The family dinner ended earlier than expected.

Olivia Hayes left the Grant mansion with a pale face.

She had arrived expecting to become the center of attention.

She had expected everyone to see her as the innocent woman who had known Alexander for years.

Instead…

Everyone looked at her like they had discovered a completely different person.

And the reason was sitting quietly beside Alexander.

Me.

Sofia.

The woman whose thoughts had suddenly become impossible to hide.

The moment the front door closed behind Olivia, nobody spoke.

The silence was terrifying.

I sat perfectly straight.

My hands rested on my lap.

My expression remained calm.

But inside…

«This is a disaster.»

«A complete disaster.»

«I just married into a family that can read my mind.»

Alexander looked at me immediately.

His eyes narrowed.

—You really think that loudly all the time?

I froze.

Grandfather Henry immediately lowered his head.

But I could see his shoulders shaking.

He was laughing.

Victoria covered her mouth with her hand.

The woman who had looked cold and untouchable since I arrived…

was also trying not to laugh.

I looked between them.

—How long has this been happening?

Nobody answered.

That was already an answer.

I stood up.

—Excuse me.

I turned to leave.

But Alexander grabbed my wrist gently.

Not forcefully.

Just enough to stop me.

—Don’t go.

I looked at him.

The CEO who had married me because of a contract.

The man who barely spoke to me.

The husband who had seemed like a stranger.

And now…

He was looking at me like I was the most interesting person he had ever met.

—Why?

His expression softened.

—Because I want to know you.

That sentence surprised me.

Because for months, I had been living with a man who never asked.

Not about my thoughts.

Not about my feelings.

Not about my dreams.

But now…

He had no choice.

He could hear everything I had hidden.

Including the things I never wanted anyone to know.

Grandfather Henry finally spoke.

—Sofia.

I looked at him.

—Yes, Grandpa?

He smiled.

—Do you know when this ability started?

I shook my head.

He sighed.

—The night Alexander was born.

I blinked.

“What?”

Victoria looked down.

—It only appears in our family during moments of extreme emotion.

She paused.

—But nobody has experienced it for decades.

I frowned.

—Why me?

The room became quiet.

Alexander looked at his grandfather.

Then at his mother.

Something was wrong.

I noticed immediately.

«They know something.»

«They are hiding something.»

Henry sighed.

—Because you are not just Alexander’s wife because of a contract.

My heart stopped.

Alexander looked away.

That reaction told me everything.

I turned to him.

—What does that mean?

He remained silent.

And for the first time…

The cold CEO looked uncomfortable.

—Alexander.

He finally spoke.

—Before our marriage…

A pause.

—I knew who you were.

I frowned.

—Of course you knew. We met before signing the contract.

He shook his head.

—No.

“I mean…”

“I knew you before that.”

Silence.

I stared at him.

—How?

Alexander looked at me.

And then I heard something I never expected.

—Ten years ago, you saved my life.

My breathing stopped.

I searched my memories.

Ten years ago.

College.

A rainy night.

A highway accident.

A stranger trapped inside a damaged car.

My hands shaking as I called emergency services.

A young man covered in blood telling me:

“Don’t leave.”

And me staying until help arrived.

I had forgotten.

But Alexander hadn’t.

—That was you?

He nodded.

—You were the only person who stayed.

My chest tightened.

“But you never told me?”

He looked down.

—Because when I found you again, you didn’t remember me.

A pause.

“And then my grandfather arranged this marriage.”

I looked at him.

—So you agreed because of that?

His eyes softened.

“No.”

“Then why?”

The entire room became silent.

Alexander answered quietly:

“Because I had spent ten years looking for the woman who saved me.”

“And when I found you…”

“I couldn’t let you disappear again.”

My mind went blank.

For once…

I had no sarcastic thought.

No joke.

No complaint.

Nothing.

Alexander looked almost amused.

—Finally.

I blinked.

—What?

—Silence.

His lips curved slightly.

—It’s the first time tonight I can’t hear you criticizing me.

My face became hot.

«He is enjoying this.»

«Of course he is.»

«The great Alexander Grant finally found entertainment.»

His ears turned red again.

Grandfather laughed loudly.

—This marriage is much more interesting than I expected.

Victoria smiled.

—Maybe the contract was never the important part.

But I still had one question.

Olivia.

I looked at Alexander.

—What about her?

His expression immediately became cold.

Not toward me.

Toward the memory.

—Olivia was never what the media believed.

I waited.

—She helped my company during a difficult period years ago.

—My family considered her useful.

—The media created a story.

I frowned.

—And you allowed it?

He became silent.

Because he knew.

That was the problem.

He had allowed another woman to stand beside him publicly.

And he had allowed me to enter a marriage where everyone assumed I was temporary.

—You’re right.

His answer surprised me.

—What?

—I was wrong.

Alexander looked at me.

—I thought because I didn’t love Olivia, there was no harm.

“But I didn’t realize how it looked to you.”

I lowered my eyes.

Because that was exactly what hurt.

Not jealousy.

Not Olivia herself.

It was feeling like an outsider in my own marriage.

The next day, Olivia returned to the Grant headquarters.

She expected Alexander to comfort her.

Instead, she found a completely different attitude.

—Mr. Grant…

Alexander didn’t look up.

—Miss Hayes.

The coldness in his voice made her freeze.

—About yesterday…

—There is nothing to discuss.

Her expression changed.

“But we have known each other for years.”

He finally looked at her.

—Knowing someone for years does not give them the right to disrespect my wife.

Those words spread quickly through the company.

And everyone learned one thing.

Mrs. Grant was not a temporary wife.

She was the person Alexander Grant had chosen.

That evening, when I returned home, Alexander was waiting.

On the table was dinner.

I stared.

—You cooked?

He nodded.

—I tried.

I looked at the food.

Then at him.

«The CEO of Grant Group cooked dinner.»

«The world is ending.»

His mouth twitched.

—You are impossible.

I smiled.

—And yet you married me.

A pause.

Then Alexander answered:

—No.

He stepped closer.

—I married you ten years ago.

My heart skipped.

—You just didn’t know it.

For the first time since entering the Grant family…

I didn’t feel like a wife chosen by a contract.

I felt like someone who had finally been found.

And what I didn’t know was that my ability to reveal thoughts would soon uncover the biggest secret of all.

The secret Alexander had hidden for ten years.

The reason he had searched for me…

was not only because I saved his life.

It was because that night…

I had saved something much more important than him.