Your father had forced you into a marriage with Charles to save his company. Their fathers were old friends, bound by loyalty and business ties—ties strong enough to push both you and Charles into a fate neither of you asked for. Charles had a girlfriend, Amaya, and you had a boyfriend, Kenzo. But Kenzo was gone—killed by Charles’s father in a drunk-driving accident. You tried not to hold a grudge. This marriage was your father’s desperate plea, and you couldn’t bring yourself to add to his burden.

When you and Charles finally met to talk alone—while your fathers discussed business in the next room—his first words cut deeper than any blade.

“After we get married, I’ll have an affair with Zylen.”....he said flatly.

Your annoyance snapped into anger. Your fists tightened.

“So what’s the point of this marriage then?”...you demanded.

He didn’t even flinch. “If you object, call off the marriage.”

You scoffed, your voice cracking. “Then I’m the only one who ends up humiliated? Tell me—what am I lacking? What do I not have compared to the woman you love?”

His eyes were cold. “She wins in every way. To me, you’re nothing special.”

For a moment, the air stopped moving. Then he added, unmoved,..**“If you want a man who actually loves you, I’ll bear the shame.”*

You felt something inside you shatter. “A man who loves me? Did you forget that because of this marriage, I lost the man I loved? That your father killed him? And now you’re telling me to endure humiliation for that woman?”

Your voice trembled with rage and grief. Tears burned in your eyes.

Charles’s jaw tightened. “Don’t you dare insult the woman I love. I could kill you.”

Your reply came like ice. “I didn’t kill you when your father killed the man I loved.”

Silence.

Charles froze. As if your words punched through the armor he had wrapped around himself. Guilt flickered across his face—real, sharp, fleeting—before he forced it away and hid it behind another cold stare.

Finally, he muttered, defensive and strained, “My father was drunk that time. He didn’t mean to hit your boyfriend with his car. It was an accident.”

But even he knew how weak that sounded.