Chapter 1

The very day they made that bet, Elvira followed a lead from her informant and headed to a hidden warehouse at Bayton Harbor. It was a secret base belonging to the Allen family and the place where Vincent Allen handled his business.

She had planned to stage a "coincidental encounter," but she never expected to push open the door and see Vincent burning with fever. He was completely disoriented and clearly drugged.

The scent of a powerful sedative filled the air.

Two bodyguards lay unconscious on the ground, and a Lucero family emblem was left behind in the corner.

Obviously, a rival family had planned to abduct Vincent and use him to threaten the Allens.

Elvira's pupils constricted. She moved to step back out and call for help, but he suddenly grabbed her wrist. His skin was burning hot, and the calm in his deep eyes had vanished.

What remained was pure, primal desire.

"Help me..."

His voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of vulnerability that was hard to ignore.

Elvira's heart skipped a beat. She knew this was the perfect chance to get close to him.

…

That night, desire twisted through the warehouse's shadows as Elvira became Vincent's antidote. From then on, their relationship grew wildly in the dark over the next three years.

In the hidden chamber of Vincent's office, inside a private jet's storage cabin, in the prep room of an underground boxing ring, every secret corner controlled by the Allen family held traces of their entanglement.

Elvira thought she had already melted this cold, unfeeling man. That was until the day she stood outside a private room during a secret family gathering and heard the conversation that destroyed her.

She had found Vincent's obsidian cufflink, a symbol belonging only to the Allen family's inner circle. She planned to return it, but before she could knock, the voices inside drifted out.

"Vincent, Elvira's completely devoted to you. When are you planning to make her your wife?"

The person teasing him was one of Vincent's closest friends.

Elvira's heart clenched. Her fingers turned pale from the strain.

The next moment, Vincent's cool voice rang out, light and careless, yet every word was ice-cold. "She's just a sexual partner. Why would I marry her?"

Silence fell inside the room.

"But it's been three years... Do you still have feelings for her?" someone asked cautiously.

"Yeah."

Vincent's tone was faint, but laced with unmistakable longing. "When we broke up back then, she told me to give her three years. She said she'd try to be with other people, and I should do the same. Now, three years are up. She should be back by now."

Elvira felt like she had been struck by a bolt of lightning. Her body went cold.

These three years of passion, every moment she thought they were connected, were just him "trying to be with someone else".

She couldn't hold back anymore, and she shoved the door open.

Everyone fell silent, all eyes turning toward her.

Elvira's face was as white as paper, her gaze pinned on Vincent sitting in the main seat.

He looked calm, as if her presence meant nothing at all. That cold indifference hurt more than any cruel insult. If he liked her even a little, he wouldn't be looking at her like this now.

"Vincent, don't you have anything to say to me?" Her voice was hoarse, choked with emotion.

Vincent lifted his eyes, meeting hers with a cool stare. "There's nothing to explain. It's exactly what you heard. We're just sexual partners. I always thought you understood that."

He paused, pulled a black card from his suit pocket, and pushed it toward her. "Here's ten million dollars. Consider it payment for three years of being available whenever I needed you. From now on, we're even."

Vincent rose, preparing to walk out.

Elvira lunged forward, gripping his wrist so tightly her fingertips dug into his skin. "But... I've fallen for you!"

She remembered the countless nights when he came home after business dinners. He smelled like alcohol but still pulled her into his arms because he knew she was afraid of thunder.

She also remembered waking up wounded from a gunshot, and the first face she saw was his. He had been waiting by her hospital bed with dark circles under his eyes.

She also remembered him crouching down, holding her cold ankle in his warm palm as he helped her into her shoes.

Those tiny moments surged like a tidal wave and threatened to drown her.

Vincent's lips parted. He was just about to speak when his phone suddenly chimed. The screen lit up, and the notification preview was clearly visible to Elvira.

"Vincent, it's been three years. I tried, but you're still the one I like. Let's get back together."

In that instant, Elvira's world shattered completely.

Vincent stared at the screen for a moment, then pried her fingers off one by one. His tone was detached. "Sorry, but you were just a sexual partner."

He turned and left without a shred of hesitation, leaving Elvira behind as she drowned in agony.