Chapter 99.2

Chapter 99.2

André’s hand pressed against his forehead as he let out another sigh, then he finally lifted his gaze.

“You’re misunderstanding. Lorraine Cabot is—”

“I know. She’s your classmate you ran into at Limelight.”

Truthfully, she didn’t even want to know the woman’s name.

Miran cut him off and lifted her gaze.

“I actually saw you two weeks ago too. You and her, walking arm in arm at MoMA.”

André’s eyes flickered, but he quickly composed himself, loosening his tie with his fingers.

“I’ll explain. It’s a little early, but I was going to tell you once the contract was finalized anyway.”

Miran stared at him blankly. André went on, his tone dry, as if delivering facts.

“To cut to the chase, on September 2nd, I’m marrying Lorraine Cabot.”

Her face froze in an instant. Her heartbeat slowed until her fingertips felt cold and numb.

This was beyond anything she had imagined.

It had been nearly a year since they first met. They’d been apart for long stretches, but for the past three months they had lived together, sleeping in the same bed almost every night.

All this time… he’d been preparing to marry someone else.

Her mind couldn’t wrap around it. André’s voice droned on beside her, but her ears rang as though she were underwater, and his words barely reached her.

That enormous diamond ring on her finger… it was an engagement ring.

It was shocking, yet part of her had always braced for something like this. She’d thought before that while André might date someone like her, he would surely marry within his own rank and class. She just hadn’t expected the brutal truth to come crashing down so soon.

And then it struck her. All this time, she had believed Lorraine was the intruder in their relationship. But looking at it now, she was the one who had intruded between an engaged couple.

André had never once spoken of a future with her. He had never once, of his own will, said he loved her. He had only ever explained a Latin phrase, and she had been the fool to mistake it for a confession.

Her body still drew breath, yet her blood ran cold, as though her heart had stopped.

What could André have told her about me? That poor woman must have been even more shocked. Her fiancé had another woman.

Just as he had introduced Lorraine as nothing more than an old classmate, he must have said she was insignificant.

Miran felt shaken, but she forced her shoulders back and stretched her lips into a smile for him.

She already felt like trash, crushed and trampled underfoot. She didn’t want to make herself even more pathetic by clinging.

“Congratulations.”

André’s face twisted sharply, his brows shooting up.

“Congratulations…? Are you serious?”

“Then what is it you want me to say to you?”

“Miran, did you not hear what I just explained?”

She stared at him blankly.

“Sorry. My mind wandered. If it wasn’t important, could we stop here? I’m tired.”

For the first time, André’s composure faltered. His gaze wavered, as if genuinely thrown off.

“You really didn’t hear me?”

“No. If it wasn’t important—”

“It is important! Please, just listen!”

For the first time, André raised his voice at her. Miran flinched, her shoulders trembling, and he squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again. His voice, when he spoke, carried a desperate weight.

“Miran. Let me go over it slowly again. The company isn’t in good shape right now. At that meeting I told you about, I need help from the Collins family—Lorraine’s parents. Lorraine, on her side, needs a sham marriage to solve some personal financial issues with her trust fund. It’s a three-month contract marriage. We’ve already drafted a prenuptial agreement. By early December, we’ll be divorced. Do you understand that much?”

André’s tone gentled. Miran, eyes wide and lips parted in shock, gave a small nod.

“Nothing changes between us. Lorraine and I will only be husband and wife on paper, for three months. You’ll still stay here, with me, just as you are—”

“That… in Korea, that’s a crime.”

The words burst out of her.

“What?”

“In Korea, that could land you in prison for adultery.”

He frowned.

“What kind of… That doesn’t apply here. My parents both had lovers outside their marriage. Lorraine’s parents too. Plenty of people have them, but no one goes to prison for it. Not here. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I see… Then does that make me André’s mistress?”