Chapter 1 The Face I Let Her Steal

As I lay on the operating table, I sobbed until I could hardly breathe. "Sienna, please... don't do this. I'm begging you. I can't lose Adrian."

I had always been terrified of being in pain, but what frightened me more was the thought that she might change her mind halfway through.

Sienna lifted my chin with a gloved hand, the back of it cold against my cheek. "I've wanted this face for a long time."

A strange, feverish light flickered in her eyes.

"Sienna, Adrian will lose his mind without me. Please... just let me go." My tears rolled down my face and fell onto her hand.

She leaned closer and slowly licked them away. "Weren't we best friends, Leola? You always gave me everything. Now, I'm only asking for your face... and Adrian."

Her lips curved into a smile. "You should be grateful. You would've been dead long ago if my face hadn't been ruined so suddenly."

I looked at the madness in her eyes and listened to her speak of Adrian as if he were some flawless prize.

I nearly started giggling.

'Perfect? Is she seriously calling him perfect? A violent drunk of a man who breaks me down day by day before waking up with his lips dripping with insincere apologies? Fine. If that is the perfection she wants, then she can have him.'

Sienna glanced aside.

Chester Middleton, who had been waiting nearby, stepped forward and placed the anesthesia mask over my mouth and nose.

The drug robbed me of my senses almost at once.

Sienna swiftly flitted out of the room, already lost in the future she thought she had stolen. I finally released the breath I had been holding and smiled. "Chester, let's begin."

...

When I married Adrian Shaw, everyone called him a washed-up designer who had used up all his talent.

Back in school, one of my professors often spoke of him with genuine regret, praising the brilliance of his early work as if the world had lost something precious.

I became obsessed with those designs.

Then, I met him, completely by chance.

And yes, I fell for his face.

After that, I chased him with everything I had until he finally admitted I was his girlfriend.

I had been foolishly convinced that he was my happily ever after, even when he whispered another woman's name—Wendy Olson—in his sleep.

Even my professor told me I had married above my station.

Our families came from two completely different worlds, and everyone seemed to believe I was the one who should bow.

After the wedding, Adrian began putting his name on every design I created, letting the world believe my talent belonged to him.

He claimed that he was doing it to protect me.

In truth, he was tearing me apart piece by piece.

Only later did I realize something horrifying.

Adrian had never been able to create the work that made him famous.

Sienna had been one of my close friends in design school, and she had watched my relationship with Adrian from the very beginning.

I told her everything—every fight, every heartbreak, and every tiny moment I had foolishly mistaken for happiness.

I thought she would support me.

Instead, her stance changed once Adrian became famous again.

Then, I got her confession.

She liked him.

At one point, she even told me I should divorce him.

Not long after our wedding, Adrian stopped pretending. The humble, considerate man disappeared, leaving behind someone arrogant, obsessive, and cruel.

I once begged Sienna for help.

She only looked at me with disgust, saying in disdain, "Leola, I know exactly what kind of man Adrian is. Stop acting like a spoiled wife who doesn't appreciate what she has."

I smirked. 'Fine. Sienna, you can have every bit of that good fortune. Let's see how long you survive it.'

...

When I woke up, I immediately saw Sienna sitting beside my hospital bed. She was wearing my face and watching me with perfectly rehearsed concern.

Adrian sat on the couch across the room, irritated and busy arguing on the phone. His ignorance shone as he behaved like none of this had anything to do with him.

When he noticed I was awake, he gave me one careless glance before turning his attention back to work.

Sienna seemed deeply pleased by his indifference.

Then, she softened her voice and cooed, "Adrian, Sienna is awake now. You don't have to stay here. Your work is important. Don't worry about me."

He stood, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her with deliberate passion. It was as if he was getting off on me watching their PDA.

Before he left, he tossed a thick stack of cash onto my bed.

Then, he smirked down at me as though I were gum beneath his shoe. "Good. You're awake. Leola isn't well, so hire yourself a caretaker."