Chapter 1

The most sensational news that had sparked out in Journ City recently would have to be the time when Tristan Colton, CEO of Colton Group, won the ultimate bid on a 100-million-dollar necklace just to appease his beloved wife.

Tristan and his wife, Leticia Monroe, had been married for seven years. They were the epitome of true love. The entirety of Journ City often sang praises of their romantic tales.

At the moment, the man of the hour was sitting in a luxurious boutique that was located in a mall he had reserved in advance. He was accompanying his darling Leticia in trying on new clothes.

While the boutique's employees waited for Leticia outside the fitting room, they couldn't resist discussing with each other in hushed whispers.

"Is Mrs. Colton wearing the 100-million-dollar necklace that was on the news? Judging from the color and the material, it really is the best necklace in the world!"

"Mrs. Colton really is lucky! How did she get Mr. Colton to fall head over heels for her? Mr. Colton is extremely handsome and has a great figure! After all, many women have failed to seduce him over the years!"

"Not only that, but Mr. Colton pampers his wife so much! Mrs. Colton has tried on so many clothes for such a long time, and yet Mr. Colton keeps giving her serious feedback on all the clothes she's tried on so far! Other men would've grown impatient at this point!"

One of the employees doubted Tristan's love for Leticia.

"Do you really think a man will love a woman this much for so long? I refuse to believe that. Isn't there a phrase called the seven-year itch? Say, since Mr. and Mrs. Colton are soon approaching the seven-year mark of their marriage, do you think their marriage will take a turn for the worse?"

As the discussion went on, an employee began to develop ideas she shouldn't have. It was rare for her to have such a good opportunity to get close to Tristan, so she offered to pour him a glass of water.

When the employee approached Tristan, she pretended to twist her ankle so that she could fall into his arms.

But the moment she was about to succeed in her mission, Tristan responded quickly by scooting to the side, a displeased frown already gracing his features. The employee ended up crashing to the floor heavily.

Disgust appeared in Tristan's eyes as he gazed into the employee's seductive eyes. He turned to wave at a bodyguard, who stood next to him.

"Deal with her."

The bodyguard went forth and dragged the employee out of the boutique immediately.

Even so, Tristan felt that it wasn't enough. He took off his suit jacket before ordering his bodyguard to bring him a new one.

"Letty will think of me as filthy if she sees me wearing the same thing after what happened just now. She won't want to hug me anymore."

The onlookers dared not respond to Tristan at all. All they did was whisper among themselves while keeping their heads lowered.

"Mr. Colton loves Mrs. Colton to the core! Why else is he putting her on such a high pedestal?"

Leticia happened to have witnessed that particular scene after emerging from the fitting room. She stood there, looking a little dazed.

Oh, right. The entire city knew very well just how much Tristan loved her. He'd always made sure she felt safe and reassured no matter what.

Since Leticia didn't like the taste of alcohol, Tristan no longer attended business gatherings, nor did he drink any alcohol anymore. Because of this change in lifestyle, he ended up losing a project that was worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Tristan didn't want Leticia to get jealous, so he never looked at other women directly. All he cared about was her.

Even if another woman were to touch Tristan, he'd tentatively apologize to Leticia. It was as though he was worried that she no longer wanted to be with him.

Back then, the older generation of the Colton family forbade Tristan from dating Leticia. As such, he used every trick in the book to let everyone know that Leticia was his one and only woman.

His passionate love and sincere antics were the only reasons why Leticia was willing to give everything up just to stay with him.

No one knew that she didn't come from this world at all.

A few years ago, Leticia had died in her original world. Her soul was bound to a system, which transported her into this particular world where Tristan existed. If she could successfully ensnare Tristan's heart, she'd be able to get revived in her original world.

Leticia spent many years bonding with Tristan and putting in hard work to capture his heart. That was how she finally became his true love and how he ended up loving her with all his heart.

Seven years ago, Tristan's archnemesis had his goons kidnap Leticia. The archnemesis demanded that Tristan crippled his own legs in exchange for her freedom.

Back then, Tristan didn't hesitate to cripple himself. Blood flowed out of his wounds like crimson rivers. Those injuries almost cost him his life.

Since then, the man who had it all was reduced to nothing but a cripple. He was condemned to a life of wheelchair assistance.

It was also at that moment that Leticia's efforts finally bore fruit. But she hesitated when she gazed at Tristan, who loved and cared about her more than his own life.

She couldn't bear to leave this world and Tristan behind.

Before the system disappeared, it had asked Leticia two questions.

Did she really want to remain in this world? What would she do if Tristan were to betray her in the future?

Back then, Leticia nodded heavily while looking at Tristan, who obviously loved her deeply.

"I've decided to stay."

But she didn't answer the second question.

That was because she failed to imagine the possibility of Tristan, the man who was willing to cripple himself for her sake, betraying her.

Since that day, the system left the world entirely. It never showed up in Leticia's life after that.

It was true that Tristan loved Leticia with all his heart for so many years. He prioritized her no matter what.

Everyone thought that Leticia should be the happiest woman alive because of how deep her husband's love was for her. She should be smiling happily as well.

But at that moment, Leticia couldn't even bring herself to smile at all.

Chapter 2

After recomposing herself, Leticia slowly walked out of the fitting room.

Tristan looked at her instantly. His cold gaze melted away, revealing the tenderness in his eyes. His attention was solely on her right now.

After that, the couple went to the restaurant they had made reservations at for lunch. But Leticia remained glum the whole time.

Tristan thought Leticia had witnessed what happened in the boutique earlier, so he quickly apologized to her.

"Are you mad at me, Letty? I didn't let that woman touch me just now. Please don't ignore me, okay?"

Leticia didn't respond to Tristan, which made him even more nervous.

"What's wrong with you lately? Why do I have a feeling that you've been moody for so long? Is it because I didn't get to spend time with you due to how busy work has been?

"I'm sorry about that, Letty. I've been busy handling a project lately. It'll be over soon. After that, I can focus all of my efforts on spending time with you."

Leticia slowly looked up at Tristan, her expression still impassive.

"Tristan, are you sure you don't have anything to tell me?"

Tristan didn't know why Leticia would ask him that kind of question. He was stunned for a moment, but he subconsciously rubbed his thumb against his forefinger as well.

It was an action he always did whenever he was nervous. Leticia obviously picked up on it, but she soon saw Tristan shaking his head.

"Nope."

Leticia's heart throbbed slightly at the answer, but she didn't ask Tristan any questions after that.

At the end of dinner, a server wheeled in the cake that Tristan had already ordered in advance. He had Leticia make a wish before blowing out the candles on the cake.

It wasn't her birthday today. Tristan made it a habit to celebrate every holiday and anniversary formally over the years.

The lights were turned off. The moment Leticia closed her eyes and made a wish, the vibrating noises of a phone could be heard piercing through the silent atmosphere.

She opened her eyes just in time to see Tristan sliding a finger across the screen to activate the phone. After that, he read the latest text message he just received.

The restaurant was dark enough to let the brightness of Tristan's phone reflect the screen onto the window behind him.

The text read, "Tristan, what should I do? There's a blackout here! I'm so scared!"

Leticia spotted Tristan's lips curling into a small smile the next moment. He even let out a soft chuckle.

Then, she could hear his thoughts ringing out loud and clear.

[She really is a scaredy cat. To think that she's afraid of a mere blackout… Whatever. I should go check on her later. After all, she's pretty clumsy on her own.]

Leticia's complexion went pale. She felt her heart getting crushed by an invisible hand.

No one knew that the system had bestowed upon her an ability to hear Tristan's innermost thoughts before disappearing from her life.

All these years, Tristan loved and cared about Leticia and Leticia only. But three months ago, there was another woman's name which frequently appeared in his mind—Chelsea Pool.

Chelsea was Tristan's best friend's younger sister who had just graduated from university. Recently, she had started working as an intern in Tristan's company.

Leticia had yet to snap out of her trance when she heard Tristan's thoughts booming next to her ear once again.

[But today's my and Letty's seventh-year anniversary. Isn't it bad to leave her here right now?]

While Tristan was stuck in a dilemma, his phone screen lit up again. Apparently, Chelsea had sent him a few more messages.

This time, she didn't write anything. All she did was send him a few stickers of animals acting cute and pitiful. There were even stickers of a cartoon character crying.

Tristan finally couldn't endure it anymore. He toggled the screen off before telling Leticia something urgent came up in his company and that he had to deal with it. After that, he had his assistant wheel him out of the restaurant hurriedly.

Leticia's heart sank to the pits of her stomach as she watched Tristan's silhouette fading into the distance. She remained slumped in her chair, feeling her blood turning to ice.

Tristan had never lied to her throughout their seven years of being together. But ever since Chelsea appeared in his life, he began lying to Leticia time and again.

Leticia had never felt this panicked and alarmed before. She tried to call out to the system, hoping to see the percentage that was left on Tristan's affection bar toward her.

But no matter how many times she had called out to the system, it never responded to her.

Only then did Leticia realize that the system had completely vanished from her life ever since she decided to stay in this world.

Back when she made the decision, she bet all of her stakes on Tristan because she had full faith in him that she would never lose the gamble. But now, she dared not put her trust in him anymore.

That night, Leticia couldn't sleep well. Thunder rumbled loudly all of a sudden in the middle of the night. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrapping around her tightly.

It appeared that Tristan had returned home since who knew when. Perhaps he didn't want to wake her up, for his movements had been very soft and quiet. That was why she only found out about his presence at that moment.

Tristan knew very well that Leticia was terrified of stormy nights. That was why he'd still pull her into his arms reflexively despite being fast asleep. It was his way of reassuring her that he was there for her.

As Leticia turned back to gaze at the handsome visage of her sleeping husband, she fell into deep thought once again.

Would a man who was deeply in love with her be capable of falling in love with another woman?

She returned the hug tightly before burying her face into the crook of his neck. But the next thing she knew, she found herself staring at a trail of bright red love bites littering his neck.

Chapter 3

When Tristan woke up early in the morning, he realized that Leticia wasn't lying next to him.

Panic seized his heart immediately. He rushed out of the room without even bothering to put on a jacket.

After searching the manor, Tristan finally found Leticia all alone in the garden. She was spacing out while sitting on the garden swing.

When Leticia heard the barrage of noises coming from behind her, she slowly turned her head to see Tristan. It appeared that he had suffered from a fall earlier. He was a germaphobe, yet he was tolerant toward the dirt and grime coating his pajamas at the moment. Panic and worry clouded his expression.

Ever since Leticia had gotten kidnapped, Tristan became clingier to her than before. If he couldn't spot her the moment he woke up, he'd be alarmed.

Upon realizing that Leticia was safe and sound, Tristan rushed toward her and pulled her into his arms tightly.

"Letty, don't leave my line of sight this abruptly from now on. I'll get worried about you…"

As Leticia rested her head on Tristan's shoulder, she heard his thoughts booming out loud.

[Thank goodness Letty is fine. If anything happens to her again, I won't have the will to live anymore…]

Her heart skipped a beat at the silent confession. She slowly raised her head before finally speaking up.

"What's up with the red marks on your neck?"

Tristan subconsciously raised a hand to caress the spot where the love bites were printed on, clearly startled for a moment.

Then, he explained, "Maybe the mosquitoes got to me last night."

Leticia just smiled bitterly in return. "It's already fall. Do you think there are still mosquitoes out and about?"

The sight of Leticia's hollow gaze finally pulled Tristan out of his trance.

"So, the reason why you've been so unhappy these days is out of fear that I'll…"

Tristan hugged Leticia tightly before he finished his sentence. "Letty, I swear that you're the only woman I love in this lifetime. If I end up falling in love with another woman, I'm willing to face a fate worse than death—"

Leticia didn't have the heart to listen to Tristan making such a ruthless vow, so she was quick to cover his mouth.

"Stop it. I trust you," she said while gazing at him firmly, a sincere glint present in her eyes.

She continued, "Tristan, if you do end up falling in love with another woman, you have to tell me. I won't badger you at all.

"But if you lie to me, you can forget about seeing me ever again for the rest of your life."

Tristan stiffened up instantly. He responded by tightening his arms around Leticia.

"No way, Letty! You're the only one I love! I can't lose you! You must never leave me!"

Leticia pressed her ear against Tristan's chest tightly in hopes of divulging more of his thoughts. But that was the only sentence she could hear.

She let out a silent sigh. Perhaps she really was overthinking it.

Alas, peaceful days never lasted long. The next day, Tristan actually brought Chelsea home with him.

He kept an arm around Leticia while saying casually, "Letty, Chelsea's apartment lease has expired. She hasn't found a new place to live yet, so she'll be spending a few days with us. I promised her brother that I'd take care of her—I can't just let her live out on the streets, right?"

Leticia was starting to feel cold from apprehension. Her gaze subconsciously landed on Chelsea's necklace, which was the exact replica of the one she was wearing.

There was only one such necklace in this world. That was why its price had gone all the way up to a 100 million dollars at the auction.

Since Leticia and Chelsea were both wearing identical necklaces, that meant one of them was wearing a fake replica.

Obviously, Tristan noticed the same thing. His expression darkened instantly.

Chelsea took the initiative to explain everything. "Leticia, please don't misunderstand me. I noticed how beautiful the necklace looked on your neck when your picture was published in the newspapers, so I bought a replica for myself."

Leticia still felt quite stuffy on the inside even after hearing Chelsea's explanation. The stuffiness made it quite difficult for her to breathe.

However, Chelsea chose to direct a half-serious, half-joking question to Tristan at that moment. "Tristan, who do you think wears the necklace better? Me or Leticia?"

Stunned, Tristan quickly pulled Leticia into a one-armed hug before smiling at her.

"My darling Letty looks the best, of course!"

Chelsea let out a short rasp of bitter laughter before lowering her head. Clearly, she looked a little disappointed.

Although Leticia was leaning against Tristan's chest, she could still hear his thoughts ringing out loud and clear.

[Chels, be good now. Don't feel upset, alright? I can only say such things because Letty is here with us.]

Leticia froze up instantly when she heard Tristan's thoughts. She raised her head to see Tristan looking at Chelsea.

Chelsea seemed to have sensed Tristan's gaze, for she smiled at him sweetly.

At that moment, Tristan's thoughts boomed once again.

[You're wearing the real necklace, after all. Of course, you look the best, Chels.]

Chapter 4

Tristan's thoughts left Leticia dumbstruck. She couldn't snap out of her shock for a long time after that.

As soon as she returned to her room, she stared at her reflection in the mirror while mentally asking herself if what had happened just now was real.

Perhaps she was hearing things. How could Tristan harbor such thoughts in the first place?

Yeah, she must be hearing things. That was what Leticia kept telling herself over and over again.

Over the next few days, Chelsea would leave the house with Tristan at the same time. They'd come home together as well.

Since Chelsea was working in Tristan's company, it was normal for her to hitch a ride with him to and from work. But whenever Leticia spotted them walking together, she'd feel as though someone was strangling her. The pressure was so immense that she could barely breathe.

In order to reassure Leticia, Tristan often kept his distance from Chelsea at home. The way he treated Chelsea was icy too.

It was unknown whether or not Chelsea was doing this on purpose, but she'd often show up whenever Tristan and Leticia were having a private moment together.

When Tristan watched a movie with Leticia, Chelsea would purposely sit next to them with a bowl of popcorn in hand.

If Tristan and Leticia were having a candlelit dinner at a restaurant, Chelsea would show up at the same venue "purely by coincidence".

When Tristan and Leticia watched the fireworks on the rooftop, Chelsea was present with a camera in hand too. Her reason was that she could take photos of the couple to immortalize the beautiful moment.

Tristan could have chased Chelsea away during those times. Instead, he just smiled and let her stay.

Leticia felt exhausted, to say the least. She didn't want to become a paranoid wife who constantly doubted her husband. But whenever she saw Tristan and Chelsea exchanging suggestive looks with each other, she was so upset that she could barely utter a word.

One night, Leticia suddenly developed a high fever. She huddled beneath her covers, feeling as though her body was on fire. Her skin was practically searing from the heat.

Tristan was extremely anxious, to say the least. He kept using ice packs to help lower Leticia's body temperature. He'd also pick her up and feed her fever medication once every ten minutes.

Leticia was delirious from the fever. She reflexively dodged the glass that was moved to her lips by turning her head away.

Although she was being difficult, Tristan wasn't impatient in the slightest. Instead, he continued to speak to her gently.

"Letty, be good now. If you take your meds, you'll feel a lot better."

As Leticia lay on Tristan's chest and listened to his strong heartbeat, she managed to crack her eyes open with difficulty. That was when she made eye contact with Tristan's loving eyes.

"Come, now. Take the meds before going to bed. I'll be here with you."

Leticia managed to open her mouth and swallow the medication Tristan personally fed to her. Only then did she lie back down on the bed. Tristan took her hand firmly, his thumb stroking the back of her hand comfortingly.

The room was quiet. However, Leticia soon heard Tristan's thoughts.

[Hurry up and fall asleep, Letty. Chels told me she just got into a car accident. I still don't know what the situation is on her side. I need to leave as soon as possible.]

Leticia stared at Tristan in disbelief. She happened to catch sight of him pulling out his phone and responding to a text message with his back facing her.

The worry and nervousness in his stance were palpable, yet these emotions were meant for another person.

Leticia's eyes began burning up uncontrollably. She hurriedly closed her eyes, not wanting Tristan to notice how red her eyes were.

A moment later, Tristan approached her before he called out to her a few times softly. Upon noting the lack of response, he let out a sigh of relief. After that, he left the room hurriedly.

Leticia felt heartbroken at that moment. Her eyes snapped open in a fit of despair. Tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Her phone, which was laid next to her pillow, lit up all of a sudden. She sat up on the bed to swipe on the screen. It was a text message from Chelsea.

"Leticia, if you check Tristan's phone right now, you'll see something surprising."

Leticia turned around to look at Tristan's phone, which was left behind on the table. Uneasiness began surging into her heart.

She knew very well that Chelsea was definitely setting her up for this scheme, yet she still reached for Tristan's phone and unlocked it.

The passcode on Tristan's phone had always been Leticia's birthday. That was how she could unlock it so easily.

Her private chat with Tristan was pinned at the top of the list on WhatsApp. His profile picture was a photo of them. Her photo was the common background for all available chat groups as well.

But Chelsea's name stood out from everything else on one particular private chat.

Leticia hesitated for a long time. Finally, she tapped into Tristan and Chelsea's private chat with a trembling finger. Thus, she took the first step in uncovering the truth.

Chapter 5

It had been a few months since Tristan and Chelsea became WhatsApp contacts. However, their chat history seemed to stretch on way longer than that.

Leticia spent a long time scrolling all the way to the top.

The first text message came from Chelsea. Apparently, she was the one who had added Tristan as a contact on WhatsApp.

"Hi there, Tristan! I'm Bernard's younger sister, Chelsea! I look forward to working with you!"

After that, she sent a few cute stickers that came with hearts.

Tristan only responded to the messages after a few days. He sounded very cold and detached.

"Don't send such things to me. My wife doesn't like seeing them."

Chelsea just responded with a sad sticker. After that, the topic was dropped.

Since then, Chelsea continued to spam Tristan's chat with cute stickers. Still, he never responded to any of them. Even when she confessed to him on WhatsApp, he chose to ignore it.

But one day, he took the initiative to text her out of the blue.

"I had too much to drink last night. Let's pretend it never happened. How much do you want from me? Name your price.

"Letty had better not know about this. Otherwise, I won't let you off the hook!"

Chelsea hesitated for a moment. Then, she sent Tristan a photo of her naked body.

"Tristan, I'm younger and tighter than Leticia. Do you really not like me? But if that were the case, then why were you so rough and brutal to me last night? You left marks all over my body…"

Typically speaking, Tristan wouldn't hesitate to verbally insult the women who dared to send him their nudes. But this time, he didn't say anything.

Since then, they had become friends with benefits.

Leticia remembered the countless moments when Tristan had ditched her with excuses of his own. It turned out that he had spent those times with Chelsea instead.

He had turned up late at her own birthday banquet. Also, he had left abruptly in the middle of their seventh-year anniversary celebration. Heck, there was even one time when their vacation was suddenly delayed.

On the night of Tristan and Leticia's seventh-year anniversary, it appeared that Tristan had sent Chelsea a photo of a set of sexy lingerie when Leticia made her wish for one full minute. The accompanying caption was written in a flippant manner.

"If you wear this, I'll come over and keep you company."

Also, Chelsea had brought up Leticia's necklace more than once in front of Tristan. She kept emphasizing how much she liked that necklace.

"Tristan, I really, really like that necklace! Come on, just let me wear it just this once!"

At first, Tristan turned her down coldly. "I'll buy you another necklace. You can pick it out yourself."

But Chelsea refused to relent. "No way! I just want this necklace! There's only one necklace just like that in this world! Leticia has been wearing it for such a long time anyway! It shouldn't be a big deal for me to wear it once, right?"

After that, Chelsea kept spamming Tristan's chat with cute and pouting stickers the whole time. Finally, he gave in.

"Alright, settle down. I'll bring the necklace over to you."

Chelsea was elated, to say the least. She was quick to respond with a photo of a box of condoms sitting in a drawer.

"I'll reward you with these babies!"

Tristan had instantly replied, "Those aren't enough to satiate me."

The more Leticia read, the faster her emotional breakdown approached. She could only grip her phone tightly as her face turned pale. It felt as though she was struck by lightning.

Teardrops splattered all over the phone screen. Leticia felt so hollow on the inside. Her body was trembling so much that she couldn't stop herself at all.

She couldn't believe what she just saw. How could she ever believe her eyes?

To think that Tristan had been sleeping with another woman during the times Leticia had spent waiting for him to return home while planning their future together. The worst thing was that she was even asleep during some of the times Tristan had spent hooking up with Chelsea.

But the thing was, this was Tristan Colton, the man who loved her with all his heart. He was also the man who claimed that he'd love her for the rest of his life.

As Leticia continued to scroll through the depraved chat history, she felt intense pain flaring from her heart.

Suddenly, she clutched her chest, feeling as though she could no longer breathe from the pain. The next thing she knew, everything faded to black. At the same time, her body keeled over in a dead faint.