Chapter 1
Everyone in the Special Police Unit knew that Jacob Stinson was the most professional crisis negotiator. He could dismantle someone’s psychological defenses in a life–or–death standoff. But when faced with Allison Eslinger’s tears, he was completely helpless.
People often said he loved Allison so deeply, like he wanted to give her the moon and stars.
But only Allison knew his heart had always belonged to someone else.
The day that his beloved crush returned to the States, Allison got the news of his accident on a stormy night. Panicked, she rushed out into the rain, only to be caught in a crash halfway there, losing the baby she’d carried for four months.
Jacob arrived in a panic, straight from his beloved crush’s welcome party. His voice shook as he said, “It was just a drunk joke. Why did you tak seriously?”
Even though she was hurting badly, he added in a serious tone, “Maybe it’s better this way. You know how dangerous my job is. I’ve made enemies. If they found out about the baby, they’d use it against me.”
The words cut through Allison like a blade, but words to argue back.
she couldn’t find the
it
Ten days after his beloved crush had returned, she caught them in a room. together, behaving intimately.
Jacob held her hand and, with tears in his eyes, said, “Allison, you have to believe me. We’re just colleagues, talking over a case, that’s all.”
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She didn’t say anything. She simply turned and walked away.
Sixty days after that woman came back, a kidnapper put a blade to Allison’s neck and laughed at Jacob.
“Mr. Stinson, you can only save one, your wife or your mistress!”
Jacob looked upset, but he spoke slowly and clearly, “Sadie is a tech expert who just returned from studying abroad. We need her on the police. unit.”
Just like that, Allison saw Sadie Lawler rush into his arms while the kidnapper lost control and stabbed her six times.
She barely survived. After lying unconscious for two months, the first thing she did when she woke up was bring their marriage certificate to the courthouse and apply for a divorce.
But she never got to the cooling–off period. Instead, the staff looked puzzled and asked her, “Ms. Eslinger, you and Mr. Stinson… have never been legally married. Is this marriage certificate fake?”
Allison thought she was hearing things. The marriage certificate she had. cherished for six years, the marriage she thought was real, turned out to
be fake.
“No way. Please check again… we’ve been married for six years…”
The staff looked a bit uncomfortable but still double–checked the records. After going over it a few times, he looked at Allison seriously and said, “Ms. Eslinger, faking a legal document is against the law. I’ll just pretend I didn’t see this today.”
She stood there in a daze, her eyes fixed on the names printed on the marriage certificate. Suddenly, it all felt like a joke.
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Now that Sadie had come back, everything made sense.
To keep things hidden while waiting for his beloved crush, Jacob had faked a marriage with her.
When she returned to the hospital, Jacob walked towards her with concern on his face. “Allison, you’re still recovering. Why did you leave your room?”
She pulled her arm away and walked past him without saying a word.
He stood there in shock. “Are you still upset with me? You know, ever since I chose this job, I’ve had to put the country and public safety before everything else……. Besides, Sadie ended up hurt because she was trying to
protect you.”
She stared at the man she had shared her life with for six long years. Somehow, he felt like a total stranger.
Yes, it all made sense now. She had never really known who he was at
all.
“Yeah, she got hurt, she’s a brave person, and I’m just someone who doesn’t appreciate anything.”
Allison gripped the marriage certificate hidden in her pocket, her eyes stinging.
She thought to herself, “Jacob, what do I even mean to you? Just a way to pass the time while you wait for Sadie to come back?”
Without looking back, Allison turned away and headed back to her hospital room.
She drifted off into a deep sleep from exhaustion and didn’t wake until late in the day. Not long after, an officer who had come with Jacob
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brought her some food.
But instead of leaving right away, the officer stood awkwardly by the door. After a while, he finally spoke, clenching his jaw, “Allison, you shouldn’t be mad at Jacob. You’ve always had a bias against us police
officers!”
Before she could respond, he got even more emotional.
“Yes, Ms. Lawler made a serious mistake during the mission to rescue your mother, but we’re not superheroes. We put ourselves in danger to help, but we can’t guarantee every hostage will come out safe!
“You can’t hold it all against her because of that one tragedy. That’s ́ ́unfair. And after what happened, Ms. Lawler was severely disciplined and sent abroad. She worked hard to fix her mistake. She only got to return after she made a great contribution.”
Allison’s head suddenly felt like it was spinning.
Six years ago, her mother had been caught in a bank robbery and held hostage.
During the conversation with the robber, a young female negotiator acted impulsively and made the robber angry, leading to her mother’s death…
Later on, Allison found out that the young negotiator had been disciplined, and the government had given her family money as compensation. It was around that time when Jacob suddenly showed up in her life.
So… Sadie was the negotiator from back then.
And all along, Jacob was trying to make up for someone else’s mistake.
Allison couldn’t process anything anymore. She didn’t even notice when
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the officer had left the hospital room.
She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there, completely lost in thought. Eventually, she picked up her phone and called someone.
When the person answered, her voice was steady, almost too calm.
“I accepted the transfer order. I’m ready to move out at any time.”
