Chapter 1

My best friend came to me, asking for help. She said she was being harassed by her ex-boyfriend and pressured by her parents to marry. She wanted to have a sham marriage with my husband.

I was shocked when my husband agreed and even let her move into our house. Hearing the unsettling noises from the living room every night, I felt like I was falling apart...

I've been married to my husband, Declan, for three years. He is thriving in his career while I am the lovely and charming presence at home. We are in love and harmonious.

But something happened three days ago that left me in turmoil. My best friend Keira insisted on giving me $100,000, saying she needed to marry Declan. Her reason was that she was being harassed by her ex-boyfriend and pressured by her parents to marry. She needed a man to protect her temporarily and provide an explanation to her parents. After this period, she promised to return Declan to me.

This was outrageous! Even though she is my best friend, I couldn't agree to it. $100,000 is insignificant to me; I have countless such amounts. But just as I was about to transfer the money back to Keira, my husband Declan came home.

He sighed and said, "Honey."

"Why the long face? Was work difficult?"

"No." He opened Instagram, "Honey, look how pitiful Keira is. A girl being harassed every day, it's awful."

I saw Keira covered in bruises, and my heart ached. It made me start to struggle with whether or not to help her.

Every day after that, Keira called and sent voice messages, crying to me about her miserable life.

"Please, you are my only good friend, my best friend, help me. My parents say if I don't get married, they'll jump off a building."

"After this period, I'll get a divorce certificate with your husband. He will always be yours."

Against my better judgment, I agreed.

When I saw the divorce certificate with Declan and the marriage certificate with Keira, my mind was still buzzing. It all felt like a dream.

The day they got the marriage certificate, Declan came home and gave me a bouquet of roses.

"My kind and beautiful goddess, you've worked hard lately." Looking at my affectionate and gentle husband, I suddenly felt calm. All the troublesome things seemed to vanish into thin air.

Born into a privileged life, I'm actually easy to appease.

That night, Declan and I were intimate and close.

Midway through, Declan held my wrists and whispered in my ear.

"Wife, I heard Keira is still being harassed. Should we let her stay with us?"

I frowned slightly. Why was he bringing up Keira at this moment?

"Would she want to? It's just a sham marriage with you. Don't make it awkward for her."

"Let's give it a try."

I thought Keira wouldn't come to my house, so I made a phone call pretending to invite her.

"Really?! Thank you, Phoebe, I'm so happy. I'll come over tomorrow."

Me: "..."

I felt uncomfortable.

On Keira's first night at our house, Declan took us out for fondue to celebrate Keira's visit. I was a bit jealous. Was my husband being too nice to Keira?

I tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep. Declan held me and softly said, "Don't worry, it's just a sham marriage with her. Didn't we agree? After some time, she and I will divorce, and I'll remarry you. It's fake with her."

I thought I might be overthinking, but my mind wouldn't cooperate.

I soon noticed Keira being particularly diligent around the house. She always liked talking to Declan and treated him warmly, making it seem like she was the lady of the house.

Every time Declan came home, Keira would wear some revealing clothes.

Once, I couldn't hold back and told Keira, "Keira, Declan is my husband. Could you dress more appropriately?"

Keira looked at me with wide eyes and admitted her mistake, "I know I was wrong. I won't dress like that anymore."

Seeing her admit her mistake, I didn't want to ruin our rare friendship.

After that, Keira's dressing was normal, but her behavior wasn't.

For example, when I was intimate with my husband, Keira would knock on the door, interrupting us.

I asked her what was wrong.

She sobbed and said, "I had a nightmare."