Chapter 25
Vincent dreamed.
He was eighteen, training with a special unit deep in the mountains. That summer, the air was thin and the drills brutal.
And then he met her.
A bright–eyed girl with a younger sister in tow, hustling through life because her father gambled and her mother was sick.
She accidentally wandered into the training zone and bumped right into him while he was slacking off.
Her eyes–wide, startled, honest–looked straight through him.
“Sorry,” she said, hugging her arms to her chest. “I didn’t mean to trespass. I was just curious about what you guys were doing.”
Vincent meant to scold her.
But truthfully? He was tired of the endless yelling and push–ups. Having someone- anyone–break the monotony was a welcome distraction.
So he put on his best stern face. “You’re not allowed to leave. Unauthorized entry into a military zone carries consequences.”
Panic flickered across her features.
He tried not to laugh.
“See that mountain over you.”
there?” he pointed. “You’re being punished. Climb it. I’ll be watching from the top. If I don’t see you up there, I’m reporting
He just wanted to mess with her.
But when he finally scaled that steep incline, she was already there–fast asleep beneath a peach tree.
Humiliation flared.
“How’d you beat me? You must’ve cheated.”
She shook her head furiously..“I climb this mountain every day to get to town. You’re never going to beat me.”
They raced again.
He lost. Again.
“Someday,” he panted, hands on his knees. “I’ll be stronger. I’ll beat you. Just wait.”
Her laugh was like sunlight. “Fine. I’ll wait.”
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They walked down together. As dusk settled, a searing pain shot through his leg. Then his foot slipped on a patch of loose undergrowth. His body plummeted downward, thorny vines tearing at his skin as he fell. Just as he braced for impact at the valley’s bottom, a hand caught his.
The young girl possessed astonishing strength. She’d thrown him a vine and hauled him back up.
When he collapsed onto the mossy ground, she pointed to his ankle.
“You got bit! That’s a snake bite!”
Only then did the pain register. Dizziness followed.
He passed out.
When he came to, he was lying on a haystack. His ankle was wrapped in herbal paste.
“You city types can’t handle mountain snakes,” she teased. “You should go back. Get real treatment. Or you’ll die.”
He chuckled weakly and stood, nearly falling into her arms.
She caught him. Her hands were rough and calloused–but warm.
As he limped away, he turned back. “Will I ever see you again?”
She waved, grinning. “Sure. I’m going to the city one day. Gonna see what your world looks like.”
Then she tossed him a locket.
“For protection.”
Chapter 25
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Years later, at a high–society gala, he saw her again.
Gone was the mountain girl.
Her slender figure, paired with an elegant dress, made her seem like a completely different person from the girl who had once trudged up the mountain.
But beside her stood Callum Rivers.
The prince of Astoria’s elite.
Maybe she didn’t remember him.
Didn’t recognize the boy who had blushed in the dusk of that evening.
Vincent never forgot.
He learned her name that night.
Evelyn Hart.
She was the Cinderella that the crown prince of Astoria’s elite, Callum Rivers, had chased for years before finally winning her over.
Now, he could climb that mountain faster than her.
Yet she had become someone else’s wife.
But now, Vincent opened his eyes–her lashes flickering in sleep, her breath soft and steady–he finally understood what fate had given back to him.
The porcelain locket still hung around his neck.
And his heart was still hers.
Just like it had been, beneath that peach tree.
Chapter 1
“Ms. Mullen, your request for a staged death has been fully arranged. Here’s the agreement, please sign here.”
Karissa looked at the agreement that was pushed in front of her.
“Client: Karissa Mullen.
Method of death: a fail from the mountaintop, devoured by wild beasts, leaving no remains.
Time of death: one week later.”
A week later was the fifth anniversary of her marriage to Stanley Vargas.
It was also the day she had planned to fake her death and leave him.
They started from this date, so it would end on this date.
After signing the agreement, she happened to see Stanley’s interview on the news.
The host asked, “Mr. Vargas, being so young and accomplished, what is the secret to your success?”
Stanley lifted his left hand and pointed to the wedding ring on his finger. “The secret is, I have a good wife.”
The host was taken aback for a moment and said, “Oh? I thought you would share your analysis and plans for the industry’s prospects.”
“That doesn’t matter. All the wealth I have is not worth a single strand of my wife’s hair.”
“Your wife is really to be envied…”
In the scene, Stanley glanced at his watch and then smiled at the camera. “Sorry for the interruption of the interview. Time is running out, and I would like to borrow your live camera to say a few words to my wife.”
“Alright, Mr. Vargas, you say.”
“1
Stanley’s voice softened a bit, “Karissa, I just had someone buy you hot chocolate, it’s almost there. Drink it and have a good sleep. When I come back
from work, I’ll give you a belly rub.”
Several girls were gathered around, watching the live stream on the big screen.
Hearing this, they all made envious sounds.
“Who on earth is Mrs. Vargas, to make a man like Mr. Vargas so devoted?”
“So sweet and so spoiled! I’m so jealous.”
There were all voices of envy around Karissa’s ears.
Only Karissa herself, mockingly tugged the corner of her lips.
Everyone thought she was lucky to marry Stanley, such a once–in–a–century gem of a man.
She used to think so before.
But nobody knew that Stanley had another woman outside.
They were married for five years, and Stanley supported that woman for four and a half years.
Every time he said he was going on a business trip, he actually went to another woman’s bed, indulging in debauchery and passionate entanglement.
Karissa still remembers the first time she saw those videos, her heart felt like it was being pierced by ten thousand needles, pulled out, and then pierced again.
At the end, it was riddled with holes, broken and in ruins.
She also remembers that when she was a child, she was bullied at school, it was Stanley stood in front of her and taught those bullies a lesson.
He said to her, “Don’t be afraid. I will protect you from now.”
One time, they were driving when they encountered an out–of–control truck coming towards them.
Stanley’s initial reaction was to rush forward and protect her, and as a result, he himself ended up lying in the hospital for nearly half a year, almost in a vegetative state.
