Chapter 1

Serena learned that her best friend, Giselle, was being forced by her family to marry an old man to pay off debts. She rushed to the hotel immediately, desperate to save her friend from such a miserable fate.

To her shock, right outside the hotel room, she saw her husband, Preston—who was supposed to be on a business trip abroad—frantically beating that old man until his face was bruised and bloodied.

Giselle sobbed, hugging him from behind. "Preston, stop! I won't marry him anymore."

Preston turned around and pulled her firmly into his arms.

"Giselle, why didn't you tell me when you were in trouble? If I hadn't come today, were you really going to give yourself to this scumbag? What do you take me for?"

Giselle was sobbing uncontrollably, gasping for air, barely able to speak.

"I don't want to keep hiding anymore. I don't want to keep betraying Serena. The past few years have been a torture for me."

"Preston, just pretend you were never here today, okay?"

Preston’s face turned grim. Watching Giselle in such agony, his fury had nowhere to vent.

"Giselle, how could I possibly let you go? If you must pay off your family's debts, then let them be paid to me! I will clear your family's debt, and from now on, you are forbidden from leaving me!"

Giselle widened her eyes in disbelief. "Are you crazy? What about Serena?"

A brief, deathly silence followed.

Preston spoke up: "I'll find a way to divorce her."

"You can't!"

Giselle pushed Preston away. "If you divorce Serena, I will never see you again for the rest of my life. Have you forgotten what you promised me? You must never hurt Serena. What are you doing right now?"

The pain in Preston’s eyes was witnessed by Serena standing outside the door, magnified infinitely.

In the next moment, she heard an even more cruel truth.

"Giselle, I did everything you asked. I never wanted to marry Serena in the first place. It was you who said you didn't want to see her sad and persuaded me not to call off the wedding."

"After the wedding, you were unwilling to betray her and kept avoiding me, and I endured it, but you knew how much I missed you."

Preston cornered Giselle against the wall and threatened her in a low voice: "Giselle, I can't bear a life without you. If this happens again, I will definitely confess everything to Serena..."

Giselle, shocked, covered his mouth, eyes red, pleading with him to stop: "I promise you, I'll listen to you, I won't hide from you anymore, and I won't ever mention marrying anyone else again. Please, don't tell Serena those things..."

Preston could no longer restrain himself. He lowered his head to kiss her, then passionately swept Giselle into his arms and headed toward the bedroom.

Serena stood frozen in place.

In an instant, her world collapsed as if the sky had fallen.

So, Preston only married her because of Giselle.

So, for the three years of their marriage, Preston had been carrying on an affair with Giselle behind her back.

So, the excuse of needing to work overseas was just a lie; the real goal was to be with Giselle.

How absurd!

She, the wife, felt like the third party standing in their way.

From high school to college, from school uniforms to wedding gowns—that was the ten-year journey of Serena and Preston.

Everyone knew that Serena was the softest spot in Preston’s heart.

When he broke ties with his family, she was there to start a business with him and build their success from scratch.

When he was busy with work and entertaining, she was busy helping him build connections and find resources.

When he was too busy to eat, she would cook three meals a day and bring them to his office, watching him eat every bite.

Later, Preston proposed in a grand, spectacular way. Under the confession of love delivered by a sky full of drones, she nodded in tears.

But never did she expect that less than half a year into the marriage, Preston would be caught kissing a strange woman in a foreign land.

When the photos were sent to Serena, she only saw the woman being shielded in Preston’s arms.

She asked Preston hysterically why he did it. He apologized and begged for forgiveness time and again. Eventually, worn out, and after he swore there would never be a next time, she finally stopped holding it against him.

For more than two years after that, it had been calm. Preston played the part of the perfect, dutiful husband at home—so perfect she couldn't find a single flaw.

Serena had thought he really was a prodigal son who had turned over a new leaf. Who would have guessed he had simply become more discreet?

And she never expected that the woman he was shielding in his arms back then was none other than Giselle, the one she considered her best friend.

Serena always remembered her freshman year, when she was separated from Preston and couldn't eat or sleep from the sadness.

It was Giselle, whom she had just met, who stayed by her side and comforted her constantly. From then on, they became inseparable best friends.

She introduced Giselle to Preston, and later, many "two-person" outings turned into "three-person" outings. Serena never thought there was anything wrong with it.

She helped Giselle pay off her mother’s gambling debts. When Giselle was being hunted by creditors, it was Serena who hid her at home and told her not to be afraid.

And yet, these two people she considered the most important in her life were hooking up behind her back!

Two affairs, both with the same person!

Serena stumbled, using all her strength to steady herself. She uncontrollably pushed the door open, and the moment she heard the heavy, labored breathing, she felt an overwhelming sense of nausea.

Preston, hearing the noise and seeing Serena, felt a flash of panic in his eyes and instinctively shielded Giselle behind him.

Chapter 2

Preston tried to explain to Serena: "Serena, it’s not what it looks like..."

"Then what is it? Are you trying to tell me that you couldn't control your emotions because you were trying to save my best friend?"

Serena was unexpectedly calm; she had even gained experience in dealing with infidelity.

Preston frowned: "Serena, it’s not her fault. I was the one who took the initiative to find her. She has always tried to refuse me. These three years, she has also been living in pain."

"I don't want to lie to you, and I do want to be a good husband, but I just can't control my own heart."

"Serena, I deceived you, and I am the bastard. If you want to vent your anger, take it out on me, don't trouble her."

Even now, every word he spoke was in defense of Giselle.

With red, teary eyes, Serena held back her tears. She desperately wanted to ask Preston: if his actions toward Giselle were truly beyond his control, then what did she count for?

Giselle cried and tried to reach for Serena’s hand: "I’m sorry, Serena. I was wrong. I shouldn't have met with him..."

Watching Giselle cry like a fragile flower, Serena pushed her away forcefully.

"Giselle, you had countless opportunities to tell me, but you never did. What are you playing the victim for now?"

Giselle fell to the floor and suddenly smashed her head against the wall with all her might: "Serena, I owe you, and I’ll pay you back right now."

Thump.

Fresh blood trickled down from her forehead, a shocking sight.

Preston rushed over, nervously scooping Giselle into his arms, then looked up at Serena.

"Enough, Serena! She has already admitted her mistake. Must you really push this until it results in a death before you’re satisfied?"

Serena looked at the man in front of her and suddenly felt it was laughable.

She had been his wife for three years, yet in his eyes, she wasn't worth a fraction of Giselle.

Serena suddenly recalled the changes in Preston over the years.

He had always preferred mild flavors, but in recent years, he had developed a taste for spicy food. Now that she thought about it, it was because Giselle liked it, and he was simply catering to her palate.

He didn't like sweet desserts, but at some point, every time he came home late, he would bring back a cake, and it was always from the same brand.

He must have bought it to please Giselle, and the one for Serena was just an afterthought.

He used to dislike shopping, but Serena loved it. Whenever he bought her gifts, he would guide her to pick one up for Giselle as well, claiming it was to maintain their friendship.

Everything—every single detail—had been exposed all along.

Serena just never looked at it that way.

"Preston, don't be harsh to Serena. It was my fault, and I deserve to be punished."