Chapter 1
Edward Keaton was locked in the family chapel for three days straight until he finally wore his parents down.
They agreed to let him marry me, even though I was originally meant to marry his older brother, William.
On our wedding night, he was drunk, his cheeks flushed as he held me close, mumbling, "All I want is for you to be happy. That's all I want."
I patted his back, soft and soothing. "I'm good, honey."
He nodded, looking gentle and docile.
"Charlotte," he whispered, "I love you. No matter who you want to marry, I'll make it happen for you."
My smile froze.
I wasn't Charlotte.
Charlotte was William's wife, who also married into the Keaton family today.
*****
Three years had passed since our wedding night.
During that time, Edward and I hated each other's guts. We would've gladly put a knife in one another if we'd gotten the chance.
I despised him for being obsessed with his sister-in-law.
He'd lash out at me, accusing me of being a poisonous woman who tried to kill him with tainted wine.
He deserved it.
He'd been plotting all along, tricking me into falling for him, then luring me into marriage.
Because of him, I had endured endless ridicule and scorn from everyone around me.
But in the end, he told me he only married me for the sake of Charlotte, his childhood sweetheart.
Shame he hadn't got to taste that poison.
That night, he overheard the maids gossiping about how William had spent a passionate night with Charlotte, and his face went white as a sheet.
The wine glass slipped from his hand, the poisoned wine hissing as it hit the ground.
Before he could even react, I pulled out a dagger and stabbed him right in the gut.
He clutched his bleeding side, gaping at me, totally stunned.
"You hate me that much?" he asked.
"I wish I could grind you to dust," I spat, my eyes rimmed with red.
But just as I was about to drive the dagger into his chest, a sudden asthma attack hit me. I collapsed to the floor, struggling for breath.
Shaking all over, I reached out. "Medicine."
Edward gave me a deep, unreadable look, his lips pale, then turned and walked away without looking back.
So, he wanted me dead too.
I bit down on my tongue, forcing myself to stay awake. I crawled toward the desk, grabbed my medicine, and swallowed it.
I leaned against the desk, staring blankly into the pitch-black night. A single tear traced a cold path down my cheek.
So this was what it was like to marry the one I loved?
It was so pointless.
*****
The next day, the Keaton residence was quiet and peaceful.
Edward stood in front of me, his wound already bandaged up, with no trace of anything being wrong.
He thought he could somehow make it up to me.
"I'm sorry, Clara. I can give you anything but my love," he said.
I put on my earrings in front of the mirror and said casually, "Alright, kill Charlotte."
His face darkened instantly.
It was all so ridiculous.
Even when I tried to kill him, he didn't flinch. When it came to Charlotte, he snapped.
He gripped my wrist and scoffed, "If you dare lay a finger on her, I won't hesitate to kill you."
A thin sheen of sweat broke out on my forehead from the pain, but I still gave him a sweet smile.
"Relax," I said. "I was just joking. William guards Charlotte like she's the apple of his eye. Who could ever hurt her?"
Edward squeezed my wrist even harder, his eyes wet, not with sadness, but with a raw, burning hatred.
I gave him a cold, dead stare.
What were those tears for?
He'd cried on our wedding night too, and wouldn't even touch the ceremonial wine with me.
He'd just curled up on the edge of the bed, and if I ever brushed against him, he'd fling my hand away.
I hadn't shed a tear back then, so what was his excuse now?
He had it coming.
After that, things between us got even worse. We were like fire and ice, totally incompatible.
Behind closed doors, we wanted to rip each other to shreds. But in front of everyone else, we had to pretend to be the perfect couple.
I swallowed my disgust, forcing myself to go along with his act, just to catch that blatant envy flashing in Charlotte's eyes.
She was too greedy, wanting both brothers at once.
Once she saw me getting all cozy with Edward, she started getting restless.
She sent over a hand-stitched belt, and I beamed as I accepted it for Edward.
The next day, I told him, "Charlotte made this for William, but it didn't fit. She was going to let her lapdog wear it, but I managed to snag it instead.
"Hey, at least Charlotte made it herself. Aren't you going to try it on?"
He shot me a cold glare and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
It wasn't until Charlotte was visibly pregnant that William set her up with a new residence.
The day she left the Keaton residence, Edward spent the whole night drinking in silence.
I leaned against the headboard, watching him all night.
I thought, 'If he turned around now, I'd forgive him.'
But he just slumped over the table, drunk out of his mind, refusing to even look at me.
Then I thought, 'If he smiled, even if it was for Charlotte, I'd forgive him.'
I was like a gambler at the end of my rope, desperate for any sign. Even if he smiled because he was thinking of Charlotte, I'd take it.
But all he did was give a bitter laugh and murmur, "Charlotte."
My heart clenched, and I slowly curled up under the covers.
He never once looked back, and I lay awake the whole night.
*****
Without Charlotte around, the showdown between Edward and me finally cooled off for a while.
One day, Maria, Edward's mother, called me in and grilled me about why I still hadn't given Edward a kid.
Edward and I had never even slept together. How was I supposed to pop out a child?
Maria knew well that Edward was hung up on Charlotte. B, but instead of asking Charlotte, she pinned it all on me.
She jabbed a finger at the towering pile of women's conduct codes and ordered me to copy every single page ten times, a punishment for not giving Edward an heir.
I lowered my eyes and sighed, "I may be foolish, but I do know one thing: a wife should always make her husband happy.
"Edward's heart belongs to Charlotte. If William doesn't mind, why not let Edward move in with William and have them both serve Charlotte as her husbands?"
My scandalous words made all the maids in the room drop their heads in shock.
"You!" Maria clutched her chest, having a relapse on the spot.