Chapter 1

In the final months of her life, Claire Mist became Nathan Sterling's lover.

They clung to each other day and night, making love frantically at home, in the office, and even in the car.

Just as she thought she would die by his side, she stumbled upon a marriage certificate hidden in his safe.

Staring at Nathan's name on the document in disbelief, Claire felt a wave of dizziness crash over her.

After a long moment, she clutched the certificate tightly and rushed out of the house.

Even with the truth staring her in the face, she refused to believe it. She needed to get answers from Nathan's buddies.

Soon, Claire arrived at the club where they often gathered. She was about to burst in when she spotted Nathan, but she had personally seen him off on a business trip just two hours earlier.

Claire let out a bitter laugh; she thought she might as well ask Nathan himself. But just as she was about to step inside, one of his friends' voices rang out.

"Nathan, now that Emily's back, when are you gonna dump Claire?"

"We all know Emily's stuck by you through thick and thin all these years. Don't be an idiot over a mistress."

Claire froze. The last flicker of hope in her heart plummeted to the depths in an instant.

So she'd been nothing but a fool—a pawn Nathan could discard at any moment. And everyone had known it except her.

*****

Claire's body went rigid. She wanted to leave, but her feet felt glued to the floor.

Seconds later, Nathan slouched on the sofa, a sarcastic smirk playing on his lips. He spoke casually, as if the matter was of no consequence. "Funny timing. I was getting bored anyway."

The words hit Claire like a blast of arctic air, freezing her to the core.

In a daze, she watched a girl emerge from the bathroom. Smiling, the girl sat down beside Nathan and asked, "What are you two chatting about?"

The group laughed and quickly changed the subject. Nathan naturally swapped the wine in the girl's hand for a glass of juice.

The scene pierced Claire's heart like a thousand needles. She pulled out Nathan's marriage certificate. In the photo were Nathan and the very girl sitting next to him.

She had never dared to imagine another woman standing by Nathan's side.

He had only ever had her since she was fourteen. That year, her mother, Miranda Mist, married his father, Henry Sterling, making her his stepsister. At eighteen, Miranda's marriage to Henry fell apart, and she abandoned Claire to pursue her sixth new relationship.

Back then, Miranda had stood in high heels with a suitcase in hand.

and said, "Claire, you're an adult now. I've fulfilled my responsibility to you. Your new father has a daughter your age, and the only condition for me to marry him is that I can't take you. Please understand."

It was Nathan who had found Claire huddled on the curb, sobbing uncontrollably, and taken her home. That's when their love began.

At twenty-two, he had planned to marry her after her graduation. But just before the wedding, Miranda reappeared after years of absence. When she learned of their relationship, she voiced fierce opposition and demanded they break up.

Claire refused. In the middle of their argument, they were caught in a car accident.

She watched helplessly as the woman who had raised her fell into a pool of blood, left in a vegetative state. The man Miranda had just started dating gave Claire a sum of money and was never heard from again.

Guilt, remorse, and the pressures of life weighed so heavily on Claire that she could barely breathe.

At the time, Nathan was on an overseas assignment and would be home for another month.

She didn't know how to face him. After thinking for a long time, she finally told him she wanted to break up over the phone. That night, Nathan had shown up at her door in the pouring rain, demanding an explanation.

Claire still remembered the cruel lies she'd made up to push him away.

"Thank you for raising me until I graduated college, but my life has just begun. Did you really think I'd waste my whole life on you? Being my brother is fine, but being my boyfriend isn't," said her.

Three months ago, Claire was diagnosed with late-stage brain cancer. No longer able to deny her feelings, she sought out Nathan and applied to be his secretary. However, he'd used the job as leverage, forcing her to become his mistress.

Claire had thought he only hated her, that he was deliberately humiliating her. She never imagined she was truly his lover.

Claire stumbled back to her apartment. As her phone rang repeatedly, she answered it, no longer trying to make small talk out of ingratiation as she usually did.

After ten long, silent minutes, a voice finally came through, "The collaboration went well. I just got back to the hotel. I booked a ticket to come home first thing tomorrow."

His tone made her feel it was so natural she should know his itinerary, which had tricked her into thinking he still loved her.

That had made her overlook the demeaning role he'd forced her into: a disreputable mistress.

Claire sank into the bathtub, squeezing her eyes shut. She replied faintly, giving away no hint of her emotions.

Just as she was about to hang up, a woman's voice suddenly cut in from the other end. "Nathan, I'm done showering. Your turn now—"

The line went dead, and the screen faded back to her lock screen. Claire stared at the photo of Nathan and herself embracing, unable to look away.

In the picture, her head was buried in his chest, soaking his shirt with tears. Nathan held her tightly, no trace of disgust on his face. He'd leaned down, resting his chin gently against her ear, and whispered affectionately, "Claire, I'll only ever marry you."