Chapter 1

The second the ten-billion-dollar merger was signed, Jessa Darling heaved her weary body from the negotiation table.

Being awake for seventy-two hours straight with no rest whatsoever had set in a bone-deep level of exhaustion.

“You’ve done a great job, dear. Thank you.”

Sawyer Pitt opened his arms wide and took Jessa tightly in his embrace.

Mixed in with his familiar cedar scent, Jessa smelled a hint of something coldly foreign.

Jessa looked right past Sawyer’s shoulder and locked her gaze on the woman behind him.

“Who is she?”

Sawyer let go of Jessa and rubbed circles into the back of her hand comfortingly. “Vanessa Rivera. She’s quite a good fighter. She’ll be your personal bodyguard from now on. Come, let’s get into the car.”

After Sawyer spoke, Vanessa got into the driver’s seat.

Meanwhile, Sawyer smoothly pulled open the front passenger door.

Jessa was left to occupy the expansive backseat alone.

Sawyer had always repeated that the passenger seat was for her, his wife. Yet, he was sitting in that same seat with a woman by his side.

Sawyer looked out of the window. A doting smile never completely faded from his expression.

“Dear, get in the car quickly now. The backseat is spacious enough for you to lie down and get some rest.”

But what he used to say was, “The road’s bumpy. You’ll only be able to rest better when you’re leaning against me.”

Jessa did not respond and quietly pulled the door open.

During the car ride, Sawyer kept chatting happily with Vanessa.

Whenever he looked at Vanessa, there was heat in his gaze.

However, when his gaze swept over Jessa through the rearview mirror, that fire promptly went out.

The distance that was between them felt like a blade slipping right into Jessa’s exhausted psyche.

Back at the villa, Vanessa did not seem like she was intending to leave.

Jessa’s voice was icy as she said, “I told you before, Sawyer. We don’t allow overnight visitors in this house.”

Before Sawyer could speak, Vanessa answered. She picked up a mug of warm water and presented it to Jessa as she said, “Ma’am, I’ll be doing all the work around here from now on, as Mr. Pitt has ordered. Don’t worry, I don’t make much noise. I will not bother you or Mr. Pitt during your private moments.”

Jessa did not respond immediately. Her gaze was fixed on Vanessa’s wrist.

Around her wrist was a Patek Philippe Celestial G-052.

It was the exact watch that Jessa had given Sawyer for his birthday last year.

He had once said that this watch belonged to him and him alone. It represented their time together and how they would always be in step with each other.

But that watch that purportedly meant so much had found itself wrapped around another woman’s wrist.

Jessa froze for half a second as pain blossomed in her heart.

She looked up at Vanessa.

Coincidentally, a hint of panic appeared on Vanessa’s face. She hurriedly pulled her sleeve down to hide the watch. Her acting was so smooth that it seemed perfectly natural.

“Jessa, Vanessa has quite a pitiful backstory. Don’t make life harder for her. She has no home to return to, so she has to stay here in the meantime. She’ll be in the annex, so she won’t disturb us.”

Sawyer took the mug from Vanessa and personally held it out to Jessa. His tone was a very clearly protective one.

Jessa held the mug that had been forced into her hand. The steam from the water blurred her vision, but also stung her eyes.

At Jessa’s silence, Vanessa dropped to her knees and started to cry. She looked as though she was an abandoned puppy on the streets.

“Ma’am, Mr. Pitt saved me from an underground fight club. I will do anything you need of me! Please let me stay! I don’t have to stay in the annex. I can guard the front door all night! I won’t take up much space, nor do I eat a lot. I swear!”

Jessa assessed her. A woman who had escaped a cruel and violent place like an underground fight club could not possibly have such a flawless and unmarred face as Vanessa’s.

“She’s lying to you, Sawyer.”

When Jessa looked up, she found pity in Sawyer’s eyes.

“Jessa, you’ve always been a kind person. Vanessa has gone through a lot in that place. You should pity her.”

Pity her?

Jessa looked at Sawyer. She could not help but think of what had happened that rainy night three years ago, at the Golden Frontier.

In an attempt to retrieve the Pitt Group’s core chip worth tens of billions, she had been held at gunpoint by the region’s most powerful warlord, a man nicknamed the Reaper.

Forced into a game of Russian roulette, she had pointed a revolver at herself and pulled the trigger five times.

By sheer bravery, she safely left that negotiation table.

She had managed to get that core chip shipped back home as well.

She had not escaped unscathed. The Reaper’s underlings had left grievous wounds on her body. Every time she swallowed, she tasted blood in her saliva.

But Sawyer had only comforted her through the phone. “You’ve done so well, Jessa. Come home soon.”

Even after surviving a near-death experience for Sawyer, she still seemed to fall short.

Yet, a bunch of creative lies had won his sympathy.

Disgust roiled in her and rose to choke her.

Jessa did not say a word more before getting up to leave.

“Jessa…”

When Sawyer was just about to get up and chase after her, Vanessa hugged his legs and begged, “Please don’t fight with your wife, Mr. Pitt! This is all my fault! I’ll get out of the way now! I won’t come between you and your wife!”

Saying this, she rammed her head toward the corner of the marble fireplace.

“Vanessa!”

Shocked, Sawyer lunged forward to pull Vanessa into his arms.

“Jessa, I’m taking Vanessa to the hospital.”

Jessa was extremely disgusted to hear Sawyer’s panicked voice behind her.

She sent a text to her assistant: [Investigate this person named Vanessa Rivera. I want to know everything about her.]