She clutched the phone tightly, then let out a long, tired sigh as she turned to me.
“Ariana, the Adam Family owes you too much.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling onto my hand as she grasped it.
“I agree. Let’s get you a divorce…”
But then she hesitated. Her voice trembled as she pleaded, “But before you go… I need to ask something of you.”
I knew what she wanted before she even spoke.
“Mom, you don’t want Christopher to know what happened eight years ago,” I murmured. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep the secret.”
At my words, my mother-in-law broke down completely, sobs wracking her frail body.
Eight years ago, the Adam Family had gone bankrupt.
Christopher’s father, crushed by debt collectors, had jumped to his death.
Their once-prosperous empire crumbled overnight.
Everyone knew how much I loved Christopher.
So when it happened, Adam’s mother had come to my home, kneeling outside my door for three days and three nights, begging me to marry her son.
In the end, I caved. My father gave his approval and I married into the Adam Family.
Not only that—my father did everything in his power to pull them back from the brink of ruin.
But that same night, I uncovered the truth behind their downfall.