On the morning of our seventh wedding anniversary, I was supposed to be boarding a flight overseas, ready to present my groundbreaking nerve-interface design at an international medical competition. Instead, I found myself in a government office, staring at a piece of paper that suddenly felt completely meaningless.

Out of habit, I skimmed through the information.

Then I froze.

"Excuse me," I said, looking up. "There's been a mistake. I'm married... not divorced."

The clerk behind the glass didn't even seem interested. She lazily clicked through a few screens, treating my life like just another case file.

Married.

I was married.

Luca Devereaux wasn't simply my husband. He was my entire world.

To everyone else, he was a nightmare in human form—a mafia king whose name was spoken only in whispers. People believed he could reduce cities to ashes if the mood struck him.

But to me...

He was mine.

Calling him possessive didn't come close. Once Luca claimed something, he never let it go. And from the day we married, he'd made it clear that I belonged to him.

Even if I had wanted to walk away, he never would have allowed it.

So how could I possibly be divorced?

The employee searched the records again.

Then a second time.

Finally, she looked at me as though I were the one making no sense.

"The information is correct," she replied without emotion. "You and Mr. Devereaux legally divorced four years ago. On the very same day, he remarried. What happened? Did you hit your head? Honestly..." She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

The air caught in my lungs.

"T-That's impossible," I stammered. "There has to be some kind of mistake."

"There isn't." She lifted an eyebrow. "His wife is Celeste Harrington. Does that name mean anything to you?"

Did I know Celeste Harrington?

Something inside me seemed to crack.

"...Yes," I answered quietly. "I know exactly who she is."

God.

I knew her better than I ever wanted to.

Seven years ago, she'd stormed into my wedding ceremony determined to stop it. She cried, screamed, and threw herself at Luca in front of everyone. He didn't spare her so much as a glance.

"Get this woman out of here."

His order was enough. Twenty bodyguards dragged her away while I stood there trembling in my wedding gown.

Four years ago, she'd broken into Luca's office, stripped naked on his desk, and shamelessly offered herself to him, insisting she'd do absolutely anything if he'd just give her a chance.

Luca never even looked at her.

He calmly picked up the phone.

"Send the police over," he said. "I've got a problem in my office."

She spent the next fifty days behind bars.

Then there was five years ago...

My right hand suddenly throbbed, as though my body remembered before my mind did.

She had burst into my office without warning, consumed by fury.

Everything happened so fast.

Before I could even defend myself, she'd pulled an axe from her bag and brought it down.

The blade severed my right hand.

I still remembered the scream that tore from my throat.

When Luca learned what she'd done...

I'd never seen him lose control like that.

His eyes were bloodshot, every muscle in his body shaking with murderous rage.

"I'm going to kill her," he'd snarled. "I swear to God, Camille, I'll rip her apart piece by piece."

I was lying there, bleeding so badly I could barely stay conscious.

Still, I reached for him.

"Luca..." I whispered. "Please... don't."

He stared at me, unable to understand why I was stopping him.

But he listened.

He always listened whenever it was me.

Instead of ending Celeste's life, he imprisoned her somewhere no one could ever find, making certain she suffered every single day for what she'd done.

Once, while gently cupping my face, he'd told me in a voice so soft it almost hurt to hear, "Anyone who lays a finger on you will wish they'd never been born. I'll make them pay a thousand times over."

That was Luca Devereaux.

Merciless.

Brutal.

A man who never forgave.

Except when it came to me.

Never me.

So how...

How could the same man marry the woman who had destroyed my life?

My phone vibrated.

I stared blankly at the screen before unlocking it.

Camille, it's our seventh anniversary today. I'll be home tonight. I'm still dealing with that crazy woman. She won't be causing trouble much longer. Don't stay awake waiting for me. I'll wake you when I get back.

Another message appeared almost instantly.

I love you.

A lump formed in my throat.

He always ended his messages that way.

Every text.

Every phone call.

Every lingering glance that made me feel like I was the center of his universe.

I love you.

When we first met, I had nothing.

I was just another surgeon struggling to build a career.

Luca, meanwhile, lived in an entirely different world.

Untouchable.

Powerful.

Dangerous.

Yet somehow...

He chose me.

He pursued me with relentless determination, as though I were the rarest treasure he'd ever found. He crossed continents just to spend a few stolen hours by my side. He shut down entire streets so he could put on fireworks displays just to make me smile. The flowers he sent were so exotic I couldn't even pronounce most of their names.

Whenever I got sick, he'd abandon everything and fly back immediately.

Then he'd march into the kitchen, grumbling under his breath because he barely knew how to cook.

"Eat," he'd mutter, shoving a bowl into my hands. "I didn't spend ten damn hours on a plane just to watch you skip meals."

If I was upset, even meetings with men powerful enough to decide people's fates would come to a halt.

"Hold on," he'd tell everyone before pulling out his phone to call me.

"What happened? Who upset you? Tell me who it was."

His voice would grow colder.

"I'll make them regret it."

Once, someone attacked me by throwing acid out of jealousy.

Luca didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat.

He stepped in front of me on instinct.

The acid struck his back instead.

Blood soaked through his clothes.

Even then, his only concern was me.

Holding me tightly, he whispered, "It's okay... don't cry. I've got you. You're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you."

So tell me...

Was every one of those moments nothing but a lie?

Had I really been foolish enough to believe all of it?

I didn't even remember getting into a taxi until the driver spoke.

"Where to, ma'am?"

I paused.

Only for a moment.

Then I gave him the destination.

"Sun Valley."

The place where Luca had supposedly been keeping Celeste all these years.

My fingers curled tightly against my lap.

If Celeste was truly his wife...

Then who... had I been?

I caught the sound of soft crying drifting in from the garden.

Before I even realized it, my feet were already carrying me toward it.

Pushing aside the hanging wisteria vines, I stepped into the clearing.

Then I stopped breathing.

Luca.

My husband.

Impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, every inch the untouchable kingpin people feared. Power clung to him as naturally as the air he breathed. In one hand, he held a leather riding crop, bringing it down against Celeste again and again as she lay completely naked, restrained on the antique chaise lounge I'd spent weeks searching for to complete our villa.

Then, without warning, he tossed the crop aside.

He bent over her.

And kissed her.

Hungry. Possessive.

His hands roamed over her body while sweat glistened across his back.

Everything inside me lurched.

It felt as though someone had ripped my chest apart with bare hands.

Only then did I realize I'd misunderstood what I'd heard.

Those weren't cries of pain.

They were moans.

Breathless laughter slipped between Celeste's gasps as she clung to him.

The punishment I'd imagined...

It had never been punishment at all.

It was intimacy.

Their intimacy.

The prison Luca always claimed she'd been locked inside wasn't a prison in the slightest.

It was where they hid their life together.

Their sanctuary.

I stumbled backward, my gaze falling onto the chaise lounge.

I'd chosen that piece myself.

I remembered spending days comparing fabrics and carvings because I'd wanted everything in our home to be perfect for him.

Back then, he'd smiled at me with such tenderness.

"Camille deserves nothing less than the most beautiful things," he'd murmured. "This is yours. Just like my heart."

Apparently...

Neither had ever belonged to me.

I clenched my fists until sharp pain shot through my palms.

Why?

Why would he do this to me?

Then I heard them speak.

"You're incredible, sweetheart." Celeste's cheeks were flushed as she beamed at him. "Sometimes I still can't believe I actually became your wife."

"You earned it," Luca answered evenly while buttoning his shirt, as if nothing extraordinary had happened moments before. His voice remained calm, effortless, impossible to read.

Then he said something that made my blood run cold.

"Four years ago, all I wanted was to keep Camille by my side forever. But you..." His tone hardened. "You swung an axe and destroyed her hand so she'd never leave to chase her dreams. Then you surrendered yourself, convinced that sacrificing your own freedom for my happiness was worth it."

Each word felt like another blade sinking into my heart.

"Sometimes I wonder whether I'm too cruel," he continued quietly. "But I can't ignore someone capable of loving me that selflessly. Camille gets my love in the open. You have this villa, and I've given you my name. That's as fair as I can make it."

Fair.

He actually believed that was fair.

I nearly lost my balance.

Years ago, a spoiled heir had mocked me, calling me a fallen angel with broken wings.

Luca had made sure the man paid dearly for those words.

Yet now...

The woman who had permanently shattered my future stood before him, receiving kisses, affection, expensive gifts...

Even his surname.

My throat burned.

I wanted to scream until my lungs gave out.

I wanted to disappear.

"What if Miss Hart learns the truth?" Celeste asked softly. "She'll never forgive us."

Luca's expression never changed.

"My feelings for Camille haven't changed." His confidence never wavered. "I'll spend the rest of my life protecting her. She'll never discover this. And you'll never hurt her again."

Then he knelt before Celeste.

Carefully, he slipped a pink diamond ring onto her finger.

Her eyes widened.

"Isn't this the pink diamond from the Paris auction? The one worth over a hundred million?" she whispered in disbelief. "Do I really deserve something like this?"

Luca brushed a gentle kiss against her lips.

"You're my wife," he said softly. "Of course you do."

His smile was warm.

"Happy fourth anniversary."

I stood hidden among the vines, watching the man who had once promised I was his entire world celebrate another woman instead.

**

I didn't leave the mountain until long after Luca's black sedan had disappeared around the bend.

Even then, I couldn't move.

It felt as though my body had forgotten how.

As if taking one step would force me to accept that everything I'd seen had actually happened.

My phone buzzed.

Almost mechanically, I looked down and opened the message.

Camille, I'm heading home now. I can't wait to celebrate our seventh anniversary with my favorite girl. I love you.

For several seconds, I simply stared at the screen.

Then...

I laughed.

The sound burst out of me so violently that I doubled over.

I laughed until tears poured down my face.

Until my shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Until I sounded completely unhinged.

Seventh anniversary?

He had just spent the afternoon celebrating four years of marriage with another woman.

Now he was coming home to celebrate seven years with me.

What exactly was I?

His backup plan?

His favorite toy?

Or just someone too blind to notice she'd been replaced?

There had been no seventh anniversary.

Legally, we'd been divorced for four years.

Four entire years.

And if this was Luca's idea of love—destroying my future, trapping me inside a gilded cage, smiling while deceiving me every single day—

Then I wanted no part of it anymore.

Not now.

Not ever.

He believed I'd never uncover the truth.

Slowly, I wiped away my tears.

"No," I murmured, my voice barely audible.

"I'm the one who's leaving you."

This time...

For good.

My fingers tightened around the application until the paper wrinkled beneath my grip.

Then I walked away and completed the only two tasks that still mattered.

First, I filed the paperwork to erase every trace of my identity from this country.

Every record.

Every document.

Every connection.

It would be as though Camille Hart had never existed.

Then I resubmitted my competition application.

This time...

Under a different name.

A different identity.

A different future.

Four years earlier, when Celeste hacked off my right hand, she hadn't stopped there.

She'd thrown it to a pack of wild dogs as if I were nothing.

Luca had nearly gone mad afterward.

He spent billions finding the world's best specialists until they fitted me with a prosthetic hand realistic enough to fool almost anyone.

It gave me back an ordinary life.

But it never gave me back my career.

I had been a surgeon.

Steady hands were everything.

Mine would never be the same again.

The dream I'd devoted my life to died alongside that hand.

I couldn't accept it.

Three different times, I tried to end my own life.

Three different times, I failed.

Eventually, there were no tears left to cry.

After countless sleepless nights and endless grief, I forced myself to keep living.

I enrolled in rehabilitation for my new hand.

People called it therapy.

To me...

It was torture.

More than a thousand days of relentless practice.

Blood staining the equipment.

Blisters tearing open.

Skin hardening into calluses before splitting apart again.

Over.

And over.

And over.

But eventually...

I did it.

Against every expectation, I clawed my way back.

Not to who I'd once been—

But to someone who could stand on her own again.

I never told Luca.

I wanted it to be a surprise.

I wanted him to see that the woman he claimed to love hadn't been broken forever.

Now...

I was grateful I'd kept it secret.

If he'd known I'd found my way back...

Would he have taken my other hand too?

The thought made bile rise in my throat.

My phone vibrated once more.

A new notification appeared.

Your identity cancellation request has been received and will be completed within eight business days.

Eight days.

That was all that remained.

In eight days, Camille would cease to exist.

No records.

No identity.

No trail.

Not even Luca Devereaux—with all his influence, wealth, and reach—could ever find someone who no longer existed.

As dusk settled over the hills, I returned to the villa.

The instant I walked through the front doors, I sensed that something was terribly wrong.

The air was thick with fear.

Luca stood in the center of the living room, surrounded by armed men. Every servant in the house had been forced onto the floor, their wrists bound, their faces drained of color as they trembled.

His voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"Where is she?" he demanded. "Start talking before I decide to make every one of you regret staying silent."

The moment the servants spotted me, relief flooded their faces.

"Miss Camille!" one of them cried.

Luca spun around.

In the blink of an eye, the ruthless expression disappeared from his face.

Relief crashed over him so completely that it almost looked like he'd been in pain.

"Camille."

He closed the distance in seconds and wrapped me tightly in his embrace, holding me as though letting go wasn't an option.

"Where have you been?" His voice dropped into a rough whisper. "I've called you over and over. I thought something happened to you. You scared me half to death."

My body stiffened instinctively before I forced myself to relax.

"I went shopping," I replied softly. "I lost track of the time."

He leaned back just enough to study my face before exhaling.

"I can't even stay angry with you," he muttered, gently brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Next time, let me come with you. That's what your husband is for. I'll carry every shopping bag, pay for everything, and be wherever you need me the moment you call."

Your husband.

The words drove straight into my heart.

No.

You haven't been my husband for four years.

"Come on," he said with an easy smile. "It's our seventh anniversary. I've got a surprise waiting for you."

He laced his fingers through mine and led me outside toward the private helipad.

Before I could ask where we were going, he effortlessly scooped me into his arms and carried me into the helicopter.

Moments later, the rotors thundered overhead as the aircraft rose into the evening sky.

I stayed silent.

All I could do was watch him.

The man beside me looked exactly like the Luca I knew.

Yet somehow...

He felt like a complete stranger.

When we were high above the city, he gently lifted my chin toward the window.

"Look down."

I followed his gaze.

Below us, thousands of lights shifted across the darkness, slowly rearranging themselves until glowing words stretched across the city.

LOVE YOU, Camille.

My breath caught.

It was breathtaking.

Completely outrageous.

Exactly the sort of thing only Luca would do.

He leaned close, his lips barely brushing my ear.

"I love you," he whispered. "I always have... and I always will."

My chest tightened painfully.

Anyone looking at us would think I was the happiest woman alive.

So why did it feel like I was suffocating?

The helicopter eventually descended, touching down outside an enormous estate hidden far beyond the city lights.

The moment I saw it...

I knew the night wasn't over.

...

The mansion before us looked less like a home and more like something built for royalty—or perhaps a king of monsters.

People used to talk about it in hushed voices after Luca reportedly paid five billion for the property.

Towering iron gates stood before it, covered in intricate carvings.

At their center were two familiar words.

Camille's Palace.

My breathing faltered.

Every detail reflected me.

The architecture matched the design style I'd once casually mentioned liking during a conversation years ago.

He'd remembered.

The gardens overflowed with orchids.

Not ordinary ones.

Rare species worth more than many people earned in a lifetime.

Then my eyes wandered farther inside.

I froze.

There...

An amusement park.

Built just for me.

A glowing carousel.

A Ferris wheel.

Roller coasters weaving through the night.

Even a small petting zoo where dozens of rescued dogs happily ran, played, and slept together.

All because...

One afternoon, I'd stopped to feed a stray dog.

I'd quietly remarked that it looked lonely.

That single comment had been enough for Luca.

My eyes stung.

He had remembered everything.

Every passing remark.

Every tiny wish.

For seven years, he'd loved me with a devotion so overwhelming that he'd turned my smallest words into reality.

He'd given me everything I'd ever dreamed of.

Even the dreams I'd never spoken aloud.

So why...

Why did my heart feel like it was breaking apart?

Because now I knew the truth.

His love had never belonged solely to me.

He'd divided it.

Half for me.

Half for the woman who had ruined my life.

Luca stepped closer, brushing away the tears on my cheeks with his thumb so tenderly that it hurt more than if he'd slapped me.

"Hey," he murmured. "A husband is supposed to make his wife smile. If you keep crying, you're going to break my heart too."

I nearly laughed.

A husband?

Which wife was he talking to?

Without warning, he lowered himself onto one knee beneath the night sky.

He opened a velvet box.

Inside rested a dazzling ring that sparkled beneath the lights.

"Camille."

He looked at me as though I were the only person who existed.

"Marrying you was the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I love you so much that even a few hours apart feels unbearable."

My hands trembled.

"So I had something special made."

He lifted the ring.

"There's a tracking chip hidden inside it. Mine carries the receiver. No matter where you go, I'll always know where you are."

His smile softened.

"I'll never lose you."

A chill crept through me.

Was that love...

Or possession?

The intensity in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

It looked as though he'd tear the world apart before he'd ever let me leave.

He reached for my hand.

Just as the ring was about to slide onto my finger...

His phone rang.

A unique ringtone.

I noticed the faint shift in his expression.

Celeste.

He glanced at the screen, his face quickly returning to normal.

Without missing a beat, he placed the ring on my finger.

Then he stood.

"An important client needs me," he said casually as he turned away. "I'll be back soon. Don't wait up."

Client?

The word almost made me laugh.

Before I could answer, he was already walking toward the helicopter.

Whatever waited on the other end of that phone call mattered more than finishing this moment.

More than me.

The helicopter lifted into the sky.

Its roar gradually disappeared into the distance.

Silence settled over the estate.

Slowly, I crouched down and picked up one of the puppies wandering nearby.

It gave a tiny bark as it curled against my palm, warm and trusting.

The strays had found somewhere they belonged.

Why hadn't I?

Something slipped from my finger.

The ring.

I bent down and picked it up.

Only then did I realize...

Luca hadn't even noticed.

He'd given me the wrong one.

The ring in my hand wasn't the one with the tracking chip.

It was the receiver.

Which meant...

He had accidentally taken the transmitter with him.

For several long seconds, I simply stared at it.

Then I pressed the hidden switch.

Voices crackled through almost immediately.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Celeste's voice quivered. "I didn't mean to fall apart like this. I've been trapped here for four years. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind."

My grip tightened around the ring.

"You don't need to worry about me," she continued, forcing a laugh. "Today's your seventh anniversary with Miss Hart. You should stay with her. I've survived four years already. I'll be okay."

There was a brief silence.

Then Luca answered.

"Stop saying nonsense."

His voice was firm but gentle.

"You think I'd leave you alone when you're sick? I'm your husband. Looking after you comes first, no matter what day it is."

Something inside my chest shattered completely.