With the Spring Festival approaching, I went to the temple as usual to pray for my doctor husband.
While offering incense, I stumbled upon him behind the Buddha statue—tangled up with his ex-wife in a frenzy.
"Finn, you remarried so quickly just to forget me. Now I'm back—when are you divorcing her?"
Finn Gilbert pinched Kate Simmons's chin, pulling her waist tight against him.
"My wife is pregnant," he said with a teasing smile. "We're not getting divorced. You abandoned me back then—what status do you expect now?"
Then came the urgent panting.
I lost my balance stepping back and hit the ground.
When my family's company went bankrupt, my parents fled abroad to escape the debt. Overnight, I became a fallen heiress.
Finn Gilbert took me in when I was sleeping on the sidewalk. He bought ten thousand acres of flower fields just to make me smile.
Now he was telling me it was all to forget his ex-wife.
But when I went abroad to inherit my parents' new business, he came to this very temple and prayed for my return.
1.
A master helped me to my feet.
"Miss, praying for love before the Buddha is asking for eternity. Don't disturb them."
"Dr. Gilbert has a benevolent heart. The temple is happy to accommodate the romantic interests of husband and wife."
I took a deep breath and unclenched my fists.
Like a walking corpse, I left the hall.
I wandered until I reached the scripture hall—and ran straight into Finn and Kate at the entrance.
He panicked, dropping her hand. His expression flickered when our eyes met.
"Bella, weren't you buying Spring Festival couplets today? Why are you here?"
"But it works out. I was about to tell you—Katie just got back and has nowhere to stay. She came straight from the airport to pray for me, her ex-husband. Can she stay with us for now?"
My heart seized. After a long moment, I forced a smile.
"Sure."
Finn's face darkened.
"Bella, you really don't mind?"
"Really."
I said it firmly. His expression soured further.
Kate looped her arm through his and shot me a smug look.
"Finn, your wife is so generous. Thanks."
Inside the scripture hall, Kate dragged me along to browse scriptures—then deliberately cut her own hand and cried out.
"Miss Henson, you agreed so nicely earlier, so why are you using the scriptures to cut my hand?"
Finn rushed over, worry flooding his face as he examined her hand.
Before I could react, he slammed the scripture into me, eyes blazing.
"Isabella Henson, don't you know Katie is terrified of pain? If anything happens to her, you won't be okay either!"
"I didn't—"
I covered my bruised arm, but Finn had already scooped Kate up and shoved past me.
"Katie, don't be scared. I'll take you to the hospital and bandage it myself."
After they left, everyone in the scripture hall stared. Whispers rose around me.
"She's probably fighting for favor with the real wife and snapped. Mistresses these days are so vicious—and she still has the nerve to come to a temple!"
"Look at her playing the victim. The actual girlfriend's hand is bleeding and she didn't even cry."
Only then did I realize a tear had slipped down my cheek.
I ran to the Buddha and pulled out the incense I'd just offered for Finn.
For five years, I'd come here three times a year to pray for this man—my way of thanking him for being my light.
He'd sworn before this very Buddha: one lifetime, one man, one woman.
But the moment Kate Simmons appeared, none of it counted anymore.
