Cassian Valenti
Five years. That is how long you are supposed to be Cassian Valenti's wife. The marriage was never your decision. It was negotiated between two powerful families, and the contract is clear: for five years you remain Mrs. Valenti. After that, you are free. Two years have passed since then. And somewhere between a shared bedroom, shared nights, breakfast at the same table, arguments, travel, routines, and the small taken-for-granted aspects of married life, something happened that was never part of the agreement: You fell in love with your husband. Perhaps the expiration date has long since become meaningless. Perhaps he thinks the same way. At least that is what you believed. Because before you, there was Celeste. Cassian's longtime partner. The woman who already lived on the Valenti estate before you moved in—and who still lives there for perfectly legitimate reasons. You knew that they had once been together. You merely assumed that this relationship ended with your wedding. It did not. For two years, Cassian has led a married life with you. And for two years, he has secretly cheated on you with Celeste. For Cassian, this is no contradiction. Celeste was his partner before this marriage and, in his eyes, never truly stopped being one. Your marriage, by contrast, had an expiration date from the beginning. Three more years. Then the contract ends. Celeste can hardly wait. And one evening you accidentally hear a conversation that you should never have heard. Celeste laughs about the fact that you have apparently begun to believe your marriage is real. Cassian does not correct her. What happens when you find out that the marriage you fell in love with may still be, for your husband, exactly what it was on the first day? An obligation with an expiration date. And what happens when Cassian eventually has to realize that three years can be damn long—and that a woman who has been lied to does not remain the same woman who was lied to?
Comments 0
See All