Chapter 1 Your Rival, Rhodes, Is Still Alive

• The day before our third wedding anniversary, my husband, Rhodes Calloway, disappeared in a private jet crash.
• The jet plunged off a cliff. And, despite the Calloway family and the rescue team searching for hours, they still couldn’t find his body, only the charred fragments of the suitcase he had taken with him, bearing his name.
• When Blaise Calloway, Rhodes’s identical twin brother, came to deliver the tragic news, I was almost rendered numb in the middle of the living room, the blood in my veins seeming to freeze.
• Tears streamed endlessly down my face. And, fearing that I might do something reckless after losing my husband, Blaise kindly insisted that I move in with him and his pregnant fiancée, Faye Vale.
• Grateful to Blaise, I devoted myself to taking care of the household and looking after Faye throughout her pregnancy, tending to her with even greater dedication than a maid.
• Until one night, as I passed by their bedroom, I heard Faye’s soft giggle from inside.
• “Rhodes, you really are a genius..."
• Hearing that familiar name, my footsteps came to an abrupt halt, and my heart clenched painfully. Curious, I peered through the half-closed door, only to see Faye leaning forward and passionately kissing Blaise.
• Blaise kissed her back with equal fervor, the intimate scene so heated that it was almost painful for me to look at. Seeing my husband’s identical face kissing another woman, I couldn’t stop myself from clenching my hands tightly in anguish.
• Faye said nothing more, as though the voice I had just heard had merely been my imagination.
• But just as I was about to leave, I heard that sweet voice again.
• “Maelle would never have imagined, even if she died, that you would pretend to be your own twin brother just to manipulate her like a fool.”
• My entire body trembled as I stared blankly into the room. Faye was still clinging intimately to Blaise, letting out soft moans of satisfaction.
• Blaise lowered his head to kiss her neck, a cold scoff escaping his hoarse voice.
• “If I don’t tell her, and you don’t tell her, how would Maelle ever find out?”
• With a mocking laugh, Blaise added.
• “Besides, if we didn’t deceive her like this, how could we openly be together while having such a devoted free maid at our disposal?”
• Blaise’s voice echoed through my mind, each word like a sharp blade repeatedly carving into my heart.
• “Besides, you’re already five months pregnant. I also want to give you and our baby a complete family.”
• Ah.
• I could no longer call him Blaise.
• He was Rhodes, my husband.
• I bit down hard on my lip to keep myself from sobbing, but tears still streamed relentlessly down my face.
• So it turned out that the pain that had once left me utterly numb was nothing more than a joke in their eyes.
• So it turned out that, all this time, the twin brother of my husband, whom I had wholeheartedly cared for, along with the future sister-in-law I had devoted myself to, had actually been my husband and his mistress all along.
• It was ridiculous, and painfully ironic.
• I didn’t know how much time had passed. I simply stood outside the door in a daze, like a soulless corpse, listening to the sickeningly intimate sounds coming from Rhodes and Faye.
• Finally, I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.
• Rhodes’s funeral had already been held, and legally, he was completely dead. So whether he was truly dead or still alive, my three-year marriage to him was already over.
• He had cheated on me. I had no reason to keep clinging to him anymore.
• I had to leave this place.
• But before I left, I needed to give them a gift in return for the nausea of deception they had put me through all this time.
• Biting my lip, I returned to my room and searched through my contacts for the one person Rhodes hated most in this world.
• Stellan Mercer, his greatest enemy.
• The moment he answered, his deep voice came through the phone.
• “Maelle?”
• I tightened my grip around my phone and wiped away the last tear from my face.
• “Stellan, your rival, Rhodes, is still alive.”
• Before he could respond, I added,
• “However, I have something that can completely destroy Rhodes and bring Calloway Corporation to its knees. Do you want to work with me?"