Stephanie Ford has given her heart and everything else to Tyler Grover throughout their five-year relationship, only to find out that he has already married his first love, Kiara Grover, on their wedding night.

The fake marriage certificate that Stephanie holds is proof that she's stuck in an elaborate scheme that Tyler and Kiara have come up with. This realization leaves her heartbroken and her trust in Tyler permanently shattered.

Throughout the past five years, she's gone through a car accident that's apparently staged by others, which has ruined her dreams of becoming a professional dancer. To make things worse, Tyler and Kiara intend to use her as a surrogate mother for their child.

Hence, Stephanie decides to go home and enter into a business marriage that her family has arranged for.

The next time they meet again, Tyler watches as the cold and aloof heir to the powerful Hawke family of Jetterpolis, Adrian Hawke, pulls Stephanie carefully into his arms. He treats her with utmost care, as though she's the most precious treasure in the world.

Tyler's eyes redden instantly. He sinks down to his knees like a madman and begins begging Stephanie for her forgiveness.

"Steph, this is all my fault! Please come back to me!"

But Adrian shields Stephanie from Tyler, his expression now glacial. "Get lost! Don't you dare taint my wife's sight with your filthy presence!"

"Ms. Ford, we've verified that your marriage certificate is a forged copy. Forging marriage certificates is a federal offence. Please cooperate with our investigation."

"Wait, there are still people forging marriage certificates in this era?"

"She must have got duped by a man, right? How pitiful…"

Stephanie Ford stepped out of the courthouse in a daze. Around her, the staff members and the few couples were all shooting her weird looks.

It was a hot and sunny day outside, but Stephanie only felt chills permeating her body. Yesterday, her boyfriend of five years, Tyler Grover, suddenly agreed to register for their marriage. Naturally, they had celebrated the occasion by engaging in bedroom activities in the middle of the night.

But an abrupt phone call ruined the mood just as the couple's passion was reaching its peak. Weirdly enough, Tyler had stopped in his actions just to answer it.

"Stop it with your tantrum. The marriage certificate that I've obtained with Stephanie is fake. After all, I've already received the real marriage certificate with you two years ago."

Tyler used a foreign language that was scarcely used in this country. But the thing was, Stephanie actually understood him.

Since Tyler's friends all knew how to speak in this particular language, Stephanie had secretly registered for language classes just to learn it. That way, she'd be able to get along with Tyler's friend group.

"But I'm still jealous! Ugh, if only Stephanie had never existedin your life at all!"

"Stop being wilful. Also, Steph is innocent. Haven't you vented your frustrations enough after staging her accident? Her leg is already crippled from that accident, so she can never dance again for the rest of her life. No one's going to fight you for the mantle as the Dance Diva. If you stir up any more trouble, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to help clean up your mess."

"What about your future child?"

"Once Steph gets pregnant and gives birth to my baby, I'll find a way to register you and me as the baby's birth parents. Alright, that's enough. Just be a good girl at home. Remember, Steph is nothing compared to you. How can I ever fall for her?"

While Stephanie was shell-shocked to hear the conversation, what little rationality she had was able to help her regain her senses bit by bit.

So, that meant the car accident that she was involved in two years ago was actually a manmade accident.

At that time, a truck had gone out of control and crashed into her. She almost lost both legs, and she'd most likely be reduced to a disabled person.

After spending more than half a month in the hospital, Stephanie managed to save one leg. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to dance ever again.

Having inherited her mother's amazing talent for dancing, Stephanie could've had a bright future ahead of her. But Tyler was the one who told her that the car crash was an unfortunate accident.

He never showed any disdain toward Stephanie's condition, so she was very grateful to him. That was why she became even more devoted to him.

Alas, it all turned out to be a scheme. Tyler had lied to Stephanie and even married the actual culprit behind the accident. Not only that, but they also wanted her to give birth to their child for them.

That night, Stephanie never slept a wink. She went to the courthouse first thing in the morning to get her marriage certificate verified, only to get slapped by the cruel reality in the end.

With a strained smile, she told everyone that it was just a joke. Thankfully, the staff didn't look further into Stephanie's excuse. They gave her a quick lecture before letting her off the hook.

By then, her phone had been ringing for quite some time. She finally snapped out of her trance and answered the call.

"Are you on the way to the company already?" Tyler asked huskily. There were still traces of drowsiness tinging his tone, which made him sound more seductive than usual.

Stephanie did her best to control her voice so that she could sound normal over the phone.

"Not yet. I had something to tend to first."

"Where are you right now? I can pick you up."

Stephanie's eyes reddened instantly. She remembered Tyler telling her before that regardless of where she went at whichever hour, he'd pick her up, and they'd go home together.

But did she still have a home with him now?

After all, Tyler had already become someone else's husband two years ago. He had cheated on Stephanie, both physically and emotionally.

"Steph?"

"It's fine." Stephanie was already tearing up, but her voice was still composed. "I still have other things to do. I'll head over on my own later."

Seeing how insistent Stephanie was, Tyler decided to let her do whatever she wanted.

After ending the call, Stephanie began sorting out her messy thoughts. She had been nothing but loyal to Tyler throughout their five-year relationship.

Back in their university days, Tyler was the charming student president. After graduation, he was known as the handsome and rich CEO of his own company. He had tons of female admirers flocking him everywhere, yet he was cold and ruthless toward them… save for Stephanie.

Who on earth was the woman whom he had married two years ago?

There was also the matter of that accident…

Stephanie reached Tyler's company when it was almost noon.

"Hello, Ms. Ford."

Everyone in the Executive Office greeted Stephanie right away. She just nodded at them in response.

Many documents were already piling up on her desk. After she went through them, she picked out a few documents before sending them to Tyler's office for the latter to sign.

The CEO himself was already sitting behind his desk. His striking features made him look intimidating despite him just sitting there without doing anything.

When Tyler saw Stephanie entering his office, his expression softened instantly. After signing all of the documents she had brought to his desk, he raised his head to gaze at her, his expression one of concern.

"You don't look well."

"It's nothing. I'm just a little tired."

"Thank you for your hard work on this project."

Then, Tyler raised a hand and pinched Stephanie's cheek gently. He produced a long box out of nowhere, as though he had just performed a magic trick.

"Surprise!"

Stephanie quietly accepted the box and opened it. There, nestled in the box, was a beautiful diamond necklace. She instantly recognized it as Solara's newest creation, available only as a limited-edition piece.

Tyler rose to his feet before pulling Stephanie into his arms. He dipped his head in an attempt to kiss her on the forehead, only for her to tilt her head and avoid his kiss.

To her, he was already tainted.

"Steph?" Tyler's gaze darkened slightly.

He had given Stephanie many gifts over the years. Whenever she received something from him, she'd look delighted. But what was with her reaction this time?

"Thank you. I like it a lot." Stephanie lowered her gaze before closing the lid on the box. "We're in your office right now, so we should mind our behavior."

Tyler smiled in response. He soon raised a hand to ruffle Stephanie's hair.

"You've always been a thoughtful person, Steph."

Upon returning to her own workspace, Stephanie placed the box aside carelessly. She had to admit that Tyler knew her preferences very well. If not for the fact that she had already found out about his betrayal, she'd have been over the moon the moment she received the necklace, just like how she had reacted in the past.

During her lunch break, Stephanie snooped through all of Tyler's personal social media accounts, but she was unable to find any clues about his infidelity. The posts he had made were either related to his company or her.

Tyler tended to make various posts on his lovey-dovey interactions with Stephanie on his social media accounts. As such, his friends often complained about how much he was rubbing his relationship in their faces.

As Stephanie scrolled through the romantic moments of the past, all she felt was numbness in her heart. That was when she caught sight of a particular profile picture belonging to the user who had liked one of Tyler's posts.

Her sixth sense flared up at the sight, prompting her to click into the user's homepage. The latest status was posted a day ago, with the caption saying, "A certain someone has mailed this necklace from a place far, far away. I love it so much!"

The post came with a photo as well. The necklace shown in the photo was an exact replica of the necklace Tyler had just gifted to Stephanie.

There were only two pieces coming from Solara's latest limited-edition collection.

Stephanie chuckled bitterly at the sight of the photo. So, Tyler thought he was being fair by giving both his lovers the same necklace, huh?

After closing the social media website, Stephanie booked a flight ticket connected to a flight that would depart in a month.

At the moment, she was still stuck with a project that she had been working on with her team members. Said project would only get wrapped up in a month. Everyone had put their blood, sweat, and tears into this project, which was why she couldn't just ditch the project and leave.

In a month, Stephanie would leave Tyler and his company.

After booking the ticket, she opened another private chat window.

"Dad, I've thought things through. I'm willing to go home and help out with the family business. Also, I've decided to get involved in the marriage alliance."

When it was time to get out of work that evening, Tyler walked out of his office with his jacket draped over his arm.

Stephanie had just risen to her feet when she heard him telling her, "I have a business gathering to attend tonight. You can go home first."

A business gathering, huh? She didn't recall such an event being logged into Tyler's schedule.

As Stephanie looked up at Tyler, she noticed that he was still gazing at her affectionately. It was quite captivating, to say the least.

In the past, she'd never doubted Tyler no matter what he said to her.

"Alright." Stephanie didn't give anything away. "Remember not to drink that much."

Tyler patted her on the head, a smile gracing his face. "Yes, dear."

After that, Stephanie flagged down a cab and had it trail behind Tyler's car the whole way to the airport. There were crowds in the airport, but she was able to recognize Tyler at first glance.

He wore a black, custom-fitted suit that made him look charming and prestigious. Of course, his looks made him stand out in the crowd.

Stephanie also saw how a long-haired woman had rushed into Tyler's arms happily. Instead of pushing her away, he hugged her tightly.

Both of them looked like a matching couple.

Once the hug was over, the woman tried to stand on her tiptoes just to kiss Tyler. But he avoided it instantly and said something to her.

Still, the woman refused to relent. In the end, she got her wish by kissing him on the lips.

The sight of them making out disgusted Stephanie to no end. But at the same time, she was also shocked to the core.

After all, the woman in Tyler's arms was actually his adopted younger sister, Kiara Grover.

Kiara lost her parents when she was three years old. Since her family and Tyler's family shared a good relationship, the Grovers decided to take her in as their adopted child.

That was how Kiara and Tyler grew up as adoptive siblings. Back when Stephanie began dating Tyler, he had introduced her to Kiara. At that time, Kiara addressed her affectionately as "Steph".

Three years ago, Kiara had gone overseas. Stephanie never would've thought that Tyler and Kiara shared such an incestuous relationship while maintaining their cover as a pair of close-knit siblings. To think they even got officially married as well!

Did that mean Kiara was also the culprit who had staged the car accident two years ago?

…

Stephanie was even more flabbergasted to see Tyler bringing Kiara home with him.

He said nonchalantly, "Steph, Kiki has just returned from abroad. I'm planning to let her stay with us for some time."

Stephanie clenched her fists tightly at his words, resulting in her nails digging into her palms. She still remembered the day when Tyler had brought her back to their home.

At that time, he had pulled her into his arms and told her, "Steph, this place will become our home in the future. It's a home that's reserved for us and us only."

Back then, Stephanie felt that this residence would be her forever home with Tyler. That was why she had put a lot of effort into decorating the whole place. Every inch of the residence was the result of her hard work. Heck, she even picked out every piece of furniture herself.

Yet now, Tyler personally brought another woman home with him.

"Hi there, Ms. Ford!"

Kiara smiled at Stephanie, though there was a hint of mockery and provocation hidden in her eyes. Five years ago, she'd still affectionately refer to Stephanie as "Steph", but now, she chose to address Stephanie as "Ms. Ford".

Tyler turned to look at Kiara instantly. There was a flash of warning in his gaze, but his eyes were mostly filled with affection.

Stephanie was somewhat impressed by how good Tyler was at trampling all over her pride and ego—at least, that was how she saw it.

If she didn't know the ugly truth, she'd have stupidly welcomed Kiara into the residence as the latter's sister-in-law. She couldn't even imagine how amusing that scene would be to Tyler and Kiara, who were the actual married couple.

"Ty, does Ms. Ford not want me here?"

Kiara looked at Tyler innocently. She sounded like she was about to burst into tears soon.

"I know that my presence has disturbed you. Maybe I should check into a hotel room instead. I'm fine being alone, after all…"

Tyler frowned at Stephanie right away. He was about to speak up when Stephanie said, "It's fine."

His words were left stuck in his throat at that moment.

Stephanie remained unperturbed, "You can stay here for as long as you wish, Ms. Grover."

After that, she returned to her own bedroom.

Kiara still viewed Stephanie as her enemy. But the thing was, Stephanie no longer cared about Tyler or this so-called home they shared.

Even if she and Kiara were truly enemies, the bad blood between them stemmed from the car accident. But Stephanie didn't show her hostility toward Kiara to avoid alerting the latter.

Kiara felt quite upset. She initially thought Stephanie would start a huge argument with Tyler. Who would've thought that she'd still remain calm at this time?

This was fine. Once Stephanie realized that she wasn't actually married to Tyler, she wouldn't be able to keep her cool at all.

Meanwhile, Tyler felt that something was off as well, so he decided to follow Stephanie into the bedroom.

"Aren't you unhappy at all, Steph?"

He knew that Stephanie wouldn't get mad at him, but he thought she'd be a little unhappy. After all, he did promise her that he wouldn't bring anyone home with him without her permission.

"Nope." Stephanie kept her back on Tyler, her expression still cold and aloof.

"I knew that you're the best."

When Tyler hugged Stephanie from behind, the latter froze up instantly at his touch. And yet, Tyler never picked up on her body language.

"Steph, Kiara is my younger sister, which means she's your sister as well. Besides, I plan on collaborating with the Fords of Jetterpolis. Kiara is very close to the Fords, so—"

"What did you just say?" Stephanie cut him off instantly. "Kiara is close to the Fords of Jetterpolis?"

"Yup. She got to know the Fords when she was still abroad. Also, it seems that Mrs. Ford Senior really likes her a lot."

Stephanie couldn't help chortling in response.

Tyler gazed at Stephanie's smile in confusion. Still, he continued to explain, "You should know that the Fords of Jetterpolis is one of the Four Powerhouses. With Kiara around, I'll be able to reap more benefits from my collaboration with them."

"Ah, I see." Stephanie continued smiling at him. "Then I hope that you can get what you wished for in advance, Mr. Grover."

Stephanie wasn't sleepy at all in the middle of the night.

She was starting to get thirsty, so she exited her bedroom for a glass of water. But when she walked past Tyler's bedroom, she found out that there was a gap in the door. A dim yellow light could be seen spilling from within the room.

After overhearing the phone call last night, Stephanie had used her discomfort as an excuse to move to the guest bedroom for the time being.

At that moment, faint sounds could be heard coming from Tyler's bedroom. They sounded awfully suggestive.

Soon, Tyler's quiet, breathless words were punctuated by a pant. "Kiki, stop messing around. We're in my home right now."

"What? Are you worried that she might find out about us?" Kiara's honeyed voice soon followed. "Ty, what are you afraid of? We're the ones who are legally married to each other."

"Kiki!" Tyler's voice suddenly became stern. "What happened between us is a thing of the past."

"Ty—"

"I wouldn't have married you if not for the fact that I needed to help you shake off your abusive ex-husband. I've dated Steph for five years. She's my girlfriend, Kiki. In the future, she will become my actual wife. Once your matter is resolved for good, we'll get—"

The rest of his sentence completely vanished. More suggestive sounds came from Tyler's room once again.

Having regained her senses, Stephanie finally realized how badly her hands were shaking at the moment. A trace of mockery was quick to cross her eyes.

Tyler was a man who was six feet and two inches tall. If he didn't want to have anything to do with Kiara, there was no way she'd be able to kiss him by force.

If he truly wanted to help Kiara get rid of her abusive ex-husband, was marrying her really the only option?

Those two shameless bastards just wanted to screw each other in bed, yet they felt the need to come up with such reasons just to justify their actions!

"Ty, don't you miss us being a couple? Stephanie can't even pleasure you the way I do!"

"Kiki…" Tyler's voice was extremely hoarse at that point. Clearly, he was extremely horny for Kiara.

After that, sounds of the couple being entangled in each other's passion could be heard coming from Tyler's bedroom.

Stephanie had already recorded their conversation with her phone. All she felt at the moment was nausea and disgust. Finally, she rushed into the bathroom and began dry-heaving into the sink repeatedly.

How disgusting… and ridiculous.

Upon leaving the bathroom, Stephanie received a text from the client. Apparently, a problem had emerged in the project, so she needed to make changes to the details overnight. She was already exhausted by then, but she had no choice but to burn more midnight oil for the project.

After turning on her computer, Stephanie suddenly recalled a memory from the past. Back then, Tyler had joined the election campaign to become the next student president. She busied herself running around canvassing votes for him, already losing count of how many times she put on forced smiles or how much effort she had put into helping Tyler.

Once Tyler successfully became the student president, she ran herself ragged, dealing with everything there was in the student council. After their graduation from university, she joined his company and burned herself out for the sake of his career.

Stephanie's stomach was starting to hurt. The pinpricks of pain were what snapped her out of her memories.

This would be the last time she helped Tyler. Besides, she wasn't doing this entirely for him—she wanted to wrap up this project purely because she and her team members had spent half a year working on it.

Countless memories flashed through Stephanie's mind. She remembered the five years' worth of contributions she had made toward Tyler, the immense pain she had suffered in the car accident two years ago, the pain of losing her leg, as well as watching her dream to dance shatter before her eyes, as well as the lewd sounds made by Tyler and Kiara when they were screwing in Tyler's bedroom earlier.

After Stephanie investigated everything related to the car accident, she vowed to make the shameless couple pay the price.

…

Early in the morning, Stephanie smelled the delicious aroma of freshly-cooked food the moment she stepped out of her bedroom. She turned around to see Tyler frying eggs in the kitchen. There was also bacon being fried on the side.

Kiara stood at the kitchen doorway while gazing at him smilingly. "It's been so many years, Ty. In the end, the breakfast that you make is the most appetizing to me."

"Wait for me at the kitchen table."

As Tyler spoke, he turned around to look at Kiara, only to accidentally make eye contact with Stephanie.

"Steph!" He smiled at her gently, just like how he did every morning in the past. "Good morning."

Stephanie's lips merely curled into a self-deprecating smile.

Tyler had never cooked for her over the past three years. Even when she drank too much to the point her stomach hurt during business negotiations on his behalf, he had never served her breakfast. All he did was order someone else to bring food over.

All this time, Stephanie had thought that Tyler wasn't the type who knew how to cook. It turned out that she didn't deserve to be pampered like that.