Chapter 2

He let out a sneer. "Like?"

Judging by his tone, did I misunderstand?

Just as I was about to heave a sigh of relief, he went on. "Like is too shallow."

Jackson grasped a wine bottle in one hand and brought the other close to my ear. His strikingly good-looking face was mere inches from mine, yet his eyes were icy, with a trace of anguish swirling within.

"She's my first love."

She was the sole person he had ever loved, loathed, yet been unable to part with. Even now, he was still waiting for her.

"Like?" he laughed bitterly.

"I intended to leave everything to her. I had no choice but to enter into a sham marriage with an outsider like you. But you've ruined it all. If I could, I'd kill you and then myself."

I watched as his dark, beautiful eyes began to well up with tears.

I was dumbfounded, my lips trembling, and stammered, "No, it can't be that serious, right? It's modern times, maybe she... she doesn't care about that anymore?"

"What do you know?!"

He gnashed his teeth in hatred. "She told me herself that integrity is the most precious betrothal gift a man can offer!"

Resigned to my fate, I slumped onto the sofa, giving up the struggle entirely.

4.

That day, I was working in the study when the door suddenly swung open with a click.

I looked up.

Jackson stood at the doorway, staring at me intently for a long moment before he spoke, "Why?"

I covered my face and leaned back, overwhelmed with pain.

Here we go again!

Jackson entered, holding a wine bottle, and with each step, he asked a question.

"Why did you pour me water? Why did you let me tear your clothes? Why didn't you kick me out of the bed? Why didn't you stop me? Even if it meant slapping me, pulling my hair, or knocking me unconscious?"

He finally stood in front of me, ignoring my attempts to calm him, and spun my chair around to face him, leaning in close.

"Why didn't you just stab me? I'd rather you stabbed me!"

I was at a loss for words, feeling utterly defeated.

Finally, I stared blankly and said, "Alright, alright! It was my lust! I couldn't control myself! I'm a beast, go ahead and kill me if you can!"

It had been many days.

In these days, he had been holed up at home, drifting around like a wandering spirit. He had been in a state of lethargy, turning to alcohol at the slightest whim.

When intoxicated, he would approach me with a wine bottle in hand, going over those same questions time and again.

Once sober, he'd draw a complete blank, feign indifference, and resume his drinking.

This cycle repeated without exception.

He wouldn't even give me a break when I was in the bathroom. After waiting a while, he'd sit by the door, drunkenly pounding on it and still asking me those "why" questions.

5.

"Why?" he asked again.

I saw his increasingly gaunt face, etched with real and deep pain.

I couldn't help but feel a bit dazed. For the first time, I retorted, "What about you? Why do you take even her casual words so seriously? Why do you love her so much?"

"Casual words? What casual words? They are not casual words. Every word she says is sincere."

I was on the verge of letting out a cold sneer.

"Really? Didn't she promise to spend every winter with you? Has she come?"

Jackson suddenly froze, his pupils contracting sharply. "How do you know?!"

I snapped back to reality, but before I could figure out what to do, Jackson's eyes were once again clouded with drunkenness.

"She will come," he said. "I wait for her every winter. She will definitely come."

His tall figure suddenly collapsed.

He fell onto me, nearly toppling me and the chair over.

Just as I managed to steady myself, Jackson buried his face in the crook of my neck.

His warm breath brushed against my skin, and I turned my head uncomfortably but didn't push him away.

Forget it, I would tell him when he woke up.

Although this kind of love weighed heavily on me, seeing this handsome man wasting away... Well, it was not something someone like me, a total sucker for good looks, could just ignore.

But as it turned out, the best-laid plans often go awry.

The next day, when I woke up, Jackson, who hadn't stepped out of the house for ages, had gone out and didn't return for several days.

By the time I got the news, the headlines were already filled with "Jackson's First Love Returns."

As for me, the so-called first love, I was left completely bewildered.

6.

At a party. I finally met the person pretending to be me.

She was very pretty, with a similar fashion sense to mine.

But she was a bit quiet, looking aloof, like an untouchable beauty.

Jackson sat beside her, playing with a wine glass, smiling charmingly.

There was no trace of the despair he had shown before.

Someone noticed me staring at them and came over to comfort me.

"Don't be mad. Forget about this 'first love' nonsense. Do you really think Jackson is the faithful type? Once he's had his fill of fun, he'll surely come back to his old ways."

"Exactly. Someone like Jackson is meant to be shared, not belong to just one woman. Even you, his rightful wife, couldn't keep him to yourself. How could an outsider even dream of it?"

I couldn't tell if they were comforting me or provoking me.

Despite their words, when they saw Jackson's flirtatious gaze and his playful smile as he listened to the imposter speak, the high-society women around me couldn't help but grit their teeth and mutter, "That homewrecker!"

I was speechless, yet inexplicably uncomfortable.

I couldn't help but speak up, "Miss... First Love? Would you care to introduce yourself?"

Jackson was the first to look up.

The smile on his lips faded instantly, and his eyes avoided mine. Was he guilty of something? Afraid I'd mention our past?

The imposter, however, glanced at me lightly and said, "Are you Mrs. Green? I'm Kate. I lived in Sanderville as a child. I heard we share the same name, quite a coincidence."

"Nah, no way. Kate's a common first name, but my last name's Green. Yours is Quinn. Clearly, you're the one trying to imitate me. I'd never stoop to that."

She was momentarily speechless but then smiled, "Mrs. Green, you are very interesting. Jackson must like you a lot, I'm envious."

"Not at all. It's your entanglement that's enviable."

Ignoring Jackson's warning look, I curiously asked, "I heard Jackson was supposed to go out of town to relax, but he heard your name over the airport broadcast and went to great lengths to find you. That must have been quite touching."

"I didn't expect him to find me with just a name." The imposter glanced at Jackson, her face still cool, but her eyes seemed to hold a gentle affection.

Jackson met her gaze, his eyes avoiding hers for a moment before returning, unusually tender.

What a pair of reunited lovers!

Someone whispered in my ear, "I heard her family emigrated overseas early on, went bankrupt last year, and she had to come back to lay low. That's how they met by chance."

Bankrupt?