The Picture Perfect Love

When an earthquake strikes, I'm trapped under one end of a collapsed slab. On the other end is the student I've been sponsoring.

My husband, Sebastian Chesson, tells the rescue team to save the student first.

The rescuers hesitate. "The other victim might not make it if we do."

Sebastian replies coldly, "The other one is my wife. I'll sign a waiver—she's not that easy to kill."

I survive, but the three-month-old baby in my womb doesn't.

Later, a rescuer hands me a card. "Mr. Chesson said this is five million dollars in exchange for your life."

Meanwhile, Sebastian and the student's fairytale romance dominates the trending charts, praised by the internet as the epitome of true love.

On our tenth wedding anniversary, I return home to find the student lounging on my bed, wearing my pajamas, playfully teasing Sebastian.

Just then, a call comes in from Sebastian's student, who's been eyeing me for a long time. His voice is low, flirtatious, and sinful. "Ms. Sinclair, you always remind me to get to bed early… If you really care, why don't you move in and make sure I do?"

"Who was that?" Sebastian Chesson turned around and frowned at me.

I hung up and saw Roxanne Lloyd's smug expression. However, I didn't make a scene. I simply said, "It was a telemarketer."

Sebastian didn't say whether he believed me. His sharp eyes scanned me seriously. "It looks like your injuries aren't too bad."

My left arm was in a sling, my face was scraped, and I was limping. He was the same man who used to tear up if I so much as cut a finger.

Now all I got was a flat "not too bad". My chest tightened, and my heart shrank from the cold.

Sebastian turned back to Roxanne, his expression soft. "Rox was injured in an earthquake while volunteering as a teacher in a remote area. She didn't have any family nearby, so I brought her home to take care of her."

Roxanne leaned into Sebastian and put on a fragile act. "Tessa, you know I don't have family here. I only have my teacher. You wouldn't make me leave, would you?"

I didn't shout or cause a scene. Instead, I just said calmly, "Sure. Of course."

Then I left the room, sat down in the living room, and texted my best friend, who is a lawyer, to help draft the divorce papers.

The whole afternoon passed without Sebastian or Roxanne leaving the bedroom.

It wasn't until around dinnertime that Sebastian finally came out with a scowl after noticing that I hadn't called him for dinner. "Isn't dinner ready yet? Rox is still recovering, and she shouldn't be starving…"

He cut himself off mid-sentence, perhaps suddenly realizing that I was injured too.

I caught the brief flicker of guilt on his face, but I didn't feel anything. I asked, "Where's Lilian?"

He came downstairs and entered the kitchen. "Rox isn't used to strangers in the house. And since you were away on a trip, I gave Lilian the day off."

So it turned out that I came back to play maid for the two of them.

My phone buzzed with a notification. I received a half-naked photo of someone in a bath sent by that rogue, with the caption: "Ms. Sinclair, my chest hurts. Can you help me check it out?"

I couldn't help the small smirk tugging at my lips.

Sebastian happened to turn his head and caught sight of it. His face darkened. "Who are you talking to that's making you smile like that? Let me see your phone."

He was already marching over, ready to interrogate me.

But before he could reach me, Roxanne leaned over the railing from the second floor and said playfully, "Mr. Chesson, I'm hungry. Why don't we go out to eat?"

Just like that, he forgot all about my phone and smiled up at her. "Sure. Go get changed. I'll take you."

When I saw what she changed into, my eyes narrowed. It was the first luxurious red dress Sebastian bought me after reconnecting with the Chesson family.

I felt like ants were gnawing at my chest. My voice was cold as I demanded, "Take it off."

Roxanne turned to Sebastian with a wounded expression.

Sebastian's voice dropped to an icy tone as he tossed me a bank card. "It's just a dress. There's a hundred grand on that. Go buy a new one."

Then he left with her. He did not ask me once if I had already eaten.

I spaced out for a while. My stomach had always been weak, and when money was tight back in the day, Sebastian used to nag me to eat three meals a day.

Later that evening, a notification appeared—it was Roxanne's latest post.

The caption read, "Someone was worried that my hand hurt too much and insisted on feeding me steak himself."

The photo was of Sebastian smiling warmly, cutting up the steak for her.

His best friend, Liam Scott, commented, "Woof. Public affection overkill. We get it. You're the dream couple. Leave the rest of us single folks alone."

Liam had always looked down on me and believed I wasn't worthy of being Sebastian's wife because I came from a family of traditional medicine practitioners.

Funnily enough, though, Roxanne only got into that prestigious university because I sponsored her.

I moved into the guest room that night and didn't care how late the two of them got home. I must have been truly exhausted, because I actually slept until 10:00 am the next day.

What surprised me was that Sebastian hadn't gone to work. He was sitting on the couch reading the paper. When he heard me, he walked over and touched my forehead. "You slept in really late. Are you feeling okay?"

I didn't respond. I just headed to the kitchen to get some warm water. It was a habit of mine.

However, Sebastian handed me a glass from the coffee table. "Here. I poured you some."

I hesitated. This was the first time he had handed me a drink since reconnecting with the Chesson family.

I took a sip and found that it was cold. I set the glass down. "We've been married ten years, yet you still don't remember that I had surgery for a stomach bleed and can't drink cold water?"

His expression froze, looking suddenly a little ridiculous, then turned sour. He shoved me. I fell to the ground. My uninjured hand scraped hard against the floor, drawing blood.

He snapped coldly, "You haven't had stomach issues in three years. When did cold water become such a big deal?"

It was because he hadn't paid attention to me for the last three years. That was when it hit me—he was now officially "Mr. Chesson".

Suppressing the rising emotions in my chest, I leaned against the table to help myself up. "Sebastian, I was in that mountain town the day the earthquake hit."

"I thought you were on a business trip." His eyes widened in shock. He clearly hadn't known about that.

It turned out that he only claimed I was his wife to protect that young lady whom I sponsored. But what would he do if he knew the truth?

Sebastian was the heir of the Chesson family. Finding out the truth about me would've been an easy task for him. He just didn't care enough to bother.

He glanced at my bloody palm and looked a little concerned. He headed upstairs to grab the first-aid kit.

As he patched me up, he said in that rare, gentle tone, "I've moved Rox into one of my other properties and hired people to look after her."

He held my hand and softly said, "Grandpa's birthday party is coming up. I want you to come home with me this time."

It would be the first time the Chesson family actually allowed me, his legal wife, to step foot in their home.

But I already knew from Roxanne's social media that she'd been there plenty of times.