My love, My Unfamiliar Husband

It was raining outside.

I called Evander several times, but he didn’t answer.

Just as I was about to send a text, he called me back.

I pressed the answer button, but before I could speak, a woman’s voice came from the other end.

“E, I said the wrong thing today. I shouldn’t have responded to the reporters. I’m sorry.”

I paused. It was Vivian.

Before I could process it, Evander’s voice came through, laced with a deep, fond affection.

“Vivian, you don’t have to apologize. You’ve been wronged all these years. You know, you’re the one I’ve always loved.”

I stared at my phone in shock.

Then the line went silent, followed by a series of unsettling, suppressed, and ragged breaths.

In the past two years, I had witnessed scenes like this countless times.

It was Evander who had proposed the marriage as a business alliance in the first place.

Two years ago, my family’s company was betrayed from within. Our funding was abruptly cut, and panic ripped through the firm.

It was the Calloway family who extended a helping hand, assisting the Donovan Group through the crisis.

Everyone thought it was just mutual support between families.

Only I knew it was nothing more than a transaction.

The day before the Calloway family offered their help, he came to find me.

“You like me?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. I did like him, and all our friends knew it. It was only Vivian’s appearance that turned this open affection into a secret.

He stood before me, looking directly into my eyes, his expression no longer the one from our childhood, his tone as if coated in ice.

“Marry me,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

I lowered my head, saying nothing. I knew he hadn't finished.

“I can help the Donovan family through this, but I need a wife to satisfy the clause in the family trust that requires me to be married to fully inherit.”

“I can give you anything but love.”

I curved my lips into a faint, bitter smile.

He was marrying me not for love, but out of necessity.

When Evander had returned to the country with Vivian, his mother had vehemently opposed their relationship.

Even when Evander bowed his head and pleaded, his mother remained unmoved.

I heard from his friends abroad that he and Vivian Garrett had met in a gallery in Europe.

They hit it off immediately, becoming inseparable friends, especially being so far from home.

After an accident where Vivian was injured while saving Evander, she was hospitalized.

During her hospital stay, Evander took meticulous care of her.

From then on, their relationship grew closer, far beyond the boundaries of friendship.

The night Evander returned to the country, everyone gathered for a welcome-back party.

The moment I saw Vivian, everyone in the room turned to look at me.

I later found out that Evander had told everyone about him and Vivian, everyone except me.

I agreed to Evander’s proposal because, in the world of business, true friends who offer help in a time of need are few and far between. Without the Calloway Group's help, my family’s company might have actually gone bankrupt.

Besides the marriage certificate, Evander and I signed another agreement.

“No interference in each other’s private lives.” So, in the two years I was married to Evander, I never asked about his personal affairs. I never knew when he was on a business trip, where he was going, or who he was with. I had no right to know.

But in front of our elders, he was never improper. He always took care of me, never letting our parents worry.

In this respect, we cooperated flawlessly.

We continued to play the part of a loving couple in public.