Chapter 1
"You drive me crazy, Lilith. Just one night... I’ll give you whatever you want. Please let me taste you," my billionaire CEO whimpered, pinning me against the wall, his hot breath brushing my ear.
He is obsessed with my new face, my body, and my ruthless attitude. He is willing to abandon everything just to get into my bed.
If only he knew that the flawless skin he’s kissing right now used to be covered in the acid his mistress poured on me.
If only he knew that I am his dead, naive wife—the one he threw into an ice cellar to die along with our unborn child, just to steal my family's inheritance.
"Anything I want?" I trace his jawline, smiling sweetly as my nail digs into his skin. "Then give me your empire, William. And your life."
I rose from the ashes with a new face and a hidden will. He wants to ruin my lipstick, but I came back to ruin his life.
The crystal chandeliers hanging over the church wedding hall burned my eyes.
"Did you hear? The bride was kidnapped and held captive for a full day and night. Who knows what happened to her out there?"
"Poor Mr. William. He’s stuck marrying someone with such a tainted past."
"Shh, keep your voice down—the groom’s here."
Malicious whispers and judgmental stares pricked at my bare back like thousands of tiny needles. I squeezed my bridal bouquet so tight my fingertips turned pale.
It had been less than a week since that nightmarish abduction. Even closing my eyes, I could still smell the mildew stench of that abandoned warehouse.
"Selene."
William Sinclair dropped to one knee in front of me, holding up the heirloom pearl necklace that belonged to the matriarch of the Sinclair family.
"Don’t pay any mind to what everyone’s saying." He looked up at me, his gaze so tender it felt intoxicating. "I, William Sinclair, swear to the heavens: you are the only love of my life, and I’ll protect you for all time."
Tears streamed down my face.
I threw myself into his arms and clung to him tightly.
When the whole world was talking trash about me, he was my only light in the darkness. Back then, I truly believed I’d married the greatest love the world had ever known.
The audience in the pews were teary-eyed, nudging each other excitedly. "Wow, William is such a sweetheart! Selene must’ve done something incredible in her past life to land a man this devoted." "For real. Guys like him are one in a million these days."
The cold pearls rested against my neck, and tears welled up in my eyes, touched beyond words.
The wedding reception finally drew to a close late at night.
I carried a bowl of hangover soup and headed toward the men’s restroom at the back of the banquet hall. The door stood ajar, and raucous laughter from several men drifted out.
“Man, you’ve got some guts, William! I can’t believe you’d send your own fiancée straight to a bunch of thugs!”
“Your whole loving act today was flawless. I almost bought it myself!”
William’s slurred voice cut through the noise, laced with undisguised contempt. “Those fools actually think I’m head over heels for her?”
My feet froze where I stood.
“How else was I supposed to tame her stuck-up attitude? I had to stage that kidnapping and ruin her reputation first, otherwise she’d never be my obedient puppet.” William let out a mocking snort, followed by the sharp click of a lighter. “My late father’s will left no room — I can only claim the inheritance if I marry Selene. Now that her name’s dragged through the mud, she’s got nowhere to go but cling to me.”
“Brilliant move, Mr. Sinclair!” his friends cheered. “Hope those kidnappers didn’t go too far with her?”
“I told them to give her a proper scare. Plus, a few compromising photos are more than enough to destroy her reputation and make her totally dependent on me.”
“Ever since that day, she won’t even dare to look me in the eye. She’s like a docile dog now, doing everything I say.”
A wave of nausea crashed over me, and the porcelain bowl in my hands shook violently.
The pearl necklace around my neck felt like an icy noose, tightening around my throat and stealing my breath.
Horrible memories flooded my mind: the rough hands tearing at my clothes during the kidnapping, the utter despair I felt, and the humiliation of those camera flashes going off again and again.
It was never an accident.
The man I’d vowed to love for a lifetime had personally built this living hell for me.
I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted the metallic tang of blood. I quietly retreated to the fire escape at the end of the hallway.
I pushed open the heavy fire door, and frigid wind swept through my wedding gown.
I pulled out my phone and dialed a private, encrypted number.
