After three years of secret marriage with Julian Ryder, he told me he would give me a surprise at his new company’s launch party. I thought he was finally going to announce me as his wife to the world, but instead, he took his first love’s hand. With tears in my eyes, I demanded answers, only to receive his ruthless mockery: “It’s been three years, Evie. I’ve been sick of your face for a long time.” A month later, holding his half-brother’s arm, I showed up at the Ryder family gala. The massive diamond ring on my ring finger blinded him with rage, while the handsome, younger brother beside me smirked contemptuously at him: “It’s been three years, Julian. Honestly, I’m tired of calling her my sister-in-law anyway.” 【1】 “The best surprise for my beloved.” Under Julian’s latest Snapchat story, our mutual friends were leaving comments like crazy. “No way, man! Keeping it a secret from Evie to pull off something this romantic?” “Are you finally going public? Congratulations!” The picture on his story showed a romantic sea of 9,999 red roses and a massive, custom-made diamond ring. It was in my favorite color—a rare, natural purple diamond. It was crystal clear. It must have been incredibly hard for him to find one of such high quality. Looking at the Snapchat story, I couldn’t help but smile. We had a huge fight last month. Julian hadn’t texted me for over two weeks, and he hadn’t even come home. I thought he was giving me the silent treatment because of our argument. But it turned out he was secretly preparing a surprise for me… Tomorrow was the press conference for the public listing of the Ryder Group’s new subsidiary. This was also Julian’s first major media interview since securing his position as the sole heir of the Ryder family. For Julian to prepare something so grand, was he planning to publicly reveal my status as Mrs. Ryder? After three years of secret marriage, my wait was finally paying off. I hugged my pillow, lying in bed, imagining Julian standing in the spotlight tomorrow, proudly announcing to the world: “She is my legal wife, Evelyn!” He would hold my hand and kiss my forehead gently. I couldn’t help but screenshot his Snapchat story to look at it again and again. He actually forgot to block me from seeing it. What an idiot. I wanted to text him to ruin his “little surprise,” but then I thought about how busy he must be at the office. Since he was being so sweet, I decided to forgive him a little early. I would buy a nice dress and wait for tomorrow’s surprise. The next day, I wore a stunning red evening gown and sat in the VIP section, watching the confident, handsome man on stage from afar. He looked sharp, and his voice was deep and steady, just like the day I first fell for him. “Today, I want to publicly announce someone very important to me.” “Without her, I wouldn’t be standing here today.” The spotlight followed him as he walked down the stage, coming right toward my row. My heart raced, and I shyly reached out my hand, waiting for him to take it. But he only gave me a cold, passing glance, walked right past me, and grabbed the hand of Seraphina Vance, the heiress of the Vance family. “Will you marry me, Sera?” He slipped that beautiful purple diamond ring onto Seraphina’s finger, his eyes filled with a deep tenderness I had never seen before. It was a perfect fit. The camera flashes from the media went wild. “It’s the Vance heiress! What a perfect high-society match!” “When is the wedding, you two?” Seraphina’s expression turned from shock to pure bliss, a beautiful blush creeping up her cheeks. “This is so sudden… I’m not even prepared…” The Ryder and Vance families were both elite powerhouses in New York, but there had never been any rumors of them dating. The reporters went crazy, instantly surrounding the two of them. In the chaotic crowd, someone stepped on my red gown, leaving a dirty footprint on the fabric. My hand remained frozen in the air. Under the bright camera lights, the sight of him and Seraphina looking so in love was so blinding that tears started rolling down my face. I stood there like a pathetic clown, while they were hailed as a match made in heaven. The surprise was never meant for me. The man I loved was abandoning me to marry someone else. 【2】 Because I loved him and didn’t want to ruin his reputation in front of the cameras, my confrontation was pathetic and quiet. I watched Julian laughing and talking with Seraphina backstage. I pulled out my phone with trembling fingers and sent him a message. “I am your wife. Why did you propose to her?” My hands were shaking so hard that the message was full of typos. From a distance, I saw him glance at his phone. His eyebrows knitted together for a second, then relaxed. My phone buzzed. His reply was short and ice-cold. “Get lost.” I waited with red eyes until all the guests had left, then followed Julian to the VIP parking lot. “Why? Why are you doing this to me?” I refused to let it go, raising my voice as I ran after him. Seraphina had no idea about my secret existence. She looked at Julian, confused. “Julian, who is this crazy woman?” He whispered something sweet in Seraphina’s ear to reassure her, then walked over to me and threw a set of divorce papers right at my chest. A wave of despair washed over me. I grabbed his arm with tear-filled eyes, like a drowning person clutching at a straw. “It’s my fault for arguing with you. You’re just trying to make me jealous with another woman, right?” During our three years of marriage, there were occasionally other girls around him. But every time I got mad, he would always coax me back with sweet words. I assumed he was just furious because I had pushed him to go public with our marriage a few days ago. “Please don’t do this. I was wrong, okay? We don’t have to go public… As long as we’re together, nothing else matters.” He just looked down at me. The way I was begging him made me look like a stray dog in his eyes. “The Vance family can help my business expand. But you?” He let out a low laugh, his voice dripping with pure disdain. “Other than warming my bed, what value do you bring to my life?” My grip on his sleeve slowly slipped away. He brushed his sleeve in disgust, then leaned down to whisper the most brutal words directly into my ear: “It’s been three years, Evie. I’m sick of your face, and honestly, I’m done playing with you.” I watched his sports car roar away with Seraphina in the passenger seat. Overwhelmed by despair, I slid down against the concrete wall and collapsed onto the cold ground, gasping for air. Tears poured down, soaking the divorce papers in my hands. My heart ached so badly, as if it were being crushed by giant, invisible hands. He wasn’t always like this. He used to love me so much that he wouldn’t let anyone disrespect me. Now, he was using the most toxic words to cut all ties with me. He seemed to have completely forgotten that I was the one who saved his life. Years ago, Julian had lost his mother in a brutal family power struggle. Depressed and broken, he wanted to end his life. That day, on the busy highway bridge, I saw him standing alone on the edge, ready to jump. Risking a horrific car crash, I slammed on my brakes, ran over, and dragged him back from the edge of death. In my cheap, tiny apartment, a spark of hope returned to his eyes. Just like a cliché romance novel, the broken, suicidal boy fell deeply in love with his savior. On my birthday, he told me he wanted to take me somewhere special. When he placed our signed marriage certificates in front of me, I felt a rush of pure happiness. “This is my promise to you, Evie. I will never make the woman I love cry.” But the Ryder family was a snake pit. As an unloved eldest son, he had no maternal backing. He had to fight tooth and nail to become the heir. I understood his struggles. I knew the board members were watching his every move. He told me that having a wife with no elite background would ruin his chances of securing the inheritance. “Just wait a little longer, Evie.” He promised that once he took full control of the Ryder family, he would give me a grand wedding that everyone would envy. I loved his ambition and his drive so much. I truly believed I would spend the rest of my life with him. But I didn’t realize that ambition would eventually consume his heart. The marriage I cherished was nothing but a transactional stepping stone to him. My three years of devotion were nothing but a joke. 【3】 I don’t even remember how I dragged myself back to the apartment, or how I forced myself to sign those divorce papers. Julian was incredibly efficient. He had already ordered his assistants to pack my things and throw them out of the house. He was already moving Seraphina into the master bedroom that used to be mine. I sat in the living room like a ghost, listening to the muffled sounds of their laughter through the closed door. On the table in front of me sat a cold black credit card. Half an hour ago, he tried to buy off my three years of devotion with money. “There’s three million dollars on this card. Let’s end this cleanly.” “And don’t ever bother me again.” My parents died when I was young, and I had lived alone in New York for years. I thought marrying Julian meant I finally had a family. But my love was misplaced, and now I had no way to take it back. I wanted to call someone to talk to, but when I opened my phone, my entire contact list was filled with people associated with Julian. During these three years, to help him secure his position, I had accompanied him to countless business dinners. The irregular sleep schedule and constant drinking had made me look exhausted, much older than other girls my age. My stomach burned with a sharp, agonizing pain. The doorbell rang loudly. I struggled to stand up and opened the door. Standing there was Julian’s younger half-brother, Christian Ryder. Unlike Julian, Christian grew up surrounded by love. He was an artistic genius with grand dreams in the fine arts. With no interest in corporate greed, he never cared about the Ryder family inheritance, so Julian never saw him as a threat. I had only met Christian a few times, so I had no idea how he found my place. Through my blurry, drunken eyes, I could see the deep worry on his face. I grabbed his arm and started rambling like a crazy person. I talked about how Julian and I met, how happy we used to be, and how brutally he had abandoned me. “He promised me a real wedding! He’s a liar! A total bastard!” Terrified that I might hurt myself, Christian gently grabbed my flailing hands. Three years ago, he was just a high school kid. Now, he had grown into a handsome young man who stood a full head taller than me. His beautiful, expressive eyes weren’t cold like Julian’s. They were filled with a mix of longing and restraint, looking like a startled deer that had accidentally stumbled into my messy, broken life. “Evie, he’s not worth it.” I laughed and cried at the same time, waving my hand dismissively. “Christian, don’t call me that anymore. I don’t deserve to be anyone’s sister-in-law.” “Come on, have a drink with me!” My voice was forced, still holding onto the remnants of my love for Julian. Christian’s eyes darkened, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “I’ve wanted to stop calling you that for a long time anyway…” I only saw the worry on his face, failing to notice the deep passion swirling in his eyes. It wasn’t until the next morning, when I woke up and saw Christian lying naked next to me, that I realized how wild last night had been. Maybe it was because I hadn’t been drunk in so long, but I didn’t know I could be so reckless… I had just divorced my ex-husband, and now I was in bed with his younger brother. The young man’s chest was covered in light hickeys, and his muscular back had faint, healing scratch marks. His breathing was soft and even, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly. Oh my god. He just turned twenty-one, didn’t he? I tried to slide out of bed quietly to make my escape, but his hand shot out and gripped my wrist firmly. “Where are you going, Evie?” Christian flipped over, pinning me beneath him. His deep, raspy morning voice was incredibly sexy:
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