Chapter 1

"Evelyn Drake, have you really decided to join the FBI?"

Senior FBI agent Garrett stared at the elegantly dressed woman before him with a probing, somewhat doubtful gaze.

Garrett liked to categorize everyone he met into different social classes—it was both an occupational hazard and a special skill of his. He was good at it, and he never got it wrong.

This Evelyn in front of him, with her refined makeup and platinum blonde hair down to the roots, didn't seem suited to become an FBI agent in his view.

He'd seen too many of these temperamental rich wives throwing tantrums, most of them just making a scene before waiting for their wealthy husbands to come groveling to bring them back home.

If someone this delicate joined the FBI, that Kevlar bulletproof vest alone would probably chafe her tender skin raw.

Thinking this, Garrett smiled contemptuously, the disdain in his tone growing heavier: "Are you sure? Give up your comfortable life now to become an FBI agent?"

Evelyn sensed his contempt. She removed her expensive watch and placed it in her handbag, then nodded at him solemnly: "I'm one hundred percent certain."

Garrett was taken aback by her firm attitude. He awkwardly touched his nose, briefly feeling guilty about judging her by appearance. For once, he sat up straight with a serious expression: "Evelyn, if you want to become an FBI agent, you must erase all traces of your current identity as Evelyn Drake. I'll arrange a fake death for you, and then you'll live under a completely new identity."

Garrett flipped through Evelyn's application form in his hands, a hint of amazement showing in his eyes.

This woman was actually a rare straight-A student from Quantico.

He pulled out the approval stamp and looked up at Evelyn one last time.

At this moment, Evelyn showed an eagerness that didn't match her refined, aloof appearance—she truly looked forward to becoming an FBI agent.

Garrett smiled, quickly stamped the document, and handed it back to Evelyn: "Welcome aboard."

Evelyn held it like a rare treasure, unable to suppress the smile on her lips. It wasn't until she reached her front door that she carefully placed the document in her briefcase and entered the house, feigning composure.

As soon as Evelyn entered, she smelled the fishy stench of semen throughout the house, followed by a woman's moans coming from the master bedroom upstairs with its door wide open.

Evelyn listened quietly, calculating when it would end, her expression numb as she walked up the stairs.

She'd lost count of how many women Caspian had brought home.

In the three years since their marriage, almost every day Caspian would bring different women home.

She knew he humiliated her, his legal wife, this way because of that one thing neither of them would mention.

To get revenge on her, Caspian blatantly had sex with women he carefully selected to look like her on their shared master bedroom bed.

Evelyn thought she'd gotten used to the various women who appeared in this bed.

But the moment her eyes met those on the bed, she froze.

Caspian watched her shocked expression, a satisfied, amused smile playing at his lips. He got off the woman, approached her naked, and pulled out some bills from her coat: "Perfect timing. Go buy a few more boxes of condoms. My size—you know it best."

Evelyn peered through the gap in Caspian's muscular arms to look inside. After confirming she wasn't mistaken, for the first time she chose not to comply, asking with a choked voice: "Why?"

Caspian snorted coldly, carelessly pulled on his underwear, and fumbled for a cigarette from the nightstand to light up.

The dancing flame reflected in Evelyn's eyes, completely burning away the fragile remnants of feeling between them.

Evelyn's gaze followed the man's movements, her eyes reddening, her voice hoarse: "Why wouldn't you even spare my best friend Kiera? How can you be so cruel to me? You have to destroy even the last bit of friendship I have left!"

Caspian curled his lips in a disdainful sneer, blowing smoke directly into Evelyn's face, his voice venomous: "I'm cruel? Compared to you, what does any of this matter?"

Evelyn's lungs burned from the smoke. Thinking of that incident, her earlier defiance dissipated with the smoke: "I'm sorry."

Evelyn lowered her head. Caspian's shadow fell over her forehead. The bloody smell from her memories filled her nostrils again, making even the unpleasant cigarette smoke seem like an antidote by comparison.

Yes, compared to her, Caspian really wasn't cruel enough.

He hadn't abandoned her when she was desperate and about to end up on the streets because of her mother's illness, nor had he hung up when she called his phone sobbing for help.

But what choice did she have?

Her father, an FBI agent, was shot and killed in a raid on a drug lord. The drug lord only suffered minor injuries and immediately put out a bounty of five hundred thousand dollars on her and her family members.

She had no choice but to hide and run.

Her life was destroyed, but Caspian's wasn't, so she decisively broke up with him.

She ignored his kneeling, his tearful pleas, then watched helplessly as he got into a car accident while chasing after her.

His blood mixed with her tears. She could still smell that day's bloody scent even now.

The accident ruptured his kidney—he needed someone to donate one to have a chance at survival.

Evelyn risked her life to find his attending physician, offering to give him one of her kidneys.

That day, she was in the bed next to his, watching through the gap in the curtain as he dialed her number one second before entering the operating room.

Evelyn's tears wouldn't stop flowing, but she still chose to hang up the call.

She wanted him to give up on her.

But all he wanted was her forgiveness.

At the time, his whole body was wrapped in bandages, only his fingers could barely move.

He struggled to type out a message saying he would love her forever. On the brink of life and death, all he wanted was for her to turn back.

Evelyn looked at the message on her phone and still chose to block him. She couldn't be involved with him anymore. She couldn't drag him down.

She requested early discharge and never saw him again.

And Caspian, who successfully survived the operating table, also chose to abandon their past feelings, left with only hatred for her.

The two didn't see each other for three years.

By the time Evelyn finally escaped the manhunt, Caspian had become the CEO of a publicly traded company, a new name on the Forbes list.

She was seeking medical treatment everywhere for her critically ill mother when he took the initiative to help, with only one condition: she had to marry him.

Evelyn was deeply moved, thinking his feelings were precious, that he still loved her. She couldn't wait to tell him the whole truth, full of hope for a happy future together. But when she lifted her veil, she saw eyes filled with hatred.

He forcefully shoved an ill-fitting diamond ring onto her ring finger, making her wince in pain.

Faced with her confusion, he just smiled wickedly, leaning close to her ear to whisper: "Evelyn, get ready for my revenge."

That night he locked her in the master bedroom bathroom, forcing her to listen to him having sex all night with a stranger who looked like her.

That night, in the cold bathtub, she finally understood that Caspian no longer cared about her.

Suddenly there was a dull pain on Evelyn's wrist. After a dizzy spin, she was already pinned against the wall by Caspian.

He stared at her reddened eyes, a hint of expectation in his deep blue eyes: "What, are you trying to say you had your reasons back then?"

Evelyn's lips trembled several times. Carrying out missions meant near-certain death.

These three years she and Caspian had been entangled for too long. Even if she still loved him, she couldn't hold on anymore. She was just too tired.

As their eyes met, Evelyn forced herself to stay alert, stubbornly raising her head slightly: "What reasons could there be? I just thought about it all night and decided you weren't good enough for me. Marrying you was too hasty. Can't I regret it?"

Slap!

Caspian's face darkened as he delivered a slap: "Bitch!"