Chapter 1

My boyfriend Adrian had a childhood friend named Chloe, and her favorite game was "catch the mistress."

Every time I changed jobs, she'd show up with a group of people and cause a scene.

The first time, I got fired because of her for "disrupting workplace order."

I confronted her angrily, but Adrian immediately stepped in front of her and defended her.

"Chloe's young. She likes to mess around. You're ruining the fun by taking it so seriously."

The second time, I couldn't stand my coworkers' gossip anymore, so I quit.

Adrian said I was being too sensitive.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Why do you care what other people say?"

Then I finally got an offer from my dream company.

And Chloe showed up with her friends to pull the same stunt again.

I'd already put up with it twice. There wouldn't be a third time.

So this time, I called 911.

Adrian arrived almost at the same time as the police.

And once again, he blamed me for making a big deal out of nothing.

"Chloe was just playing a joke on you. Did you really have to turn it into this whole scene?"

"Besides, she wasn't wrong. You are the mistress."

His voice was calm and certain.

The people around us fell silent. My coworkers, who had been defending me only moments earlier, immediately looked at me differently.

Their strange, judgmental stares made my skin crawl.

"Adrian, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I know you're trying to get Chloe out of trouble, but you don't have to lie about something like this."

He ignored me and pulled out a marriage certificate, handing it to the officer.

"This is Chloe's and my marriage certificate."

"I'm sorry we wasted police resources over a family matter. It won't happen again."

The words died in my throat.

My mind went completely blank.

Chloe smugly held up another copy and waved it in front of my face.

"Adrian said if we were going to play 'catch the mistress,' we needed a convincing reason. So he took me to get married first."

"Sorry, Elena. Looks like this time, you really are the mistress."

The officer handed the certificate back to Adrian and even warned me before leaving.

"Making a false police report is illegal. If this happens again, we won't let you off lightly."

The HR manager who had personally come downstairs to welcome me earlier had completely lost her smile.

Now she looked like she couldn't distance herself from me fast enough.

"I'm sorry, Elena. We may need to reconsider your employment."

"We'll suspend today's onboarding process. Please go home and wait for further notice."

"We'll contact you as soon as we have a decision."

She turned me down as politely as she could.

But standing there, I felt as if someone had slapped me across the face in front of everyone.

It hurt.

And it was humiliating.

Seeing this, Adrian reached out to pull me away.

"Since you don't have to work today, I'll take you home. It's on my way."

I jerked my arm free, my voice trembling.

"When did this happen?"

Adrian pressed his lips together and changed the subject.

"We'll talk when we get home. There are so many people watching. Aren't you embarrassed?"

"If you're already married to Chloe, why did you propose to me? Why did you promise we'd have our wedding at the end of the year?"

Before Adrian could answer, Chloe suddenly burst out laughing.

"You mean that bet we made?"

A chill ran through me.

My voice dropped.

"Bet?"

Chloe wrapped her arm around his.

Adrian didn't pull away.

"Everyone said you were desperate to marry Adrian, so I wanted to see if it was true."

"But I never thought you'd be that easy. He got a plastic ring out of a gumball machine and proposed, and you actually said yes."

"That's seriously pathetic."

The color drained from my face.

My hands clenched tightly at my sides.

I had questioned Adrian's sincerity because of that plastic ring, too.

But at the time, Adrian had told me,

"The custom ring isn't ready yet, but I couldn't wait any longer to ask you to marry me."

"Elena, you're not going to hold that against me, are you?"

Seeing the guilt and sincerity on his face, I had accepted his proposal.

But in the end, I never got the real ring he'd promised me.

All I got was his marriage certificate with Chloe.