Chapter 1

"Ms. Everett, this is to confirm the pseudocide arrangement you scheduled with us. Time of death is the day of your wedding, two weeks from now. The official cause will be recorded as suicide by sea jump. Calista Everet will appear as the deceased in all official records.”

Please sign here to authorize execution. Once this goes through—there’s no reversing it.”

Calista signed her name decisively at the bottom of the document.

On her way home, Calista caught sight of the massive billboard looping the video of Sterling Huxley proposing to her.

In the video, Sterling was down on one knee. The man who was always so composed now held the ring with a visibly tremble in his hand.

And the moment she said "I do," the tears he had been holding back finally fell.

Two girls nearby clutched each other's arms, completely swept up in the romance of it all.

“Aaaahhh! Sterling is freaking obsessed with Calista!”

"I know! He’s like the ultimate relationship goals guy.! They were childhood sweethearts, and he couldn’t even wait to confessed his feelings at seventeen."

"At twenty, he went all out and got a crown made from the rarest pink diamond ever, just to call her his forever princess."

"Remember Calista got into a car crash? Hospital was low on her rare blood type, so he legit ignored the docs and gave her his own blood—almost drained himself to bring her back."

"At twenty-six, he proposed to her in a global live stream and finally married his dream girl."

"Seriously, No one could possibly love his wife more than Sterling Huxley!"

Calista didn't stick around to hear more. She lowered her gaze to hide the bitter irony in her eyes.

Everyone envied their perfect love story. Everyone talked about how Sterling was head-over-heels for her.

No one would ever suspect this same man had been secretly cheating an Instagram model, Lola, for three whole years.

When she discovered all those "late nights at the office" were actually having sex with his mistress, her heart had been ripped straight out of her chest, raw and bleeding.

Staring at those filthy photos, she remembered being fifteen when her parents fighting viciously over who could get rid of her after divorce.

It was Sterling who kicked open the door, grabbed her hand and said with absolute conviction:

"You don't want her? I'll take!"

From that day, Sterling had given everything to her.

He'd gotten three ribs broken defending her honor. He tracked her period on his own calendar. His Instagram was practically a Calista fan account. All their friends said he was like her pet dog, unable to be away from her for even a minute...

When he slid the ring onto her finger, he'd kissed her through tears, begging her to love him forever, pleading never to leave him. If she ever left, he swore he'd completely fall apart.

He promised he couldn't live without her. Now he was the one with someone else.

Fine. She’d disappear. Fake her death, start over with a new name, and erase herself from his life—he’d never find her again.

Calista wiped away tear. Just as she turned to leave, a Maybach screeched to a stop beside her. A tall figure jumped out from the back seat and rushed toward her.

"Cali, I thought we agreed you'd wait at home until I picked you up after my meeting for the dress fitting," Sterling said as he took her hand. "Why are you out here by yourself?"

Feeling her cold fingers, he immediately slipped off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Your hands are freezing, sweetheart. Where's your coat? You know I can't bear the thought of you being uncomfortable for even a minute."

Calista said nothing, just looked up at him silently. The worry in his eyes seemed so real, which only confused her more.

How could someone possibly love two people at the same time?

As Sterling tightened the jacket around her and was about to lead her to the car, the two girls nearby spotted them and did a double-take.

Their eyes went wide with recognition.

They practically bounced over, faces flushed with excitement, tripping over their words.

"OMG! You're actually—you're Calista and Sterling, right? We're your biggest shippers ever! Can we grab a selfie? Please? "

Calista didn't want to disappoint the girls, so after a moment's hesitation, she nodded.

The two girls positioned themselves between the couple and held up their phones.

Sterling wasn't big on photos, but he dutifully wrapped his arm around Calista's waist and faced the camera alongside her.

After the selfie, the girls kept thanking them profusely. Their faces flushed with excitement as they couldn’t stop saying how much they hoped the couple "stay in love forever" and "grow old together."

Stay in love forever?

Calista glanced up at Sterling. As their eyes met, he gave her a soft smile that reserved only for her, his gaze overflowing with affection.

He nodded along to every word of the girls' well-wishes.

Only she knew there would be no "forever" for them.

At the bridal boutique, the moment Calista stepped from the car, a sales rushed to greet them, her voice tinged with envy.

"Ms. Everett, Mr. Huxley has commissioned one thousand custom wedding gowns for you. They're all ready whenever you'd like to start trying them on."

Calista said nothing, turning instead to look at Sterling. He’s glued to his phone, eyes burning with raw lust she'd only ever seen in those filthy photos with that Instagram model.

When he noticed her watching, he quickly pocketed his phone and stepped forward, his expression shifting to apologetic.

"Babe, I'm really sorry, but there's an emergency at the office and I need to handle right now. The driver will wait for you here. Once you're done with the dresses, he'll take you home."

With a quick kiss to her forehead, he hurried into another waiting car, leaving her standing alone.

The sales approached carefully. "Ms. Everett, would you like to start the fitting now?"

Calista pulled her gaze from the disappearing car and shook her head.

"No, thanks. I don’t want any of this.”

After all, their wedding would only have a "dead" bride.

Chapter 2

As Calista settled into the car heading home, she unlocked her phone to find a text from Lola Hart.

It was a screenshot from iMessage.

In the image, Lola wore a black lace bunny costume, sprawled provocatively on the floor with a seductive gaze directed at the camera.

[If Daddy gets here in twenty minutes, this little bunny will let him do any way he wants...]

Below it, Sterling's black profile icon and his reply: [Wait me.]

Calista turned off her screen and closed eyes, fighting to suppress the stabbing pain spreading through her chest.

She'd thought after seeing so many of these pictures, she would grow numb to it all.

But the agony still crashed through her whole body.

Finally, she forced herself to shut her eyes and turn off her phone.

Late that night, Calista fell into a restless sleep curled up on the bed, her eyes swollen from crying. Her phone vibrated on the pillow beside her every hour until morning.

When she woke and checked her messages, she discovered that Lola had been sending her photos hourly throughout the night—each one showing a used condom.

[He fucked me all night long, working my body with every position imaginable. I couldn’t even crawl out of bed today. Ever had him do that to you?

Calista didn't respond, but she scrolled through the images and read the message dozens of times over.

When Sterling returned, he found Calista lying in bed with reddened eyes, clutching her phone so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

His heart skipped a beat as he rushed to gather her into his arms, his voice tight with concern.

"Cali, baby, you've been crying? What's going on?"

Was she crying?

Calista snapped back to reality and looked at him, belatedly touching her face to discover it was already wet with tears.

After a long moment, she gave a small smile that failed to mask the devastation in her eyes.

"Nothing. I just saw some really moving photos."

Sterling gently stroked her cheek, his voice soft with worry. "What kind of pictures got you this upset? Sweetheart, you're going to break my heart to see you crying like this."

Calista was about to speak when the housekeeper knocked on th door. "Mr. Huxley, your car is ready."

Sterling nodded briefly before leaning in to kiss her. "Baby, I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have left you alone at the bridal shop. Let me make it up to you—come with me to the auction. Whatever my girl wants, she gets."

Calista didn't answer, but he took her silence as agreement. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her from the room, personally selecting her outfit, jewelry, and shoes.

At the auction house, Sterling swept the entire first half of the auction, outbidding everyone for every single item despite Calista's obvious lack of interest.

During intermission, a group of men approached from behind, they're Sterling's friends.

“I was wondering who the hell was throwing cash around like that—figures it’s you, Sterling!"

"And here I thought I might score something nice for my grandma's birthday. So much for that plan."

"The 'wife guy' reputation is well-earned! Come on, Sterling—take a rest and give us a chance to bid on something in the second half."

The men joked around with Sterling, who barely glanced their way before returning his attention to peeling an orange for Calista.

"You guys are out of luck for the second half too. Every thing on that list today belongs to my sweetie."

The men made exaggerated gestures of disappointment, playfully clutching their hearts and pretending to collapse in chairs.

Sterling's lips curved into a satisfied smile. He ignored them but carefully separating the orange segments and offering them to Calista.

Calista barely looked at him as she shook her head. “I’m not in the mood for fruit. You have it.”

Soon, the second half of the auction began.

Just then, the main doors swung open. An attendant ceremoniously escorted a woman in a mini red dress into the room.

Calista felt Sterling stiffen beside her.

She looked up to see Lola Hart's stunning face right there in front of her.

Chapter 3

Lola slipped a few hundred-dollar bills into the attendant's cleavage with a seductive smile. Before the attendant could even react, she sauntered over and sat down right next to Sterling.

Everyone in the room gasped at her audacity, whispering about Lola’s background started to spread.

"Is that woman seriously sitting next to Sterling Huxley?"

"Doesn't she realize he could end her entire career with one phone call?"

“Shhh! You don’t even know the half of it. Word is she’s got some big-shot backing her. You didn’t see her livestream? The whole room was filled with designer jewelry and bags!”

...

Just as Calista was about to look away, she saw Lola blatantly grab Sterling's hand and shove it under her skirt.

Sterling's hand froze, and he instinctively jerk back, but Lola pressed it firmly in place with a seductive smile and shifted her hips

Eventually, Sterling stopped resisting and left his hand where it was.

Calista sharply turned her head away, struggling to control her trembling hands.

Throughout the second half of the auction, Calista sat in a fog of pain, barely registering what was happening around her. It wasn't until collective gasps erupted from the crowd that she was jolted from her private agony.

She looked up to see an absolutely jaw-dropping diamond necklace, sparkling against the black velvet display.

The auctioneer enthusiastically detailed its history—supposedly Queen Elizabeth's favorite piece, symbolizing unshakable devotion and everlasting love.

Noticing Calista's interest in the necklace, Sterling immediately raised his paddle.

"Ten million!"

Then a female voice chimed in from beside him.

"Thirty million!"

He turned to see Lola with her paddle raised too. Sensing his displeasure, she flashed him a sultry smile, her eyes shimmering with playful intent.

"Sorry, Mr. Huxley. My boyfriend’s in love with me too, so he wants to buy me this necklace as well~”

Sterling's face fell. "Fifty million!"

"One hundred million!"

"One hundred and fifty million!"

...

Finally, Sterling made a specific gesture to the auctioneer.

The auctioneer slammed his gavel down with visible excitement.

"No-limit bid! Mr. Huxley’s in with a no-limit bid!"

"Congratulations to Mr. Huxley on acquiring the Heart of True Love!"

As applause thundered through the room, Sterling casually pulled his hand back from under Lola’s skirt, and leaned over to kiss Calista.

"Stay here, sweetheart. I'm going to get your necklace."

Calista watched him walk away, then noticed Lola standing up as well, giving her a knowing look before following Sterling's path.

Once everyone had dispersed, Calista finally unclenched her fists. Her nails had dug so deeply into her palms that tiny droplets of blood had formed.

She didn't seem to feel the pain as she rose and walked out.

On her still-lit phone screen was a read text message:

[Underground parking garage.]

With all the guests apparently gone, the parking garage was nearly empty except for a single Maybach.

Anyone who tried to approach was politely but firmly redirected by a young driver standing guard at a distance.

No one noticed the car gently rocking.

The sound of woman's moans and man's grunts reached Calista's ears.

Suddenly drained of all strength, she leaned against a concrete pillar, staring blankly at the scene before her.

The back door of the car hung open. The two inside buck-naked, tangled up in a sweaty mess—Lola's legs wrapped tightly around the man's muscular waist as she whimpered and sobbed.

"Slow down... Daddy... please ... your little bunny can't take it..."

“You started this, right? Just be good and take it, my dear bunny."

With a final grunt, he thrust deeply and held her against him as he shuddered.