Chapter 1

As soon as the door opened, Sophie Brown froze at the sight of two bodies tangled together on the couch.

The entire way there, she’d been imagining how stunned Harold Williams would be when she suddenly showed up at his place, announcing that their two-year long-distance relationship was finally over.

She never expected to walk in on such a revolting sight.

Sophie tightened her hands into fists. The people on the couch were so into it, they hadn't even noticed her.

Suppressing her nausea, she pulled out her phone and switched to video mode.

When they changed positions, the woman finally caught sight of Sophie and let out a scream.

Harold freaked out too, quickly grabbing a blanket to wrap around himself while hiding the woman behind him.

"Why are you back? What are you doing?"

Sophie’s eyes were red. “Such a great scene—I definitely have to record it and post it on Facebook.”

Hearing this, Harold ignored the naked woman behind him, wrapped the blanket around himself, got off the couch, and tried to grab Sophie's phone.

"If you take one more step, I'll send it to everyone," Sophie threatened.

Harold didn't believe her. He kept coming.

Sophie hit send to all contacts.

Harold was shocked.

The usually sweet and understanding Sophie could be this cruel!

“Sophie, you want to die?!” Harold was so enraged that the veins on his forehead bulged. He felt like he could kill Sophie in that moment.

Sophie held up her phone, 911 already on the screen. "I'm calling the police."

Harold's eyes went wide, speechless. "You..."

Seeing Sophie’s icy expression, Harold pointed at her and said, "Alright, you win!"

Sophie’s eyes were filled with bitterness. “Two years, entirely squandered.”

After departing from Harold's place, Sophie headed to her best friend Emily Johnson's home.

Sophie stayed at Emily's for five days, during which Emily spent every moment blasting Harold.

One morning, noticing Sophie staring at her phone, Emily walked over and draped her arm around her. "Harold's a complete jerk. He’s not worth your tears."

Sophie shook her head. "I'm not upset about him anymore. I’m just thinking about that marriage proposal Walter found for me."

"What?"

Sophie’s father had arranged a marriage for her and kept pressuring her to return and discuss it.

Walter mentioned that the guy’s family was wealthy, he was tall and good-looking, and the only child.

If she accepted the marriage proposal, his family would give her a million dollars. If she got pregnant within two months, there would be an additional ten million dollar bonus. As long as she had a child, she'd have endless wealth.

Emily clapped her hands and laughed in mockery. "That’s got to be your stepmother’s idea. If this was such a great deal, wouldn’t she have her own daughter marry him? It’s clearly a trap."

"You know something about this?"

"What they told you is true. But they left out one important detail."

"Huh?"

Emily said, "The guy's name is Matthew. He really is good-looking, rich, and powerful. Women in Silverlight City used to be dying to marry him, or at least sleep with him if they couldn't marry him."

"Matthew..." Sophie murmured the name. "Sounds kind of familiar."

Emily snorted. "Everyone in Silverlight City knows that name. Last year it came out that he has a terminal illness and doesn't have much time left. I heard he had a girlfriend, but she went abroad after finding out. Marrying a dying man is like marrying a corpse."

So that's it. Pretty tragic.

Emily pressed her lips together. “When you get a stepmother, you lose your real father too. That saying is spot on. Your stepmother wants you to marry him so you end up a widow.”

Emily's eyes widened. "Wait, you're actually considering it? The guy's on his deathbed. Who knows how awful he looks now? Plus, looking for someone to marry at this point, isn't it just to have a kid before he dies?"

Sophie murmured, "But the money’s tempting."

"And when he dies, I’ll inherit his fortune." Sophie’s face remained calm. "Then I’ll have money and freedom. That’s what most people can only dream of."

Emily was taken aback. "Are you seriously in shock or something?"

"Really, I'm not." Sophie’s expression grew serious. "We all work so hard to make money and gain financial freedom, right? Now there’s a shortcut. Why wouldn’t I take it?"

Emily blinked, "Why does that actually make sense?"

Sophie smiled. "Because that's just reality."

That night, Harold called Sophie from a different phone.

Sophie hung up, but he called again from another number. After blocking several, she eventually turned off her phone.

The next day, when Sophie powered her phone back on, messages poured in.

Most were from Harold, saying all kinds of things.

The Facebook group chat had exploded. Even though Sophie and Harold had never even slept together, Harold was spreading rumors in there that Sophie had fake boobs, calling her slutty while pretending to be innocent...

Basically, each comment was worse than the last.

Sophie took a deep breath, reminding herself that everything happens for a reason.

God wanted her to see Harold's true colors early, which is why she saw what she saw.

She called Walter and agreed to his proposal.

Father and daughter arrived at the Moore Mansion, but Matthew wasn’t there—his parents met with them instead.

Upon hearing that Sophie was willing to marry Matthew, they could hardly hide their excitement.

Sophie had only one requirement: register the marriage first.

Her reason was to make it legal.

As for a wedding ceremony, she didn't need one.

The other side naturally had no objections. They were just afraid she wouldn't go through with it.

Both sides quickly agreed, and Andrew Moore even had a marriage registration office worker come to the house to handle the marriage certificate.

It was then that Sophie saw Matthew's photo.

The man in the photo was, as Emily had said, exceptionally handsome, with eyes that were deep and expressive.

A man of this caliber—if he weren’t sick, she’d never stand a chance.

When the marriage certificate was handed to Sophie, she carefully admired the joint photo.

Evelyn Moore handed Sophie a bank card. Although there wouldn’t be a wedding, the betrothal gifts were still given. She also included living expenses.

In short, Evelyn was extremely generous. The sum was so large that Sophie could feel the weight of the card in her hand.

She didn't refuse, accepting it openly.

As she glanced at the marriage certificate again, her eyes lingered on the name "Matthew." She couldn’t help but wonder how he would react when he found out his parents had essentially “sold” him.

Leaving the Moore Mansion with her father, Walter was all smiles, very happy.

"The Moore family gave you quite a bit of money, didn't they?"

Walter froze, looking uncomfortable. "What are you talking about?"

"Stop pretending." Sophie paused and stared at him. "If there wasn’t money involved, you wouldn’t have even considered me."

Walter looked embarrassed. "Sophie..."

Sophie raised her hand, signaling she didn’t want to hear his lofty excuses.

She walked ahead, her voice flat. "This is the last time. Don’t contact me again."

When Emily found out she'd actually married Matthew, she spun around in circles.

Unfortunately, it was already done—there was no turning back now.

"Your dad is so cruel, pushing you into a fire pit when he knew that's what it was. And you're stupid too - why did you register so quickly? If he tortures you and you don't have the certificate, you can run. But once you've registered, even if he wants to kill you, running won't help." Emily was anxious, angry, and worried, her eyes turning red.

Seeing her friend so upset, Sophie felt a warmth inside. She smiled and reassured Emily, "I registered the marriage, but I’m not planning to actually meet him."

Emily stared at her.

Sophie’s eyes gleamed with cunning. Though the idea was a bit devious, it was the truth.

"Didn't you say he won't live past February? That's less than three months away. I’ll just lay low for now, and when he's lying in a hospital bed, that’s when I’ll make my appearance."

Sophie’s plan seemed flawless, but reality proved to be far harsher.

Only a few days after saying this, someone came looking for her.

"Mr. Matthew Moore would like to meet his wife."