My Husband Is An International Idol

Chapter 3: The Husband Nobody Knows

Liliana’s peaceful days continued.

Every morning, she watered her flowers. Every afternoon, she tended her vegetable garden. Every evening, she prepared dinner and waited for Chris’s messages.

Simple. Comfortable. Predictable.

Exactly the kind of life she loved. Unfortunately, peace never lasted long.

Liliana’s phone exploded with notifications the next morning.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Liliana nearly dropped her teacup.

"What now?"

She adjusted her glasses and opened her social media app.

The moment the screen loaded, her eyes widened.

Pulse was trending worldwide again.

Well, that wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was the photo currently circulating online.

It was a picture of Chris leaving the Paris concert venue. Thousands of comments flooded beneath it.

"He looks so handsome!"

"Marry me, Chris!"

"Please look at me once!"

"I would literally sell my soul for this man."

Liliana stared at the comments.

Then she slowly took a sip of tea.

"Absolutely not."

Chris’s soul belonged to him. His schedule, however, clearly belonged to his agency. The poor man hadn’t had a proper vacation in months.

And as his wife, she felt qualified to complain. Even if nobody knew she was his wife.

A particular comment caught her attention.

"If Chris ever gets married, I will cry for three years."

Liliana nearly choked.

Three years? That seemed excessive.

Another comment appeared.

"There’s no way Chris has time to date."

Liliana looked toward the thirty-seven boxes occupying half her living room. Then she glanced at the text messages from earlier.

A small smile tugged at her lips.

No time to date? The man had somehow found enough time to monitor her online shopping habits. She doubted that counted as normal behavior.

Suddenly, another notification appeared. This time it wasn’t social media. It was a phone call.

The caller ID displayed: Grandmother.

Liliana immediately sat up straighter. "Oh no." She answered at once. "Grandmother."

A sharp voice immediately sounded from the other side.

"Liliana."

Liliana swallowed.

Even at seventy-five years old, her grandmother could still make grown adults nervous.

"Y-Yes?"

"Have you forgotten?"

Forgotten? Forgotten what?

Panic filled her chest.

Had she forgotten a special occasion? An anniversary? A holiday?

Her grandmother sighed dramatically. "The family gathering."

Liliana froze. ’The family gathering is today?’

Oh no. She had completely forgotten.

"I’ll be there!"

"You’d better."

The call ended.

Liliana stared at her phone.

The Sterling Family gathering. The event she dreaded most every year. Not because she disliked her relatives.

Well, not all of them. But family gatherings inevitably led to one topic.

Marriage. More specifically, her marriage.

When Liliana lost her parents twenty years ago, the Sterling Family lost everything and their name was forgotten overnight.

Fortunately, the powerful St. Claire Family had stepped in to help and support her.

And to honor an old promise between their fathers, Liliana and Chris entered into an arranged marriage.

A private marriage. A secret marriage. A marriage that remained hidden from the public.

After losing the family’s wealth and influence, her relatives were living ordinary middle-class lives, working in various companies. Yet many of them still carried themselves as though they belonged to one of the country’s most prestigious clans.

Although her remaining relatives knew she was married, none of them had ever met her husband.

Some thought he had abandoned her. Others assumed her mysterious husband didn’t exist. A few even believed she had invented the marriage to avoid blind dates.

So every family gathering became an interrogation.

Liliana sighed. She already had a headache.

Two hours later, she arrived at the Sterling Family ancestral home. The only property left under her grandmother’s name.

The large estate sat near the edge of the village, surrounded by old trees and flowering shrubs.

The moment she entered the courtyard, she heard a familiar voice.

"Liliana!"

A woman rushed toward her.

Emily Sterling, her cousin. Twenty-four years old. Loud and nosy. And completely incapable of minding her own business.

Emily immediately grabbed her arm. "You’re late!"

"By three minutes."

"That’s late."

Liliana sighed. "Good afternoon to you too."

Emily ignored that.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did your mysterious husband finally come back?"

Liliana nearly tripped. Straight to the point as expected.

"No."

Emily groaned. "Five years!"

"It’s called a long-distance marriage."

"It’s called suspicious."

"It’s not suspicious."

"It absolutely is."

Liliana rubbed her forehead. The interrogation had already begun.

Before she could defend herself, another voice interrupted.

"Emily, stop bothering her."

Both women turned.

A handsome man approached. Nathan Sterling. Emily’s older brother. And one of the few relatives Liliana actually liked.

Nathan smiled warmly. "Good to see you, Lily."

"Good to see you too."

Emily crossed her arms. "I’m just saying. Nobody has ever met her husband."

Nathan laughed. "That’s because he’s always working."

"Doing what?"

Liliana hesitated.

If she answered honestly, the entire village might faint. "Oh, you know..." She waved her hand vaguely. "Business."

Technically true. Being an international idol was definitely a business.

But Emily looked unconvinced.

Before she could continue, a commotion erupted near the entrance.

Several young women suddenly squealed. Excited whispers spread through the crowd.

"What happened?"

Nathan frowned.

One of the relatives hurried over.

"You won’t believe it!"

"What?"

The woman grinned excitedly. "Pulse is coming to our country next month!"

Instantly, the atmosphere exploded. Everyone began talking at once.

Emily screamed while Nathan covered his ears. Several of their cousins started jumping.

Liliana blinked. Pulse? Coming home?

A smile immediately appeared on her face. That meant Chris would finally be back.

After months apart. The thought made her chest warm. She quickly hid her smile before anyone noticed.

Unfortunately, Emily noticed.

Her eyes narrowed. "Why are you smiling?"

Liliana froze.

"No reason."

For the first time that day, a strange feeling settled in Liliana’s chest. A feeling she couldn’t quite explain.

Because while everyone else was excited about seeing their favorite idol. She was excited because she would finally get to see her husband.

And very soon, the secret she had protected for five years would begin to crack.

Neither she nor Chris knew it yet.

But the moment Pulse returned to Aurelia, their carefully hidden marriage would be placed directly beneath the spotlight.