Chapter 1

Marcus's unforgettable love was a mute girl, and then I was the mute wife he married.

Everyone in our circle laughed at me, saying, "No matter how much you try to imitate her, you'll never match the tear at the corner of her eye."

Whatever. From the day I became mute, I no longer needed his love.

Marcus hosted a homecoming party for Emily, and it was a hundred times more extravagant than our wedding.

They stood together, looking like a match made in heaven, while I sat upright in the very center of the guest seats, the picture of a dutiful spectator.

I kept a polite smile on my face, maintaining perfect composure throughout.

As the party was winding down, Marcus wrapped his arm around Emily's waist and walked straight up to me.

Under the spotlight, he looked at me with a mocking gaze. His voice was clear and cold. "You've spent four years imitating Emily. Why not show her yourself today, and let her see just how well you've copied her?"

The room burst into laughter, waves of it washing over the crowd.

I watched their intimate closeness, then quietly turned and walked toward the other side of the hall.

Then, with everyone's eyes locked on me, I gently took another man's hand and placed it around my waist.

Just like Emily, I nestled my forehead against his chest.

Finally, I looked up at Marcus and signed to him, my eyes utterly indifferent. "Does it look like her?"

*****

The sweeter my smile, the more pissed Marcus looked.

Feeling Marcus's intimidating presence, the man shoved me away.

Worried Marcus would get the wrong idea, he even kicked me, desperate to put as much distance between us as possible.

I'd spent four years as Marcus's wife.

He never stopped anyone from humiliating me.

Everyone here was a master at reading the room, quick to change sides whenever it suited them.

"She's just some cast-off. How could she ever measure up to the real heiress, Miss Emily Shaw?"

"If I were her, I'd have found somewhere to end it all! Why bother living if you can't even keep your dignity?"

Even as the insults rained down on me, I kept wearing the same flawless smile Emily always had.

I'd practiced that smile thousands of times until it became second nature.

Suddenly, Marcus clamped his hand around my chin, wiping the smile right off my face.

"Nora, you're such a bitch," he said coldly, his gaze icy and condescending.

I stared at Marcus's striking face, my eyes narrowing.

Bitch. He actually humiliated me with that word.

He knew that word hurt me most, all because of my mother.

No. Marcus knew it would cut deep, and that was exactly why he said it.

As soon as the word left his mouth, everyone started echoing his insult, throwing that word at me.

My mind froze, and the way my mother died in that creek played out in vivid detail.

Four years ago, she passed, and that word was carved into her face. Her features were mangled and covered in blood.

Back then, it was Marcus who stayed with me day and night, keeping me from falling apart.

For the past four years, no matter how much he despised me, he'd never once said that word to my face.

But now? Right in front of everyone, he branded me with that word.

He was no different from the monster who carved that word into my mother's skin.

Marcus noticed the helpless look in my eyes and turned his gaze away, almost like he couldn't bear to face me.

But in the next moment, he tossed my face aside like I was beneath him.

All the strength drained from me, and I stumbled to the floor, sitting there in a dazed mess.

A dull pain throbbed in my stomach, but I barely registered it.

Marcus smirked, but his gaze was cold as ice.

He said, "Emily just got back and doesn't know much about this place. Aren't you the one who knows her best? From now on, you'll serve her around the clock. If she's even a little upset, it means you didn't do your job."

He flaunted his love for Emily in front of everyone, and reduced me to nothing more than a public servant, someone anyone could boss around.

Since that was the case, I refused to be anyone's shadow anymore.

Tomorrow was my sister's last surgery.

When it was done, I would divorce him.

I followed Marcus's orders, sticking close to Emily like her personal maid.

Every so often, I'd overhear people murmuring with a sigh, "Nora used to be Marcus's everything."

That was right. Marcus used to love me more than anything in the world.

My father doted on his mistress and cast my mother aside, so life was hell for my mom, my sister, and me in the Pearson family.

Back then, Marcus was just the Cole family's outcast son.

He fought for me single-handedly, making sure I had a place in the Pearson family.

My heart ached for him, struggling for every inch in the Cole family, yet still going out of his way to protect me.

But Marcus would always reassure me, saying, "Nora, don't be scared. I'll carve out a path for you, no matter what it takes."

And he really meant it. He soon became the one in charge of the Cole family and rescued me from the Pearson family.

I honestly thought we'd always be happy together.

But after that accident four years ago, I never saw that love in his eyes again.