Chapter 1
Looking at the NDA in my hand, I signed my name without hesitation. “Professor, I am willing to join the Rocket Development Program.” The Professor looked at me with some regret. “You should know this task is top secret. Once you join, you will have to remain anonymous for ten years. No one will be able to find you.”
“Aren’t you getting married? At least discuss it with your partner.” Thinking of Asher’s cold and resolute face, I smiled bitterly and shook my head. “No need.”
The Professor was silent for a moment, then spoke, “Alright, go get ready. We leave in seven days.” It was raining as I left the Professor’s office, and I walked home in the rain. Unsurprisingly, Asher still hadn’t come back.
Daphne had taken away Buddy, the dog I had raised since childhood. When I tried to reason with Asher, he blamed me instead, and then he didn’t come home for three days. I took off the ring on my hand and threw it into the drawer. It was a ring Asher made for me by hand, symbolizing our lifelong love, meant never to be removed, even in death.
I naively thought we would grow old together. But everything changed when Daphne returned from abroad. Asher no longer remembered my birthday or cared about my feelings. I became the most invisible person in the house.
I was about to take off my soaked clothes when the door sounded. Opening it, I saw Daphne with a spiteful look, disdainfully kicking something at her feet. “This beast wouldn’t listen and got hit by a car.”
I looked in disbelief at Buddy’s small body lying there, his fur soaked with mud and blood. My heart twisted painfully, and my eyes instantly filled with tears. Seeing this, Daphne’s sneer deepened, shrugging indifferently. “It’s just a dog. Do you have to cry like your mother died?”
I couldn’t hold back anymore and pushed Daphne hard. She screamed and fell into Asher’s arms, who had rushed over when he heard the noise. Instantly, she was in tears, “Asher, the dog ran out and got hit by a car on its own. Why blame me?”
Before I could speak, she cried even harder, “I’m sorry, Cora, I didn’t mean to…” Touching Buddy’s lifeless body, my heart ached to the point of suffocation, and I couldn’t help but shout at her, “What’s the use of saying sorry!”
She immediately acted as if she had been greatly wronged. “Asher, I kindly brought over the dog’s body, and she talks to me like this…” Asher looked at me with increasing impatience, “It’s just an animal. It’s dead, so what? My grandma left you so much money, don’t you know how many dogs you can buy with it?”
With someone defending her, Daphne cried even harder, soaking a large patch of Asher’s chest with her tears. Perhaps thinking it wasn’t enough, he continued, “Cora, when did you become so petty and unreasonable?”
Animal? I looked at him, almost unable to breathe from the pain. He knew how important Buddy was to me. It was the only gift my mother left me before she died. He had once promised at my mother’s bedside to take care of me and Buddy. But now, for Daphne, he called Buddy an animal.
It turns out Asher’s heart had strayed too far. I was also tired and didn’t want to fight anymore. Thinking of my decision to leave, I felt relieved. Asher gently patted Daphne’s back and glared at me, “Are you satisfied now?” Then, he gently patted Daphne’s head, affectionately saying, “It’s raining outside. Shall I take you home?”
Daphne snuggled into his arms, giving me a challenging smile from an angle he couldn’t see. Watching his hurried steps, I gave a bitter smile. The Asher who once claimed to have fallen in love with me at first sight and pursued me passionately never truly loved me. I was just a distraction in his loneliness, and Daphne was his true love. Now the rightful owner was back, and I, the substitute, should step down.
But it didn’t matter anymore. I hid the ring and the unsigned prenuptial agreement in the drawer. Asher would never know that the agreement his grandmother forced him to sign, granting me half of his assets, was never notarized, nor did I sign it.