No one knew that I, the one they called the Angel-Faced Executioner, had been tangled up with the heir of the Grahams more times than I could count.

In the latest model sports car, Doug Graham pressed a marriage certificate into my hand, his teeth grazing my lower lip as he murmured, "The Grahams have enemies on both sides of the law. I found a shield, a way to protect you."

I was ecstatic and completely swept up in it, giving him whatever he wanted.

I never imagined it was the beginning of a nightmare.

Doug publicly announced his engagement to the Sowles heiress, making a show of it, and he clarified that I was nothing more than a low-level enforcer in front of everyone.

But that night, he left marks all over my body, whispering against my skin, "The less I care about you, the less anyone will suspect you're my real wife."

From then on, he and Lindsey Sowle humiliated me at every turn. Only when we were alone would he finally show the truth, his voice strained with pain.

"I know this isn't fair to you. Once I'm done using her, I'll kick her out for good."

When Lindsey caused me to lose the baby, he dropped to his knees in front of me, slapping himself over and over.

"That idiot keeps ending up kidnapped and abused. Serves her right!"

Until one day, I was taken in a setup by Doug's rival, Chad Conner. He grabbed me by the throat and forced me to look inside the room.

Lindsey was blindfolded and gagged, crying and gasping as Doug lashed her with a pink whip.

"They've run this whole kidnapping stunt seven times already. You'd think they'd be tired of it by now."

Tears poured down my face.

So I was the fool all along, the one who got played by Doug's so-called love.

Doug Graham's rival let out a quiet, mocking laugh.

"This kind of kidnapping seems fun. How about we try it, too?"

I closed my eyes and kissed him. "I'll play along, but you have to help me disappear from his world."

Chad Conner lifted a brow slightly, pressing a finger to my lips.

"No rush. We'll play after you leave him."

I let out a bitter laugh, my mind still spinning, like I hadn't fully come back to reality yet.

Seeing the disbelief on my face, Chad scoffed. He picked up my phone and dialed the number pinned at the top.

Doug answered instantly, his tone already impatient.

"What is it?"

My tears hit the tile floor with a sharp, audible tap. I forced back the sob in my throat.

"Where are you? Who are you with?"

Doug paused for a second, then answered without hesitation, "I'm at a business meeting. If you've got nothing better to do, figure out how to deal with Chad for me. I told you already, Lindsey's just a shield I'm using to protect you. Stop overthinking it."

After the call ended, the faint, suggestive sound of running water came from behind the door again.

Lindsey Sowle's voice trembled softly. "Doug, is your wife checking in part of today's roleplay?"

My tears finally broke loose. I slid down against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor. The old injury in my lower back flared up, the one I got protecting Doug. The pain twisted through me until I curled into myself, trembling.

I should've realized sooner how ridiculous that excuse about protecting me really was.

He said Lindsey was my shield, but all his affection went to her, while all the real damage landed on me.

I had broken seven ribs doing his dirty work. My left hand was permanently crippled.

The truth was right there, soaked in blood. I wasn't naive enough anymore to believe love could numb that kind of pain.

Chad pulled me to my feet. "Come on. I'll take you home."

The whole drive, I kept scrolling through the chat history with Doug, over and over, desperate to find some proof that he hadn't fallen out of love with me.

But the further back I went, the clearer it became. The earlier the messages, the more he loved me.

By the time we reached the villa we had lived in together for eight years, it finally hit me. I answered Chad a beat too late.

"This isn't my home. It wasn't before. It won't be in the future, either."

Chad simply said, "I'm giving you three days to clean up your mess. After that, I'll come back and take you."

The butler came up to me, trying too hard to sound casual. "Ms. Sowle's been kidnapped again. Mr. Graham is already on his way to rescue her."

A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it. "I know."

The staff all looked at me differently. Some with mockery, some with pity. Everyone could see it for what it was.

Everyone except me, clinging to that last scrap of love, blind to everything else.

The butler handed me a map, his tone firm, leaving no room to refuse.

"Go wipe out the Chandlers' operations on Moonfall Island. Go alone."

My whole body tensed. The Chandlers had been working with the Grahams. Why turn on them all of a sudden?

I took the map back to my room, and only then realized that the files from the jobs I had handled for Doug over the past three months were stacked nearly three feet high.

My body was worse. Old injuries were layered over new ones, one on top of another.

I dug through the pile until I found the marriage certificate I had been holding onto like it was the only thing keeping me standing.

The dark ink used to feel sacred. Now, it just looked like a joke.

I would help him this one last time. Consider it as buying out the last eight years of my life.

It was time to wake up.

I tossed and turned all night. Just as I was finally drifting off, my bedroom door opened.

It was Doug.

My whole body went rigid. His lips brushed down against me, soft and familiar, his breath warm and close.

"Why are you shaking?"

His voice was gentle, as if the impatient and distracted man who was cheating on me a few hours ago didn't exist.

I had always been like this. One moment of tenderness, and I would forget everything else. Until reality came crashing down again.

I pushed Doug away without thinking. "The maid's room is freezing."

He froze for a second, then rushed to explain.

"If I treat you too well, people will get suspicious. I didn't want you getting kidnapped by those people, so I had you stay in the maid's room. We can warm up pretty quick if we just..."

His lips pressed in again, lingering, but the faint scent of Lindsey's perfume clinging to him hit me all at once. I couldn't hold it back and gagged.

I couldn't understand how a man juggling two women could pretend this well.

Doug went pale right away. "Are you pregnant again? We need to check right now!"

The moment he mentioned the baby, it felt like a blade drove straight through my chest all over again.

My body had always been different. The day I found out I was pregnant, Doug was over the moon. He fumbled around in the kitchen, trying to make me some kind of nourishing soup.

He pressed his warm cheek against my still-flat stomach, his voice soft. "Let me hear it. What's our kid saying?"

I laughed at him, called him childish. The baby wasn't even formed yet. How could it say anything?

Not long after I started showing, Lindsey shoved me down the stairs.

"You're pregnant and still hanging around Mr. Graham every day? You're just hired muscle! You really think you can sleep your way up?"

After that, Doug moved me into the maid's room on the ground floor. He kneeled in front of me, slapping himself again and again.

"I'm sorry! I didn't protect you or the baby. I won't let Lindsey get away with this. The more spoiled she is now, the worse it'll be when our enemies get their hands on her."

I swallowed the bitterness and disappointment and accepted it.

But now, I knew. Those so-called kidnappings were nothing but their twisted game.

The thought hit me so hard that I shoved him away with everything I had.

"We're not having a child. Ever."

Doug froze for a long moment, then something in him snapped. He raised his hand and slapped me across the face.

"I've had a long day. Who the hell are you giving attitude to? You've climbed way above your station just being with me! What more do you want?"

Lindsey's voice drifted in from outside, shaky and soft. "Doug, I'm back. I was so scared."

He pushed me aside without a second thought and walked out, leaving me standing there, one hand pressed to my burning cheek.

My left hand slammed into the corner of the bed. The old injury from taking a blade for him flared instantly, pain shooting straight through me.

Lindsey's sweet, clingy voice carried through the wall. Weren't they done with this kidnapping game yet?

My pillow was soaked with tears again. I cried without a sound, barely able to breathe.

On the other side of that door, Doug gave her a brand-new sports car, prime land, and even the gold bracelet his mother left him.

Every memory of loving him felt like a dull blade carving into me, over and over, slow and relentless.

I knew there was no way things between us would end on good terms.

Back then, plenty of men wanted me, but I never believed in love. To win me over, Doug had gone to insane lengths.

That kind of obsession wouldn't just disappear. He would never let me go easily.

The next morning, I placed the divorce papers in front of him.

"I'll take down the Chandlers for you. Sign it."

Doug was on the phone, speaking gently to Lindsey, not even glancing at the document as he signed his name.

"You must've been terrified of getting grabbed by the Chandlers yesterday, huh? I'll send people to deal with them right away."

My chest tightened anyway. There was no kidnapping. He lied like it was second nature.

After hanging up, Doug rubbed his temples, and the first thing out of his mouth was a scolding.