Chapter 1: The Perfect Wife

"Victoria, I saw Ethan. He's making out with Sarah at a bar."

When Victoria Hughes received this message from her good friend Aria Clark, she was lying in a hospital bed, having just finished a fallopian tube procedure.

Looking at the photo on her phone of Ethan Ashford and Sarah Mitchell locked in a tight embrace, Victoria's heart sank and her breathing stopped.

One was her boyfriend of three years, the other her nominal stepsister.

She never imagined that Ethan, who had just proposed to her a few days ago, could turn around and kiss Sarah so passionately at a bar.

When he proposed, he had said so tenderly that what he wanted most in this life was to have a child with her.

That's why Victoria had overcome her inner fears and come to the hospital alone for a full checkup, and when they found a slight blockage in one fallopian tube, she hadn't hesitated to get on the operating table.

But before she even got off the table, she received this photo that humiliated her completely.

Aria's messages kept popping up:

"Victoria, I told you there was something going on between Sarah and Ethan, but you defended him. Now look who's getting hurt!"

"I just don't get it—how can Ethan propose to you while fooling around with Sarah?"

Reading these words, Victoria's mood grew heavier. She weakly gripped her phone and replied: [Okay, got it.]

Half an hour later, Victoria endured her physical discomfort and stumbled off the operating table.

The nurse helping her, seeing how pale she looked, couldn't help saying, "Miss, where's your boyfriend? This is surgery—how could he not be here with you?"

Thinking that Ethan might be having sex with Sarah right now, Victoria couldn't help but smile bitterly.

She bit her lip and said harshly, "He's dead."

The nurse froze, tactfully shut her mouth, and helped her into the recovery room.

Sitting in the recovery room, Victoria's emotions were all over the place.

She had loved Ethan for three years. Three days ago when he proposed, no one knew how happy she was. Because of that proposal, she had even automatically filtered out all the ways Ethan had neglected her.

Like how on her birthdays, Ethan always said he had meetings; when she was sick and went to the hospital alone, she still had to be understanding about his busy work; when she graduated from college and wanted to find a job, Ethan said he'd support her, but now all her living expenses came from freelance design work she took online.

He was busy with work, had no energy, wasn't good at expressing himself.

Victoria used to think he was just naturally cold, but now she realized he wasn't incapable—he just didn't want to waste time on her.

Maybe she just wasn't worth it.

Her eyes stung slightly, but Victoria forced the tears back.

No financial support, no emotional support, not even companionship. She, Victoria, wasn't cheap, and her love wasn't cheap either. Since Ethan couldn't give it, then let go.

With that thought, Victoria called her father, Charles Hughes.

As soon as he picked up, his stern voice came through: "Victoria, it's been days now. What the hell have you been doing?"

Though harsh, there was a hint of awkward concern in his tone.

Victoria took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "Dad, I agree to the blind date you arranged."

There was a half-second pause on the other end, followed by a long sigh. "Good. I'll contact the man's side right away and arrange for you two to meet soon. Victoria, you better not pull any tricks. You know the consequences. I'll send you the time and place later."

After her mother died, Charles remarried, but he still had some basic standards as a father toward Victoria.

Since Ethan wasn't the right match, she'd just find someone else.

Marriage? Who cares who she married?

An hour later, Victoria received the blind date information. After recovering some strength, she took a cab straight to the biggest coffee shop in Silverstone City.

Charles said her blind date was Jerry Nelson, the second son of the Nelson family. Because of poor health, he rarely saw people, but he was quite good-looking. The message also specifically emphasized that he wore a watch worth tens of millions of dollars on his wrist.

Victoria couldn't help but laugh. Rich kids always loved showing off their status with expensive watches.

More than ten minutes later, a slightly pale Victoria pushed open the coffee shop door.

At a glance, she spotted the man sitting in the corner. He looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, extremely handsome. He was reading with his head down, his cuffs slightly rolled up, the famous watch on his wrist gleaming.

Victoria adjusted her breathing and walked toward him.

As Victoria approached, the man looked up.

The moment she saw his face clearly, even Victoria, who was used to seeing handsome men, couldn't help but skip a heartbeat.

His features were extremely defined, his nose bridge high, and especially those eyes—they had a sharp, unapproachable intensity.

Victoria gathered her courage and spoke in a cool tone, "Hello, can we talk?"

A flash of surprise crossed the man's eyes, but he still closed his book politely and gestured for her to continue.

Victoria pulled out a chair and sat down, getting straight to the point. "My name is Victoria. I'm here for a blind date with you today. If you think I'm acceptable, we can get married anytime."

After Ethan's betrayal, she had seen through everything. Since it was all just settling anyway, might as well choose this guy. At least he was handsome and not disgusting to look at.

The man listened, then casually raised an eyebrow. "Marriage?"

"Yes, marriage." Victoria nodded, calmly laying out her terms. "Since you're here for a blind date, it means you're already prepared for an arranged marriage. After marriage, I won't interfere with your private life. We'll have a marriage in name only, an agreement. In the future, if you meet a girl you like and want a divorce, I can agree anytime, and I absolutely won't take a penny from you. All of this can be notarized before marriage."

"But I also have one requirement: after marriage, you can't interfere with my work and freedom."

Before coming, she'd checked the news. Jerry was greedy and lustful, with countless female companions, quite the player. If not for family pressure, he definitely wouldn't be here for a blind date.

The conditions she offered were basically the "perfect wife" package. He had no reason to refuse.

The man's gaze roamed boldly over her, with a hint of scrutiny, making Victoria slightly nervous.

After a moment, he curved his lips. "Sure, I really like the conditions you're proposing."

The next second, he changed tack. "The city hall hasn't closed yet. How about we go get our marriage certificate now? That way both families can relax."

Having come this far, Victoria naturally couldn't back down.

In less than three minutes, the two had settled their lifelong commitment.

An hour later, the two walked out of city hall with their marriage certificate.

Victoria didn't even look carefully at the name on the certificate, just casually stuffed it in her bag. As rationality returned, she felt somewhat regretful: Was this too impulsive? Did she just marry herself off to a playboy?

Perhaps sensing her awkwardness, the man smiled. "What? Having second thoughts?"

"Nothing to regret. It's just a marriage." Victoria took a deep breath, pretending to be calm. "The certificate is done, I have things to do, I'm leaving."

The man stepped forward to block her, pulling out his phone from his pocket. "Since we're married, let's add each other's contact info? For convenience."

Victoria nodded and gave him her number.

As the man entered it, he asked, "What's your name?"

"Victoria."

"Got it. I'm—" The man was about to introduce himself when Victoria cut him off decisively.

"I know what your name is. My dad already told me. If there's nothing else, I'm going now."