Chapter 1

Evelyn Jefferson's whole body was flushed a faint pink color after a steamy lovemaking session.

Warren Larkin held her in his arms, his finger gently tracing her facial features. There was a trace of tenderness in his dark eyes that she'd never seen before.

Although he had been extraordinarily rough with her, Evelyn still felt loved. However, before her lust even dissipated, Warren's phone started ringing loudly.

Evelyn shivered when she saw the number on the screen. She hugged Warren a little tighter and looked up at him, asking, "Can you not answer this?"

The person calling him was Clara Sullivan, Warren's old flame. She'd only returned to the country less than a month ago, but she'd threatened suicide many times ever since.

Of course, Evelyn knew that Clara did this on purpose. Warren just never cared about her feelings.

Warren pushed Evelyn aside as if they hadn't just had passionate sex just a few minutes ago and hurriedly answered the phone.

Evelyn didn't know what the other party said, but Warren's eyes just grew darker and darker by the second. They looked darker than the night sky outside the window.

After hanging up, Warren hurriedly put on his clothes and said, "Clara is threatening to kill herself again. I'm going over to have a look."

Evelyn sat up from the bed, her body littered all over with bite marks. She looked at Warren and said, "But it's my birthday today, and you promised me you'd stay with me. I've got something important to tell you too."

Warren was already all dressed up. He frowned and looked at her with cold eyes. "Since when have you become so unreasonable? Clara's life is in danger!"

He slammed the door behind him without waiting for Evelyn's answer. Moments later, the sound of a car engine starting up echoed from downstairs.

Evelyn felt for a small, intricate box hidden underneath her pillow. She looked at the two rings inside the box with teary eyes.

Three years ago, she'd been cornered by a few thugs on a secluded street. Warren had saved her, but he hurt his leg in the process.

Evelyn had then volunteered to take care of him. Then, they had sex once after having had a bit to drink.

Back then, Warren had asked her to be his girlfriend. However, he warned her that he would never marry her. Evelyn agreed without thinking much about it because she'd had a crush on Warren for four years.

Since then, she was his pretty and capable secretary by day, and gentle, obedient fuck-buddy by night.

She naively thought that Warren loved her, and the only reason he would never marry her was because of his family's view on marriage.

She'd spent the entire day decorating, planning to propose to Warren that night and help him look positively at marriage again. However, this phone call from Clara thoroughly woke Evelyn up from her daydream.

It wasn't that Warren didn't want marriage at all. Rather, the person he wanted to marry would never be her.

Evelyn smiled bitterly and kept the rings away. Then, she took down all of the decorations before driving out alone.

A while after, she suddenly felt a terrible pain in her lower stomach. Then, blood flowed down her leg.

Evelyn looked down and saw that her white leather seat had been dyed a chilling blood-red color.

She had a bad feeling about this and immediately called Warren.

"Warren, my stomach really hurts. Can you please come and get me?"

Warren sounded impatient over the phone. "Evelyn, you can make a fuss if you want to, but you should know when is the appropriate time to do so!"

Evelyn stared as more and more blood came out of her. She was so afraid that she started to cry. "Warren, I'm not lying! My stomach really, really hurts! Also, I'm—"

Bleeding.

But before she could finish her sentence, Warren's cold and emotionless voice interrupted her. "Evelyn Jefferson! Clara's life is in danger, and yet here you are, making a fuss over nothing!"

Evelyn was so shocked that she fell silent for a while. It took her a few seconds to snap back to reality.

She let out a feeble laugh and asked, "You say that I'm making a fuss over nothing?"

"Aren't you?"

Warren's impatient voice was laced with hostility. Evelyn felt her heart shredding to pieces.

She bit her lips tightly and gripped her phone harder. Using all of her strength, she screamed into the phone, "Warren Larkin, you fucking bastard!"

Evelyn was in so much pain that she was covered in a layer of cold sweat. She wanted to call 911, but she was so weak that she couldn't even lift her finger to dial the numbers.

In the end, her vision turned black as she passed out.

When she finally woke up, she was lying in a hospital bed. Seated next to her was her best friend, Jazzie Hoffman.

Seeing that Evelyn was awake, Jazzie immediately stood up and looked at her with pained, concerned eyes. "Evie, how are you feeling? Does it still hurt?"

Evelyn looked at her stiffly and asked, "What happened to me?"

Jazzie contemplated for a bit before replying, "You were pregnant. But your uterus wall was very thin, and after that bastard, Warren roughed you up, you miscarried and lost a lot of blood."

Evelyn stared at Jazzie in shock and disbelief. The thought that she was pregnant but miscarried kept plaguing her mind.

That was her and Warren's child.

Although she didn't know how far along she would get with Warren. Still, that had been her first child.

Evelyn couldn't stop herself from curling her fingers into a fist as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Jazzie couldn't stand to see her Evelyn in such pain. She enveloped Evelyn in a hug and comforted her gently.

"You've just come out of surgery, so you can't cry, alright? Once you've recovered, I'll introduce you to a crowd of men who will treat you right! You can kick that fucker to the curb!

"It's bad enough that he nearly tortured you to death. I can't believe that he's cheating on you right in front of your eyes! Isn't he worried about his dick falling off?"

Evelyn felt a thousand arrows piercing her heart.

Her icy-cold hands gripped Jazzie's tighter. The lump in her throat wouldn't go away, so she couldn't say a thing.

She just kept thinking about her unborn baby and the man she'd loved for seven years.

She just couldn't calm herself down.

It was a long while later when she finally said, "You saw him?"

Jazzie nodded and said, "He's on the fourth floor with Clara. When you were about to undergo surgery, I tried calling him so he could sign your papers, but that fucker didn't even bother picking up."

Evelyn closed her eyes bitterly and painfully.

"Jazzie, bring me to their room."

"You've just had surgery. You can't get mad or anything."

"I can't decide things if I don't have a look for myself."

Jazzie couldn't get past Evelyn's stubbornness, so she still brought her to the fourth floor.

Evelyn stood outside the door and watched as Warren gently fed Clara her medications. The gentleness in his eyes and voice only felt like knives in her heart.

However, when Evelyn finally had a good look at Clara, she noticed that she looked a lot like her. Evelyn finally understood everything.

She smiled bitterly and turned to tell Jazzie, "Send me back, please."

…

The next time Evelyn saw Warren again was two days later.

She lay in bed as she looked at the man she used to love so deeply.

It was finally time to make her decisions, but her heart still hurt so much that she felt she would die from heartbreak.

Perhaps Warren noticed that Evelyn was looking a little pale, so he asked in a low voice, "It's been two days. Why does it still hurt?"

He thought that Evelyn was just having her period cramps. She used to get over the cramps after just a day previously.

Evelyn's eyes were warm and wet with tears. She tried suppressing the emotions in her heart and said nothing.

Warren sat down next to the bed, his eyes still showing a hint of coldness in them. He then reached over and touched her forehead with the back of his hand.

His voice was low as he said, "I got someone to buy the bag you liked the last time. It's on the couch outside. Get up and have a look at it."

Evelyn just looked at Warren emotionlessly. "I don't like it anymore."

"Then I'll buy you a new car. Do you want a Ferrari or a Porsche?"

Seeing that Evelyn didn't answer, Warren frowned a little. "What is it that you want?"

In Warren's eyes, there was nothing that money couldn't solve.

Evelyn gripped the hem of her pajamas and looked into Warren's eyes with her bright, clear ones. Her pale lips parted as she said, "I want to marry you!"