After His Thirty-Third Betrayal

My colleague looked worried.

But before he could say anything, a servant's greeting drifted in from outside the door.

We exchanged a glance.

He quickly grabbed the remaining suits and left, posing as a delivery person from the clothing store.

I walked downstairs. The servant was already gone.

The only person in the living room was a young, vibrant girl fussing over Morrison.

She looked vaguely like me.

My heart sank.

Maybe from the very beginning, Morrison had simply liked my face.

It was never Celine he had loved.

Morrison was drunk but still clutching her hand. "Sarah, don't leave me."

The young woman, Sarah Collins, held a glass of water to his lips and said shyly, "I won't leave you."

Their fingers intertwined, and the way they looked at each other was nothing but devotion.

I couldn't help the ache in my chest.

Four years ago, I had gone undercover as a sales associate at a jewelry store frequented by Luca Bauer, in order to arrest him for his involvement in international human trafficking.

But the day before the arrest, Luca got tipped off and fled.

Instead, Morrison, who had come in to shop, fell in love with me at first sight.

From then on, he pursued me relentlessly.

He showered me with luxury cars and jewelry worth tens of millions and made himself available around the clock.

He even bought twenty-two stars and named them after me, all because I once mentioned I liked the night sky.

Because I happened to be twenty-two.

Morrison pointed at the distant, glittering stars, his slightly boyish face full of sincerity. "Celine, I'm not just playing around. I genuinely want to marry you and be with you forever.

"My love for you is like those stars. It will always shine."

I fought the pull in my heart and turned him down every time, keeping my expression cold.

But Morrison still showed up at my side every day, rain or shine.

Then robbers held up the jewelry store, and Morrison took a bullet meant for me. Doctors fought to save him for two straight days.

After that, I could no longer ignore what I felt for him.

And the Lehman Family had close ties with Luca's family, the Bauers.

So my handler finally agreed to let me be with Morrison, for the sake of the undercover operation.

I could never expose my undercover identity.

Nor could I reveal anything about the mission.

I agreed, overjoyed.

But my handler's voice was conflicted when he warned me, "Celine, guard your heart. Once a man's love is returned, it only fades. It never grows stronger.

"If you truly give him your heart, all you'll get in return is heartbreak."

I was too young then. I believed that a man willing to die for me must love me forever.

Looking back now, my handler's warning had been right all along.

Over the past three months, Morrison had started frequenting clubs.

His intimate photos with strippers, actresses, and college girls had made the news countless times.

But bringing another woman home was a first.

I swallowed the bitterness and grief rising in my chest, took the hangover medicine from the cabinet with practiced ease, and carried it over to Morrison. "Take this. You'll feel better."

Sarah looked up, wary. Her eyes swept over me from head to toe, and she asked, clearly unhappy, "Morrison, who is she? You told me I was your only girlfriend. Why is there another woman in your house?"

I looked at her young face and saw in her eyes the same devotion I once had. I couldn't bear to watch her be deceived.

I sighed, about to tell Sarah that Morrison and I had been living together for four years, that he had lied to her.

But before I could speak, Morrison slowly raised his eyes and scoffed at me. "Babe, give me some credit. A woman that plain, with a body that average? Why would I ever want her?"

My body went rigid. It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head.

Morrison continued, his voice calm and detached, "She's just my housekeeper."