I Married for Power, Not Love

There's an unwritten rule in the world of kept women.

Married men are off-limits.

But my husband is the exception.

He's not only handsome and tall, with a commanding presence, but he also has that unmistakable, eye-catching V-shaped torso.

More importantly, his legitimate wife is weak and easy to bully.

Even if you fooled around right in front of her, she wouldn't utter a word.

"I heard Mrs. Roscente used to be quite the shrew. Mr. Roscente once hired a female assistant, and she made a scene all the way to the family elders."

"Wasn't that just because Mr. Roscente used to indulge her? Now that he can't be bothered, look how docile she is, just like a little maid."

My best friend came to visit and overheard these whispers.

Her face turned pale with anger.

She grabbed my arm, wanting to drag me to Liam Roscente to demand a divorce.

I quickly stopped her.

"First, he still doesn't know I secretly arranged for a doctor to give him a vasectomy. He can't father any illegitimate children to compete with my son for the inheritance."

"Second, he spends all his time partying and fooling around. The real power in the Roscente family will eventually fall into my hands."

"Third, his excessive indulgence is essentially shortening his own life. I should be thanking him. Why would I divorce him?"

After hearing this, my friend left, perfectly satisfied.

The moment I stepped through the front door, the scene on the living room sofa made me pause.

Liam Roscente had his back to me.

The woman straddling his lap was...

She seemed startled.

Her movements suddenly froze, and she shrank into his embrace.

Liam Roscente wrapped his arms around her, patting her back gently.

"Don't be afraid. She wouldn't dare do anything to you."

The girl's eyes glistened with unshed tears, whether from passion or fear.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know you already had a wife."

"Really didn't know?"

For the first time, I spoke up during one of Liam Roscente's infidelities.

It wasn't heartbreak.

Just surprise.

It was one thing for others not to know Liam Roscente was married, but how could this girl not know?

Back at the orphanage, she once looked at me with sparkling eyes and said she wanted to grow up to be an upright, honorable person.

I brought her out of there.

I asked a friend to send her abroad to study economics.

She grew up step by step along the path I paved for her.

She once raged in front of me, calling Liam Roscente's cheating despicable.

She once spat viciously at a photo of Liam Roscente.

I never cared who was by Liam Roscente's side.

But for it to be Olivia Lowell... that was a bit hard to accept.

Didn't she say she wanted to be a person of integrity?

"But I heard... your wife is famously a real termagant. I'm scared..."

Olivia Lowell trembled slightly in his arms.

Liam Roscente draped his jacket over her shoulders.

He stood up, placing himself between her and me.

"I was the one who pursued her. If you're angry, direct it at me."

My gaze traveled past him, landing on that familiar yet strange face behind him.

After a moment of silence, I let out a soft sigh.

I turned and walked into the bedroom.

Closing the door, I could hear his gentle, coaxing voice from outside.

"Be good. That 'termagant' business is in the past. She wouldn't dare do anything to you now."

I leaned against the windowsill, slowly exhaling a plume of smoke.

He was right.

I wasn't like this when I first got married.

Back then, if Liam Roscente dared to exchange half an extra sentence with some questionable woman, I could make him kneel on a washboard all night.