Chapter 1
The night she was saved from her third suicide attempt, Helen went to Carter’s house. Her face was pale, and she hoped her mother–in–law, Beatrice Parker, would let her take something of Carter’s as a keepsake. But before she reached the room, she heard low voices from inside.
“Carter, how much longer are you going to hide this? Helen has tried to kill herself three times because of you!”
Helen’s hands clenched tightly.
Carter?
Helen froze in shock when she heard Beatrice call that to Carter’s elder
brother, Caleb Hoffman.
“Let’s wait a bit longer, Mom.” Though the voice belonged to Caleb, it carried the same gentle tone Carter used when comforting her.
“Before Caleb passed, he asked me to look after Freya. But she’s fragile. She wouldn’t survive the shock of losing him. That’s why I had to become him and give her a child. It’s the only thing that can keep her living.”
Helen froze on the spot. She couldn’t process what she had just heard.
It was Caleb who had died, not Carter.
Her husband was still alive, but he pretended to be his brother and stayed next door with Freya Lindsey!
“What about Helen?” Beatrice’s voice was filled with worry,
‘You’re
always with Freya. Have you ever considered how Helen feels?”
“She’s stronger than Freya…”
That sentence pierced through Helen like a blade. She stumbled backward, knocking over a broom by accident.
Silence filled the air.
She turned and fled as if something terrifying were chasing her.
As she ran, a sudden sting shot through her hand. She looked down to find her palm bleeding. The badge she’d clutched too tightly had cut into her skin.
For the past three months, she’d held that badge every night, crying in her sleep more times than she could count. But now, it all seemed like a cruel joke.
Her husband hadn’t died at all.
Carter had lied for Freya’s sake, letting Helen believe he was gone.
They had first met five years ago at a party on the military base.
Carter was a seasoned captain. She was a dancer from the military art troupe.
A lot of people had been interested in them. But that night, he stood among the crowd, his eyes fixed on her with intensity as she finished her performance. Then, he walked straight up to the stage and gently placed his army coat over her shoulders in front of everyone.
He said, “Ms. Spencer, the wind’s strong. Don’t catch a cold.”
I do to Bidwes
She wrapped the coat around herself. blushing deeply.
Not long after, he started chasing after her. Before every mission, he’d go out of his way just to visit her at the troupe.
The day she said yes to dating him, he got drunk, picked her up in his arms, and spun her around in the yard, saying, “Helen, you’re the only one I’ll ever love.”
After they got married, people always said Carter adored her more than anything.
Helen used to believe he loved her more than anything.
But now?
To look after‘ Freya, he pretended to be Caleb, stayed by her side, and even wanted to give her a child.
Meanwhile, Helen wept over him like a fool, nearly died for him, and felt completely hopeless.
Did Carter ever think that she might be hurting as well?
She wandered home, lost in thought, only to see the matchmaker, Diana Lambert, show up once more.
“Helen, Mr. Fletcher will be stationed on the island in two weeks. This is the seventh time he’s asked me to speak to you. He said if you won’t say yes this time, he won’t come back again.”
Elliott was Carter’s comrade.
Ever since Helen had been declared a widow, Elliott had repeatedly asked the matchmaker to propose on his behalf.
She turned him down six times, believing Carter was the only man
she’d ever love.
But this time, she lifted her head and replied calmly. “Alright. I’ll marry him.”
