Chapter 3

It was Harrison.

He hadn't left yet.

I let out a breath, totally ignoring his half-dressed look, and just sat down at the table, acting like he wasn't even there.

My head was a mess today, and thank goodness I didn't ask anyone to stay over. If someone had walked in on this hot, borderline scandalous scene, there'd be no way to explain myself.

"Aren't you cold wearing so little?" I sneaked a peek at those abs showing under his shirt and quickly looked away, my cheeks burning.

Was he seriously testing my self-control with this?

Harrison gave me a look full of pity. "Paulina, stop pretending. I already know. He married you but never even slept with you. He must be impotent or something.

"Now he's lost his memory, too. Is this really the life you want? Why not take this chance to walk away? Whatever he can't give you, I can."

As he said this, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his arms. I pretended to resist, but went along with his move, planning to cop a feel myself.

Suddenly, my eyelid twitched, and I felt a cold shiver run down the back of my neck.

Right before I could touch him, the door slammed open. "Save your concern, Harrison. Whether I can perform or not is for me to decide, not you."

Winston swept me into his arms, my head spinning. Wait, how did he show up here? Wasn't he supposed to be at the villa in Westmere?

Harrison let out a cold snort. "Son of bitch."

I was shocked. When did Harrison ever speak like that?

In my memory, he was always the picture of a gentleman.

Winston sneered, "Oh, Harrison, I guess I should feel inferior next to you, huh? Sneaking into my house in the dead of night—what, is your place so broke you can't even sleep at home?

"And you still dare to brag about running off with my wife? Please."

He shot Harrison a scornful glance. "Know your limits."

Harrison didn't even bother with him, just looked straight at me. "Paulina, have you forgotten? He's the one who ruined your reputation without a shred of shame. After everything he did, you're really going to stay by his side?"

The arm around my waist suddenly went stiff.

[The way I acted before was really underhanded.]

[It's only natural that my wife dislikes me.]

When it came to Harrison, I really did him dirty.

He was the man I chose for myself—my safety net if everything else fell apart.

Back then, my father wasn't the Prime Minister yet. He was just an official in the Royal Secretariat.

When he got transferred to Crownburg, the whole family was supposed to move, but they left my sickly mother and me behind in our hometown.

It wasn't long before my mother passed away, and I was brought back to Crownburg.

My father never cared, my stepmother never loved me, and Nova always seemed to harbor an inexplicable malice toward me.

That year, Nova was betrothed to the Kennedy family.

Thanks to her, I got to tag along and was allowed to attend the spring party with the young nobles.

Honestly, that spring party was just a giant matchmaking event. If a lady took a fancy to someone, she would talk it over with her parents, and before long, a match would be made.

Harrison was the most practical option I could come up with after weighing everything.

He was pure-hearted, delicate, and handsome—the eleventh son in his family, with no vices to speak of, practically invisible in the Andrews household.

But of course, he'd never even look my way.

So I deliberately orchestrated a classic "heroine rescues the damsel" scene.

Spring had arrived, everything was coming back to life, and it was mating season for the animals. The air was thick with a heady, restless energy.

Having grown up running wild back home, I'd picked up plenty of survival skills, so I volunteered for the hunt without hesitation.

After circling the woods for what felt like forever, I finally managed to find Harrison.

Harrison was wearing clothes laced with a scent that drew animals in heat. I'd paid someone to secretly infuse his garments with the stuff.

I really had no clue just how potent that scent I used actually was.

"Another catch!" Harrison called out, waving a rabbit he'd just nabbed not far away.

"Man, Harrison, your luck's off the charts today. The animals are practically throwing themselves at you," one of the guys joked.

"Oh, not at all, it's just because you all are letting me have the easy ones," Harrison replied.

The others sighed in defeat. "Let's get out of here. We're never going to catch anything with this guy around."

I kept my distance, watching him for ages until I was sure he was finally alone. Only then did I let out a sigh of relief.

"Miss, did you get lost?" a man asked.

I was hiding in the bushes when a man's voice suddenly popped up right next to me. I panicked and clapped my hand over his mouth before he could say another word.

Our eyes met, and he gave me a playful wink. I put my finger to my lips, signaling him to be quiet, then slowly let go of his mouth and whispered, "Lord Winston."

He was Nova's fiancé. If she caught me here with him, she'd make my life miserable when I got back.

I couldn't let anyone catch us together.

I just wanted to keep my distance from him.

Winston was such a jerk back then. The King wanted him to marry me, but everyone in my family just expected Nova would be the one to end up with him.

Even I thought so. My father promised me that if I behaved, he'd let my birth mother's memorial tablet be placed in the family shrine.

I subtly stepped away from Winston, keeping my eyes glued to Harrison in the distance.

Harrison tied his horse to a tree stump, sat down, tilted his head back for a drink, and started counting his game.

"You like him?" Winston broke the silence again.