Chapter 1

"Sofia, what are you thinking about?" William picked up a piece of shrimp and placed it on Ella's plate before turning to me with a smile. "If you don't like the food, just say so. I'll have the chef make you something else."

I looked over the table. The entire seafood spread consisted of Ella's favorites. Every last dish.

William and I had been together for five years, yet he did not even know I was allergic to seafood.

Ella said in Saturnian, "Does she really not understand? You've got some nerve."

William smirked. "Relax. Look at her. Does she look like someone who understands?"

I ate in silence, my expression perfectly calm.

Ella leaned closer to me. "Sofia, William and I were only talking about mafia business. Don't take it the wrong way. You know how these things are. We have to keep them secret from outsiders."

Ella was an associate of the Gothamere mafia and William's work partner.

I nodded.

William seemed pleased by my obedience. He reached out and pinched my cheek. "My Sofia always knows her place. She never sticks her nose where it doesn't belong."

It was true. I had always been sensible. I never asked about his work, and I trusted him completely. Yet all I got in return was his shameless deceit.

After the meal, the waiter brought out two desserts.

William slid the tiramisu toward Ella and left the ice cream for me. "Ella has a bad stomach. You can have the cold one."

I stared at the ice cream, wisps of cold mist still curling off it, but made no move to touch it. I had a serious stomach condition too. Anything cold made my stomach hurt.

William knew that. But whenever Ella was around, he conveniently forgot.

Ella had just swallowed a bite of tiramisu when she suddenly clutched her stomach. "Ssss... My stomach really hurts."

William tensed instantly. "What's wrong? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

He held out a hand toward me and said urgently, "Sofia, I remember you keep stomach medicine in your bag, right? Get it out, quick."

I did have some, but I carried it for myself. My stomach problems flared up often, so I had no choice but to keep medicine with me at all times.

William used to tease me about it, calling me a walking pharmacy. Now, it seemed that walking pharmacy had finally proved useful to him.

I took out the medicine without a word.

William immediately snatched it from my hand and gave it to Ella.

As Ella reached for it, her fingertip secretly hooked against his palm. Their gazes locked and lingered, the heat between them unmistakable.

At that moment, something inside me went cold.

I rose from my seat. "I'm going to the restroom."

My face looked pale in the bathroom mirror.

I suddenly remembered calling William last month when I had a fever. He had deliberately put me on speaker in front of all his soldiers and said, "Baby's sick? That breaks my heart. Once I finish up here, I'll head straight home to be with you."

His soldiers had praised him for being such a great boyfriend and envied how close we seemed.

Only I knew he had never come home that night.

When I returned to the table, William was bent over Ella's plate, peeling crab for her. The same hands that held a gun worked with unusual care as he picked apart the shell.

He arranged the crab meat neatly on Ella's plate.

In our five years together, he had never once done anything like that for me.

After I sat down, he did not even raise his head. He simply said, "Babe, I'll have one of my men drive you home in a bit. Ella's sick, so I need to take her myself."

I clenched the hem of my dress. "I'm sick too."

William stopped and frowned at me. "What's wrong with you? You were fine a second ago. How are you suddenly sick?"

Ella covered her mouth and laughed softly before saying in Saturnian, "William, she's just jealous. She's faking it."

William sighed and replied in Saturnian, "It's my fault. I've spoiled her too much, and her temper's gotten worse and worse. Just ignore her."

I stared at the plate of neatly arranged crab meat, then looked at him. "William, what did you mean by that just now?"