I Pretended to Date a Starlet, but My Secret Wife Was Kissing My Brother—So I Divorced Her!

After the press conference, I collapsed onto the couch, exhausted. The rising star handed me a cup of tea and smiled sweetly. “You worked hard, Adrian.” “Thanks.” I thanked her politely and placed the tea on the table. I didn’t drink it. After the modern romance drama I filmed with the rising star became a huge hit, the popularity of our ship continued to soar. Marketing accounts edited all kinds of videos of us. Their view counts kept breaking five-year records, and our names appeared on trending searches again and again. It was a genuine phenomenon. Our agencies immediately saw eye to eye and decided to aggressively market our pairing. That was perfectly normal in the entertainment industry. Fans became completely obsessed, shouting that they were witnessing true love. “The quiet older man and the clever, quirky girl. Lock them together forever. I swallowed the key.” “Ahhh, they’re so sweet I’m dying. If you two aren’t real, then tell me what is!” “Does anyone else get it? I’m sitting here grinning like an auntie in the middle of the night.” In private, however, we still kept our distance. There was a clear line between us. After all, I was already married. I had been secretly married to Claire Bennett, the actress, for seven years. I didn’t want her to misunderstand. Though perhaps Claire didn’t care in the first place. Once, because of a careless mistake on my part, the media photographed how cold and distant Chloe Carter and I were with each other in private. That day, marketing accounts went wild, claiming our ship was fake and that our agencies were maliciously manufacturing publicity. Chloe then publicly responded with one sentence: “Mr. Blake, you really haven’t changed.” That completely merged our real-life interaction with our characters in the drama. It was as if the characters had stepped out of the screen and into reality. The shippers celebrated like it was a holiday. The trending searches exploded again, but I didn’t care much. I looked back at my chat window. The entire screen was filled with messages I had sent Claire. Every now and then, she would reply with a single “Oh” or “Mm.” “Are you coming home today? I’ll make your favorite plum-glazed ribs.” After thinking it over, I typed out the message. But the only thing that appeared on the screen was a bright red exclamation mark. Chloe was about to turn around when she accidentally saw it. She gave me an apologetic smile. Then she said, “Do you think I’ll ever get the chance to try your cooking, Adrian?” “I watched you on that variety show before, and it made me so hungry…” Chloe widened her eyes, making them sparkle. I responded politely. “If you get the chance, I’ll definitely cook for you.” My eyes remained fixed on my phone. “Okay.” Chloe could tell I was only being polite, so she said nothing more. She lowered her head a little, looking disappointed. When she noticed me watching her, she immediately lifted her head and smiled. “I’m looking forward to it!” … Claire had deleted me again. It was the three hundred and twenty-sixth time since we got married. It was exactly what I expected. Whenever we argued, Claire would delete me. She said it was to give us both space to calm down. Since our marriage was secret, we barely had any time together in the first place. Now we truly had no way to contact each other. Once Claire cooled off, she would add me back. Then I would reflect on my mistakes, and the argument would be over. This time, I had asked Claire whether she had recently met a college student. She had immediately gone cold and thrown a divorce agreement at me before slamming the door behind her. “Are you seriously accusing me?” “I have my own life and my own friends. Can you stop being so controlling? Do you have to monitor everything I do?” “Adrian, you’re my husband, not my entire world!” I shook my head and was about to explain. But all I could do was stare blankly at her determined back as she walked away. That wasn’t what I meant. It was just that I hadn’t seen her in too long, and there were so many things I wanted to tell her. I didn’t know how to begin. Claire had never been the proactive type. Lately, people kept bringing up her relationship with that college student in front of me. Those things had made me speak without thinking. Claire had gone to amusement parks and watched movies with that college student. She had done so many things I wanted to do with her but never had. When I first asked her about it, she said, “We’re both at important stages in our careers. We absolutely can’t be photographed together. We have to avoid suspicion.” “You can watch a movie anywhere. Watching one at home is the same. Amusement parks are boring anyway. If you want to go, go by yourself.” But then Claire turned around and did all those things with another man. There could be countless men by her side, but I would never be one of them. I was the husband she had to hide. I often wondered whether Claire truly loved me. My phone suddenly chimed with a notification. I thought Claire had added me back and eagerly opened it. But what appeared before my eyes was a trending headline: #Actress Claire Bennett Holds Hands with Her Puppy-Like Boyfriend to Watch the Northern LightsIn the accompanying photos, Claire was embracing a young man. Her head was slightly lowered as she kissed him. For a moment, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I frantically swiped through the photos, trying to find some trace of editing. There was none. These were high-definition originals taken by a camera. Every detail was real. Claire was kissing another man beneath the aurora. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her gaze was focused and tender. I had never seen that expression on her face before. She had never held my hand so gently, with such quiet warmth. But why? We were already married. A sharp pain spread from my chest, and I felt like I could barely breathe. “Adrian!” Chloe cried out and hurried over to steady my trembling body. I still hadn’t recovered from the shock when Chloe and I rushed to a variety-show recording that night to promote our drama. I did my best to maintain a professional expression and get through the first half of the program. But my thoughts kept drifting out of control. Where was Claire now? Was she still watching the northern lights with someone else? Would she think of me at all? The image from the photos kept replaying in my mind. During the break, the production team suddenly announced that a new guest would be joining the game. Chloe and I were chatting when I caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of my eye. It was Claire. Completely unprepared, I watched Claire walk over while holding the college student’s hand tightly. The young man’s fingertips brushed slowly across her palm. The conversation naturally turned to Claire. The host immediately noticed the way Claire was touching the young man. He studied them with interest, then suddenly turned his gaze toward me. “Adrian, you and Claire debuted more than a decade ago.” “Everyone thought you two would get married. No one expected Claire to be the first one nearing marriage. What do you think?” Claire smiled. “Adrian and I are just friends.” My fingernails dug deep into my palm. Just friends. What a joke. After all these years of enduring the storms of life together, in her mouth, we were reduced to two weightless words. “I could never fall for him, let alone marry him. Besides, Adrian is so much older than me… We have a huge generation gap.” Claire smiled openly at the camera, but every word struck straight into my heart. The host nodded in agreement and praised Claire for being so genuine. I gave an awkward smile. The conversation continued to center around Claire. As she talked, she brought up her trip from a few days earlier. She enthusiastically described all the funny things that had happened. More than anything, she talked about the little details of how she and the young man had spent time together. For example, she jokingly complained that they had drunk from the same bottle. They had slept together in the same tent, reaching into each other’s arms for warmth. When the college student had gotten sick with a fever, she had personally taken care of him all night. They were so intimate that it seemed as if they were the real couple. Then what was I? Sometimes, whether someone loves you can be seen in the smallest details. I tried desperately to ignore everything, but the host refused to let me off the hook. Every now and then, he called on me and asked for my opinion. The mockery from Claire’s fans seemed to echo in my ears again. No matter what I said or did, they believed I was wrong. “Tsk, tsk. That old man needs to stop throwing himself at Claire. Let her shine on her own!” “I’m dead. Claire doesn’t even give him the time of day. The way he humbly showed up with that cake made him look just like a dog.” “He thinks about leeching off her popularity all day. Who knows how badly he’s been annoying Claire!” “They debuted at the same time, but Claire is already an award-winning actress. She’s the ultimate career woman. What is that guy supposed to be? Does he really think he’s worthy? Is he trying to suck her dry?” I instinctively clenched my fists, pressing my lips tightly together as my body began to tremble. I forced myself to hold back my emotions so I wouldn’t lose control. Chloe noticed that something was wrong. She took my hand and smiled warmly at the others. “Host… Adrian is my partner in this show.” “If you keep asking him questions like that in front of me, I might get jealous.” “And Claire should probably be more careful about where she directs all that pent-up need to share.” Chloe’s voice was sweet, but there was no mistaking the sarcasm in it. She was reminding everyone to understand who mattered most here. The host immediately smiled ingratiatingly at her. I turned to look at Chloe, only to meet her bright eyes. Whenever another offensive question came up, Chloe seemed to have a machine gun installed in her mouth. She would politely shoot back before anyone else could respond, leaving them speechless and unable to attack. The shippers rolled around screaming about how sweet they were. Claire stared at me for a long time, but I looked away.That night, Claire and I happened to arrive home at the same time. Claire broke the silence first. Standing by the door, she dusted off her clothes. Her expression was as calm and emotionless as ever. “We need to talk, Adrian.” My hand paused as I changed into my slippers. What was there to talk about? What else could we talk about? Was I supposed to listen to her give me another unconvincing excuse and continue deceiving myself? Or should we keep discussing the intimate trip she hadn’t finished describing earlier? Either way, I would only be humiliating myself. I heard my own voice come from my throat. It was barely more than a whisper. “Fine.” Claire frowned in displeasure. “Have you really fallen this far?” “You’re actually manufacturing publicity with another woman just for attention?” “I’m so disappointed in you.” “Did you ever stop to consider how I feel?” I hadn’t expected Claire to question me first. As far as I knew, I hadn’t done anything terribly wrong to her. The agency had arranged the publicity campaign, and I couldn’t interfere. Outside of promotional appearances, Chloe and I kept our distance. We never spent time together unnecessarily. Besides, the whole publicity campaign… “I told you about it.” As soon as we decided to promote our pairing, I had sent Claire a message. If she had replied that she was uncomfortable or unhappy, I would have considered changing my mind. “Oh?” Claire dug a finger into her ear, looking completely unconcerned. “I might have forgotten.” It was obvious she hadn’t even read it. Then she tried to cover for herself. “I still trust you, Adrian.” I didn’t expose her pathetic performance. My voice remained calm. “Claire, do you remember that we’re married?” What exactly had she done? How could she justify it to me? How could she justify everything we had been through together? There were so many questions I wanted to ask. But at that moment, I said only that one sentence. “Shh!” “I told you not to mention it outside. There are too many people around, and you never know who might overhear us…” Claire hurried over and covered my mouth with her hand. I really was a husband who had to stay hidden. I couldn’t even say the word out loud. I let out a self-mocking laugh. She pushed me farther inside the house. “Adrian, I’m not trying to hide you forever. The timing just isn’t right yet!” “Can you stop being unreasonable? Do you know how much damage this could cause given my position in the industry? I’ve already established myself as a single career woman. If my fans find out I’m actually married…” “You only ever think about yourself. When have you ever considered how I feel?” I kept my mouth shut and let her speak. Claire patted my shoulder. “You’re still in my heart, Adrian.” “It’s just… I get lonely too when there’s no one beside me! What’s wrong with finding someone to keep me company? You can’t stand beside me. Can you take me skiing? Can you take me to watch the sunrise?” “This isn’t my fault! We’re only in this situation because you didn’t want us to go public!” How ironic. In the end, Claire still blamed everything on me. Was I the one who refused to keep her company? Was I the one who refused to acknowledge her publicly? It was clearly her. Not long after I first became successful, I wanted to announce our marriage to the world. I wanted everyone to know how lucky I was to have met her. But she had refused no matter what. So the matter had been delayed again and again. “Does that include kissing?” I was strangely calm. I even felt as though I might laugh. Smack. Before I could react, a crisp slap landed across my face. “Adrian, you’re disgusting.” Claire covered her mouth and took half a step back. Tears gathered in her vulnerable eyes. “Is that what I am to you now?” “I told you, we’re just friends!” “He’s a friend who watched the northern lights with me and did the things I enjoy with me! Why do you insist on interpreting it that way?” I remained frozen in place. Claire’s words became even more heartless. “Who knows whether you and Chloe have done something even worse while promoting your ship? I never accused you of anything.” “That’s enough!” I couldn’t stop myself from shouting. “I’m not like you. I don’t use some respectable excuse to fool around with someone else.” Claire had never been treated that way by me. I had never talked back to her before. Her face darkened immediately, and she stormed out, slamming the door behind her. The bang seemed to release all the fury in the room. “If that’s how you feel, then let’s get divorced.” The familiar divorce agreement flew into my face.