The Stephens family was deep in a business crisis back then. No one wanted a strategic marriage with a family that could collapse any day.
But I chose him anyway.
Not for any grand reason. Just because at my birthday dinner, my father's illegitimate son called my mother a short-lived bitch cursed to die young.
Ezra didn't hesitate. He rushed over and beat the kid half to death.
And when my father forgot my birthday entirely, off celebrating an anniversary with the other woman,
I sat in front of my mother's grave all night. Ezra stood behind me the whole time, holding an umbrella.
The umbrella covered me and my mother's headstone. He was soaked through.
By dawn his hands were shaking.
Something shifted in my chest. Without thinking, I took the handkerchief and wiped my face.
A second later, searing pain tore through both eyes, and the burn in my sinuses was unbearable.
Tears and snot poured out before I could stop them.
Laughter exploded around me.
I forced my eyes open and saw the others walking over with Bella.
“Oh my God, how's that extra-strength onion juice treating you? Look at her face right now”
“Ezra said she made Bella cry and wouldn't apologize, so let her cry all she wants!”
“A few fake lines and she totally fell for it. What an idiot!”
Bella ran over with a few tissues.
“Lexi, are you okay? I tried to talk him out of it, but he cares about me too much……”
I managed to wipe my face clean, but then I caught the glint on her ring finger.
I grabbed her wrist, my voice raw：
“What is this?!”
That was the stone Ezra had won at auction for nine figures.
I designed the setting myself, found the craftsman, spent six months having a pair of wedding rings made.
Ezra had been keeping them both.
He'd smiled and said that was what it meant to be of one heart, that he'd put mine on my finger himself on our wedding day.
Now it was on another woman's hand.
Bella started crying again.
“I'm sorry, I just wanted to know what it felt like to wear a wedding ring that matched his.”
“I'll give it back right now, I swear……”
She made a show of tugging at the ring, but it wouldn't come off, and she stood there looking helpless.
Ezra caught her hand and held it. His expression darkened.
“That's enough, Alexis! I can't marry her, and that's already unfair to her. What's the big deal about a ring?”
“There are plenty of wedding rings in any jewelry store. I'll wire you the design fee and the labor cost, every cent!”
“This was always an arrangement for mutual benefit. As long as the title of Mrs. Stephens is still yours, what more do you want? Don't push your luck!”
I've never been someone who lets her emotions take over.
But something heavy pressed against my chest all the same.
That day at my mother's grave, I'd told him：
“Go home. You don't have to force a marriage. You stood in the rain for my mother all night, so I'll help the Stephens family.”
Ezra had smiled：
“You don't have to help me. But I'm going to marry you.”
“I know Miss Henson is proud and capable and never leans on anyone. But it's strange. The rain stopped, and I still want to hold the umbrella for you. When it's cloudy, to keep the rain off. When it's clear, to keep the sun off.”
When he said it, a drop of rainwater slid from the tip of his hair.
And landed like a single ripple on the still surface of my heart.
I held nothing back. I helped him, I agreed to marry him, and I believed we were trading one honest heart for another.
Now he called it mutual exploitation.
Someone nearby complained about the cold and suggested the hot springs. One by one, people climbed into their cars.
Bella settled into the passenger seat of Ezra's car, eyes still glistening.
“Lexi, I really never meant to hurt you.”
“But I'm too emotional right now. I don't think I can be in the same space as you. Would you mind getting back on your own?”
