Chapter 1

To save Joslyn, Kade completely lost his ability to perform sexually five years ago.

Whenever passion arose, Joslyn would repeatedly ask Kade for kisses. They would move from the bed to the dining table and then to the bathroom, trying countless positions and kissing and biting their way from head to toe.

Yet, although she sweated and tried her best to turn him on, Kade showed no reaction.

Joslyn couldn't bear to meet Kade's regretful and self-blaming gaze.

She suggested they sleep in separate rooms and even made herself ready to have a sexless marriage for life.

However, Kade refused to give up. He held Joslyn's hand and vowed that he would persevere with the treatment for the sake of her happiness in the rest of her life, even though there was only a faint hope.

Kade was supposed to have a check-up that day.

Joslyn, as usual, waited for him in the underground parking lot, but she accidentally found his medical report left in the car.

On a whim, she picked up the report and suddenly noticed a familiar name in the attending physician's column.

It was Scarlett Stevens...

Tracing the elegant handwriting with her fingers, Joslyn felt a mix of emotions.

Scarlett was Kade's childhood sweetheart, whom he couldn't have when he was young.

If Scarlett hadn't insisted on studying abroad back then, Joslyn might not have had her chance of getting married to Kade.

For some reason, Joslyn suddenly felt nervous when she saw the name of her former rival in love.

Lost in thought, she was already making her way upstairs, medical records in hand.

In the quiet corridor, she heard muffled, restrained sounds of making love from the only room with lights on. She was extremely embarrassed.

She thought she had gone to the wrong floor and turned to leave. After all, she had no interest in spying on others having sex.

But she suddenly stopped walking as she heard a familiar name mentioned.

"Kade, you keep using this excuse of a doctor's appointment to see me. Aren't you afraid Joslyn might follow you one day?" Scarlett teased Kade with a hint of jealousy.

Joslyn bit her lip hard enough to taste blood in her mouth. She stiffly peered through the crack in the door.

In the dim light, Kade, like a man possessed, was riding the woman with abandon, and Scarlett was moaning, her chest heaving.

The scene struck Joslyn like lightning.

What was going on?

Kade could already make love. Had he been deceiving her all along?

The successive shocks left Joslyn dizzy, but what Kade said next nearly caused Joslyn to collapse to the floor.

"Why am I afraid? I always lace her milk with a lethal dose of sleeping pills... Besides, if she really finds out, wouldn't that be even more thrilling?" Kade's voice was low, filled with desire and seductive.

Milk... sleeping pills...

Joslyn closed her eyes and struggled to hold back her tears.

Since Kade had scheduled check-ups two years ago, Kade had always handed her a bottle of milk. He told her to have a good rest in the car after having some milk, as he didn't want to keep her from getting bored while waiting for him.

Although she hated the taste of milk, she drank it all as she thought it was Kade's love for her.

But it felt like a slap in her face after she heard the truth.

If she hadn't brought him the medical report today and forgotten to drink the milk, she might have been completely fooled by that deceitful pair.

"But I still want to know why you would go so far as to lose your dignity as a man and pretend to be impotent. You just avoid sleeping with her and come to me to have sex. Why?" Scarlett's sweet voice interrupted Joslyn's thoughts, and the latter curiously eyed the man before her, like a ravenous wolf.

Joslyn knew Kade well and couldn't believe that she failed to attract him, who refused to sleep with her for such a long time.

She clenched her fists, and her nails nearly dug into her palms. She held her breath and waited for Kade's answer. She desperately wanted to know why he lied to her.

"Because she's... tainted." Kade paused for a long while. He even stopped having sex before slowly uttering the words. "It's not that I can't do it. I can't do it with her... Every time I think of her returning disheveled from that bandit den, I feel utterly nauseated. I feel like a man again, only with you, Scarlett. I only want to do it with you."

Joslyn's face instantly turned ashen outside the door.

Now she totally understood why Kade's eyes held some emotion that she couldn't comprehend since she returned from the kidnappers' den.

He had been misunderstanding her all along.

Joslyn felt the urge to explain everything to Kade at that moment.

The incident back then was just a misunderstanding, and she had her reasons.

But Scarlett's next words made Joslyn feel like a ridiculous clown.

"You're so ruthless. You refuse to explain things to her and let her live in guilt every day. She must think the car accident, which caused you to be impotent back then, happened due to her. But she never knew that you weren't going to save her that day and that you were just rushing to the airport to pick me up." Scarlett's laughter was like a heavy hammer pounding on Joslyn's heart.

"So what? I always want to marry you. Even if she knows the truth, she won't leave me. Besides, I've used her guilt to make her invest all of Palmer Group's profits into the Lloyd Group. I am killing two birds with one stone."

Joslyn heard no more. She didn't have the strength to.

She stormed out of the hospital, and her chest was nearly splitting from the cold air.

She felt so much pain.

For five years, she had been selflessly devoted to Kade. She was filled only with pity and guilt for him.

She had always blamed his condition on herself.

If it were not for accidentally uncovering their affair today, she would never have realized that the man she loved was nothing but a hypocritical scoundrel.

She trembled all over as she struggled to hold onto her phone. It nearly dropped to the ground several times.

After a long while, she finally gathered the courage to dial that international number.

While it was ringing, she remembered how the kidnappers took her away back then.

Her marriage to Kade was an alliance between two major business families in the city. And it was also because she loved him so much, although he didn't love her.

But after her parents passed away, the Lloyd Group gradually grew stronger than the Palmer Group. And the former even seemed to take over the latter.

Joslyn's uncle, Davin Palmer, had no choice but to move the family's businesses overseas and intended to expand the market there.

In aristocratic families, there was no room for true affection. Davin never thought of Kade as a faithful partner. He believed that it wouldn't be good for her to be with Kade, so Davin advised Joslyn to join him abroad.

But Joslyn stubbornly refused Davin. The latter forced her to get into the airport and head for the airport.

Joslyn hurriedly messaged Kade and asked him to rescue her.

She always believed that Kade had the car accident because he was in a hurry to save her.

Upon hearing the news, she ignored Davin's words and desperately got out of the car to rush back. In her haste, she tumbled down a slope and got disheveled. So the media spread rumors that she had been kidnapped and raped.

She was afraid that Kade would do something bad to Davin after Kade learned that the Palmer family's assets had been moved overseas, so she didn't explain the truth to Kade. She only wished that he believed she wasn't raped.

Kade soon suppressed the media rumors and assured her that he had everything under control.

At that time, Joslyn thought Kade had some affection for her.

But Kade's true concern was always the Palmer family's wealth. And he always loved Scarlett.

He only had suspicion for Joslyn.

During their marriage, only Joslyn fell in love.

"Davin, I've made up my mind. I want to go overseas and take over my parents' business," Joslyn said without hesitation as soon as the call connected.

"Alright, Joslyn. Don't worry. I'll arrange everything for you. Your passport and all the necessary documents will be ready in two weeks."

Joslyn felt both guilt and relief. Her stupid behavior had cost her family and friends. Thankfully, Davin hadn't given up on her and still gave her a way out.