Chapter 1

By the time Jax pushed open the apartment door, it was already the middle of the night.

He reeked of alcohol, mixed with the sickeningly sweet scent of Vivienne's favorite brand of cigarillos.

With that glaring text message flashing in my mind, I walked up to him with a blank face and reached for his phone.

"Let me wipe your screen for you."

Before I could finish, Jax gently pulled back. His tone carried his usual arrogant dismissal.

"Baby, don't touch my things. I've told you many times, this is family business. No matter how close we are, there have to be boundaries. Don't you think it's a mood killer when you watch me like a hawk?"

Right. As a Capo, he needed boundaries. I had been stupid enough to believe that bullshit excuse for five whole years.

But the irony was, in those five years, Vivienne had never been kept outside of that boundary.

At this thought, a dull ache spread across my chest, and I ultimately couldn't hold back.

"Who was replying to my messages just now?"

"You keep preaching about rules and boundaries, so why are there always exceptions when it comes to Vivienne?"

Jax seemed caught off guard, but he didn't panic at all. Instead, he smiled and reached out to rub my head, as if coaxing a clueless child.

"This again? I already told you, she just helps me run things. You're being way too petty. What is there to be jealous of?"

He chuckled casually while pretending to be completely transparent. He held the screen upright in front of me to unlock it and prove his innocence.

There was still some sticky lip gloss residue on his fingers, and it took him a few tries to hit the right numbers.

0813, matching today's date perfectly.

He had been hanging out with Vivienne all night, covered in her scent.

And his lock screen passcode wasn't any of our anniversaries. It was her birthday.

The realization hit me so hard I couldn't even bring myself to question him.

Actually, after we got together, I also asked him for a little romance.

I once acted sweet and begged him to change his passcode to something related to me.

But back then, this arrogant Capo just coldly threw a single word at me.

"Boring."

He thought I was boring, so why was it perfectly acceptable to change his passcode to Vivienne's birthday?

My eyes stung. I gritted my teeth and forced out the resentment that had been building up for so long.

But all I got in return was his casual dismissal.

"What's the big deal? It wasn't convenient for her to sort out the crew list for me tonight, so I just used her birthday as a passcode. Are a few numbers really worth crying over?"

"Alright, put away your paranoid mind games. I'm exhausted."

The thing I had begged for over five years, he casually gave to her.

I froze in place, unable to understand where it all went wrong.

Back before he won me over, this mobster with blood on his hands would get sweaty palms on the street just trying to text me back.

I had merely complained once that he was too rough. The next day, his vulgar words were polished into thoughtful, romantic whispers.

I just never expected that the advisor who polished his sweet words would seep into every corner of our lives.

At that moment, I was just done.

Suddenly, the phone in his palm buzzed, and Vivienne's name popped up on the screen.

She went out of her way to send a high-definition group photo from tonight's dinner.

Below the photo was a smug caption: My irreplaceable partner in crime.

Right after that, a highly provocative voice message popped up.

"Oh, Elise, you really can't blame Jax for ignoring you. Who told you to live like a boring nun?"

"You know men. They just need someone who knows the rules like me to train them. You should be thanking me for sharing your burden."

Over these five years, just because of Vivienne's bullshit advice that our relationship shouldn't be easily exposed, Jax never brought me to a single dinner.

But now, he gave her an exclusive spot at his side for every occasion.

They were the partners fighting side by side, and I was just an unnecessary plaything hidden in the dark.

I gave a self-deprecating smile and pushed the screen right back into Jax's chest. My tone was surprisingly calm.

"Since she understands your rules so well, we might as well end this and give you two what you want."

"This way, she won't have to try so hard to disgust me."

Hearing this, Jax acted as if he had just heard a harmless joke. He pinched my cheek dismissively. "Crazy girl, throwing a tantrum again? Vivienne is just trying to provoke you to teach you how to be more fun."

"Are you really going to throw away our five years together just like that? Alright, that's enough. I'm not going to stoop to your level tonight."

Vivienne said, Vivienne taught. He always treated that woman's wishes as absolute truth in everything.

I knew there was no point in fighting anymore.

Since he loved his good advisor so much, then let him have her.

I swallowed my emotions, looked down, and opened the chat with Dr. Vance.

"Dr. Vance, I've decided to join that classified medical project. A five-year total lockdown and a strict no-relationship clause. I'll sign it."

The moment the message was sent, Dr. Vance responded immediately.

"A wise choice, Elise! Wasting your surgical genius on a mafia thug is practically a crime! The project team will send a helicopter to pick you up in three days."

"Use these three days to clean up your messy affairs."