Chapter 1

On the day of Lindsay York's third wedding anniversary, she opened her drawer and discovered that she and her husband, Brayden Hart, still hadn't finished using the box of contraceptives she had bought before their wedding. It wasn't that they hadn't been using protection. It was just that she and Brayden were never intimate with each other. Since it was their wedding anniversary, Lindsay had mustered up the courage to buy seductive lingerie. She downed three glasses of red wine, and when Brayden came out after a shower, she went up to him and looped her arms around his neck. "Honey," she breathed. "Today, we—" However, Brayden pushed her aside at once. "You're such a slut, Lindsay." There was a sharp look in Brayden's eyes, and his voice was as cold as ice. "You keep pestering me for it. If you really feel so empty, go and find yourself a stick." Lindsay turned as pale as a sheet. She didn't understand why her own husband had called her a slut, just because she wanted to be intimate with him. Lindsay couldn't sleep for the whole night. She hid under the blankets and scrolled through her phone. Almost all the websites she came across had topics like "The pain of a marriage without intimacy—what should I do if my husband refuses to touch me after marriage?" Commenters suggested that husbands like that might be attracted to the same gender, or they were impotent. Lindsay felt lost. She got up to get a drink of water, only to realize that Brayden was no longer beside her. The lights in the bathroom were on, and she could hear a strange sound from inside. Lindsay walked over and turned ashen when she saw what was happening inside. Her husband, who wasn't interested in intimacy with her, was looking at a photo of her sister, Scarlett York, and touching himself with abandon. Brayden clearly thought Lindsay was asleep. He was extremely aroused and kept murmuring, "Scarlett… Scarlett…" Lindsay stumbled back into her room, just in time to see Brayden's phone light up on the bedside table. She picked it up, trembling. She had always known Brayden's password, but she never looked at it out of respect for him. However, she couldn't restrain herself this time. She saw the messages in Brayden's WhatsApp group chat with his friends. "Brayden, this is the 1000th day of your celibacy, isn't it? Come out for a drink to celebrate!" "That's ridiculous. Brayden has been married to Lindsay for almost three years. Has he really never touched her?" "Lindsay might be a country bumpkin, but she's got an exquisite face and body. How can you stand not touching her, Brayden?" "Of course he can! Don't forget that Brayden made an oath to Scarlett before he got married. He said that he would stay celibate for her! When has he ever broken a promise he made to her?" "We all know what a hopeless romantic Brayden is. When that country bumpkin Lindsay stole Scarlett's identity as the York heiress, Brayden's parents forced him to marry her. He pretended to agree, but it was all part of his plan!" "He's already planned everything. He married Lindsay, but he'll divorce her in a couple of years so she'll become damaged goods." "Brayden, since Hart Group is now under your control, will you be able to get divorced soon?" There was a pause in the messages, followed by the reply that Brayden had sent before going to the bathroom. "Yes." His curt answer made Lindsay turn as pale as a sheet. She was an orphan who had been adopted and raised by a family overseas. Four years ago, she returned home and discovered that she was actually the daughter of the Yorks, who were an elite family. The Yorks hadn't abandoned her. Someone just swapped her at birth with another baby. The Yorks reunited with her, but they couldn't bear to cut ties with Scarlett, the fake heiress whom they had raised for many years. They decided to let her stay in the family. However, the Harts and the Yorks had a marriage alliance that was formed many years ago by the older generation, which was why Brayden went from being Scarlett's fiance to Lindsay's. Lindsay hadn't been bothered about their arranged marriage at first, but Brayden began courting her aggressively. She was unaccustomed to the food in Hulania when she first returned, so Brayden would take his private plane to Taronta to buy food for her, because that was where she had grown up. When she couldn't sleep at night, he would talk to her on the phone all night long. When both she and Scarlett were abducted, and their captors announced that only one of them would be spared, Lindsay's parents chose to abandon her in favor of Scarlett. Brayden was the one who had rushed alone into the abductors' den with no regard for the danger and rescued her. Without realizing it, Lindsay had begun to fall for him. In the end, she agreed to marry him. However, he became a completely different person after marriage. He grew distant and cold, and he never touched her. At first, Lindsay had worried about Brayden's health. Now, she realized that it wasn't that he couldn't, or that he didn't like women. He was just staying celibate for the sake of another woman. However, Lindsay didn't understand. It wasn't her fault that she had been lost for many years, nor had she done anything wrong by reuniting with her biological parents. Why was Brayden treating her like this? Tears filled her eyes, and her phone suddenly vibrated. She picked it up and went to the balcony to answer it. "Lindsay." It was Francesca Rossi, her adopted mother. Francesca said tentatively, "It's my birthday in a few days. Can you come back to Taronta to visit me? Of course, you don't have to if your parents object…" Lindsay's adoptive parents had adopted her because they were infertile, and they had always treated her as their own. However, Lindsay still felt that she belonged in her own country. That was why she had chosen to stay alone in Hulania four years ago. Brayden had also played a part in her decision, but now? The tears that she had been suppressing spilled out when she heard Francesca's voice. Lindsay said in a choked voice, "Mom, I want to go back to Taronta." Francesca was agitated when she heard Lindsay crying. "Why are you crying, sweetheart? Are the Yorks mistreating you? If they are, come back at once! I promise that I won't let anyone touch even a single hair on your head if you come back to Taronta!" Lindsay's adoptive parents were part of the largest conglomerate family in Taronta and were extremely influential in Yerope. Francesca said immediately, "I'll arrange for a private plane to bring you home in three days! I won't let anyone hurt you, sweetheart. You're the apple of my eye!"