Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Chapter One

"Suite 8A, Lumeris Lounge. Bring a condom.

"Eric said you've been calling every day begging to see me. This is your only shot.

"And make sure to grab the biggest size."

Elsie Clarke had just stepped into her apartment from the shoot, keys still in hand, when her phone buzzed. She was holding a potted plant, couldn't free her hands in time, so she answered on speaker without checking who it was.

The moment William Harding's voice came through, she froze. Her face went pale, and for a while she couldn't get a word out.

They had been in a secret marriage for three years, and separated for all of them.

She'd spent the last couple weeks trying every possible way to reach him. Never expected this would be how he'd finally respond.

She didn't say anything.

From the other side of the line came the noise of people talking, laughing.

"Seriously, William, you think Elsie's gonna be cheap enough to actually bring you a condom?"

"Of course she is! Elsie's, like, the ultimate simp for William. Everyone in Capemont knows it. That viral shot of a woman chasing William's car in tears? That was her. Not to mention the 'accidentally drugged him and climbed in bed' thing."

"As long as he's here, she wouldn't just bring one-she'd probably offer to be it."

William eventually ended the call, but those last mocking echoes still lingered in Elsie's ear like a slap.

She'd heard things like this plenty over the last three years. Thought she'd grown numb.

But her hands were sweaty, fingers clenched so tight her phone dug deep into her palm.

She knew William had always kept himself clean for Grace Howard. Aside from that one time with her, he hadn't touched any other woman. This call-was just to humiliate her.

Still, to see him, she had no choice. If swallowing her pride was the only way, she would.

Suite 8A, Lumeris Lounge.

One of the girls leaned closer to Lucas Shaw while they were playing cards. "So she really drugged him? That intense? Why's Mr. Harding not into her then? Did his wife look too plain or something?"

Lucas cocked a brow, tipping his chin. "Not sure if the boss likes her or not-"

"But ugly? Nah. If Elsie's not pretty, then Capemont's got zero beauties left. Think about it. If she looked busted, he would've had her deported the next day, not married her."

The girl followed his gaze to the man sitting off in the shadows, smoking like he was above it all. Her eyes glittered.

Lucas's words went unchallenged-everyone knew they were true.

Elsie's face? Even in an industry full of gorgeous women, she was seriously next level.

The girl laughed like he was joking. "Come on, no way she's better looking than me, right?"

Lucas gave a faint smile but said nothing.

When she started shifting her chair slightly toward the shadowy corner, Lucas casually yanked her back. "He's only got eyes for Grace. You might as well pour that wine for me."

She blinked, a little let down. "Grace? He's got a thing for someone else then."

Ethan Howard couldn't help blurting out when he heard his sister's name, "Seriously, I can't figure out what kind of magic Elsie used on old Mr. Harding. She's just some orphan adopted out of nowhere, and yet he left his entire estate to her. Left William no choice but to marry her."

"If it weren't for her, William would be my brother-in-law by now. He and Grace were this close to getting engaged."

The more he talked, the more annoyed he seemed.

"Gotta say, that was kind of satisfying. Remember when Elsie tracked William down through Jack Lyons? She totally fell for the whole 'he's off living like a regular guy at a construction site' bit and actually went looking for him. Jack couldn't help messing with her for William, so he locked her up overnight on an abandoned site. She got so freaked out she ended up in the hospital."

"But hey, just one more month and William will be totally done with her. Grace has been waiting for this day forever."

Before the words even fully landed, there was a loud bang-the coffee table got kicked and scraped loudly across the floor.

The room instantly went dead silent. All eyes turned toward the source of the outburst.

William was lounging lazily on the booth seat, lifting a hand to take a drag from his cigarette.

The flame briefly lit up his sharp jawline and those cold, dark eyes of his like deep water.

He leaned in just slightly, snuffed the cigarette out in a half-empty glass, then let out a light laugh. "What, that's it? Don't stop on my account."

Two full seconds of awkward silence followed. Everyone looked around, trying to figure out who'd speak next.

Guess Elsie really was a landmine-just hearing her name was enough to set William off.

Someone quickly tried to smooth things over. "C'mon guys, no point bringing up Elsie and ruining the vibe. It's not every day Mr. Harding joins us. I just texted Grace-she'll be here any minute."

Just as he finished speaking, William uncrossed his legs and looked ready to leave.

Lucas was caught off guard. "Grace's coming. You're not staying?"

Right at that moment, the door swung open.

William glanced over. Once he saw who it was, he relaxed a bit and sat back down.

Dressed like a real-life princess in a pink dress, Grace ran over to William and clung to his arm sweetly. "William!"

Ethan laughed, half-jokingly, "Grace, I'm still here, you know. Guess your brother doesn't matter anymore."

Someone joked along, "She's outgrown the nest!"

"I heard Grace is planning to debut after finishing her training abroad. Perfect timing. William's company, Central Entertainment, is top-tier. Since he basically adores you, let him launch your career."

Ethan added proudly, "She signed yesterday. Just stepped off the plane and made it official."

Everyone got even more hyped at that.

Grace batted her eyes at William, looking all shy and pretty. but his gaze was still fixed on the entrance.

Others turned to look that way too.

Lucas noticed who'd just walked in and blinked. "Els-uh, hey. Mrs. Harding."

Grace chimed in, "She was getting stopped by security when I came in. Poor thing looked so pitiful, I figured I'd bring her in. Hope it's not a problem?"

With Grace there, no one dared bring up the ridiculous drinking game they'd just played-like sending Elsie over to deliver condoms.

Lucas forced a laugh and tried to deflect. "It was just a joke. You didn't really have to come."

Elsie didn't acknowledge him, just calmly moved her eyes away from where Grace clung to William's arm.

She walked over, placed the box of Durex on the table, and said, "I brought what you asked for. Can we talk now?"

Her face stayed as calm and unreadable as always.Only she knew how tight her throat felt-she had to swallow hard just to keep her voice from shaking.

William lazily lifted his eyes to glance at the blue box on the table, letting out a light chuckle.

But when his gaze landed on Elsie's tense face, it turned cold like ice. The corner of his lips curled into a mocking sneer.

"Too small," he said casually, like tossing out a useless comment. "Come back when you get the size right."

"William," Grace called out with a playful tone, gently tapping his arm like she was the hostess here.

"Why pick on Elsie like that?"

"Don't take it to heart, Elsie," she added sweetly. "William's just like that. Why don't you stay and hang out with us?"

As she spoke, she reached out to grab Elsie's wrist, but Elsie sidestepped her hand.

Elsie didn't respond to Grace. She just stared at William. Seeing that he said nothing, she forced herself to swallow her pride. "I'll go buy the right one."

At the convenience store.

The overhead light shined on her reddened eyes.

Her fingers slid across the row of condoms before she clenched her jaw and grabbed the largest size.

When she got back to the private room, the loud voices hit her like a wave.

"Grace, you lost. So what's it gonna be-kiss a guy or chug all that booze?"

Cheeks flushed, Grace's eyes flicked toward William, clinging to him like she couldn't look away.

Elsie stopped at the doorway, her feet freezing in place, automatically following Grace's line of sight.

William sat just outside the reach of the overhead light. She couldn't make out his expression clearly, but the instant their eyes met, those pupils were icy and hollow.

Her heart seized up, like someone had slammed a fist around it. She forgot how to breathe for a second.

She was about to say something when William suddenly stood up.

For a moment, their eyes locked in silence. Then, without a word, he turned to Grace, cupped her chin, and leaned down to kiss her-

Thud.

The condom box slipped from Elsie's hand and hit the floor with a dull but sharp sound, slicing right through the kiss like a knife.

Just like that, every head in the room turned toward her.

All eyes were now on her-mocking, curious, just waiting to see her fall apart.

William slowly let go of Grace, his fingers trailing lazily along her waist.

That small, almost tender gesture stabbed right into Elsie's eyes like a blade.

"Damn, William's got guts. Making out with Grace right in front of Elsie? They're still not divorced, aren't they?"

"Technically, yeah. But let's be honest-she just latched on to the Harding family 'cause of the old man. William's never even acknowledged her. Everyone knows she's just Mrs. Harding on paper."

"Three years of chasing him and he's still ice cold? If it were me, I'd have packed my bags long ago. But she's still clinging to this joke of a marriage."

"There's still a month left on that three-year deal, right? You think William's gonna let her leave now? Please, just wait-once that month's up, she'll get kicked out of the Harding house for sure."