Chapter 1

My husband had an idealized lost love who'd died seven years ago.

Three years of marriage, and he'd kept himself chaste the whole time.

The one and only time we ever touched was holding hands, and only after fifty rounds of disinfection and three layers of gloves.

To dodge his mother's pressure to have a baby, he even went so far as to forge a fake certificate saying I was infertile.

I was ground down by my mother-in-law and mocked by his relatives.

And out of guilt, I handed over my paycheck card and took on every last chore in the house.

So when I was hospitalized from overwork, dead broke, and got handed a paycheck card with a zero balance, I was stunned.

Following the transfer records, I found out my husband had been sending 880,000 dollars a year, under the name of engagement gift money, to an account in the name of his idealized lost love.

So on the day of the next memorial visit, I gave a cold laugh and dug up his lost love's grave right in front of him. "Since the two of you want to be together so badly, then I'll bury you side by side with my own hands!"

1.

As the coffin lid was pried up, inch by inch, my heart pounded along with it.

Reuben tried to stop me more than once, but since he couldn't make any physical contact with me, all he could do was threaten me from the side, his face frantic.

"Even after she's dead you won't let her rest in peace. How could any woman be as vicious as you!"

"If you dare dig any further, we're getting divorced!"

I acted like I hadn't heard a word.

Then I gave one last heave with everything I had, there was a heavy thud, and the air suddenly went still.

Empty. Not a soul inside.

I turned that coffin inside out and didn't find a single bone.

I turned my head and gave him a cold smile.

"For seven years, you've been coming here every day to pay your respects to thin air?"

Reuben's face went pale, but he still lied through his teeth. "I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe the grave was relocated and I forgot to tell you."

I met his eyes with a cold smile. "Oh? Is that so? Well, it doesn't matter. I already know where she is."

Reuben pressed his lips together and said nothing, deliberately knitting his brows and saying I was making a scene.

But his hands were shaking, trembling in a panic.

That night when we got home, I pretended to turn in early and listened carefully for any movement in the next room.

Sure enough, in the small hours of the morning, I heard the faint sound of a door opening and closing.

I got up at once without a sound, changed into dark clothes, and crept out after him.

Reuben was careful the whole way, driving in loops and detours, and finally stopped in front of a secluded house on the edge of the city.

After he got out, he glanced around warily before hurrying inside.

After a knock, three long and two short, the door opened, and a woman threw herself straight into Reuben's arms.

Only in that moment did the worry he'd carried all night finally ease a little.

The two of them held each other close for a short while, and then Reuben spoke.

"Serena, hold on just a little longer. When Lucretia's project bonus comes through next month, plus the yearly engagement gift money and the insurance money, I'll have enough to put together 5.2 million to marry you."

"She's got the house and the car. Once she's dead, Lucretia's an orphan, so where else would her assets go but into my hands."

At that, Serena hugged him even tighter, her eyes full of worry.

"Reuben, what are you planning to do? I don't want you to take any risks."

Feeling how tense she was in his arms, Reuben's voice turned soothing.

"After the bonus comes in, Lucretia has two weeks of vacation.

She's always loved extreme sports. In a situation like that, an accident would look perfectly natural."

As if something had occurred to him, he looked off into the distance and gave a cold laugh.

"I didn't actually want to be this heartless. If anyone's to blame, blame yourself for being too sharp."

Hearing that, the phone I was holding up started shaking and wouldn't stop, but I didn't even dare take a full breath.

Gripping the evidence I'd recorded, I finally took a few photos of the two of them together.

Then I turned and left without a moment's hesitation.

The instant Reuben got home, he came quietly to my room, and only after confirming my breathing was steady did he slip back out.

Once the door was shut again, I opened my eyes in the dark.

"Cold. So cold! He tricked me into marriage for three years, and even now he won't let me go."

"Reuben, you want to marry up? Dream on!"