Chapter 1

At 6:00 pm, Dylan Cloud started preparing all of Violet Padden's favorite dishes for dinner.

At 7:00 pm, he ran the bath and set aside her favorite rose and lavender bath salts.

At 8:00 pm, he placed her indoor slippers at the door.

At 9:00 pm, Violet pushed open the door. Dylan went up to her and took her coat from her arms. Then, he slid her slippers right before her and went to put her coat away in the front wardrobe before asking her if she'd like to shower or have dinner first.

Violet's attention was fully on her phone as she relied casually, "Shower first."

Half an hour later, Violet emerged from the bathroom wrapped in her bathrobe. Dylan immediately handed her a fresh set of pajamas. While waiting for her to change into it, he used the time to quickly warm up the dishes and set them all out on the table.

Violet had long been used to Dylan waiting hand and foot on her like this. She was in a particularly good mood today as she continued staring at her phone, seemingly texting someone.

While setting the table, Dylan happened to glance at Violet's lit-up screen. He immediately saw the name "Archer" in the top left corner of the chat window on her screen.

Dylan shifted his gaze away and turned toward the kitchen. Suddenly, his phone rang in his pocket.

He took out his phone and saw that Violet's mother, Mandy Lamont, was calling him.

Mandy's voice could be heard as soon as he answered the call.

"Dylan, are you really going to divorce Violet?"

Dylan stared out of the window. The Queen of the Night flowers under the streetlamp were in full bloom today.

A long while later, Dylan finally answered in a light voice, "Mrs. Padden, you know very well that I'm only with her because of that contract. But the contract has already ended, and Archer is also divorced and coming back. Violet's been very happy lately. She doesn't need me anymore."

Mandy let out a long sigh. Her voice was full of pity as she said, "It's been hard on you for all these years. I know that you've been through a hard time. Initially, I thought she would eventually fall in love with you after all you've done for her, but…

"Whatever. Since Archer is also coming back, I won't have to worry about her anymore. You sacrificed your dream of studying abroad five years ago for Violet, so if you're still interested in going, I can help you pull some strings."

Dylan stared at the white flowers as the light in his eyes went out for a while.

He had put his life on hold for five years for Violet's sake. It was time for him to move forward now. So, he nodded and said, "I'd be very grateful to you if you could help me with the arrangement. I'd like to leave as soon as possible."

After hanging up, the white Queen of the Night flowers outside happened to fall off just then. It was just like his marriage—it would be ending very soon.

Dylan came from a poor family. Padden Group graciously sponsored his studies so that he could graduate with honors. In fact, he was the sole recipient of an offer for an exchange program in another country.

For that, Dylan had purposely come to the Padden residence to personally thank them before flying off.

Padden Group had sponsored many other scholars too, but Dylan was the first one to thank them in person.

Initially, Mandy had wanted to be perfunctory with him and wave him away. But when she heard what Dylan was here for, she gave him a second look and fell quiet for a long while before speaking up.

"If you really want to repay us, then do me a favor."

It was then that Dylan first learned about Violet and Archer's story from Mandy.

Violet Padden and Archer Niall were both born into wealthy, affluent families. They were both smart and very good-looking. Violet and Archer had been friends since they were in diapers and grew up together.

Everyone could tell that Violet had a crush on Archer, but Archer had told Violet to take things slowly because he wanted a romantic and longer-lasting love. That was why Violet just kept waiting for him.

They had finally graduated from college, and Violet thought it was time she confessed her feelings for Archer. However, Archer suddenly produced a girlfriend out of nowhere and went abroad with her.

Violet was still in a state of disbelief as she rushed to the airport in the middle of the night. However, it was then that she met with an accident. And after she woke up from the operating table, Archer and his girlfriend had already had their shotgun wedding in that foreign country.

After that incident, Violet holed herself up at home and started drinking her sorrows away. She was soon reduced to nothing but a mere shadow of her past brilliant self.

As if on cue, Dylan had showed up just then. So, Mandy decided to use Dylan to help bring Violet out of her depression by making her forget about Archer.

That was how Dylan gave up on furthering his studies abroad to show the Paddens his gratitude. He then signed a five-year contract with Mandy.

Sometime later, at a party, Dylan pretended to meet Violet by chance and was completely smitten by her at first sight. Then, he started pursuing her relentlessly.

From that day onward, everyone in the circle knew that Violet was being pursued by a man who was deeply and irresistibly in love with her.

Violet gradually got used to Dylan's treatment of her. However, she still didn't take the next step.

It wasn't until another night on a yacht when Violet made a bet with a few of her best friends, offering to gift a piece of land in Northana to anyone whose plus one would dive into the sea to find the ring she had lost.

Dylan knew Violet had spent countless sleepless nights trying to acquire that very piece of land. So, while everyone else was getting cold feet at the crashing waves, Dylan jumped into the sea without so much as a thought.

That was the first time Violet ever lost her cool for him. She hugged Dylan tightly after he'd been rescued and pulled back onboard. She sounded shaky and frightened as she said, "Dylan, let's get married. I'll do my best to love you back."

However, it wasn't until long after that incident that Dylan learned Violet only agreed to marry him that night because she saw Archer posting a photo of him kissing his wife under a skyful of auroras on his social media.

Even then, Dylan tried his best to fulfill the terms of the contract by treating Violet even better.

He cooked, cleaned, and did all the house chores. He learned that Violet's childhood dream was to watch a meteor shower, but since her parents had been too busy to bring her out, Dylan spent the next six months finding the best mountaintops to watch the next meteor shower with her.

Dylan had waited all night for her, but Violet never showed up.

Later, he learned that Violet had gone to see Archer that same night.

Archer had been having some trouble with his marriage at that time, and ever since then, Violet would always fly abroad every week to visit him. Each time, she would also prepare all sorts of fun and interesting gifts to make him happy, but she didn't let him know that she sent them.

The night Archer returned to the country, Violet sped off in her car to be the first one to greet him. That was when she got into another crash and fell into a coma for three days.

Dylan stood vigil by her side for all three nights. However, although Violet was unconscious, she still cried out Archer's name at least a million times.

At that moment, Dylan finally realized that he would never be able to fulfill the mission Mandy had given him five years ago.

Coincidentally, his contract was coming to an end, and Archer was already back. Since Violet could finally be with the person she loved the most, just as she always wished, it was now time for Dylan to step out of the picture.

From that day onward, they could finally start their own separate lives anew.

Chapter 2

"Who were you talking to on the phone?"

Seeing that Dylan hadn't returned to the dining room after a long while, Violet looked for him in the kitchen and saw him staring at his phone.

Dylan snapped back to the present and answered calmly, "No one."

It was dark and quiet at night. Dylan listened to Violet's faint breathing next to him as he stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep all night.

The following day, at breakfast, Violet frowned at the steak sandwiches on the table.

"You know that I hate steak sandwiches. Why did you make them today?"

Dylan looked down and took a bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly.

"These were the only things left in the fridge."

That wasn't the truth. However, he was preparing for when he would be living abroad. He wanted to try to get used to the cuisines there beforehand.

Luckily, Violet didn't seem to pay much heed to him. She placed her phone on the table and kept glancing over every few seconds as if she were waiting for someone's messages.

Dylan didn't even have to ask to know whose messages she was waiting for.

Suddenly, Violet's phone started buzzing, and she immediately snatched it up.

Archer must have sent her something funny. She looked thoroughly amused as a slight smile decorated her usually cold and aloof expression.

Dylan watched her quietly for half a minute. Then, he brought out the divorce agreement he'd prepared way beforehand.

He had been waiting for this moment from the second he signed the five-year contract with Mandy. He was well-prepared for this. Finally, he would regain his freedom.

"Violet, let's get a divorce."

Dylan said it ever so calmly, as if he were just talking about the weather.

Meanwhile, Violet was so engrossed in her conversation with Archer that she didn't seem to have heard what Dylan said. She just answered with a perfunctory hum.

Dylan wasn't surprised. Violet had been treating him like this for the past five years. Even though she was physically there, she treated him as invisible most of the time.

Now that Archer was back, even the last ounce of attention Violet used to give Dylan was also retracted.

Dylan flipped to the last page of the agreement and handed the papers to her, along with a pen. He pointed at the signature line and said, "Please sign your name here."

"Okay."

Violet was so busy chatting that she didn't even look at the papers before signing her initials on the signature line. She was still typing away with her other hand on the phone.

Dylan then kept the papers away and said, "Violet, I'll be leaving at the end of the one-month cooling-off period."

Violet still answered him with a nonchalant hum. She then set down her knife and fork and got up to leave.

Dylan looked at her disappearing back and called out to her, finally unable to hold it back anymore.

"Violet Padden, did you hear anything I just said?"

Violet paused in her steps and turned around to look at Dylan with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Weren't you telling me about the resources we'd be sending over to the orphanage? Isn't the contract I just signed for that? You've already told me about this a few days ago. What's wrong?"

Dylan laughed self-deprecatingly in silence. He had let her sign that orphanage resources contract last month.

Just as he expected, Violet never cared about him or paid attention to anything he said. However, none of that was important anymore.

So he was just going to let it be.

That was all. Violet would be much happier with Archer in the future.

So, Dylan just smiled and said, "It's nothing."

…

That afternoon, Dylan drove a truck of resources over to Sunnyside Orphanage. After he was done delivering the things, he purposely made his way to the orphanage director's office to bid goodbye to her.

"Ms. Williamson, I'm furthering my studies abroad."

Becky Williamson was overjoyed when she heard this from him. Dylan had always been gifted in art, and Becky had thought it was a huge pity that Dylan had given up on continuing his studies back then.

"That's really good to hear, Dylan!"

Becky held both Dylan's hands happily. She then thought about something and frowned. "But if you're leaving for your studies in another country, you will be separated from Violet. Long-distance relationships are particularly hard to maintain too."

Dylan stared off into the distance where a few kids were happily chasing each other on the field. Then, he shook his head.

"We won't be in a long-distance relationship. We're both divorced."

Becky was stunned at first. Then, she let out a long sigh.

"Just as I thought. I hadn't been wrong then. I thought back then that your marriage wouldn't last very long. If she really loved you, why would she have never accompanied you every time you came here to visit? I guess it's for the better that you're both divorced now."

Becky then patted Dylan on the back, comforting him softly. Dylan smiled and hugged Becky in return.

She was right. It was good for them both that they were divorced now.

Chapter 3

After coming back from the orphanage, Dylan came home and went upstairs into the walk-in wardrobe to pack his things. It was also only then that he realized he owned far fewer clothing items than he'd expected.

He only had the few sets of clothing Mandy had gifted him during their wedding. Violet, his wife of five years, had never even thought of buying any articles of clothing for him.

After packing up, Dylan then gathered up everything he had given to Violet over the past few years and packed them away to be sent to the recycling center.

For the past few years, Dylan had prepared many birthday presents for Violet just to try and make her happy. However, Violet never even looked at them once. These presents were now just collecting a thick layer of dust in the corner.

Dylan watched as the recycling truck left with the things. Just as he was about to return to the villa, he heard a loud honk behind him.

He turned around and saw that a Maybach had just parked right in front of him.

A woman in a bright red dress got out of the car. It was Valerie Padden, Violet's younger sister.

Valerie looked at the recycling truck in the distance and scoffed before giving Dylan the once-over.

"Just as expected from a guy from a poor background. I can't believe that you're selling off cardboard for cash."

Dylan didn't spare her a glance, turning instead to leave.

The smug smile on Valerie's face vanished instantly. She reached out to grab Dylan and yelled, "Dylan Cloud!"

Ever since Dylan married into the Padden household, he had always been trying to please everyone else. He had never shown such an attitude to anyone before.

So now that he was showing Valerie some attitude, she felt her anger surging at once.

"Are you fucking deaf? I'm talking to you! Didn't you hear what I said?"

Dylan just glanced backward slightly and tugged his arm away with an annoyed and frustrated look in his eyes.

Valerie had always hated him. She thought that they were too good for Dylan and he didn't deserve to be married into her family. That was why she had consistently made things hell for Dylan throughout the past five years. She would either throw out the breakfasts he made or purposely step on the clothes he'd washed.

Now that Dylan was finally going to be free, he no longer needed to lower himself to try and please them anymore.

At first, Valerie wanted to continue screaming at Dylan. However, she seemed to have thought of something and looked at him with a mocking smile.

"People like you should sell more cardboard. I bet you didn't know that Vi's first love is back. You're nothing but a leech, and you're finally going to get kicked out very soon!"

Just as she was done speaking, a man in a white shirt got down from the car behind her.

This was the first time Dylan ever saw Archer.

Archer had bright and lively eyes, and his jet-black hair was messily styled toward the back. He also had flawless skin, which, paired with the plain white button-up shirt he wore without any other accessories, made him seem like an ethereal being.

The last five years of his own tumultuous marriage didn't seem to have left its mark on him. It was no wonder that Violet kept thinking about him for years.

When Archer heard what Valerie said, he came over and held her hand, softly saying, "Val, don't say such a thing about Mr. Cloud. He's still your brother-in-law."

"What brother-in-law? Haven't I been telling you, Archer? You're the only one my sister has always liked and wanted. She kept visiting you abroad every week! She was also the one who bought you all those presents. Do you still not understand what she feels about you?"

After that, Valerie turned to Dylan and ordered him around. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and take Archer's suitcases into the villa. Vi has already agreed to let him stay here!"

Dylan just glanced at the suitcases and ignored them, walking back into the house.

Valerie was so mad that she stomped her feet angrily on the ground.

In the end, it was the driver who brought those bags in for Archer.

Valerie was just about to start yelling at Dylan when Violet hurried in from outside. When she saw Archer sitting on the couch, she sighed a sigh of relief. Then, she turned to Dylan, sitting on the other end, and said, "Archer's house hasn't been lived in for years and needs to be renovated. He'll be staying with us for the next few days."

Dylan said nothing.

It was silent. Archer then awkwardly got up from the couch with a guilty expression on his face, looking sorry and insecure. "I think I'll just go, Violet. This is your marital home after all. Mr. Cloud doesn't seem happy about it…"

Violet immediately reached out to stop him from leaving. "You don't need to go. Dylan has always been very generous. He won't get mad at you for such a little thing."

Dylan watched everything quietly. Finally, his lips curled upward with the ghost of a smile as he said, "It's true. I won't get mad at anyone over such a little thing. I hope you enjoy your stay here, Mr. Niall."

After all, this home would eventually belong to Archer very soon.

Chapter 4

As if worried that Archer was still going to leave, Violet immediately got the maids to move Archer's suitcases into the largest guest bedroom they had.

Valerie turned around gleefully and gave Dylan a haughty look. "It's late. Why are you still idling here? Go and make dinner now! Also, Archer can't eat spicy food, so make sure none of your dishes are spicy."

Although the Padden household employed many maids and servants, Dylan was still the only one tasked with cooking for everyone.

That was because Violet was an extremely picky eater and was very hard to please, refusing food even from famous chefs abroad. However, she seemed to find Dylan's food somewhat palatable.

Yet, however much time and energy Dylan spent on cooking for her, Violet would still only eat a few mouthfuls of the food he made. Sometimes, Valerie would eat his food, but not without critiquing it every single time.

Now, Dylan shook his head and said two words that shocked everyone.

"I can't."

Violet subconsciously turned to look at Dylan when she heard his rejection. From what she could remember, Dylan had never dared to disobey anything they said in this household. This was the first time he rejected her.

Just as Violet opened her mouth to ask, Archer's eyes suddenly turned red.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have stayed with you. I'm just an outsider after all. Mr. Cloud has no obligation to cook for me."

With that, Archer turned to head for the stairs, intending to get his suitcases to leave, but Violet stopped him.

"It's got nothing to do with you."

Then, she turned to look at Dylan and said in a low voice, "Didn't you say that you weren't angry? What is the meaning of this?"

Dylan just lifted his fingers, showing two band-aids wrapped around his second and third fingers.

"I hurt myself and can't get them wet for a while."

Actually, Dylan wasn't hurt at all. It was just that he didn't want to continue wasting more of his time and effort on Violet now that his contract was over. So, he purposely wrapped his fingers with the band-aids as an excuse not to cook anymore.

The atmosphere went tense immediately.

Dylan had always been in charge of household chores ever since he moved in, so the household servants and maids would always leave at the end of the day. As of now, the only person left in the whole villa who knew how to cook was Dylan.

Nobody else even knew how to crack an egg.

It would be too late for them to get the servants back and cook for them. Valerie frowned unhappily and grumbled, "Why didn't you say so earlier? Were you trying to starve us on purpose?"

Valerie was about to jump at Dylan when Archer held her back.

"Val, don't be like this."

Archer then looked at Violet next to him and said, "Vi, after being abroad for so long, I'm craving that pizza place we used to always go to back when we were still in high school. I remember that we always ate there after classes. Should we just have some pizza tonight?"

Of course, Violet would never reject Archer's suggestion. She answered gently, "Alright. I'll take you there."

They then left for the pizzeria, bringing Dylan along with them.

Violet chatted happily with both Valerie and Archer in the backseat while she drove there. They eventually got to the topic of their high school, and Archer seemed excited to reminisce with her. Valerie also joined in the chat every now and then.

When they brought up something funny, all three of them would laugh heartily about it.

Halfway though laughing, Archer suddenly seemed to recall something; he looked over at Dylan in the front passenger seat, smiling.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cloud. It's not that we want to ignore you on purpose, but you're just not part of our past from back then."

It wasn't just their past that Dylan wasn't a part of—he wasn't going to be a part of their future either very soon.

Dylan just hummed in response and closed his eyes.

Violet rarely ever glanced at him, but she did this time. She somehow thought that there was something about Dylan that had changed.

After parking the car, Dylan excused himself to go to the restroom.

He splashed some cold water onto his face and looked at himself in the mirror.

He had good looks and flawless skin too, but he looked tired and worn out.

Both he and Archer had each been married for five years. However, while Archer still looked young and energetic, Dylan looked old and tired.

Still, he only had to hold out for a bit longer before he was finally free. That was what Dylan kept telling himself.

When he finally got back to the table, the other three had already placed their orders.

"We'll have the five-cheese pizza and the marinara pizza. Since Archer doesn't eat meat, we'll add extra mushrooms and basil, but skip the onion," Violet said, giving her order to the waiter.

Although it had been many years ago, Violet could still remember everything Archer liked.

"Anything you don't eat, Dylan?"

This was the first time Violet had ever asked for his food preferences in their five years of marriage. Dylan sat on the other end of the table and grabbed a napkin to clean the utensils.

"I'm fine with anything except seafood."

When the pizzas were out, Violet kept making sure that Archer's plate was full. She barely ate anything herself as she continued offering Archer the sides and drinks.

Halfway through their meal, the table next to theirs happened to start a brawl. Two of the people even started to fight each other physically.

The other patrons in the restaurant came over, wanting to break up the fight.

However, one of them had a terrible temper and suddenly grabbed the huge bowl of piping hot cream of mushroom soup on the table and flung it at the other person, who managed to duck.

Unfortunately, the hot soup was headed straight for Violet's table.

Screams rang out. Violet subconsciously shielded Archer next to her with her body.

Meanwhile, Dylan wasn't able to duck in time. He stared in horror as the bowl of hot soup flew straight toward him.

Chapter 5

"Ow!"

In a split second, Dylan's body was covered entirely in the piping hot soup. His flawless skin immediately turned a bright red color as blisters began to appear. The burning sensation felt like needles all over his body. It hurt so much that he could barely breathe.

"Dylan!"

Violet hurriedly let go of Archer and looked panicked for the first time. "Does it hurt? I'll bring you to the hospital at once!"

Dylan looked up at her, pain paralyzing him all over, still unable to say anything despite his best efforts to make a sound.

"Oh, my God! Archer! You're terribly hurt!"

As soon as Violet heard that, her attention was drawn back to Archer at once. She looked even more panicked and flustered as she rushed back to Archer.

A few drops of the soup had splashed onto Archer's arm, giving him a few red spots on his otherwise flawless skin.

Archer withdrew his arm and shook his head with reddening eyes.

"I'm fine," he said. "Mr. Cloud looks more seriously injured than me. Send him to the hospital first."

"What do you mean you're fine? You've been so careful of your skin since you were young because you'd hurt for days even if you had a scratch on your body! Vi! What are you still waiting for? An invitation? Send Archer to the hospital at once!"

Valerie stomped her feet anxiously. She even waved her finger at the people at the next table and yelled, "You're all idiots! Why didn't you just go out and fight instead? You hurt Archer, so Violet will never forgive you!"

At this point, Archer couldn't stand the pain anymore and started moaning in pain. However, he still put on a brave front and insisted, "It's fine, Vi, just take a look at Mr. Cloud first. He's much more seriously injured than me."

Saying this only served to make Violet's heart ache even more. She couldn't care less about Dylan and the mess on him anymore. Instead, she bent down, grabbed hold of Archer, and hurriedly led him out of the restaurant.

Just before she left, she seemed to have thought of something and turned back to look at Dylan with a guilty look.

"Archer has had sensitive skin since young and can't withstand pain. It's not far from the hospital anyway, so just take a cab there yourself."

It wasn't until Violet, Archer, and Valerie all disappeared that Dylan finally was able to come back to his senses. He bore with the excruciating pain as he gasped loudly.

The waiters felt sorry seeing him getting abandoned despite being the most badly hurt one out of the four. They then helped to clean Dylan up and quickly did their best to clean up the wounds on his skin.

After taking some painkillers, Dylan finally felt the pain becoming slightly more bearable. At the very least, he could finally talk now. He borrowed a set of clean clothes from the waiter and carefully stumbled out of the pizzeria, heading toward the hospital.

…

The emergency doctor used two cotton swabs to pop the blisters on Dylan's skin. He also told Dylan to apply some ointment to the blisters daily so that they wouldn't scar.

Dylan was in so much pain that he just kept his eyes screwed shut the entire time. At that time, two nurses walked past him.

"Gosh, do you know how good Ms. Padden is to Mr. Niall? He just got burned by a few drops of soup, and she went ahead and booked out the entire floor of the hospital. She even got all the dermatologists here to look at him!"

"Exactly! It was just a few spots, though. If they arrived any later, he would already have completely healed by himself. Ah, if only I had someone who cared about me as much!"

"Haha! Keep dreaming. You won't meet another woman like her in a million years."

A million years?

Dylan couldn't help chuckling.

Violet was someone who would abandon her gravely injured husband to take care of someone else's minute injury. Indeed, she was someone he wouldn't have met in another million years.

After Dylan was all bandaged up, he thanked the doctor and got up to leave.

Just as he walked toward the hospital exit, he received a text message on his phone.

Tapping on it, Dylan saw that it was a message from the overseas college he'd applied to. The message told him that he had been accepted and reminded him to have his art portfolio ready during admission.

…

The last time Dylan held a paintbrush in his hand had been five years ago.

After buying the materials he needed, Dylan didn't go home. Instead, he headed over to Moonlight Hill.

The scenery at Moonlight Hill was beautiful. It had a pond in the middle of a valley surrounded by lush green hills. The pond was very still and quiet, reflecting the surreal scenery like a mirror, looking like a beautiful picture in itself.

It put anyone who looked at it in a very good mood.

Dylan sighed lengthily. The five years of suppression he'd experienced seemed to vanish into thin air when he was here. He just felt a sense of freedom, something he hadn't felt in a long time.

He suddenly got inspired and immediately started to draw. In the blink of an eye, the beautiful scenery before him was captured impeccably on his canvas.

There were no bustling sounds, no dust or smoke around him—only the sound of birds in the trees and a light breeze enveloping him in its embrace.

Dylan spent the next three days completely lost in this beautiful scenery.

It wasn't until he finally got down from the hills to send his work to the college that he finally turned his phone back on.

As soon as the phone came to life, countless numbers of missed calls and messages jumped out at him. They had all come from Violet.

Such a thing had never happened before.

In the past, he would be the only one calling Violet or sending her text messages. Violet would never call him. She wouldn't even call him back after seeing missed calls from him.

However, just as Dylan was staring blankly at the missed call logs, Valerie suddenly called him. As soon as he answered the call, Valerie's shrill voice could be heard immediately.

"Dylan fucking Cloud! Where the hell have you been? Don't you know that Vi nearly went crazy trying to find you? Don't think that using such a dirty tactic will make her pay more attention to you! Keep dreaming, you pathetic loser! The only person Vi should ever marry is Archer and Archer only!"

After she was done screaming at Dylan, Valerie hung up at once.

Dylan frowned. Had he heard her incorrectly? Had Violet really been looking for him? What for?

He wanted to ask Valerie what she meant and if she had been mistaken. However, the 108 missed calls from Violet seemed to prove that she had indeed been frantically trying to reach him.