Chapter 1
Chapter 1:
“Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently on another call. Please try again later p>
The automated message sounded distant and unfeeling.
Beyond the courthouse doors in Gridron, Kristine Green stood stiffly in a slate-gray suit. The autumn wind stripped any trace of warmth from her sharp, elegant features, and her fingers had long since crumpled the document she clutched beyond repair. This was supposed to be the day she officially married her boyfriend, Colton Yates.
From morning until now, she had waited. He never arrived.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯
She had stopped counting how many times he had left her standing like this.
She tried his number once more. The same mechanical voice answered.
As she finally lowered her gaze, a breaking news alert lit up her phone screen: Yates Group CEO Colton Yates personally appears at the airport to welcome his girlfriend back from abroad. The couple reunites sweetly and shows open affection.
Curiosity and dread pushed her to open it. A photograph filled the display.
Colton stood in a tailored black suit, tall and effortlessly composed. Even caught at a side angle, his sharp profile was striking enough to draw the eye. But what held Kristine’s attention above everything else was the softness reflected in his gaze — a tenderness she had never once seen him direct at anyone.
A faint, bitter curve formed on her lips.
It had always been Elyse Lloyd. A single call from that woman had been enough for Colton to abandon the day that was supposed to matter most.
Kristine’s phone vibrated. A new message appeared on the screen.
“You saw the news already, didn’t you? If you still have any pride left, you should leave Colton immediately p>
It was from Elyse — the woman who clearly held Colton’s heart.
Scrolling upward, Kristine found an earlier message Elyse had sent several days before. It was a prenatal checkup report confirming that Elyse was already more than eight weeks along. The document clearly listed Elyse as the expectant mother, with Colton’s name recorded as the father.
When she had first seen the report, Kristine wasn’t shocked in the slightest.
Year after year, Colton spent nearly half his time traveling to Eyling, the country where Elyse lived. Given how long this had gone on, she might have questioned his fertility instead if Elyse had never fallen pregnant. Rather than walking away, Kristine had suggested they get married. Maybe it was because she simply could not bring herself to let go.
Back when she was eighteen, love had struck her hard the first time she saw Colton standing at the university entrance. People around her often said he was the Yates Group heir — someone unreachable, far removed from ordinary lives. She had refused to accept that. Fueled by passion and stubborn hope, she chased after him without hesitation. By the third year of pursuing him, she finally succeeded.
Even so, happiness never followed.
Because right after she confessed her feelings and he agreed to be with her, a call from Elyse came through — and he left her standing alone in the biting wind. That was the moment she first heard Elyse’s name.
Kristine drew a slow breath, then opened the call screen once more. This time, the number she dialed was not Colton’s. It was her mother’s.
The call connected almost immediately. Without waiting for a greeting, Kristine spoke in an even, distant voice. “I’ll return and accept the arranged marriage p>
The surprise in Monica Palmer’s voice was unmistakable. “So you’ve finally made up your mind p>
“I have,” Kristine answered, without pausing even for a breath.
A brief silence settled between them before Monica asked, “When will you be coming home p>
“The twentieth p>
She ended the call, slid into her car, and drove back toward Colton’s villa. During the drive, she allowed the ache in her chest to swell without restraint. In the end, it no longer mattered. This was meant to be the final time.
By the time she reached the villa, exhaustion had settled heavily into her bones. She showered and fell onto the bed. She had known she could have left much earlier, but seven years of loving Colton had tied her too tightly to let go without ceremony. With less than half a month remaining, she needed every last day to settle what remained and cut him out of her life for good.
Later that night, she sensed the bed dip slightly beside her. A moment later, a cold pair of arms drew her into an embrace. A crease formed between her brows.
Colton’s low, magnetic voice brushed against her ear. “I’m sorry p>
Wrapped in darkness, Kristine did not open her eyes. Her lashes quivered as she lay still.
“How about we get married tomorrow morning?” he said quietly.
Almost immediately, the phone on the nightstand lit up. Colton loosened his hold on her, his tone shifting to something gentler. “Don’t cry. I’ll come over right now p>
The rustling of him changing clothes reached her ears. She reacted with a silent, humorless laugh.
Moments later, she turned on the bedside lamp and called out to him as he reached the doorway. “Colton, don’t go p>
Despite her words, he kept moving. Without hesitation, he turned the handle, pulled the door open, and walked out.
As his footsteps gradually faded, Kristine forced a smile onto her lips and held it there until one tear slipped quietly from the corner of her eye.
Morning came. When Kristine woke, she realized someone else was already in the house.
Bobby Davis, Colton’s assistant, had arrived.
“Miss Green, Mr. Yates asked me to deliver these to you,” Bobby said, gesturing toward a neat arrangement of jewelry on the table.
“I see,” Kristine replied, her tone perfectly calm.
A flicker of surprise crossed Bobby’s face. In the past, Kristine had always reacted with visible delight whenever Colton sent gifts. He had never witnessed her greet them with such clear indifference.
“I’ll excuse myself, then.” Keeping his tone professional, Bobby chose not to ask questions and quietly left.
Left alone, Kristine glanced at the gemstones shimmering under the light, yet her expression did not change. She knew full well that Bobby had selected every single piece. Whenever Colton tried to make amends, sincerity was never part of the effort. Thankfully, she had long since stopped expecting anything from him. With nothing left to hope for, the ache in her chest had no reason to linger.
A gentle chime sounded from her phone. Elyse’s name appeared on the screen.
“You received the gifts Colton sent, didn’t you? You should be thanking me. If I hadn’t convinced him to apologize with presents, he wouldn’t have done anything at all p>
Kristine’s fingers curled tighter around the phone. The only reason Elyse was still not blocked was that she intended to collect every single message and forward them to Colton once she left Gridron. She wanted him to finally see the truth — to realize how vile the so-called pure and innocent Elyse truly was behind his back.
She drew a slow breath and looked around the room.
The estate belonged to Colton, and there was barely anything of hers inside, so packing held little urgency. What truly weighed on her was her own home. When her feelings for Colton had been at their strongest, she had genuinely believed she would spend her life in Gridron, the city he belonged to. Because of that belief, she had bought things freely and without much thought. Appliances and everyday items she could always sell. What hurt the most to leave behind were the priceless antiques.
Still, before she left, a visit to the hospital was unavoidable.
Over the past few days, her stomach had been giving her trouble, and nearly everything she ate came right back up. Even so, she had delayed seeing a doctor just to stand at that courthouse and make their marriage official.
She drove herself to the hospital. Just as she was about to step out of the car, she noticed the entrance swarming with people, and a voice rang out above the noise.
“They’re coming out! Mr. Yates and his girlfriend are coming out p>
A slight tremor ran through Kristine’s lashes. Her eyes locked onto Colton, who was carefully shielding Elyse as the two of them pushed through the crowd beneath a barrage of camera flashes. She had only ever seen them together in a photograph. Now she was watching it unfold in real life.
From where she sat, she could clearly make out the sharp warning etched into Colton’s cold, penetrating gaze.
“Back off, or you’ll regret it p>
An unmistakable threat followed his words, and the commanding presence he exuded forced the crowd into sudden silence. After a long pause, one reporter finally gathered enough courage to speak.
“Mr. Yates, who is this lady to you p>
Although rumors had long painted Elyse as Colton’s girlfriend, he had never personally acknowledged it. Every pair of eyes fixed on him — including Kristine’s, watching from inside the car.
Rather than responding right away, Colton reached out and seized the reporter by the collar, his long fingers closing with deliberate force. Shock spread instantly through the crowd. In the middle of the day, had he completely lost control? Was he truly willing to go this far just to protect a woman?
Only after an extended moment did he release his grip. The reporter’s face had gone pale. Colton swept a frigid glance across everyone present.
“If you’re all that desperate to know, then I’ll make it clear what our relationship is,” he said. “But this will happen only once. Do not expect an answer again p>
The entrance of the hospital plunged into complete silence. An oppressive stillness settled over the scene.
Cutting through it all, Colton’s deep, commanding voice rang out alone. “She is someone I guard. If any of you dare bother her again, you had better think carefully about what follows p>
At his words, Elyse slowly raised her head. She looked up at him with open admiration, appearing gentle and reserved.
The reporters understood immediately.
Inside the car, Kristine felt her resolve to see a doctor vanish entirely. She pressed down on the accelerator and drove straight back to her own place.