Chapter 1

James Sterling, blind in one eye and soaked to the skin, stood at my doorstep. Suddenly, I understood why Edward Foster had taken his childhood sweetheart Sophie Allen, who had a heart condition, into our home.

The person someone first fell for was unforgettable.

I felt sympathy and immediately let James move into the villa.

Years apart had left him frail and withdrawn; even a light touch made him tremble.

I had to comfort him, care for him, putting all my attention on him. I even forgot to be jealous of Sophie, forgot to lash out at Edward.

But Edward broke down. Eyes red, he shouted at me, "Claire, I'm your husband. Why do you always side with him?"

*****

It was pouring rain again the next time I saw James.

I leaned under the villa's porch, gazing up at the pitch-black sky, feeling utterly hopeless.

Sophie mentioned she'd never seen the ocean, so Edward didn't even remember our wedding anniversary. He dropped everything and took her to Baranoya Shores.

This wasn't the first time.

Ever since Sophie returned from overseas, she has always come first.

Whenever we ate, we'd order whatever she liked. Whenever we went out, it was always to the places she wanted to go.

I kept reminding myself that Sophie had a heart condition and was so fragile. I had to let her have whatever she wanted.

But then, on Edward's birthday, I slipped into that sexy red dress he loved and settled onto his lap.

Edward's breathing went haywire, and he pressed me down hard, his desire almost savage.

Then, a special ringtone broke the mood.

I knew right away. It was Sophie's exclusive ringtone on Edward's phone.

I wished he'd tune it out and get swept up in the moment with me. But reality had other plans.

The ringtone lasted barely three seconds, and the heat in his eyes vanished in an instant.

He picked up, muttered a few words, grabbed his coat, and hurried out the door.

He left me disheveled and alone, sprawled on the couch.

Even then, I kept trying to reassure myself, 'Maybe something really did happen to Sophie. Her health really is fragile, after all,' Claire thought.

I spent a long time trying to convince myself everything was fine.

But the moment I unlocked my phone, I saw Sophie had posted on her social media.

The photo showed a cake that looked pretty rough. Its letters were all crooked, and the decorations were downright ugly.

My eyes were instantly drawn to a finger peeking out in the corner of the photo.

On that finger was a matching wedding band. It was Edward's finger.

I instinctively tried to come up with excuses for them, but Sophie's caption made my mind go totally blank.

She wrote: [The knight kept his promise, always protecting his princess. But this time, the princess wasn't in trouble. Instead, she made a little surprise for her knight. Here's a cake she made for you. Happy birthday, my dearest knight.]

Turns out, she was fine.

It felt like my heart had been laid bare and left bleeding, the pain so raw my eyes turned red with tears. I curled up into a ball, trembling nonstop.

By noon the next day, I got into a heated argument with Edward, who had returned from seeing Sophie.

The fight ended badly. Edward moved Sophie into our house without a second thought.

Of course, I went hysterical, screaming at her to get out of our home.

Sophie had a heart attack right then and there and was rushed to the hospital.

After that, my life felt like I was caught in a cycle I couldn't escape.

It always started with a screaming match with Edward and ended with Sophie landing in the hospital, again and again.

Now, all I have left is this bone-deep exhaustion.

Even if I turned on every light in the house, I still couldn't feel a shred of warmth, only the crushing weight of loneliness.

At that moment, something made me look up, and I found myself staring into a pair of eyes that felt so familiar, yet somehow distant.