Chapter 217

How could I not have known? Of course, I knew, Aiden wondered and mocked himself bitterly. ‘She has never loved me!’

But Aiden had truly loved Selina. For Selina, Aiden was willing to be nothing but a kept man living off her, and even after she passed away, he’d wanted to end it all, just to follow her.

Yet after all those years of marriage, Aiden had almost managed to forget that he had always been nothing but a stand-in, a substitute, and nothing more. He was nothing but a substitute for that man.

She had Aiden adopt every one of that man’s likes and habits.

Aiden let out a bitter laugh, as if those days had happened only yesterday.

Back then, Aiden was just an ordinary teacher, forced to take on extra work because his family desperately needed money. That was when he met Selina, a woman with an almost otherworldly beauty.

She was like snow atop a distant mountain, like the moon hanging high in the sky. Aiden had never seen a woman so beautiful and so full of grace.

Whenever Selina appeared, it was like no one else in the world mattered.

They’d only met three times before Selina suddenly asked him to marry her.

Aiden had been over the moon, thinking it was all just a dream. But later, he learned she was the treasured third daughter of the Bayer family, realizing the huge difference between them.

Aiden was never worthy of Selina.

Even if Selina liked him, there was no way the Bayer family would ever approve. But to his shock, the Bayer family didn’t try to stop her at all.

Instead, Selina severed all ties with the Bayer family.

Aiden was such a fool, so naive back then, actually believing she did it all for him.

The night before their wedding, Selina handed Aiden a check for 3 million dollars and laid everything bare. She told him about the man she truly loved, the one her family had driven to death.

Selina made it brutally clear. She would never, ever forget that man. If Aiden couldn’t accept being just a substitute in her life, he should take the money and walk away.

Aiden knew exactly what staying meant, but he was hopelessly in love with her. He’d never fallen for anyone like this before.

To him, she was like an angel, while he was just a servant. His desire for her had peaked.

Aiden agreed to marry her and took on the role of a stay-at-home husband. She gave birth to four of his children.

On the surface, they looked like a loving, happy couple. Aiden never asked anything of her. He simply stayed by her side, loving her deeply and quietly, asking for nothing in return.

But Selina loved that man, loved her work, and loved their children. The only thing she never loved was him.

“Mr. Han, are you okay? Here, have some water,” the female doctor said gently.

Aiden snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her voice, taking the water. “Thank you,” he said softly.

The night before, the bodyguard had delivered a letter from Sienna. It was just a single line: [Decide for yourself, dear father.]

Aiden knew it was a threat, and he also understood that going against Sienna would do him no favors. Hart Corporation was his public image, and it represented his reputation.

Henry’s actions had once again dragged the Winslow family into the abyss. His father, Asher Winslow, grabbed a whip and started beating his good-for-nothing son.

“You bastard, look at what you’ve done. Are you trying to destroy the whole family for good?” Asher roared. “How did I end up with a son like you? You’re going to ruin us."

“They might’ve shown our family some respect for my sake, but now you’ve ruined our reputation, Henry. I should’ve never let you come back. You should’ve died overseas."

Back when he was young, Henry was always getting into trouble, so Asher had no choice but to ship him overseas just to keep him out of sight.

If Asher had known Henry would still be the same old troublemaker, he would’ve just beaten him to death when he had the chance.

“He is such a troublemaker,” Asher wondered. “We are so unlucky!”

Henry’s eyes were full of unwilling rage. ‘Sienna is such a little girl. How dare she scheme against me again and again?’ he fumed inwardly. “Fine, you’ve really made me want to kill you now. Just you wait."