Chapter 1The Depths of Time

When Ethan Vance broke off our engagement, everyone said my life was over. For five years, I’d bent myself into knots to please him, and my reputation was already in tatters. No one, they claimed, would ever want a woman like me.

When Ethan found new love, those around me waited for me to grovel, to beg for him back. But they didn't know I had willingly taken my younger sister’s place, marrying into a family in Portsmouth through an arranged marriage.

Before I left, I returned the treasured keepsake box Ethan had given me, along with the blank promise card he had penned as a boy. I left nothing behind, no trace.

It wasn't until the day before his engagement that Ethan suddenly spoke of me: “She hasn’t made a sound in all this time. Has Elara Sterling finally withered away?”

And I, having just endured a night that brought me close to death in a different way, was being woken by my new husband’s kisses. “Elara, sweetheart, you promised four rounds, and not one less…”

…

That day, when Ethan suddenly declared he wanted to get married, I hadn't seen him in three months. Our last encounter, I’d overheard him telling his friends he was utterly bored with me. The entire room had erupted in laughter. They laughed at me, at how I’d spent five years trying to please him, tarnishing my own name, only to be cast aside like worn-out rags.

Those three months at the Sterling home had been brutal. Just days ago, Victor Sterling had come home drunk, and his hands had been heavy. The wounds on my back still throbbed faintly. So, when Ethan unexpectedly called me today, asking me to come over, a flicker of hope ignited in my chest. I specifically wore the jade bangles we’d exchanged on our engagement day and hurried to his villa.

By the time I arrived, Ethan was already tipsy. He lay half-reclined on a young woman’s lap, his eyes closed. The girl looked like a student, innocent and pure. Seeing me enter, she, who was massaging Ethan’s head, stumbled, flustered, trying to rise. But Ethan’s hand clamped onto her wrist.

“Just stay put.”

He didn’t open his eyes, merely applied gentle pressure to her hand. She was pulled closer, her body pressing against his. Submissively, she lowered her head, allowing him to kiss her. He released her, then cupped her chin. The kiss was deep, the sounds echoing.

I stood in the doorway, clutching my clutch, bewildered for a long moment. It took immense effort to compose myself, to feign indifference, and turn my gaze to the window. “I’ll go stroll in the garden for a bit. I’ll come back later.”

No sooner had the words left my lips than Ethan scoffed. The girl beside him, ever so sensible, quickly stood up. “Perhaps I should leave first, and let her come over.”

This time, Ethan didn’t stop her. He held her hand, idly toying with it for a moment, before reluctantly releasing it. “It’s cold outside, don’t catch a chill.” The girl smiled softly, nodded, her long, dark hair shielding most of her flushed face. As she passed me, she politely greeted me as “Sister,” then offered a gentle “hello.” I nodded back, returning her smile. She was very young, her eyes clear and guileless, her shy demeanor eerily reminiscent of my younger sister.

“Elara Sterling, come here.”

Ethan leaned back on the sofa, patting the empty space beside him. The intricate, splendid crystal chandelier cast dappled light, illuminating his face—narrow, sculpted, his features strikingly handsome. The play of light and shadow rendered him almost ethereal. For a moment, I felt a dizzying unreality, coupled with an inexplicable ache. Ethan’s languid eyes, shimmering with a hint of intoxication, were subtly reddened at the corners. His collar was loose, revealing a constellation of hickey marks on his collarbone and the side of his neck.

“That girl was Seraphina Hayes.”

I nodded. “Yes, I know.”

“What do you think of her?”

I thought for a moment, then answered earnestly. “She’s very innocent, very pure, very well-behaved.”

Ethan nodded. “Doesn’t she remind you of yourself five years ago?”

I froze.