Chapter 2

When I returned to the hillside estate to pack, I got a bank alert.

A huge sum had just been transferred out of the hidden account Simon called "Way Out."

It was supposed to be our nest egg, the money he'd promised we'd use to disappear together once he went legitimate. Every cent in it was clean.

I'd earned all of it, working myself to the bone to settle his old accounts and taking knives and bullets for him.

Now he'd blown almost all of it.

The money had gone toward the biggest seaside estate on the West Coast.

At the same time, Alana posted a photo on social media.

In the photo, Alana stood on a terrace in the early morning light, looking out over the whole bay. The caption was just one line.

"He said he'd give me the cleanest sea breeze in the whole world."

Looking at that photo felt like a dull blade twisting in my chest.

Back when he was being hunted by enemies, we'd hidden in a dark, damp basement.

I'd taken a knife for him. It almost went through my ribs.

The pain left me half delirious, so I flipped through a magazine to take my mind off it.

That was when a photo of the seaside estate caught my eye.

Barely able to breathe, I said, "Once I've seen you through the worst of this, I want to go feel the sea breeze there."

Simon was covered in my blood. His tears fell on me.

"Lily, once I'm Don, I'll buy that estate. It'll belong to you and only you."

Later, he became Don.

But he kept putting off buying the seaside estate.

He always said things weren't stable, too many enemies were watching him, and a purchase like that would draw attention to me.

Now he'd finally bought the estate.

The whole world knew he was enjoying the sea breeze with the girl he loved.

But that girl wasn't me.

I turned off my phone and drove to the seaside estate.

I wasn't going there to humiliate myself. I was going to give him a big surprise.

At five in the evening, the seaside estate was heavily guarded.

The engagement party was still going on out on the lawn, with all of last night's key guests in attendance.

As soon as I neared the ornate iron gates, the four armed guards posted there stepped in front of me, their faces cold. "Private property. Step back."

A photo was scrolling across a big screen.

It was Simon kissing Alana.

We'd been together for five years.

We'd never had a single photo together.

Because he said he didn't like having his picture taken.

Because he said photos were a risk that could expose our relationship.

Standing there, I felt like an outsider.

"Let her in."

A low voice came from the second-floor terrace.

Simon stood by the railing with a cup of coffee, as tall and poised as ever, though something dark seemed to be weighing on him.

He came downstairs, waved away the guards around him, and looked at me.

He didn't scold me in front of everyone. Instead, he took off his coat and gently draped it over my shoulders.

His fingertips brushed my left side, right over the scar from the knife I'd taken for him.

"It's windy by the sea. You hurt your ribs. Does the damp air make them ache?

"How did you find this place?" His voice was gentle, though he still sounded like a man used to being obeyed. "Didn't I tell you to wait for me at home?"

That was Simon for you.

Even now, he remembered every injury I'd suffered. His concern seemed so genuine it made me sick.

"Simon, what's going on? Who's here?"

Alana came down in a nightgown, a lavish pink diamond necklace around her neck.

Simon had missed our anniversary the week before. He'd told me he was in Northern Europe on important business. Now I knew he'd been at the auction for that pink diamond necklace.

When Alana got closer, I saw it clearly.

There was more on her neck than the necklace.

There were hickeys too.

Simon's hand on my shoulder stiffened slightly.

His expression didn't change. He just stepped between us, blocking my view of her neck, his voice as steady as ever.

"She's just a consultant who handles the family's old accounts. She's here to hand over her work."

A consultant who handles the old accounts.

Five years of fighting to survive together, erased in one sentence.

Alana glanced at me, puzzled, then nestled into Simon's arms and showed off the ring on her finger.

"Then you two talk business. Honey, you still have to come with me to try on wedding dresses later."

I watched their little performance with complete indifference.

I opened my bag, took out a stack of certified documents, and calmly set them on the table in the courtyard.

Then, in front of everyone, I took out my phone and turned on the speaker.

The phone played the solemn oath Simon had sworn the night before he became Don.

"Lily has sole authority over every hidden overseas account of the Anderson family. If I ever betray her, she has the right to take back all the assets, and the Anderson family will raise no objection."

"Now who do you think I am?"

The whole place went dead silent.

Alana listened to the recording, tears pouring down her face.

"Simon... you lied to me? Didn't you say there'd never been another woman?"

The family members around us couldn't stay quiet any longer. One after another, they stepped forward to accuse me.

"Where did this crazy woman come from?"

"We've been at the Don's side for years, and we never knew he had a woman like you!"

"Alana, don't listen to her nonsense..."

"Somebody drag her out and take care of her!"

I stood in the eye of the storm and looked calmly at Simon.