Chapter 3

As far as I remembered, Adrian’s story hadn’t happened that way. More precisely, it hadn’t been some epic romance. It had started briefly and ended just as quickly.

And in all our years of marriage, his first love had never been a forbidden subject.

The Bennetts and the Hayeses were old family friends. Adrian and I had practically grown up together.

I remembered him dating his tutor for a while, then breaking up amicably.

His mother had come from humble beginnings herself. I didn’t remember her being some arrogant society woman obsessed with pedigree.

Unfortunately, she had been dead for years. There was no asking her now.

I’d grown up with Adrian. I’d thought I knew exactly who he was.

When I returned from studying abroad, Hayes Group was facing an unprecedented crisis. Adrian had come to my family and declared his love for me.

My father had watched him grow up and believed he was an honorable man. The Hayes family still had a solid foundation. Once they weathered the crisis, our businesses could form a powerful alliance. My father respected Adrian, and I’d secretly loved him for years. So we married.

I still remembered what he’d said when he proposed.

“There may be five thousand flowers in the world that look just like you, but you’re my one and only rose.”

He’d proudly told everyone that in business, we were comrades fighting back to back.

In life, I was his one and only red rose.

Confident, gracious, passionate, and intelligent.

I had always been the strongest pillar supporting his career.

How could I have known that, alongside his red rose, he’d kept a pure white one in his heart?

That night felt unbearably long and painful.

Eventually, tangled in my thoughts, I fell asleep with my head resting on the edge of Noah’s bed.

When I woke, Adrian was beside me, looking exhausted and disheveled.

“Why are you still wearing the suit from your interview?”

His face went pale, then flushed.

“You saw it…?”

“It’s the top trending story. Hard to miss.”

He was about to explain when Noah woke up.

We’d been married for twelve years. For the first six, we’d been too busy building our careers together to have a child.

When Noah finally came along, we’d both poured all our love into him.

The moment he saw Adrian, his eyes reddened. Tears streamed down his little face.

“Daddy, don’t you want me anymore? The kids at kindergarten said you don’t want me.”

Adrian shot me an angry look. I’d only ever seen that sharp expression directed at his business rivals.

I knew what it meant. Suspicion.

The trust between us was falling apart. Or perhaps the moment I began examining that trust, it had already ceased to exist.

I gave a helpless smile and shrugged to show I had nothing to do with it.

I knew he wouldn’t believe me. I did it anyway.

Adrian patiently soothed Noah.

“I’ll always be your daddy. You’re such a good boy. How could I ever stop wanting you?”