Chapter 1

When my first love, Costa, showed up at my door soaking wet and blind in one eye, I suddenly understood why Louis had brought his childhood friend Amanda—who had heart problems—into our home to take care of her.

The destructive power of a first love really isn't something to underestimate.

I immediately felt sorry for him and let Costa stay in the villa.

After all these years, he'd become frail and melancholic.

I had no choice but to comfort him, care for him, devote all my attention to him—I even forgot to compete with Amanda for Louis's affection, forgot to fight with him.

But Louis lost it. Eyes red, he demanded, "Miranda, I'm your husband. Why are you always taking Costa's side?"

The next time I saw Costa, it was pouring rain outside.

I leaned against the eaves by the villa entrance, staring at the pitch-black sky, my heart full of despair.

Amanda said she'd never seen the ocean, so Louis forgot our anniversary, dropped all his work, and took her to the Maldives.

This wasn't the first time.

Ever since Amanda came back from abroad, everything about her came before me.

When we ate, we had to order her favorite dishes. When we went out, we had to go where she wanted to go.

I kept telling myself that Amanda had heart problems, that she was pitiful, that I should be accommodating.

Until Louis's birthday, when I put on the sexy red dress he loved most and straddled his lap.

Louis's breathing instantly became ragged as he pinned me down roughly.

Just then, a special ringtone sounded.

I knew it—that was the ringtone Louis had set specifically for Amanda.

How I wished he would ignore it, be consumed by desire for me.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as I hoped.

The ringtone only rang for three seconds before the lust in his eyes completely vanished.

After answering the call and saying just a couple sentences, he grabbed his jacket and rushed out the door.

Leaving me alone, disheveled on the couch.

Even then I was still consoling myself—what if something really had happened to Amanda?

After all, her health really was poor.

It took me a long time to calm myself down.

But as soon as I opened my phone, I saw the Twitter post Amanda had just made.

In the photo was a shabby-looking cake with crooked English letters and a crudely drawn design.

My gaze was instantly drawn to a finger accidentally visible in the corner of the photo.

On that finger was the same wedding ring as mine. It was Louis.

I instinctively wanted to make excuses for them, but Amanda's caption left my mind blank.

She wrote: [The knight didn't break his oath and will always protect the princess, but this time the princess wasn't hurt—instead, she prepared a little surprise for the knight. The princess made this cake with her own hands! Happy birthday, my most loyal knight~]

So nothing had happened to her at all.

My heart felt like it had been split open, bloody and raw. The pain made my eyes well up with tears. I curled into a ball, trembling uncontrollably.

The next day at noon, I had a huge fight with Louis when he got back from Amanda's place.

This fight didn't end well—Louis brought Amanda directly into our home.

Of course I didn't agree. I hysterically told her to get out of our house.

Amanda had a heart attack on the spot and was rushed to the hospital.

After that, my life seemed to fall into a loop.

Starting with fighting with Louis, ending with Amanda in the hospital, over and over again.

Now, all I had left was exhaustion.

Even with all the lights in the house turned on, I couldn't feel any warmth—only loneliness.

Just then, I looked up as if sensing something, and met a pair of eyes both familiar and strange.