Eight years of gunfire and fighting.

One day, I caught unfamiliar sandalwood scent mixed in Lizbeth’s blood. My men who investigate her condition said that she had protected that boy like a precious jewel so that it remained untouched by others.

I tried to get her back to her senses, so I kidnapped her boy.

What I got in return was war. She fought me to the death and killed a hundred of my men.

“He’s just a kid! He doesn’t know how the underwolrd works! You didn’t need to do this.”

“It's is going to be the first time and the last time, something like this happen.”

But I could not accept this defeat. So on the day she proposed marriage, I kidnapped the boy again.

She praised me for handling her problem. Yet that night she stunned me, ripped open my chest with her own hands. She threw my beating heart in front of me. Her face was bloody as she smiled like a monster.

“I've told you the kidnapping was going to be the last time. You're pushing it too far, so don't expect me to show any mercy,” she said before carrying the boy and left.

I've lost too much blood and fell unconscious. Her men had beaten me without rest.

At death I finally understood: I could not beat her. However, when I opened my eyes—I was back to the day I first kidnapped the boy.

The difference was, I didn't want anything from this ordeal.

——

“Ah! Don’t hurt me! Liz is pregnant with my child. Please let me go. We’ll pay anything! She put a tracker on me. If I don’t answer for an hour, she will come!”

The boy blurted out as he cowered on the ground, protecting his head out of fear. His white shirt was stained with blood, but he remained innocent.

At that moment I somehow understood why Lizbeth loved him. So, I untied him and asked one question.

“Do you know what kind of person Lizbeth is? She can’t give you the marriage you want. If you follow her, you will get nothing.”

The boy met my eyes, determination mixed with innocence were reflected in his eyes. “I know. But she said I’m different from other men. She promised me a wedding. After the child is born, she will take me to register our marriage.”

He continued, “I don’t know who you are, but if she ever offended you, please, forgive her.”

He nervously showed his phone. The screen had a reminder notification: [appointment to register marriage.]

At that moment, all my reason fell apart. I had chased Lizbeth for eight years. I had often said I wanted peace. I wanted a home.

Yet, she always refused.

“Living in the underworld business will force you to live on the edge. Marriage is a weakness. They'll harm you, you know.”

Lizbeth had clearly changed for this boy. Her principles broke easily.

So, she did want a home... just not one with me.

I untied the boy and told my men to leave us. Meanwhile, I stayed. I hid in a corner of the factory.

The boy had told the truth. Lizbeth arrived ten minutes later.

The moment she came in, her eyes locked on him. She could not leave him. They held each other in the mess and kissed. The joy of finding him again broke all her reason.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. Who kidnapped you? I will made them pay!”

The boy sobbed and fell into her arms, holding her tight. “Don’t kill anyone. You promised me.”

Those words broke the hard anger that had lived in Lizbeth for years.

“All right. I promise.” She gently patted the boy’s shoulder. “We’re going home.”

When they got to the door, Erick stopped and looked at Lizbeth carefully.

“Liz, do you really like me? If you do, why did you let me be in danger?”

“You’re the kind of person who has had many lovers. After the child is born, will you leave me?”

“You have many men, but I am different… Liz, I only have you…”

Erick's fell onto the back of her hand.

Those tears also fell into Lizbeth's heart. She did not answer with words but instead with a deep, urgent kiss.

After a while, they pulled apart with thin threads of saliva.

“I feel the same. I only have you. Rick, I promise this is the last time it's going to happen. If you don’t believe me, we will register our marriage tomorrow.”

The boy grinned a little and moved closer so he could kiss her forehead gently.

“You lied to me. You said the date of our marriage registration is still far away.”

“I'm Lizbeth Flare. I can decide the date of my own marriage registration whenever I want it." She took his arm and walked out the door.

At that moment, my world fell apart.

Tears blurred my sight. I stood there for a very long time. I took out my phone and dialed the hospital.

“Schedule my surgery now,” I ordered.

After I hung up, I looked at the wound on my abdomen. The blood would not stop gushing. My body hurt, but compared to my heart, it hurt less.

I got the wound for kidnapping Erick. He stabbed me by accident... or maybe on purpose, who knows. What's clear was the fact the blade went through my kidney.

Coincidentally, my kidney injury affected my ability to have a child. It's lost forever. I would never be a father.

When the anesthesia began, I heard loud noises outside. I soon realize tt was Lizbeth.

My chest tightened.

“Where is the doctor? Check him! He passed out after getting into the car. Is he going to be okay?” she asked with worry.

“Miss, there are other people waiting for surgery. The clinic is not here,” a staff replied.

“Shut up! Say another word and I’ll shoot you! If something happens to him, this hospital will close! I mean it!”

A bullet smashed the glass of the operating room. The doctors instantly went panic and scrambled to get out and apologize.

Before leaving, one of them told me, “Sir, please wait. I will check on the injured man and come back right away.”

I lay on the operating table with a bitter smile on my face.

Lizbeth wasn't the woman she used to be. Now her eyes and heart belong only to Erick Wayne. I felt stupid for expecting her appearance in the hospital because she knew I got badly injured.

My mind grew fuzzy. I seemed to go back to when she first found out she was pregnant.

She held me and kissed my cheek gently. “Tom, I am so glad to have you.”

I kissed her back with the same warmth.

“When the child is born, we will move abroad. I had too many enemies here. I want a normal life.”

“All right. I will agree to anything. You are everything to me now,” I said.

The scene changed. She put a gun to my forehead, face twisted.

“I told you, he's different. He’s only a kid! Why won’t you leave him alone? I’ll tell you the truth. The child in my belly is his.”

“Tommy, this is going to be the first and last time, this kindnapping happen.”

Bang!

The gunshots rang.

Hundreds of my men, who had fought with me for eight years, fell in pools of blood.

“If there is a next time, this will be your end!”

The bloody scenes kept turning in my mind. She squeezed my beating heart in her hand, then stabbed the open wound on the left side of my chest.

“Where's Rick?”

“Tommy, you’re pushing your luck. So, don't expect me to show any mercy!”

“I'll leave this guy to your hands. Do whatever you want. No need to inform me.”

The piercing pain made me break out in a cold sweat.

The doctor wiped my sweat and shouted, "Hurry, the anesthetic's wearing off! The patient's awake!"

The pain was too much and I blacked out. When I opened my eyes again, I was already in a ward. My younger brother, Greg, was in the room. He went forward to support me.

“Tommy, you’re awake! Are you okay?” he asked. “Lizbeth really went too far this time. Why didn’t you let me that you're the one having surgery? If the anesthesia wears off, you could die from passing out because of the pain!”

“What difference does it make if I were to tell you?” I forced a smile.

Greg asked with worry, “She didn't notice you left that abandoned warehouse, did she?”

“No. We took another mountain road,” I replied.

Redness slowly creeping up to Gerry's eyes. “You risked your life to save Lizbeth back then. You even stabbed ten times. Now you’re dealing with just one person instead of many, why not just kill her?”

I shook my head. “If we kill her, we’ll all die. She’s not the Lizbeth she used to be.”

“Do one thing for me. After it’s done, leave the country, never come back,” Greg said.

I got the message that my passport was ready two days later. During those days, Lizbeth did not send me a single message.

My chest tightened with a thousand pricks of pain; I could not breathe. When I got home, I felt like I had no strength left.

Before I could relax, I heard the clear click of a gun being loaded. I snapped awake and gripped the dagger at my waist. At first, I thought it was one of Lizbeth’s enemies. But my body fell to the ground before I could even control myself.

I didn’t know what exactly happened other than terrible pain swallowed me whole. My body felt torn apart and then sewn back together.

Then, the smell of blood woke me. Upon opening my eyes, I noticed I was lying on a big hotel bed and everything else I saw made me sick.

My body had whip marks, there wasn’t a single part of my skin unmarked. My stomach churned and soon I vomited.

From the hallway Lizbeth’s voice came. “How is it? Did you record the video?”

“We recorded it, but… Mr. Randall has been with you for eight years. Isn’t this a bit too much, ma'am?”

“What are you trying to say?" She replied, unamused. "Remember who you belong to. If he hadn’t insisted on bothering Rick, I wouldn’t have had to do this. He was pushign it, he deserved to be taught a lesson.”

“Tell the men to guard Rick well. If Tommy shows up again, we’ll release those videos, no matter what,” she added.

“Yes, ma'am!”

One second before she opened the door, I fell back on the bed and pretended to have just woken up.

A nail then dug hard into my palm; the familiar pain kept me barely in control. Her expression immediately changed into that gentle, caring face from the past.

“How are you? Are you okay? I've caught the person who did this. If anyone dares hurt you, I will not forgive them,” she said softly.

I couldn’t hold back tears and stared straight at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lizbeth frowned. “Relax. I know you're short tempered. I've kept the culprit—so you could deal with him yourself.”

“Let’s go. He probably won’t live long.” She held me in her arms.

Her hug felt as warm as before. Yet, my whole body was as cold as biting ice.

On the way, she still did not let go of my hand. I could see her caring expression mixed with guilt.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t protect you well. I promise, it won’t happen again,” she cooed.

When I stayed silent, she kissed the corner of my mouth.