After that, we dated like any ordinary couple.
Just when I loved Claire Morgan the most, a phone call from an unfamiliar number shattered all my dreams.
It was Ryan Morgan—the adopted son of the Morgan family, Claire’s younger brother with no blood relation to her.
He told me that he was Claire’s true love.
Even her so-called frigidity, he said, was nothing but an excuse she made to keep herself pure for him.
That day, I lost control and stormed into Claire’s study.
It was a place she had strictly forbidden anyone to enter—inside, it was filled with countless photos of Ryan Morgan…
So from the very beginning, I had only been a stand-in she kept by her side.
And on that day, I finally understood the look in Claire’s eyes the very first time we met.
“Adrian, does your face hurt so much you can’t speak?”
Claire leaned in, trying to examine the injury on my face.
She carried the scent of someone who had just been intimate, making my stomach churn in disgust. I frowned and dodged her touch.
She thought I was angry because she had come home late, and braced her hands on either side of me, trapping me in her arms.
“Adrian, I have some good news for you…”
The distance between us shrank.
Finally, just as her red lips were about to touch mine, I couldn’t hold it back any longer and retched.
The wound at the corner of my mouth tore open again, blood flowing freely.
Startled, Claire rushed to the bedroom to fetch the first aid kit.
She dipped a cotton swab in iodine and began gently tending to my wound, her face full of concern and guilt.
“If I find out who dared to hurt you like this, I’ll make sure they pay!”
Hearing her words, I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
“Even if it was Ryan Morgan, would you still take my side?”
“Adrian Foster, how many times have I told you? Ryan is just my little brother…”
Her reply was impatient and without a shred of hesitation.
All lies fell apart instantly when Ryan’s name was involved.
I said nothing more, just stood and started toward the stairs.
Claire moved as if to grab me, but a ringing phone interrupted her.
When she answered, I caught a glimpse of the screen flashing the word “Husband.”
I didn’t know what was said on the other end, but Claire’s expression instantly turned anxious. She responded with several hurried “Alright”s before pulling me toward the door.
“Adrian, my mom just found out Ryan is back. She’s had someone take him to the old family estate. You need to come with me now to put her at ease, or I’m afraid the people there might use the family’s disciplinary methods on him—he wouldn’t be able to withstand it!”
When she failed to budge me after several tries, a trace of anger appeared on her face.
“You’re not still jealous, are you?”
“I’ve told you so many times—I was late today because I was working overtime. It has nothing to do with Ryan!”
Her scolding, like always, came down on me like a torrential downpour.
No matter how good she could be to me at other times, when it came to Ryan Morgan, everyone else had to step aside.
I let out a cold laugh and suddenly flung her hand away.
“When Ryan loses a single strand of hair, you’re ready to fly overseas for him. Are you seriously telling me you didn’t know about something as big as him coming back to the country?”
Ever since I learned that her heart belonged to someone else, I had kept my feelings in check and put myself in the right place.
All these years, I stayed silent, so Claire assumed I didn’t know.
Now, a flicker of guilt passed through her eyes.
But soon enough, she straightened with righteous confidence.
“Ryan has been an orphan since childhood, always living under someone else’s roof. I think of him as my own brother—what’s wrong with taking a little extra care of him?”
