I accepted an arranged marriage after my fiancé faked his death

Theodore Lopez and I had been together since our student days, and we were about to get married. But on the eve of our wedding, he suddenly passed away.
I cried until I nearly fainted, yet comments kept floating before my eyes like bullet screen messages.
[Can someone tell Chloe Brooks that he's faking his death?]
[Theodore's mistress ran away after finding out he was getting married. He decided overnight to fake his death and chase after his mistress abroad. Chloe's crying here while his mistress is crying in bed. I'm about to die of anger.]
[Too bad when he comes back from his fake death, Chloe will happily marry him since she doesn't know anything.]
Half a month later, news of my engagement to a famous business heir spread throughout Washington.
Friends who had conspired with Theodore anxiously questioned me: "Theodore just passed away not long ago, and you're already in such a rush to find another man?"
I replied coldly: "Since he's already dead, I can't possibly stay unmarried for the rest of my life because of him, can I?"
*****
When those lines of bullet screen comments appeared before my eyes, I thought it was a hallucination from excessive grief.
But those comments didn't stop.
[If Chloe goes to the rooftop now, she'll find out Theodore isn't dead at all.]
[Chloe has barely eaten for two days because of him, and now she can barely walk. How could she possibly go to the rooftop?]
I dragged my legs, heavy as if filled with lead, toward the rooftop.
When I had just a few steps left, I heard that all-too-familiar voice with a hint of playful tone: "Isn't my funeral over yet?"
The voice was coming from Theodore's good friend Gabriel Cruz's phone.
Gabriel replied: "Yes, Theodore."
Theodore asked: "Chloe hasn't noticed anything suspicious, has she?"
Gabriel said: "No. Chloe has been very busy these past few days. Yesterday, she was so overcome with grief that she nearly fainted. Right now, she's probably still crying in her room."
Theodore said casually: "Help me comfort her a bit more."
Beside him, his other good friend Micah Allen said: "But Theodore, are you really serious about your girlfriend? You actually chose to fake your death and chase after her to England. You even had us help you put on this act."
Those bullet screen comments were telling the truth.
I gripped the stair railing tightly, every cell in my body trembling.
I heard Theodore say: "Don't worry about all that. You just need to help me keep it from her."
Gabriel asked: "So are you still getting married?"
Theodore said: "Of course. When I come back, our wedding will proceed as planned. It's just that before getting married, you've got to let me go crazy for love once, right?"
Gabriel laughed: "You're right. After you get married, you'll only be able to revolve around one person, and you won't have the chance anymore."
All three of them laughed in unison.
But my blood froze like ice, making my whole body shiver.
I had prayed countless times that Theodore might still be alive, but I never imagined it would be in this form.
[Chloe finally sees the truth. I hope she wakes up in time.]
[You need to get out there and expose that bastard.]
But I didn't rush out to confront them.
I turned around and calmly went downstairs.
After dry heaving over the toilet in the bathroom for a while, I looked at myself in the mirror.
My eyes were bloodshot and I looked haggard from not sleeping for days and nights.
I cupped some water in my hands, splashed it on my face, then used a towel to wipe away the tear stains.
[As expected, even after learning the truth, Chloe still chooses to silently accept it. I'm so angry.]
[Chloe loves Theodore deeply. She must have heard Theodore say he'd still marry her when he comes back, which is why she's choosing to endure all this.]
[I think Chloe doesn't want to confront them too quickly because she's preparing to strike back.]
I walked out of the room, and Gabriel handed me two tissues.
He said with concern, "Chloe, don't be too upset. Theodore wouldn't want to see you like this."
I looked up at his feigned heavy expression and asked, "Could Theodore still be alive?"

Gabriel's expression faltered for half a second before he regained his composure.
He said, "How could that be possible? Theodore's clothes and shoes have already been recovered from the river. Chloe, you saw them yourself."
A week ago, Theodore crashed into the river while driving late at night.
The police concluded that he was swept away by the rushing current while trying to escape from the car.
I kept vigil by the riverbank all night long.
The rescue team searched the river for several days, only finding his jacket and shoes. I nearly fainted from overwhelming grief.
Today was supposed to be our wedding day. I cried myself into a splitting headache while clutching our photo together.
But now, someone is telling me this was all an elaborate trap he set.
My pain has been nothing but a joke from beginning to end.
[I can't believe Theodore would actually keep a mistress like everyone else. He's absolutely disgusting.]
[I feel the same way. When I first started reading this book, I thought it would be a super sweet story. I never expected the plot to take such a turn.]
[Chloe is so beautiful and wealthy. If he doesn't want her, I'd fight him for her myself.]
The comfort and praise from the comments section provided some relief from the pain and disgust in my heart.
Gabriel continued, "Chloe, don't let your mind wander. If Theodore could see this, he'd be heartbroken."
Heartbroken?
How ironic!
This morning I was still thanking Gabriel for helping me handle Theodore's funeral arrangements. It turns out he and Theodore were in on it together.
Following the hints in the comments, I found Theodore's mistress's TikTok account.
That's when I discovered she had appeared in my feed many times before.
She was an influencer under Theodore's media company, named Isla Murphy.
Isla's account name was "TheoIsla."
Her latest video showcased London street scenes, along with tightly clasped hands and an intimate embrace.
I was all too familiar with the small mole on the wrist of the man in the video.
The caption read: That most innocent Christmas, he abandoned his perfectly matched arranged marriage partner and traveled over 4,800 miles to find me. My lover finally came from Washington to London.
The video went viral, with netizens flooding the comments section with praise for this beautiful love story.
"The story of a domineering CEO frantically pursuing his escaped lover has become reality."
"I'm very familiar with this plot. The person your sugar daddy truly loves is actually you. His arranged marriage partner is just a tool to push him toward pursuing you."
"Passionate people really do tend to be born into wealthy families. I'd love to know how to contact this sugar daddy of yours."
However, the comments I saw were completely different.
"Are all the people in this comment section fake? What kind of mistress literature is this? This is clearly homewrecker literature."
"Arranged marriage partner? They're really giving this bastard too much credit. Chloe's previous arranged marriage partner was clearly the main villain in the story."

Theodore and I weren't actually in an arranged marriage.
I met him in high school.
Back then, my parents had already arranged a marriage partner for me—Alexander Thompson, heir to the Thompson family of Washington.
But I didn't want to marry him, because my parents were the product of a marriage of convenience.
Since childhood, I watched them act lovingly in front of others, but privately they each brought their lovers home.
The few times they were both home together, there were endless arguments and mutual accusations.
I despised this hypocritical, broken family dynamic, so I strongly resisted arranged marriage.
In our junior year that fall, Theodore sat behind me.
When I was at my lowest emotionally, he approached me like a happy little puppy.
Accepting his confession felt completely natural.
We were together from our student days right up until we were preparing to get married. We even returned to our alma mater together recently to give speeches—we were the couple everyone envied.
Everyone said we were the real-life version of a sweet campus love story. I basked in everyone's envy, thinking I had found true love.
But what I didn't know was that the person I thought would never betray me had somehow gotten a mistress.
In the videos, Isla sweetly called him "honey" and posted content about "daily life with my sugar daddy." Many viewers even urged her to post more updates.
Theodore would hold her and film popular dance trends with her.
Though his face never appeared on camera, I could tell he was enjoying himself.
Every business trip he claimed to take, he brought Isla along.
Countless nights when I thought he was working overtime, he was actually at another woman's tender refuge.
Once I told Theodore not to work so hard.
He replied, "I want to earn your parents' respect, and I want to make more money to give you a wedding that everyone will envy."
Five minutes before the "accident," Theodore sent me a message: [No matter what happens, I will always love you.]
Every time I read that text, I cry.
But it all shattered like a soap bubble.
[Theodore had already planned his explanation for after faking his death. He would say he was swept downstream and rescued by a family, and that he had lost his memory.]
[The key thing is that Chloe actually believed it when she heard this, chose to marry him, and then began a life of suffering. In the end, she died of depression after repeatedly forgiving Theodore. How are there still authors writing this kind of story that abuses women?]
[But now the plot has suddenly changed. Chloe found out the truth early. I hope she won't follow the same old path.]
?
I went downstairs to the first floor.
Seeing me come down, Theodore's mother Naomi Lopez, who was sitting on the living room sofa, glared at me with her red, swollen eyes from crying.
She cursed: "If you hadn't urged my son to come back, he wouldn't have driven into the river. You're the one who killed my son."
Theodore had originally been on a business trip out of town. The day after his "accident" was when we had scheduled to try on wedding dresses, and he had driven into the river on his way back that night.
When I first learned of Theodore's death, I suppressed my grief and went to comfort Naomi first. But she pushed me away and cursed: "It's you, you jinx, who killed my son."
[A blessed girl wouldn't enter an unlucky family. Chloe, you should run away while you're still not married.]
[She won't run. A few days ago, when Theodore's mom called her a jinx, she felt so guilty and took all the blame on herself. After being bullied by this old woman, she'll continue to be bullied by Theodore when he fakes his return from the dead.]
Naomi and I never got along. Before Theodore's accident, he promised me that after marriage, we wouldn't live with her.
But these past few days, out of guilt, I let Naomi take her anger out on me.
Now, however, I found her clutching Theodore's portrait looked ridiculously like a clown.
I don't know what came over me, but I laughed out loud.
Naomi immediately became furious and demanded: "What are you laughing at?"
She stood up, ready to rush over and slap me.
Micah quickly rushed over to stop her: "Mrs. Lopez, please don't be angry. Chloe is overwhelmed with grief and isn't in a good mental state. Please don't hold it against her."
Gabriel also tried to mediate: "Chloe, you should apologize to Mrs. Lopez."
I slowly walked over to Naomi.
Naomi thought I was going to appease her, so she turned her head away in disgust. She also said: "No matter what you say, I'll never forgive you. You and my son were only engaged, not married yet. Don't even think about getting any of his inheritance."
But I simply bent down and whispered in her ear: "Your son deserved to die. When are you going to join him, you old hag?"
She clutched her chest in rage and fell back onto the sofa.
[The old hag is about to be angered to death. I'm cheering for Chloe! I want to see who dares to mess with her.]
[So satisfying! Chloe won't coddle her anymore.]
A group of relatives panicked and all rushed over to surround Naomi.
With trembling hands, she pointed at me and shouted: "She really did kill my son. Gabriel, call the police and arrest her."
[Theodore's mother has really lost it. No wonder she could raise such a bastard son.]
[Chloe has pulled herself together. I'm so happy.]
[I hope Chloe has truly awakened. I'm so worried that when Theodore comes back later, she'll immediately give in.]
With tears in my eyes, I said: "Since Mrs. Lopez hates me so much, I can only move out of the Lopez house."
Gabriel said: "Chloe, don't do this."
I said: "Enough. Stop trying to persuade me. My being here will only make her more heartbroken. I've already decided to move out."
Gabriel and Micah exchanged glances. Clearly, this situation was something they hadn't anticipated.
Then Gabriel walked to a corner to text Theodore.
?
Theodore replied: [That's just how my mom is. It wasn't easy for her to raise me. Please ask Chloe to be more understanding.]
Gabriel: [But your mom keeps yelling at her. She's determined to move out.]
Theodore: [Then let her move. I can easily get her to move back when the time comes anyway.]
Gabriel: [Alright. I won't try to talk her out of it then.]
Of course, I had no idea what they were discussing.
But thanks to the real-time comments, I knew the content of their conversation.
I packed up my belongings from the bedroom.
My good friend Stella Thompson helped me call a moving company.
"Chloe, are you really okay?" she asked me carefully.
Stella had seen me crying heartbrokenly a few days ago.
"I'm fine." I shook my head. "I just want to find a suitable place quickly and move out."
Stella suddenly thought of something. "Alexander has an apartment. After he went abroad, he hasn't lived there for a long time. Why don't you move there temporarily? You can move out again once you find a suitable place."
The comments in front of me suddenly increased.
[Our dark and obsessive villain Alexander with feminine energy is finally going to appear. Too bad the original text doesn't describe much of his storyline. But honestly, I quite like his character design.]
[The message he sent to Chloe, she still hasn't replied to this day. His darkness level has increased a lot again.]
I thought: "Villain? Alexander?"
I didn't even have his WhatsApp, only his Facebook that I'd added back in high school.
And his Facebook account seemed to have been hacked, sending me a link every month or two.
I was afraid of viruses, so I never clicked on them and even set his messages to "do not disturb."
So I had ignored the message he sent me a week ago: [Do you need help?]
That night, news of the rescue team's full effort to recover Theodore spread throughout Washington.
The video of me crying during the interview went viral on TikTok.
Many people felt sorry that Theodore had died so young and expressed sympathy for me.
Alexander's message was sent that very day.
I hadn't seen the message, so naturally I didn't reply to him.
After thinking it over, I politely replied: [No need. Thank you.]
Alexander instantly replied: [Okay.]
I remembered the day Theodore confessed to me.
He asked me to meet him in the woods next to the academic building. The wind was particularly strong that day.
As I brushed away the hair covering my cheek, I saw Alexander on the academic building.
He stood at the end of the corridor, hands casually resting on the railing, with thick eyebrows and deep-set eyes, quietly watching me.
I looked at him, then lowered my head and smiled as I said to Theodore: "Okay."
It wasn't until Theodore kissed my cheek that I looked up again, only to find the young man at the end of the corridor had disappeared.
Only the tree branches swayed violently in the wind.

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