Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Yes.

How absurd.

But Shen Wudu didn’t seem to think so.

When he said it, there was even a trace of matter-of-factness in his voice. “Yaoyao, I’ve already talked it over with Zhao Yue. She and I will only be husband and wife in name. In private, she won’t interfere with me, and I won’t interfere with her. We’ll each do our own thing. We can still be together.”

Zhao Yue.

The eldest daughter of the Zhao Group.

And the marriage candidate chosen by the Shen Family.

I had accidentally learned from Shen Wudu’s secretary that the two of them might be entering a marriage alliance. I had only wanted an explanation. I thought what I would get from him was a denial.

I never expected it to be a bombshell like this.

How laughable.

My boyfriend of seven years was getting married.

And he wanted me to be his mistress.

I stared at the man in front of me. Without warning, my heart seemed to stop for a second, and then it began to pound violently, each beat crashing through me until the tip of my nose stung uncontrollably.

For a moment, I didn’t even know whether I should be angry at his insult or grieve over my own heartbreak.

But Shen Wudu only looked at me.

His gaze was open and certain.

As if he was convinced I would agree.

After all, I loved him so, so much.

But all I wanted to ask was, “Shen Wudu, were you never planning to tell me you were getting married?”

Shen Wudu frowned slightly, a hint of confusion in his eyes. “So what if I’m married? As long as I love you, isn’t that enough, Yaoyao? This kind of thing is very common in our circle. It’s not like you haven’t seen it before-”

I had seen it.

Of course I had.

In the seven years I had been with him, he had taken me to gatherings of every size within their social circle. I had seen loving couples in front of the cameras who were estranged in reality, and I had seen couples in arranged marriages who each did as they pleased in private.

But I had never imagined that Shen Wudu and I would become like that.

We loved each other so much.

I had been certain we would get married, have children, stay together for the rest of our lives, and grow old side by side.

But I was wrong.

Shen Wudu had never thought of marrying me.

All this time, I had been the only one indulging in wishful thinking.

I pulled my hand out of Shen Wudu’s grip and said, each word clear and deliberate, “But I don’t want to spend my whole life as your mistress, hidden from the light.”

Shen Wudu frowned, but he still patiently explained, “Yaoyao, you wouldn’t be my mistress. You are my wife. My woman.”

“Then what about Zhao Yue?”

He could not answer.

He could not deny Zhao Yue’s identity, yet he still did not understand why I cared so much about her existence.

Perhaps he and I had never been the same kind of people from the very beginning.

I lowered my lashes, hiding my reddened eyes, and said slowly, “Shen Wudu, I won’t be the other woman.”

“Yaoyao, are you saying you don’t want to be with me? We clearly promised each other forever. You clearly love me so much-”

“I do love you.”

I lifted my head and looked at him, my gaze earnest and firm. “But Shen Wudu, I won’t lose my principles just because I love you.”