A thunderstorm broke over New York City.
I called Diego a few times, but he didn't answer.
Just as I was about to text him, he called back.
I pressed the answer button, and before I could speak, a woman's voice came from the other end.
"Diego, I said the wrong thing today. I shouldn't have answered the reporters' questions. I'm so sorry."
I paused. It was Sienna.
Before I could react, Diego's voice came through.
"Sienna, you don't have to apologize. You've been wronged all these years. You know you're the only one in my heart."
I gripped the phone, stunned.
The line fell silent, followed by a sound that made my stomach churn: the intimate rustle of clothing and the wet sound of a kiss.
I had heard scenes like this countless times over the past two years.
It was Diego who had proposed the contract marriage in the first place.
Two years ago, my father's company faced a hostile takeover. Its funding chain suddenly snapped, and panic spread through the company.
It was Diego who extended a helping hand, helping the Vance Group weather the storm.
Everyone thought it was just mutual assistance between two old family friends.
Only I knew it was nothing more than a transaction.
The day before Diego stepped in to help, he came to find me.
"Do you like me?" he asked.
"I do," I answered without hesitation. I did like him, and all our friends knew it. It was just that Sienna's appearance had turned that once-open affection into a secret.
He stood before me, looking directly into my eyes. His expression was no longer as close as it was when we were children, and his tone was chilly and distant.
"Will you marry me?" he asked.
I lowered my head, remaining silent. I knew he wasn't finished.
"I can help the Vance family get through this crisis, but on one condition: you marry me, to get my mother off my back."
"I can give you anything, except for love and my heart."
A bitter smile touched my lips. He wasn't marrying me for love. It was a transaction.
When Diego first returned with Sienna, his mother, Catherine, vehemently opposed their relationship.
Even when Diego bowed his head and begged, she wouldn't budge.
I heard from his Stanford friends that he and Sienna had met at a coffee shop on campus.
The two hit it off and became inseparable, especially in the early days of his startup.
Due to an accident, Sienna was hospitalized with a leg injury while saving Diego.
During her hospital stay, Diego cared for her meticulously.
From then on, their relationship grew closer, crossing the boundary of friendship.
The night Diego returned to the country, everyone gathered for a welcome party for him.
The moment I saw Sienna, everyone in the room turned their eyes to me.
I only found out later that Diego had told everyone about his relationship with Sienna, except for me.
I agreed to Diego's proposal because, in the world of business, true friends who would extend a helping hand in a crisis were a rarity. Without the Prescott Group's help, my father's company might have really gone bankrupt.
With a lawyer present, Diego and I signed a prenuptial agreement: non-interference in each other's financial and personal lives.
Therefore, in the two years of my marriage to Diego, I never pried into his life. I didn't know when he was on a business trip, where he was going, or who he was with. I had no right to know.
But in front of our parents, he never slipped up. He always played the part of a caring husband, ensuring they never worried about me.
In this, we were flawless partners.
We continued to play the part of a loving couple in public.
