Chapter 1

After rumors broke about my husband, Evan Caldwell, and his female business partner, Vivian Hayes, he was so afraid she'd be dragged through the mud that he went public that very night about me—the wife he'd kept hidden for ten years.

Once he hit post, he slid his phone across the table toward me.

"Now everyone knows you're my wife. So go on. Say something to clear her, too."

For the past ten years, every time I so much as tried to post a photo of the two of us together, he'd shut me down coldly:

"There's no need to put private matters online."

I got so angry I threw the photos away. He picked them up one by one—and still refused to let anyone know I was his wife.

Now, suddenly, he was digging up our wedding photos and broadcasting them to the world.

Not out of love for me. Only because another woman was being torn apart online.

Seeing that I hadn't moved, Evan frowned.

"You wanted the relationship public. I gave you that. Now she needs her name cleared—give her that. It's a fair trade."

I just stood there.

So even his acknowledging me as his wife came with a price tag—one I had to pay on someone else's behalf.

I took the phone and typed out a short reply:

*"Not in a position to vouch."*

Evan reached to snatch it back.

I turned away.

"From today on, you can prove your own innocence—and our marriage—without any help from me."

…

The moment the comment posted, the phone began to buzz nonstop.

By the time Evan grabbed it, there were already more than a dozen replies.

*"Mrs. Caldwell, what's that supposed to mean?"*

*"So the hotel photos were real?"*

*"Didn't Vivian Hayes say Mr. Caldwell was single?"*

Someone had already screenshotted it.

A few financial news outlets had started messaging the company's PR department.

Evan dialed a number right in front of me.

"Respond to the press first. Report any posts leaking her home address or threatening her safety—get them flagged by the platforms. I want a plan on the board's desk before market open."

He hung up and set the phone in front of me.

"Delete the comment. Then post something new. Say you don't know the company's arrangements and you were just bickering with me."

"That would be a lie too."

"Claire, this isn't just about the two of us."

"Then when you went public with our wedding photo, did you ask me first?"

He paused a few seconds, his tone softening. "I know these years have been hard on you. Once this blows over, I'll take you to the company's anniversary gala and introduce you properly. If you want to redo the wedding photos, we can. I'll arrange it all."

I pushed the phone back toward him.

"You still don't get it."

"Then tell me what you want. Just say it."

"If the one being torn apart tonight were me, would you have posted that photo?"

Evan didn't answer.

PR called again.

He listened to the report, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Two partners have paused their contracts. The project Vivian is heading got reported as well. Do you have any idea how many employees get dragged into this if the company goes under investigation?"

"So I have to be her character witness?"

"Vivian's working style just invites misunderstanding, that's all. She didn't break up our marriage. One truthful word from you, and no one will keep after her."

"I don't know whether the two of you crossed a line. How am I supposed to vouch for her?"

"We didn't."

"Then vouch for yourself."

Evan glanced at the dinner table and finally noticed the number on the cake.

"It's our anniversary?"

"Ten years."

He walked over and touched the plate. The steak had long gone cold.

The wedding ring I'd picked up that morning was sitting on the edge of the table, the inside freshly engraved with the date.

"I got busy and forgot." He picked up the ring. "Let me handle this company situation, and I'll come back and make it up to you. A restaurant, a trip—your choice."

"Are you coming back tonight?"

The phone rang again in his hand.

Vivian's name on the screen.

He answered, said barely a few words, then grabbed his car keys.

"Vivian just took a lot of pills. They've taken her to the hospital. Just rest at home, and don't reply to any more of those comments. I'll be back tomorrow and we'll talk properly."

At the door, he turned back.

"Don't take the ring off. Going public—I'm not going to hide it anymore."