Married Her, Promised Me

In my fifth year with Luca Greene, his book became a hit.

I thought I'd finally weathered the storm and could enter marriage with him.

But the night before we were supposed to register our marriage, Luca confessed to me.

The prototype for this book is my first love, Zoe.

I didn't want her to suffer with me, so I convinced her to study abroad. Then I felt lonely and chose you as a substitute since you looked eighty percent like her.

My hand froze while ironing a shirt. I looked at Luca in disbelief, my voice trembling. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Luca smiled, acting like nothing was wrong.

"I've treated you well these past years. Zoe is differentshe's suffered so much abroad."

"As compensation and to make up for her regrets, I registered our marriage with her yesterday. But don't worry, I'll definitely marry you in a year."

Luca spoke seriously, but he'd forgottenI have a thing about cleanliness.

In life, and in relationships too.

I couldn't snap out of it for a long time.

I didn't even notice when my arm got burned and the skin peeled off.

Instead, Luca frowned, pulled me to sit on the sofa, and applied medicine to my wound.

His tone was full of concern, as if the conversation we'd just had was an illusion.

"How can you be so careless? You burned yourself just ironing a shirt."

I'd gotten hurt often over these five years.

Luca had done this many times.

Each time, my heart would warm.

But this time, I couldn't help wanting to cry.

I clenched my teeth to keep the tears from falling, but my voice still carried a sob.

"Luca, doesn't it disgust you to spend five years facing a fake?"

Luca's face darkened. "Riley, don't talk about yourself like that."

He was too calm.

I couldn't hold back and threw the medicine box, screaming.

"Isn't it you who made me like this?!"

My chest heaved continuously.

Luca sighed, picked up the scattered medicine from the floor, and spoke softly.

"I know this is hard for you to accept right now, but we've been together for five years. There's no need to deny everything over this little thing."

As he spoke, Luca patted my head.

I felt dazed, as if transported back to the day he confessed to me.

Back then, my mom had been hospitalized with a heart attack.

To make money, I went to work selling drinks at a bar.

Once, by accident, I spilled drinks all over the floor and dirtied a customer's shoes. The people with him started jeering.

"Those shoes cost a million. Is the pretty lady going to pay up, or sleep with our buddy William for a few nights?"

"I recommend the latterbetter deal, haha!"

"Right, William's not bad-looking either."

I backed away in fear.

That's when Luca appeared.

Seeing me, he froze for a moment, then helped me out. "Didn't you say we were celebrating my birthday? Let's go inside. Stop giving the poor girl a hard time."

He was William's childhood friend. Even though he'd broken ties with the Greene family to pursue his writing dream, no one dared say anything.

The group left.

Soon after, someone brought me a Band-Aid.

It was arranged by Luca.

After that, I kept running into Luca at the bar.

He'd keep an eye on where I was, have his friends buy drinks from me.

Even when customers took their frustrations out on me, he'd shield me with his body.

He got a broken rib protecting me. I cried my eyes out.

"Why are you so good to me? How am I supposed to repay you?!"

Luca tucked my tear-soaked hair behind my ear and said with a smile.

"If you don't know how to repay me, how about you give yourself to me?"

I stood there stunned. Luca's expression turned serious.

"Riley, I'm being serious."

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

It would be a lie to say I wasn't moved.

So much so that all these years, I'd thought Luca was heaven's gift to me.

I never imagined it was all a scam from the very beginning.

Tears spilled from the corners of my eyes against my will.

I turned my head away, refusing to look at him, but my voice was exceptionally firm.

"Luca, let's break up."

The moment the words left my mouth, Luca's phone rang.

He glanced at it, his tone casual, as if he didn't care at all.

"I'll just assume you're upset and saying things you don't mean. As long as you behave this year, you'll get everything that's supposed to be yours."

"I'm going to Zoe's welcome back party first. Stay home and think it over."

The instant the door closed, my emotions collapsed. I smashed the only photo of Luca and me together.

My suddenly bright phone screen caught my attention.

It was a link from my best friend.

Luca's book had become popular, and he'd been exposed to the public along with it.

These past few days, she'd sent me plenty of videos related to Luca.

But this time, seeing the text she sent, I froze for a long moment.

\[Your early photos with Luca have been dug up.\]

In truth, Luca had never publicly acknowledged my existence.

Every time I brought it up, Luca would use the excuse that he didn't want his private life to receive too much attention.

So I'd followed Luca for five years without any recognition or status.

Even though I already had a suspicion in my heart, when I clicked the link, my heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle.

In the link was a screenshot from a five-year-old street view map.

The subjects in the image were Luca and "me."

Same height, similar build from behind.

If I hadn't learned the truth about being a substitute today.

I might have thought I'd lost a chunk of my memory.

But Luca would never crouch down to tie my shoelaces.

In the five years we'd been together, Luca and I had done everything couples do.

Everything except him bending down to tie my shoes.

I couldn't count how many times I'd wanted Luca to help me tie them.

But every single time, it ended in vain.

Even when my stomach hurt so badly my face turned pale, Luca remained unmoved by my request to tie my shoes.

What I got was impatience.

"I don't like tying people's shoelaces. Can you stop forcing me?"

I remember that dayI cried like a child.

Later, Luca coaxed me for a long time.

I thought I'd forgotten. I didn't expect that three years later, this memory would still be so clear.

So clear that seeing this scene made my eyes involuntarily sting with tears.

So it wasn't that he didn't like itit was just that the person wasn't me.

I don't know how long I stared at that photo.

Long enough that Luca came in with a "drunk" Zoe Adams, and only then did I snap back to reality.

Seeing I was still awake, Luca paused, then explained.

"Zoe got drunk. She lives alone with no one to take care of her."

I should have cried. I should have made a scene.

But I knew clearly it wouldn't help.

Luca didn't love me.

With that thought, I stepped aside to let Luca pass.

Luca raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Good that you've thought it through. I haven't treated you badly."

"Besides, without me, you can't afford your mom's medical bills at all."

I didn't respond, just let Luca carry Zoe upstairs and completely ignored the provocative look Zoe shot me.

But when I returned to the bedroom and saw the pajamas Zoe was wearing, I lost all reason.

I rushed forward, trying to pull the clothes off her.

The moment I touched Zoe, she screamed, "Ah! You're hurting me!"

The next second, Luca emerged from the bathroom and shoved me away.

The force was too strong. I crashed into the corner of a table.

In my ear was Luca's interrogation. "Riley, have you lost your mind?"

I shakily got up, for once talking back.

"Shouldn't that question be directed at you?"

"You know perfectly well this pajama set was handmade by my mom. She's being kept alive by medical equipment right now. How could you let another woman wear it?!"

Luca's movements froze, as if he'd finally realized.

But he didn't back down. He shielded Zoe behind him and said in a deep voice, "Even so, you shouldn't have gotten physical! Apologize to Zoe!"

My voice choked. "She's the one who did wrong. Why should I apologize?"

Luca laughed coldly.

"Fine. Keep acting tough if you've got the guts. Just don't regret it!"

With that, he turned to look at Zoe, his voice carrying a tenderness he'd never shown me.

"Change back into your own clothes. I'll take you to the hospital."

Zoe nodded, giving me a provocative look before leaving.

I hadn't wanted to cry.

But the contrast was too great. The grievance pressed down on me until I couldn't breathe.

Blood from the wound on my forehead slid down my cheek. My phone lit up with a familiar message.

---\[My promise to repay you still stands. As long as you're willing, I'll marry you.\]

I'd refused countless times before, but I didn't want to wait for Luca anymore.

I'd waited five years for him. How many five-year spans does a person get in one lifetime?

I finally made up my mind to reply.

---\[I'll marry you. Start preparing.\]

But I never imagined Luca's punishment would come so quickly.

The next day when I went downstairs, I was tied to a chair by two bodyguards.

Placed in front of me were countless bottles of alcohol.

My heart tightened as I looked at Luca sitting on the sofa. "What are you doing?"

Luca smiled and pointed at Zoe nearby.

"I told youif you've got the guts, keep acting tough."

The punishment for not apologizing.

Realizing this, my mind exploded with a roar, as if something had detonated inside.

I shook my head frantically. "Luca, you can't do this to me. I can't drink alcohol!"

Hesitation flashed in Luca's eyes.

Zoe saw it.

She looked at Luca with reddened eyes. "If she doesn't want to apologize, forget it. I'm fine."

Luca frowned slightly. "I promised I wouldn't let you suffer any grievances."

With that, Luca looked at me again.

He smiled.

"Didn't you used to sell drinks at a bar? How could you not be able to drink?"

"Since you won't apologize, you'll just have to take your punishment."

My heart went cold.

It seemed Luca had truly forgottenmy stomach was ruined from drinking for him.

Back then, the Greene family sent people to the bar to make things difficult for him.

Knowing he was allergic to alcohol, they still made him drink ten bottles of liquor before he could leave.

I drank bottle after bottle for him.

By the end, I lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital.

When I woke up, Luca was keeping watch beside me.

He held my hand, saying sorry over and over. "The doctor said your stomach can never handle alcohol again. Let's quit this job, okay?"

"From now on, I'll support you and take good care of your stomach."

Luca spoke with such devotion. I was happy he could keep doing what he loved.

Time passed. It had only been four years, and Luca had forgotten.

I suddenly felt sorry for my past self.

The bodyguard's action of forcing alcohol down my throat pulled me back to the present.

I struggled, but no matter how much I resisted, the alcohol still went down my throat.

It made me cough violently.

Luca's hands, hanging at his sides, clenched tight. He reminded me, "As long as you apologize to Zoe, I'm not unwilling to let you off."

I didn't back down. I forced myself to speak.

"What did I do wrong?"

"You're the one who's wrong! You two are wrong!"

Seeing I still wouldn't give in, Luca waved his hand to continue.

The alcohol entered my stomach, bringing a burning pain.

I bit down hard, refusing to make a sound.

But the next second, my phone rang. It was the caregiver calling.

The caregiver never called me without reason. Every time, it was because my mom had been sent into the operating room.

At this thought, panic seized me.

I sobbed and shouted, "Luca, I apologize! I was wrong!"

"I was wrong. I'll never lay a hand on Zoe again. Let me go."

Luca looked somewhat surprised, but he still sneered. "Riley, an apology needs sincerity. I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

The bodyguard perceptively released me.

I couldn't care about anything else. I dropped to my knees and slid toward Zoe.

With a look of surprise on her face, I bowed my head repeatedly.

"Zoe, I was wrong. I shouldn't have laid hands on you."

"I'm begging for your forgiveness. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

I prostrated myself again and again, but Luca never relented.

"I told youas long as you behave, I'll give you whatever you want."

"I'll let it go this time. Be good from now on."

But I couldn't care about Luca. I pushed him away and stumbled outside.

Luca chased after me, his voice panicked. "Riley, where are you going?!"

I didn't respond. I flagged down a car and headed to the hospital.

The whole way, I kept praying.

I reached the operating room just as the doors opened.

The doctor looked at me and shook his head, giving a different result for the first time. "I'm sorry. We did everything we could."

I collapsed to the floor, my mind buzzing.

Luca, who'd chased after me, also heard those words.

His face instantly turned deathly pale.

Realizing what he'd just done, Luca panicked.

He stepped forward, wanting to say something.

A fist suddenly came down.

"Get away from her! Don't touch her!"