Chapter 1

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I was kissing my brother-in-law, Liam Sterling, on the bathroom counter when Mrs. Sterling called, saying she wanted to set me up with a husband.

“Ivy, Owen has been gone for so many years now, and you’re still so young. You really should find a good man and remarry. Mom knows you’re a good girl, but you can’t ruin your future waiting.”

On the other end of the line, Mrs. Sterling earnestly urged me to remarry, to stop staying a widow for a husband who’d been dead for years.

Liam lightly kissed my neck, and several times I almost cried out, unable to control myself.

Afraid Mrs. Sterling would notice something off, I quickly mumbled an “Mhm,” and hastily hung up the phone.

Liam gripped my waist, leaned down, and bit my ear, his voice teasing. “My mom is setting you up with *that* CEO this time? Not planning to go meet him?”

I played along. “Sure, I’ll go meet him in a bit.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” The man behind me spoke possessively. “Ivy, you belong only to me.”

I knew how possessive he was, so I laughed, feigning sadness. “I’m already thirty. I’ve been a widow, living at the Sterling family home for years. Now not only are your parents pressuring me to get married, but even my own parents are pushing me. And you keep dragging your feet, refusing to make us public. If I don’t go on blind dates, should I just wait to grow old alone?”

Liam’s movements faltered. He hugged me tighter, kissing my shoulder, and said softly, “How could I ever let you grow old alone? Just wait a little longer. I’ll personally tell my parents about us, and I’ll plan a proper proposal for you.”

Hearing his words, I felt much more at ease, and nodded.

After several intimate moments, Liam finally seemed satisfied a good while later.

Once we’d cleaned up, he mentioned he was meeting friends in the next VIP room. He kissed me, then left.

I straightened my clothes and prepared to leave, but just as I was about to go, I saw his phone on the bathroom sink.

Without a second thought, I picked it up to take it to him.

As I neared the VIP room, I heard laughter coming from inside.

“Liam, our sister-in-law’s screams just now were so intoxicating, they made our bones melt!”

“Seriously, Ivy usually looks so graceful and elegant. Who would’ve thought she’d be so wildly different when she’s intimate? Liam, you’re a lucky man. But didn’t you say you’d just play with her for a bit and then dump her? After all, you only got together with her to get back at her because you blamed her for your brother’s death.”

Revenge?

I froze. Liam and I… he wasn’t with me because he *liked* me? It was for *revenge*?

“Liam and Owen used to be so close back then. If Ivy hadn’t married in and, well, *caused* Owen’s death, Liam wouldn’t have been so heartbroken.”

“Exactly! So, Liam, when are you going to break up with Ivy? We heard your childhood sweetheart, Daisy, is back in the country. You spent so much effort going abroad to be with her all these years. Now that she’s back, it’s time for you two to finally make things official.”

“Break up?” Liam’s nonchalant voice sounded. After a long pause, he said, “Once I’m bored, I’ll break up, naturally.”

Listening to the voices from the VIP room, I felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over me, chilling me to the bone.

My chest tightened, I felt dizzy, and I almost collapsed.

“Miss, are you alright?” A waiter came forward, concerned.

I shook my head, handed Liam’s phone to him, and asked him to take it inside, telling him not to mention I’d been there.

I stumbled away, hastily leaving.

It was March, and I stood outside the club, the cold wind howling. Tears streamed down my face, uncontrollable.

Liam and I were brother and sister-in-law. When I was twenty, I married his older brother, Owen, in an arranged family marriage. But less than two years later, Owen passed away due to illness.

Because I was so young at the time, and my parents had moved abroad, I stayed at the Sterling family home after my husband’s death.

Liam had been studying abroad and only returned four years ago. We hadn’t met many times before then; we weren’t close.

We became familiar four years ago at a party a friend hosted. I accidentally drank a spiked drink. Someone tried to take me to a hotel, and something awful almost happened. He happened to be passing by, beat up the creepy guy, and took me to the hospital.

Later, to thank him, we became closer.

Then, another time, I was followed home, and he appeared out of nowhere, giving me an immense sense of security. He took me back to the Sterling home.

Over time, we grew closer. Plus, my parents-in-law loved to travel and were often away, sometimes asking him to look after me. Before long, we became a couple.

I don’t remember who made the first move, but for four years, we were perfectly in sync, physically and emotionally. Every time we were intimate, he told me he couldn’t live without me, that he loved me fiercely.

I truly believed that as soon as he told his parents about us, we would naturally get married and settle down.

But I never imagined that I was just a twisted experiment for him to see if I truly brought bad luck or was “cursed,” a temporary comfort when he was lonely, a toy he’d discard once he got bored.

The person he cared about, from beginning to end, was never me.

I somehow made it home, curled up on the bed, tightly wrapped in my duvet, but nothing could warm my icy body.

After an unknown amount of time, Mrs. Sterling knocked and came in.

Seeing me lying in bed, she said, “Ivy, what have you decided about the blind date?”

Touching the crystal bracelet Liam had personally strung for me on my wrist, I took a deep breath.

“Yes, Mom, please arrange it for me.”

Mrs. Sterling smiled upon hearing this. “Alright, then I’ll ask my friends to send me the profiles of suitable young men. You can carefully pick through them then.”

Mrs. Sterling was happy and didn’t notice anything amiss with me. She excitedly went to call her friends.

I got up and went to the bathroom, washing away the tears on my face.

Looking at my haggard reflection in the mirror, I took a deep breath. Since Liam’s childhood sweetheart was back.

It was time for me to plan my own future.

If I was in a dead end, it was time to turn around.

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