Chapter 1

At 6:00 pm, Dylan Cloud started preparing all of Violet Padden's favorite dishes for dinner. At 7:00 pm, he ran the bath and set aside her favorite rose and lavender bath salts. At 8:00 pm, he placed her indoor slippers at the door. At 9:00 pm, Violet pushed open the door. Dylan went up to her and took her coat from her arms. Then, he slid her slippers right before her and went to put her coat away in the front wardrobe before asking her if she'd like to shower or have dinner first. Violet's attention was fully on her phone as she relied casually, "Shower first." Half an hour later, Violet emerged from the bathroom wrapped in her bathrobe. Dylan immediately handed her a fresh set of pajamas. While waiting for her to change into it, he used the time to quickly warm up the dishes and set them all out on the table. Violet had long been used to Dylan waiting hand and foot on her like this. She was in a particularly good mood today as she continued staring at her phone, seemingly texting someone. While setting the table, Dylan happened to glance at Violet's lit-up screen. He immediately saw the name "Archer" in the top left corner of the chat window on her screen. Dylan shifted his gaze away and turned toward the kitchen. Suddenly, his phone rang in his pocket. He took out his phone and saw that Violet's mother, Mandy Lamont, was calling him. Mandy's voice could be heard as soon as he answered the call. "Dylan, are you really going to divorce Violet?" Dylan stared out of the window. The Queen of the Night flowers under the streetlamp were in full bloom today. A long while later, Dylan finally answered in a light voice, "Mrs. Padden, you know very well that I'm only with her because of that contract. But the contract has already ended, and Archer is also divorced and coming back. Violet's been very happy lately. She doesn't need me anymore." Mandy let out a long sigh. Her voice was full of pity as she said, "It's been hard on you for all these years. I know that you've been through a hard time. Initially, I thought she would eventually fall in love with you after all you've done for her, but… "Whatever. Since Archer is also coming back, I won't have to worry about her anymore. You sacrificed your dream of studying abroad five years ago for Violet, so if you're still interested in going, I can help you pull some strings." Dylan stared at the white flowers as the light in his eyes went out for a while. He had put his life on hold for five years for Violet's sake. It was time for him to move forward now. So, he nodded and said, "I'd be very grateful to you if you could help me with the arrangement. I'd like to leave as soon as possible." After hanging up, the white Queen of the Night flowers outside happened to fall off just then. It was just like his marriage—it would be ending very soon. Dylan came from a poor family. Padden Group graciously sponsored his studies so that he could graduate with honors. In fact, he was the sole recipient of an offer for an exchange program in another country. For that, Dylan had purposely come to the Padden residence to personally thank them before flying off. Padden Group had sponsored many other scholars too, but Dylan was the first one to thank them in person. Initially, Mandy had wanted to be perfunctory with him and wave him away. But when she heard what Dylan was here for, she gave him a second look and fell quiet for a long while before speaking up. "If you really want to repay us, then do me a favor." It was then that Dylan first learned about Violet and Archer's story from Mandy. Violet Padden and Archer Niall were both born into wealthy, affluent families. They were both smart and very good-looking. Violet and Archer had been friends since they were in diapers and grew up together. Everyone could tell that Violet had a crush on Archer, but Archer had told Violet to take things slowly because he wanted a romantic and longer-lasting love. That was why Violet just kept waiting for him. They had finally graduated from college, and Violet thought it was time she confessed her feelings for Archer. However, Archer suddenly produced a girlfriend out of nowhere and went abroad with her. Violet was still in a state of disbelief as she rushed to the airport in the middle of the night. However, it was then that she met with an accident. And after she woke up from the operating table, Archer and his girlfriend had already had their shotgun wedding in that foreign country. After that incident, Violet holed herself up at home and started drinking her sorrows away. She was soon reduced to nothing but a mere shadow of her past brilliant self. As if on cue, Dylan had showed up just then. So, Mandy decided to use Dylan to help bring Violet out of her depression by making her forget about Archer. That was how Dylan gave up on furthering his studies abroad to show the Paddens his gratitude. He then signed a five-year contract with Mandy. Sometime later, at a party, Dylan pretended to meet Violet by chance and was completely smitten by her at first sight. Then, he started pursuing her relentlessly. From that day onward, everyone in the circle knew that Violet was being pursued by a man who was deeply and irresistibly in love with her. Violet gradually got used to Dylan's treatment of her. However, she still didn't take the next step. It wasn't until another night on a yacht when Violet made a bet with a few of her best friends, offering to gift a piece of land in Northana to anyone whose plus one would dive into the sea to find the ring she had lost. Dylan knew Violet had spent countless sleepless nights trying to acquire that very piece of land. So, while everyone else was getting cold feet at the crashing waves, Dylan jumped into the sea without so much as a thought. That was the first time Violet ever lost her cool for him. She hugged Dylan tightly after he'd been rescued and pulled back onboard. She sounded shaky and frightened as she said, "Dylan, let's get married. I'll do my best to love you back." However, it wasn't until long after that incident that Dylan learned Violet only agreed to marry him that night because she saw Archer posting a photo of him kissing his wife under a skyful of auroras on his social media. Even then, Dylan tried his best to fulfill the terms of the contract by treating Violet even better. He cooked, cleaned, and did all the house chores. He learned that Violet's childhood dream was to watch a meteor shower, but since her parents had been too busy to bring her out, Dylan spent the next six months finding the best mountaintops to watch the next meteor shower with her. Dylan had waited all night for her, but Violet never showed up. Later, he learned that Violet had gone to see Archer that same night. Archer had been having some trouble with his marriage at that time, and ever since then, Violet would always fly abroad every week to visit him. Each time, she would also prepare all sorts of fun and interesting gifts to make him happy, but she didn't let him know that she sent them. The night Archer returned to the country, Violet sped off in her car to be the first one to greet him. That was when she got into another crash and fell into a coma for three days. Dylan stood vigil by her side for all three nights. However, although Violet was unconscious, she still cried out Archer's name at least a million times. At that moment, Dylan finally realized that he would never be able to fulfill the mission Mandy had given him five years ago. Coincidentally, his contract was coming to an end, and Archer was already back. Since Violet could finally be with the person she loved the most, just as she always wished, it was now time for Dylan to step out of the picture. From that day onward, they could finally start their own separate lives anew.