Chapter 4The Contract Husband’s Secret Obsession

On our first wedding anniversary, I had edited and packaged that very song, recorded when my voice was still good, as a birthday gift for him. But he hadn't even looked at it, casually tossing it into the deepest part of his closet.

And that very night, he'd brought home his first woman, beginning his absurd string of affairs.

Four days before my departure, I went to the cemetery to visit my mother.

She had been a renowned composer, and her greatest regret on her deathbed was leaving her magnum opus unfinished.

Before I left, I wanted to fulfill her final wish.

I locked myself in my room, pouring three days and nights into the composition, finally completing it.

"Whispers of Moonlight"—a song overflowing with my mother's selfless love for me.

Exhausted, I fell into a deep sleep, cradling the sheet music.

When I woke, the internet was ablaze with entertainment headlines.

#Genius Music Prodigy Seraphina Thorne Releases New Original Song 'Whispers Of Moonlight'—Allegedly ATribute To Parents' Love!#

That was my song, the one I had just finished.

My hands trembling, I clicked on the video.

Seraphina, dressed in a white gown, sat at a piano, playing "Whispers of Moonlight," the song my mother and I had co-created.

"This song is dedicated to my beloved father and mother, commemorating their unwavering love..."

The comment section was filled with praise.

"So touching! Seraphina's parents must have such an amazing love story!"

"This is a true ode to love!"

My blood ran cold, my mouth agape, unable to breathe.

My mother was hospitalized, the doctor saying she needed complete rest.

While I was away, Seraphina brought a tablet to my mother's bedside.

"Don't Dad and my mom look so good together?"

On the screen, my father and Seraphina's mother were entangled on my mother's very bed!

My mother instantly coughed up blood. Without a word, she breathed her last.

Seraphina and her mother—they were the murderers who had driven my mother to her death. How dared she use that song to glorify their filthy affair?

How dared she desecrate my mother's final masterpiece?

Rage burned away my reason.

I stormed out of the house, heading straight for Seraphina's apartment.

"That piece is mine! How dare you steal it?"

Seraphina crossed her arms, a malicious, triumphant smile on her face.

"That trashy song? Oh, Dominic gave it to me. He said a mute like you had no use for it, so why not let me put it to good use?"

She leaned in, lowering her voice.

"Amy, don't waste your energy. No matter what I do, Dominic will always be on my side. Want to bet?"

The moment she spoke, a smell of burning reached us.

My body went cold and stiff, a huge fear engulfing me as memories surged back.

Ten years ago, on Christmas, I went to church to pray for my mother's health but got caught in a fire.

Dominic, who was behind me, could have escaped.

But when he saw me pushed down and trampled, he turned back to pull me up, only to be struck by a falling beam.

He bled heavily, clinging to life, yet still shielded me with his body.

To keep him conscious, I kept talking.

When I ran out of things to say, I sang.

Yes, I sang "Every Tomorrow," over and over again.

The thick smoke billowed, my voice growing hoarse, but I dared not stop for a second.

Dominic clutched my hand tightly, promising that if we made it out, he would marry me.

Finally, my singing caught the attention of firefighters.

After we were rescued, I realized his entire back was burned beyond recognition.

He was quickly taken away by his family, and I searched the hospital but never saw him again.

My vocal cords, damaged by inhaling so much smoke, could no longer produce a sound.

It wasn't until my mother showed me his photograph that I realized the man I was marrying was Dominic.

I thought it was fate, and I married him without hesitation.

In the end, it was all just wishful thinking on my part.

In the flickering firelight, Dominic's figure overlapped with the person from ten years ago.