Chapter 1

Standing at the entrance of the city hall, Ashton Gill texted an old friend, "Hey, Jake. I've thought it over, and I'm in. I'll come with you to Novaport City, and we'll work on the startup together." Jake Schneider seemed busy as he didn't reply immediately. Ashton slid his phone into his pocket and hopped into a cab. Then, he passed a note containing an address to the driver. It wasn't until late evening that he returned home, exhausted. When he pulled out his keys, he heard an elevator chime behind him. Claire Lawson exited the elevator and smiled, asking, "Where have you been, Ash?" Ashton stiffened slightly at the smile on her face. "I went to the place where we got our marriage certificate issued. I was planning to take a couple of pictures—as keepsakes—but guess what? "They had no records of it. Why is that?" As he spoke, he fixed his gaze on Claire without blinking, as if hoping to catch a fleeting trace of guilt before it could escape from her face. However, she merely stiffened a little before regaining her usual composure. "You must've gone to the wrong place, then. We've got the certificate as needed, and we can take photos again in the future. "Here—I got you macarons! They're new items from your favorite bakery. Let me know if you like them." Claire passed him the paper bag, pushed open the door, and headed straight for the bathroom. A faint, reluctant smile tugged at the corner of Ashton's lips as he looked down. "We're done, Claire." Quietly, he entered the study and placed the marriage certificate back into the safe. They got their marriage certificate issued three days ago, and right after, Claire had shown it to him for just a second before quickly locking it away in the safe. At that time, he had naively thought it was because she valued their marriage. It wasn't until last night, when he got up for a glass of water, that he overheard her on the balcony, talking on the phone. "Claire, why would you get close to Curtis again? You pursued him for three years, only for him to say yes to you but fly out of the country with another woman the next second. "Do you even remember how much he played you back then? Don't tell me you still have feelings for him." A few seconds passed before Claire calmly explained, "Curt and I registered our marriage two weeks ago. His parents were forcing him to marry an old woman, and I just couldn't bear to see him go through that…" Her words struck Ashton like a bolt of lightning, leaving him frozen in place. Even the person on the other end of the call knew Claire felt more than sympathy for Curtis. Clearly, she had never moved on from him. Ashton had thought that after six years, he had finally gotten what he wanted, and that the love of his life was willing to spend forever with him. He thought he had finally reached her heart, but in the end, he realized he had barely scratched the surface. The "city hall" was fake, and so was the marriage certificate. Nothing, over the course of six years, had been real. What a sad, miserable joke. Since Claire had married Curtis, there was no point for Ashton to stay and make a fool of himself. From then on, he set his sights on a future he never thought he would face—one without her.