Chapter 1
The night she was saved from her third suicide attempt, Liana Langston, still weak and pale, dragged herself to the Graham residence, hoping to retrieve a few of Adrian’s belongings from his mother, Eleanor Grace, to soothe her aching heart.
But just as she reached the gate, she heard a deliberately hushed argument coming from inside the house-
“Adrian, how long are you going to keep lying to Liana? She’s already tried to die for you- three times!”
Her fingers dug sharply into her palm, blood freezing in her veins.
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Why was her mother–in–law calling Landon, Adrian’s younger twin brother, by that name?
“Mom, just a little longer.”
That voice–it was unmistakably Landon’s. But the tone was eerily familiar, exactly like how Adrian used to coax her.
“Before Landon died, he asked me to take care of his wife. But she’s fragile. If she knew he was gone, she’d follow him. I had no choice but to become him… give her a child, something to keep her living.”
Liana was struck like lightning. Her knees buckled.
So it was Landon who had died, not Adrian.
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behind his twin’s identity, sleeping every night in the next room-
With a woman named Zoe Young!
“And what about Liana?” Eleanor choked up. “You sleep in Zoe’s room every night. Do you ever think about how much pain Liana is in?”
“She’s tougher than Zoe…”
That sentence was a blade, slicing straight through her heart.
She stumbled backward, knocking over the flower rack near the door.
The house fell silent.
She turned and fled, as if the abyss itself
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As she ran, a sharp pain pricked her palm.
She looked down and realized the bullet casing she’d been clutching had embedded itself deep into her flesh, blood seeping through her fingers.
For the past six months, she’d held that casing to sleep every night, crying until she couldn’t breathe in her dreams.
But now, it seemed laughable.
Her husband wasn’t dead.
He’d just decided to let her believe it–so he could take care of his brother’s widow!
Five years ago, she first met Adrian Graham during a military cultural performance.
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special operations team. She was a medical intern at the base hospital.
Plenty of female soldiers were infatuated with him. Plenty of officers pursued her.
But that night, he sat in the audience, eyes fixed solely on her as she accepted her award on stage.
Then, as she stepped down, he stopped her path.
He took off his uniform jacket and draped it over her shoulders. His voice was low and magnetic. “Liana, the night’s chilly. Don’t catch cold.”
Wrapped in his jacket, her heart thundered in her chest and her ears burned red.
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mission, he’d make a detour to the hospital just to catch a glimpse of her.
The day she agreed to be with him, he lifted her into his arms and spun her around the training field several times.
“Liana, I, Adrian Graham, am yours for life.”
After marriage, everyone said Captain Graham spoiled his wife beyond reason.
She had believed it too–that he loved her more than life itself.
But now?
To “take care” of his brother’s widow, he pretended to be Landon Graham.
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He even planned to get her pregnant.
Meanwhile, she had cried, died, and grieved for him like a fool.
Did it ever occur to him that her heart could break too?
When she stumbled back home, the neighbor, Martha, came by again.
“Liana, Colonel Lawson is being transferred to the frontier next week. This is the eighth time he’s asked me to speak to you… He said if you don’t agree this time, he’ll never come back.”
Miles Lawson–Adrian Graham’s superior officer.
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She’d turned him down the first seven times.
Because she was stubborn.
She believed she’d only ever love Adrian Graham.
But now…
She looked up, her voice calm. “Alright. I’ll marry him.”
Martha’s eyes widened. “Are… are you serious?”
“I’m serious.” She tugged at the corners of her mouth and forced a pale smile. “Please tell Miles–I’ll leave with him in a week.”
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“Who are you leaving with?”
Liana Langston looked at him and suddenly found the whole thing absurd.
“Landon Graham,” she said softly, “that’s none of your business.”
Though he was speaking to Martha, he gripped her wrist so tightly it felt like he was going to crush her bones. “She has me. She doesn’t need to remarry. She loved my brother so much–how could she be with someone else? Martha, don’t come again, or I won’t be so polite next time.”
Martha looked confused. “But Liana just said…”
Liana cut in, grabbing her arm. “Martha, don’t
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Reminded of her errand, Martha nodded quickly and left in a hurry.
Until she was gone, Adrian’s shoulders relaxed slightly.
He took a step forward, voice husky. “Liana, even though my brother’s gone, I’ll take care of you for him. From now on, if someone tries to propose, just send them away-”
At that moment, Liana Langston had never felt anything more ridiculous.
He slept under another identity, in another woman’s bed, and now he was afraid she’d
move on?
Afraid she’d leave?
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the whole world?
But she didn’t expose him.
She simply nodded calmly.
After all, in one week, she’d be gone with Miles Lawson–free from this maddening cage forever.
Late at night, Liana quietly packed her things.
Suddenly, creaking sounds came from the room next door.
She used to think nothing of them–just Landon Graham and Zoe Young being intimate.
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Those weren’t Landon’s sounds.
They were Adrian’s–ones she once heard only whispered in her ear.
“Ah-!”
A piercing scream split the night.
As Liana rushed out, she saw Adrian Graham carrying a disheveled Zoe Young downstairs in his arms.
The moonlight spilled cold and pale across Zoe’s white nightgown–its hem soaked in vivid red.
The base housing area instantly erupted.
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“Dear Lord, what happened?”
“People say they went too far at night… now she’s bleeding.”
“Tsk, who’d have thought Landon Graham, all proper on the outside, would be so rough in bed…”
Liana stood at the edge of the crowd, her nails digging into her palm–but she felt nothing.
She turned to leave, only for Diana to grab her.
“Liana, you’re Adrian’s widow. You should be there for Zoe.”
To avoid gossip, she had no choice but
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ben
oothe scent of disinfectant in the hallway
tung her eyes.
Adrian Graham paced restlessly, tugging at his collar. When he saw her, his pupils shrank.
“What are you doing-”
“As your brother’s widow,” she cut him off, voice colder than ice, “I’m just doing my duty.”
The operating light above the door suddenly flicked off.
A doctor stepped out.
“No need to worry. Your wife is experiencing
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