Chapter 1

The air in the City Clerk' s office was stale, thick with the smell of old paper and cheap disinfectant. I stared at the marriage license application on the counter. My name, Ethan Miller, was written in clean, black ink. Next to it, Chloe Davis' s name was a looping, confident script. We were halfway through.

Just one more signature and she would be my wife.

My phone buzzed. I ignored it. But Chloe snatched hers from the counter, her eyes glued to the screen.

Her face went pale.

"What is it?" I asked.

She didn't answer. She just shoved the phone in my face. It was a picture. Liam O' Connell, her childhood friend, was sitting on a bathroom floor. His wrist was bleeding, and a razor blade lay nearby. The caption was simple: "Goodbye, Chloe."

"I have to go," she said, her voice shaking.

"Chloe, wait. We're in the middle of this."

"He's going to kill himself, Ethan! Because of me!" She was already backing away, grabbing her purse.

"It's a trick," I said, my voice flat. "He does this every time you get close to someone else."

"You don't understand our bond," she snapped, her eyes flashing with anger. "He needs me."

She turned and ran out of the office, leaving me standing alone at the counter. The clerk looked at me with pity. I just stood there, staring at the empty space where she had been.

I didn't move for a long time. Then I slowly picked up my pen.

That night, I didn't call her. I didn't text. I just waited.

Around midnight, my phone lit up. It was an Instagram notification. Liam O' Connell had posted a new photo.

It was a picture of a messy hotel bed. Used condoms were scattered across the white sheets. The location tag was a five-star hotel downtown. The caption was a single winking emoji.

A minute later, a message from Chloe came through.

"Even though Liam and I are married now, he's still willing to let you be my side-piece. You should learn from his generosity and understanding. Don't be ungrateful."

I stared at the message. Married. They had gotten married. The staged photo, her frantic escape-it was all a setup to get her out of the city clerk's office and into another one with him.

Another message popped up.

"I know you can't live without me. Once your father's assets are fully transferred to me after our marriage, I'll visit you one day a week. I promise."

I almost laughed. She still thought she was marrying me. She thought she could have it all.

A third message arrived.

"Liam is a DINK, by the way. Dual income, no kids. So any children you have in the future will be his. After all, he's the main husband, and you're the secondary. To keep my heart, you need to be more understanding."

I finally did laugh. It was a cold, empty sound in my silent apartment.

She had no idea.

She thought I was just Ethan Miller, a moderately successful tech guy she' d been stringing along for five years. She didn' t know I was the sole heir to one of New York's top tech empires. Whoever married me would get everything.

She thought she had abandoned me.

She didn't know that the moment she ran out that door, I calmly picked up the pen, crossed out her name, and wrote a new one on the marriage license.

Olivia Chen.

The game was over. She just didn't know it yet.