Chapter 1

"Look, enough of this. Get out of the car and stop wasting my time." Morgan Sterling, seated behind the wheel, pulled over at a highway exit. His expression was frosty as he said, "You heard Eloise earlier. Her dog means a great deal to her, but it has gone missing now. If we can't find it because we keep wasting time here, you'll have hell to pay."

Cherise Rhode's blood ran cold. She wanted to speak, but she felt like a large rock was lodged in her throat. It was parched.

She couldn't believe that Morgan, her husband of two years, was kicking her out of his car on the highway for his true love's dog. He knew very well that he was supposed to be accompanying her to the airport so she could pick up her parents' ashes!

Ever since Cherise's parents, Stanley Rhode and Marlene Bronson, had joined the peacekeeping forces, they'd rarely seen each other. She hadn't even gotten the chance to see them one last time when she'd been told two years ago that they'd died in the line of duty.

Because of the war, Stanley and Marlene's ashes had been kept at the embassy until now. Only now could they finally return home.

Their biggest worry in life was whether Cherise would be happy. They wanted nothing more than for her to live an ordinary, peaceful life far away from the chaos of the battlefield.

That was why Cherise was adamant about having Morgan by her side when she welcomed Stanley and Marlene's ashes back. She wanted them to rest in peace.

However, Morgan had received a call from his true love, Eloise Lane, before they'd even gotten to the airport. She'd wept while telling him that her dog had run out of the house that morning and was still missing. She'd asked him for help.

Naturally, Morgan's heart had gone out to Eloise the moment he heard her sobs. He'd immediately driven to the nearest highway exit and pulled off without hesitation.

Cherise clenched her jaw, still clinging to a final sliver of hope. She pleaded, "Can this wait until after we've collected my parents' ashes? I'll look for the dog with you. Anyway, Eloise stays in a well-guarded residential area. Even if the dog has run off, it won't leave the area. Now, we should—"

Morgan cut her off impatiently before she could finish. "Cut the crap. Get out!"

He sneered. "Your parents are already dead, and all that's left of them is an urn of their ashes. Why is it necessary to make such a big deal out of collecting them?"

Cherise felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart. She couldn't stop her lips from trembling slightly. Stanley and Marlene's deaths had always been the deepest wound in her heart, yet the husband she loved with all her heart was using that to attack her.

Impatience flickered in Morgan's eyes. Two years into their marriage, he was finding Cherise increasingly boring. Besides, he'd never heard her mention anything about her parents before.

He'd looked into her background and knew that she'd grown up moving from one relative's home to another. There hadn't been any information on her parents, yet she now claimed she had to make this trip to the airport to pick up their ashes. For all he knew, she was just making this all up.

"I'm not," Cherise suddenly said.

Only then did Morgan realize he'd voiced out his thoughts. Well, the damage was done. He didn't think he'd done anything wrong, anyway.

Cherise was practically a pushover when she was with him. She wouldn't possibly get mad at him over two dead people, would she?

Eloise was all Morgan could think about, so he didn't want to waste any more time with Cherise. When he saw that she wasn't budging, he got out of the car and circled to her side, yanking her out. Then, he got back into the car and sped off without another look back.

Cherise almost lost her balance. Despair colored her eyes as she caught herself. It was drizzling, yet Morgan hadn't even left her an umbrella.

A bone-chilling iciness spread through her, starting from her feet. Mockery—or maybe anger—surged in her. It was evident that welcoming her parents' ashes home meant far less to Morgan than helping his true love find her dog.

She smiled self-deprecatingly. Stanley and Marlene's biggest wish in life was for her to leave the frontlines and stay away from war and chaos. They'd hoped for her to get married and live the life every ordinary woman enjoyed. They'd wanted her to live out the rest of her life in safety.

That was why she'd gone to Morgan and asked him to accompany her when welcoming her parents home. She wanted to show them that she'd fulfilled their wish.

However, the truth had slapped her hard across the face, waking her from the illusion she'd been trapped in.

Cherise looked down at a puddle that had formed at her feet. The figure reflected in it looked pale and haggard, and she was barely more than skin and bones. Would this disheveled appearance be what Stanley and Marlene wanted to see?

She'd been devastated upon learning of her parents' deaths two years ago. The grief had consumed her. It was during that darkest time that she'd met Morgan.

Like a drowning person grasping at driftwood, she'd been moved by the slightest tenderness he'd shown and had resolutely decided to marry him.

After marriage, Cherise had cut off all contact with her former comrades, throwing herself into being Morgan's wife. She'd provided him with the funds and resources he needed to bring his company from the brink of bankruptcy to the thriving business it now was.

In just two short years, it had become one of the top three businesses in the industry. The tale was nothing short of legendary.

Only Cherise knew how much effort she'd put into making that happen. When she'd been at her busiest, she'd practically lived at the company, surviving on only three or four hours of sleep each day.

She'd drunk her way through endless negotiations, getting bloody ulcers and being rushed to the hospital. She'd almost lost half her stomach because of it.

And yet, all of her sacrifices had been reduced to jokes after Eloise's appearance.

To Morgan, Cherise had never been anything more than a stand-in. Eloise was the true love that he'd never moved past, yet couldn't have!

To think that Cherise had naively believed that he would one day notice her as long as she stayed by his side. All she'd gotten in return for her devotion was repeated disappointment, until every last bit of her love had worn away.

She was tired. So, so tired. She couldn't go on anymore, nor did she want to.

Cherise shut her aching eyes. Her priority at the moment was to bring her parents home. She pulled out her phone to get an Uber. Even so, she was 20 minutes late when she arrived at the airport.

The airport was usually bustling, but the atmosphere at that moment was silent and severe. Barricades lined the entrances, and rows of soldiers stood at attention in full dress uniform. They all had identical looks of grief and respect on their faces.

At the very front stood Vincent Moore, the military commander. He was well past 50, and his hair was almost entirely white. He held a sandalwood urn with a five-point star etched onto the cover. A brightly-colored national flag was draped over it, and the sight pierced Cherise's eyes.

Her tears threatened to fall, but she forced them back. Marlene had once told her that she looked best when she smiled, and she hoped Cherise would face every situation with a smile on her face.

Cherise took a deep breath and strode into the airport with her back straight. Even if she was devastated on the inside, she didn't let it show.

Her parents had sacrificed themselves for the nation; they'd given their lives to build a foundation for peace. To a soldier, that was the ultimate glory.

She, as their daughter, would carry that same spirit. She would be upright and unshakable, as every soldier should!