said only that one sentence.

“Shh!”

“I told you not to mention it outside. There are too many people around, and you never know who might overhear us…”

Claire hurried over and covered my mouth with her hand.

I really was a husband who had to stay hidden. I couldn’t even say the word out loud. I let out a self-mocking laugh.

She pushed me farther inside the house.

“Adrian, I’m not trying to hide you forever. The timing just isn’t right yet!”

“Can you stop being unreasonable? Do you know how much damage this could cause given my position in the industry? I’ve already established myself as a single career woman. If my fans find out I’m actually married…”

“You only ever think about yourself. When have you ever considered how I feel?”

I kept my mouth shut and let her speak.

Claire patted my shoulder. “You’re still in my heart, Adrian.”

“It’s just… I get lonely too when there’s no one beside me! What’s wrong with finding someone to keep me company? You can’t stand beside me. Can you take me skiing? Can you take me to watch the sunrise?”

“This isn’t my fault! We’re only in this situation because you didn’t want us to go public!”

How ironic.

In the end, Claire still blamed everything on me.

Was I the one who refused to keep her company? Was I the one who refused to acknowledge her publicly?

It was clearly her.

Not long after I first became successful, I wanted to announce our marriage to the world. I wanted everyone to know how lucky I was to have met her.

But she had refused no matter what. So the matter had been delayed again and again.

“Does that include kissing?”

I was strangely calm. I even felt as though I might laugh.

Smack.

Before I could react, a crisp slap landed across my face.

“Adrian, you’re disgusting.” Claire covered her mouth and took half a step back. Tears gathered in her vulnerable eyes. “Is that what I am to you now?”

“I told you, we’re just friends!”

“He’s a friend who watched the northern lights with me and did the things I enjoy with me! Why do you insist on interpreting it that way?”

I remained frozen in place.

Claire’s words became even more heartless. “Who knows whether you and Chloe have done something even worse while promoting your ship? I never accused you of anything.”

“That’s enough!”

I couldn’t stop myself from shouting.

“I’m not like you. I don’t use some respectable excuse to fool around with someone else.”

Claire had never been treated that way by me. I had never talked back to her before. Her face darkened immediately, and she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

The bang seemed to release all the fury in the room.

“If that’s how you feel, then let’s get divorced.”

The familiar divorce agreement flew into my face.