A Love That Transcends Mere Romance

"Miss Jackson, are you sure you want to undergo hypnosis? You should know that once it begins, it's irreversible. Your body will be controlled by an alternate personality, and you'll fall into a sleep from which you'll never wake up," the doctor asked gravely over the phone.

"Yes, I'm sure," Nina replied calmly.

Before the call ended, there was a sudden noise at the door—Lucas Spencer had returned.

Nina hung up and silently walked to the living room.

The dining table was still set with untouched food—roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and asparagus—now completely cold from sitting out too long.

"Nina, I'm sorry. There was an emergency at the office and I've been working overtime until now. I didn't even get to celebrate your birthday," Lucas said apologetically. "But I did buy you a gift. Open it and see."

He handed her a beautifully wrapped small gift box.

Nina didn't immediately reach for it. Her gaze fell on Lucas's collar.

On the white collar, a bright red lipstick mark stood out starkly.

Nina felt a sting in her eyes and a sharp pain in her heart.

Sometimes she couldn't help thinking: was he doing this on purpose? He managed his vast corporate empire so meticulously, yet couldn't check if there was lipstick on his collar before coming home.

"What's wrong? Are you upset?" Seeing Nina's hesitation, Lucas stepped forward and coaxed her affectionately. "The office had an urgent matter, I really couldn't get away. Come on, don't be upset. I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

As he came closer, Nina smelled a strong perfume on him.

Tom Ford's Black Orchid, also known as the "heartbreaker" fragrance.

Clearly, he'd been with some gorgeous woman tonight.

"I'm not upset," Nina finally reached out and took the gift Lucas offered.

It was a pair of sapphire earrings with a celestial design. They looked quite expensive, but—

As the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine, Nina knew their latest issue had just featured these exact earrings.

They were part of a collection that included a necklace, bracelet, ring, and earrings.

Buy the first three items, get the earrings free.

Nina discreetly felt the bottom of the gift box and sure enough, found the words "complimentary gift" printed there.

She laughed bitterly. "Lucas, we've been married for five years. Do you even know what I do for a living?"

"Of course I do. You're a fashion magazine editor, right?" Lucas smiled. "I read every issue you published.”

Nina fell silent. He claimed to read every issue of her magazine, yet still gave her a promotional freebie on her birthday.

As they stood in awkward silence, Lucas's phone rang at the worst possible moment.

He deliberately turned away from Nina and went to the balcony to answer it.

He intentionally raised his voice, "Hello? Howard? What's up?"

"What? There's a problem with the contract documents? Didn't I just help you revise those documents?"

So transparent in his deception. Nina closed her eyes wearily.

He didn't need to put on this act. The moment his phone lit up, she had already seen the contact name displayed clearly on the screen, “Sexy Babe.”

All this talk about Howard and contract documents... it was all for her benefit.

Setting the stage for his rendezvous with “Sexy Babe.“

Sure enough, moments later Lucas returned from the balcony with an apologetic expression. "Nina, I'm sorry. Those idiots at the office messed up the contract documents. I need to go back again."

"Go to bed and don't wait up for me. I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

With that, he hurriedly left.

Just then, Nina's phone vibrated.

Melody West, the currently most popular singer known for her sensual performances and suggestive lyrics, had posted on Instagram. She shared a close-up photo of her hand with the caption: "I've received the engagement ring. Aren't you coming over for our wedding night?"

In the photo, she wore the sapphire ring from the same celestial collection on the ring finger of her left hand.