Chapter 1
In the third year of Leanna Dalton and Brenton Anderson’s marriage, Brenton died in a car accident.
His twin brother, Dylan Anderson, told Leanna in a hoarse voice, “Brenton… he’s not coming back.”
She fainted immediately.
When she arrived, she went into a frenzy trying to find him, only to be held back tightly by her mother–in–law.
Later, she took sleeping pills and attempted to suicide three times, each. time being saved.
Everyone said, “Their relationship was truly remarkable…”
Indeed, it was.
So remarkable that only three months after his “death,” she discovered
-Brenton wasn’t the one who died..
*****
On the night Leanna was rescued from her third suicide attempt, she arrived at her husband’s family home with a pale face. She intended to ask her mother–in–law, Ivy Cade, for some of Brenton’s belongings to ease her grief. But as she approached, she overheard low voices. coming from the inner room.
“Brenton, how long are you going to keep hiding this? Leanna has attempted suicide three times because of you!”
Chapter 1
Her fingers clenched into her palm.
Brenton?
Why was Ivy calling Dylan, Brenton’s older brother, by that name?
“Mom, just wait a bit longer,” Dylan replied. It was unmistakably hist voice, but the tone was similar to Brenton’s when he used to comfort
her.
“Before Dylan passed away, he asked me to take care of Crystal. She’s fragile and weak. If she learned of his death, she wouldn’t be able to survive. So I had no choice but to assume his identity… to give her a child. With a child to hold onto, she might have the strength to go on.”
Leanna felt as though her blood had turned cold, unable to believe what she had just heard.
It was Dylan who had passed away, not Brenton.
“Her husband was still alive. But he had taken on his brother’s name. and identity, and was sleeping in the next room-
with Crystal.”
“What about Leanna?” Ivy pressed with urgency. “You stay in Crystal’s room every night. Haven’t you thought about Leanna’s feelings?”
“She’s stronger than Crystal…”
Those words cut into Leanna like a knife. She stumbled backward, accidentally knocking a painting off the wall, and plunging the room into silence.
But she turned and fled as if pursued by wild beasts.
CEL 50
Chapter 1
For three months, she had awoken from her dreams in tears countless times. Now, it all felt like a cruel joke.
Her husband wasn’t dead.
He’d let her think he was–for Crystal’s sake.
Five years ago, she first encountered Brenton at a social gathering.
He was the hockey team’s captain, and she was a cheerleader.
But that night, he stood by the stage and watched her intently as she danced. When she finished, he strode up onto the stage in front of everyone, draped his coat over her shoulders, and said, “It’s chilly. Don’t catch a cold.”
She wore his coat and blushed with shyness.
After that, he started pursuing her. He’d go out of his way just to see
her.
When she finally agreed to be his girlfriend, he celebrated by getting completely drunk. He lifted her up and spun her around in the yard, saying, “Leanna, for my entire life, I, Brènton Anderson, will recognize only you as my one and only.”
After their marriage, everyone said that he was utterly devoted to his wife.
And she believed it. She truly believed he loved her more than life itself.
But now?
To “take care of” Crystal, he had taken on his older brother’s identity, shared a bed with her, and was even planning to have a child with her.
Chapter 1
Meanwhile, she’d been weeping like a fool, willing to die for him, living each day in unbearable pain.
Did he ever think that she might feel pain too?
When she returned home in a daze, Sadie visited again.
“Leanna, Ethan will be transferred to Hawaii in two weeks. This is the seventh time he’s sent me to ask… He said if you still refuse, he won’t come back. Ever.”
Ethan Madren was Brenton’s comrade from the army.
Since the day she was labeled a “widow,” he had repeatedly proposed
to her.
She had turned him down six times before, believing that she would only ever love Brenton.
But then…
She glanced up and said calmly, “Alright, I’ll marry him.”
Sadie was stunned. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” she replied with a smile. “Please tell Ethan that in two weeks, I’ll marry him and go to Hawaii with him.”
Suddenly, the door curtain was pulled aside, and Brenton appeared with a stern expression. “Leanna, who are you planning to marry?”
She looked at him. For a moment, the situation felt laughable.
“Dylan,” she said softly, “This is my choice.”
Although he was speaking to Sadie, he seized Leanna’s wrist with such
Chapter 1
force it hurt. “I’ll look after Leanna. She doesn’t need to remarry.
Besides, she loves Brenton too much to ever do that. Sadie, don’t come. here again, or I’ll have to show you the way out!”
Sadie was shocked, “But Leanna has already agreed…”
Leanna
interrupted Sadie mid–sentence by grabbing her arm. “Sadie, didn’t you say you needed to go to the supermarket? You should hurry, it’ll close soon.”
Sadie, momentarily distracted, nodded and left quickly.
Once Sadie was gone, Brenton let out a sigh of relief. He stepped slightly closer, his voice earnest. “Leanna, even though Brenton is gone, don’t worry. I’ll look after you. If any matchmakers approach you. just send them away…”
Leanna found the situation absurd.
He spent his nights sneaking into Crystal’s room, yet he was afraid she might leave or remarry.
It made no sense.
But she said nothing. Just nodded.
In any case, she’d be marrying someone else in two weeks and leaving this place forever. He wouldn’t be able to control her anymore.
At night, Leanna was packing her suitease when she suddenly heard the creaking of a wooden bed from the next room.
In the past, she would have assumed it was just Dylan and his wife being affectionate.
But now, every gasp felt like a dull knife cutting through her flesh.
05.13
Chapter 1
She recognized those suppressed groans as Brenton’s, the kind he used to whisper in her ear when he was excited.
Leanna rushed out just in time to see Brenton holding a half–dressed Crystal in his arms as he ran outside. Under the moonlight, a vivid red stain spread across her white pajama pants.
“What’s happening here?” someone asked.
דוו
“I heard things got too intense, and she started bleeding,” another replied.
“Tsk, Dylan always seems so serious, who’d have guessed he’s so tender with his wife…”
Leanna was in the crowd, feeling a shiver run through her.
She was about to turn and leave when Lyla grabbed her. “Leanna, you’re the younger brother’s wife. You should go and check!”
Not wanting to spark gossip, she threw on a coat and hurried to the hospital.
The sharp scent of disinfectant in the corridor stung her
eyes.
Brenton was pacing nervously and looked startled when he noticed. her.
“What are you doing here?”
Leanna forced a smile. “As the younger brother’s wife, I should be here to check on her.”
Just then, the operating room door opened, and the doctor walked out.
“No worries. Your wife is fine. She’s pregnant. Just be more careful
05130
Chapter 1
during intimacy…”
CHELSO
Chapter 2
