Chapter 1

Seven years into marriage, Cecelia Johnson stumbled upon the will Shaun Hawkins, her husband, had left in the house. All his assets would first be distributed to some kid named Larry Hawkins. The second beneficiary was Alice Johnson—her half sister on her father's side. Only in third place did her name appear, as the lawful wife. Cecelia took the will to court and found out that it was legitimate. She felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her head, chilling her from head to toe. Having been married to Shaun for seven years, she had turned a blind eye to his affairs the whole time. It was all because of his crippling sex addiction. It could leave him in unbearable pain and be life-threatening during an episode. Her first pregnancy ended when one of his violent episodes caused her to miscarry, leaving her permanently unable to conceive. He took it out on himself, slashing at his skin with a knife like a madman. She walked in on him in a bathtub full of blood, smiling. "I figured out a way to calm myself down, Cece." At that moment, she felt like her heart was being ripped apart. She didn't want him to suffer, so she played along with his kinks, bending to his will no matter how far he took it. However, Shaun's addiction was out of control. He would spiral out of nowhere, turning Cecelia's world upside down without warning. Later, the crushing guilt would drive him to use all sorts of drastic ways to suppress his lust. He would shut himself in the freezer until he was covered in frost, barely conscious. He would also burn Cecelia's name into his arm with cigarettes until he ended up in a hospital. He even needed a skin graft. One night, he even tried to jump off the roof to end his life. She was scared out of her wits when she found him, sprinting over in a panic to pull him back. That night, she tossed and turned with the scenes from their past looping in her mind. They had been childhood sweethearts, growing up together. Shaun was intense by nature and couldn't stand to see Cecelia wronged in the slightest. When she was in middle school, a group of punks cornered her in an alley, looking to extort her. He charged into the crowd alone, taking blow after blow until he was covered in blood. However, he kept her safely behind him and spat through gritted teeth, "Let's see who is stupid enough to lay a finger on her." His possessiveness was off the charts. Back in high school, one guy talked to her a little too often during breaks. The next day, he dropped out of school without warning. When they got to college, he had memorized her schedule by heart and showed up like clockwork with breakfast and afternoon snacks at her dorm. One time, Cecelia stayed up all night working on a report, slept past her alarm, and didn't reply to Shaun's messages for two hours. He was just about to fly overseas for a national competition, but he canceled his ticket without hesitation. His eyes were bloodshot as he rushed to her dorm, looking hurt. "Could you give me a heads-up if you're going to sleep, Cece? I thought something had happened to you." Every memory was etched clearly in her mind. She knew he loved her. His loss of control was just the illness talking. She couldn't bear to see him suffer, and she couldn't stand the thought of ending a love that had lasted since childhood. … The following morning, Cecelia went to Shaun, looking drained but composed. "You can sleep with other women from now on, but you're going to follow three rules. "Don't ever let those women cause trouble in front of me. Next, you're not allowed to fall for any of them. Lastly, you absolutely can't father a child outside this marriage." At first, he shot the idea down right away. "You want me to sleep with someone else? How can I have a child with her?" His eyes were burning red as he grabbed the fruit knife on the table and shoved it into her hand. "You're the only one I'll ever love. If you want me to betray you, you might as well stab me to death right now." However, as the days went by, Shaun started working late more often, and his episodes became rare. Cecelia knew he had finally caved to the temptations. Back then, she figured that even if he couldn't control his lust, his love for her was still deep and untouched by anything else. It wasn't until now that she realized his so-called devotion had long been chipped away by repeated cheating. He actually had a kid out there that she knew nothing about. The mother turned out to be Alicia Johnson, who had received her bone marrow transplant and vowed she would forever be grateful. When Cecelia finally snapped out of her grief, she found herself in a cab headed for Savory Grace. She had arranged to meet Eliza Barrett there after taking care of the paperwork. A voice sounded behind her. "Excuse me, miss. Could you let me through?" A waiter wheeled a three-tier cake past Cecelia and politely nodded before entering the private room next door. She turned to look, only to be rooted to the spot at first sight. Inside the private room, Shaun had a five-year-old boy in his arms, and the resemblance between them was uncanny. Wearing a dress, Alice stood to the side, her eyes full of affection as she watched them. What really got to Cecelia was that her dad and her stepmom were there too. Malcolm Johnson, Cecelia's dad, let out a hearty laugh and pulled out a document. "This is my birthday gift for Larry." Alice took the document, and her eyes lit up when she read it. "Isn't that Willowmere? Wasn't that the place Cece's mom left her?" Delilah Hutchinson, Cecelia's stepmom, looked pleasantly surprised. "You already registered Cece's land under Larry's name last year. He's still young. What is he going to do with all that property?" Malcolm's tone made it clear there was no arguing with him. "Larry is my only grandson. How could I not spoil him? Besides, Cece can't have children. What is the point of her keeping it?" Standing outside the door, Cecelia felt like she had plunged into the abyss, her blood running cold. Malcolm and Delilah had known all along. Worse yet, they had given everything that belonged to her to Larry. Just then, Larry accidentally dropped his cake onto Shaun's expensive suit. Cecelia's heart tightened instinctively. Shaun was obsessive about cleanliness and couldn't stand kids touching him. Last year, a business partner brought their kid to a meeting, and the kid accidentally touched a file on his desk. Shaun ended a hundred-million-dollar deal over it. But this time, Shaun pulled out a napkin, gently wiped the cream off Larry's hand, and playfully pinched Larry's chubby cheek. Then, he looked at Alice, who was still hesitant. "Since Dad has already given it to you, just take it. Larry is the future heir of the Hawkin family. This is already meant to be his." Cecelia clenched her fists, her nails biting into her palms. However, she was numb to the pain. She had known Shaun for 20 years, but he was so unfamiliar that it frightened her. She couldn't take it anymore. She staggered into the restroom and splashed cold water on her face. Then she wiped away the water and tears on her face, as if she were erasing every trace of the past. Since Shaun had broken the vow he made, Cecelia decided to give up her place as the lawful wife to Alice. From this moment forward, they would go their separate ways and never cross paths again.