In the second year of my marriage to the mafia boss, I ran into Ethan Vance again. It was on the exact same tropical island. He had just spent millions to buy a luxury resort hotel as a gift for his wife. The moment his eyes fell on me, his entire face froze. "Summer... about what happened back then, I had no choice." "You know that if I hadn't saved Serena first, she would have died..." He was talking about that day. The day when we were held at gunpoint, and the kidnappers forced him to choose between me and my stepsister, Serena. Without a single second of hesitation, he chose Serena. And I was left behind, dragged away by those monsters to be tortured and ruined. I offered him a faint, bloodless smile. "It's all in the past." I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot. "Did those men... did they hurt you? Summer, I'm so sorry. I swear I don't care about your past. I want to take care of you again..." I yanked my hand back and casually flicked my left hand, letting the massive blue sapphire ring on my ring finger catch the sunlight. "You're overthinking it, Ethan. My husband and I are doing amazing."
Ethan froze. The pity in his eyes only deepened. "Summer, you don't have to act strong in front of me." "The media covered everything back then. They took photos of you... being degraded like that. I know you suffered from severe depression afterward." His eyes Rimmed with red, his lips trembling slightly. "It's my fault. For the past two years, I was so focused on taking care of Serena that I couldn't find you in time—" "But it's not too late!" "If you don't mind, I can set you up in a place. I'll take care of you, just like I take care of Serena..." Serena. The very same stepsister who had mixed my mother's ashes into baking flour to make a pizza. A mocking smile touched my lips. "No, thank you. I'm doing perfectly fine." Realizing how awkward the silence had become after three years apart, Ethan desperately tried to find something else to say. Right then, the chef at the small Italian bistro called my number. I walked inside, picked up my plate of rustic spaghetti pomodoro, and sat at an outdoor table to eat. Even after all these years, this was still my favorite comfort food. Simply because the chef here made this pasta taste exactly like the one my mother used to make for me. Maybe the chef added a bit too much black pepper today. It burned my throat, making tears well up in my eyes. "Summer—" Ethan called out. I realized he hadn't left. He was standing there like a statue, staring at me. He stepped closer, his gaze falling onto my cheap plate. The pity in his eyes was practically overflowing now. "You're eating at a cheap diner like this?" He scanned my casual clothes, and I instantly realized what he was thinking. He thought I was living in poverty. "I'm so sorry. I should have never betrayed you back then." His voice was thick with guilt. "But regret won't change the past... I know you've had a miserable couple of years. Let me take responsibility for you. Come back to New York with me, okay?" Ethan reached out excitedly to grab my hand again. I stiffened and pulled back. "No. You know Serena and I are mortal enemies. We can never live under the same roof." Ethan froze, his hand hanging awkwardly in the air. He knew better than anyone the deep, blood-stained hatred between Serena and me. If Victoria and Serena hadn't forced their way into our lives, my mother wouldn't have died in that staged car crash. If Serena hadn't framed me over and over again, my father would have never kicked me out of the family. Even now, I still had ugly, jagged scars on my back. Those were from the broken glass shards Serena had intentionally hidden inside my bedsheets. "Summer, I..." Before he could finish, his phone buzzed. Serena's whiny, sweet voice echoed from the speaker. "Babe, where are you? Did you finish buying that pearl boutique for me yet?" "My boat is landing in five minutes. Come pick me up." Ethan hung up, looking at me with a conflicted expression. Before leaving, he shoved a sleek black business card into my hand. "Summer, I'm the one who failed you three years ago." "If you change your mind, call me. I have a private penthouse in the suburbs. I can keep you there—" "Serena will never find out." Before I could even speak, he hurried away. How hilarious. Was he trying to make me his secret mistress? Offering to make Julian Mercer's woman a side-chick... Ethan must have a death wish. I shook my head, tossed the card into a nearby trash can, and went back to my pasta. Leo, the bistro owner, walked out, wiping his hands on his apron with a warm smile. "Mrs. Mercer, did you know that young man?" I smiled, trying to think of a casual answer. Leo leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You should stay away from him, ma'am. I saw it when he turned around—he has 'The Pit' brand on his neck." "You know what that means? He started as a slave. Anyone who survives that place is ruthless to the bone." I set my fork down and looked down, letting out a soft laugh. "I know." "He was actually my personal slave for five years." I had saved his life more times than I could count. He had sworn to love me forever, promising he would give his very life for me. Yet, when forced to choose, he chose my mother's murderer without a second thought. The slave who left me to the kidnappers.
Leo's curiosity was instantly piqued. Abandoning his kitchen, he pulled up a wooden stool and sat down to chat. "Mrs. Mercer, you were only eighteen five years ago, right? How did you have the guts to go into 'The Pit'?" "That's the most notorious, terrifying underground market in New York. How were you not scared to death at such a young age?" Of course I was terrified. But back then, I had no other choice. Five years ago, to find the truth behind my mother's death, I snuck into the black market. I heard that fifty thousand dollars could buy a solid lead. Anything deeper would cost much more. I wanted to investigate if the car crash—the scene of which my father had rushed to clean up—was premeditated murder. I didn't find the lead, but I found Ethan. Back then, he was just an unwanted orphan. A bruised, battered little slave being pushed around. The heavy iron chains around his ankles had rubbed his skin raw, leaving bloody rings. Wealthy buyers stood around, laughing hysterically as they watched him fight three wild, starving dogs to the death. He was covered in horrific bite marks, but his eyes still gleamed like a feral wolf. That look hooked me instantly. I spent a hundred thousand dollars that day to buy him. The trafficker took the cash and tossed the heavy chain into my hands. "He's wild and vicious, girl. Keep him chained for a few months, or he'll rip your throat out." Once we got out of "The Pit," Ethan glared at me, tense and guarded. Seeing the raw terror and defensiveness in his eyes made my heart ache. It reminded me of my own miserable situation. I reached down and unlocked his chains. "What's your name?" "Eth... Ethan," he rasped, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Master." "Don't call me master. I'm Summer Sterling." I tossed him a sandwich. "From now on, you follow me. I'll keep you alive, and I'll make sure you live like a human being." He devoured the food, the wild guard in his eyes slowly melting into a bright, devoted light. Over the next three years, I bought him Rolexes. I sent him to Ivy League business schools. I even handed him half of the real estate properties my grandfather had left me to manage. Just like in those cliché romance novels. We fell in love. I watched him reveal a terrifying genius for business. Every investment he touched multiplied tenfold. My assets grew rapidly, and new branch companies opened one after another. By day, we were the ultimate power couple in the business world. By night, he turned into a hungry wolf, devouring me with fierce passion. Countless times, he would hold me so tight it hurt, whispering in my ear: "Summer, once I build my empire, I'm going to marry you in the grandest wedding New York has ever seen." I believed him. Until the day the kidnappers threw me into that abandoned warehouse, pressing a cold barrel against my temple. They demanded ten million dollars from Ethan to release me. Ethan arrived, pale and panicked, carrying a duffel bag of cash. "Let her go!" he roared. The kidnapper laughed, pointing to the corner where a shivering Serena sat. She was wearing a white dress identical to mine, her face stained with tears. "Ethan, please, save me..." she sobbed. "Mr. Vance, you can only take one," the kidnapper sneered, patting my cheek. "Choose your girlfriend, and we'll send this pretty little stepsister of hers straight to 'The Pit'. The beasts over there love innocent girls like her." "But if you choose Serena, your girlfriend stays with us." Ethan's eyes darted frantically between me and Serena. Serena suddenly cried out, "Ethan, save me! Summer is so strong, she can find a way to escape on her own!" I stared at Ethan. He had once told me that my eyes looked like the stars, and he would never let them lose their light. I thought the choice was obvious. But Ethan only hesitated for a fraction of a second before speaking. "I choose Serena." The kidnapper whistled, untying Serena's ropes. She threw herself into Ethan's arms, turning her head to flash me a smug, victorious smirk. He lifted her up to carry her out. I sat frozen on the cold concrete, my brain unable to process when or how they had started sleeping together behind my back. "Ethan, don't go..." I dragged myself forward, grabbing the hem of his pants, begging. Ethan stopped. He looked back at me, his eyes filled with a heavy, painful sorrow. "Summer, I'm sorry. I have to do this." "Serena is too innocent and fragile. She won't survive a single night in 'The Pit'." "Wait for me. As soon as I get her to safety, I'll come back for you!" But he never got the chance. Right after he left, the man whose very name made the New York underworld tremble walked in. Mr. Mercer. Julian walked over and lifted my chin with his leather-gloved hand. "Still haven't figured it out yet?" "Summer, I told you he wasn't a man you could rely on." He waved his hand, and his bodyguard handed me a thick stack of photos. "If you don't believe me, see for yourself. These are all the proofs of his betrayal." The photos scattered before my eyes, stabbing straight into my heart. Julian's deep, smooth voice continued to echo in the quiet warehouse. "While he was swearing his undying loyalty to you, he was already sleeping with your enemy, Serena." "He says he loves you. He bought you a million-dollar diamond necklace on a whim, but he never spent two months hand-writing a hundred love letters for you." "But Serena got those." "Not just a hundred love letters, but birthday gifts for every single year of her life from age one to twenty-three. He prepared all of them for her." "He even snuck into your stepsister's bedroom in the middle of the night while you were fast asleep next door." "And now, in the face of real danger, he abandoned you without a second thought." "Summer, are you still blind?" I didn't say a word. Giant tears rolled down my cheeks. Julian leaned down, gently kissing the tears away. "You should choose me." As I finished the story, my plate was clean. Leo was staring at me, his jaw practically on the floor. "That Ethan Vance is supposed to be some legendary Wall Street prodigy, and he's actually such a gutless bastard? What happened next?" I looked up at him with a half-smile. "If you keep asking, Mr. Mercer might just shut your bistro down and kick you off the island." As I spoke, I looked past his shoulder. A tall, imposing man in a tailored charcoal suit was walking toward us. He held out his hand to me. "Gossiping about my wife's past, are we?"
Leo immediately offered a nervous, placating smile. "Just friendly banter, Mr. Mercer! Please don't close my shop. Your lovely wife loves my cooking too much." Julian waved him off, and Leo quickly scurried back inside. "Is everything taken care of?" Julian pulled me onto his lap right there on the patio. Even after two years of marriage, he was still as clingy as a high schooler, refusing to let me go. He buried his face in my neck, inhaling my scent. "Summer, you can never leave me." I laughed, swatting his shoulder. "We're in public, behave yourself." "I'm your wife. Where would I go?" "And seriously, is the island transfer complete?" Two months ago, Julian had bought this entire tropical island to give to me as a birthday present. We had been too busy to visit, but we finally carved out two weeks to vacation here and manage the property. Julian wrapped his arms around my waist, nodding gently. "Everything is finalized. Everyone on this island knows you are the sole owner." "As for that pearl boutique Ethan Vance just bought... do you want me to kick him out? Just say the word, and I'll have his lease terminated." I looked out at the turquoise ocean in the distance. "No need. He doesn't matter anymore." This was my second year married to Julian. And the third year since Ethan had abandoned me. It had taken me a whole year to heal from the betrayal, to learn to love Julian, and finally marry him. Now, Ethan Vance was nothing but a ghost from a past life. Earlier, Ethan had mentioned that Serena had recently developed an obsession with rare pearls. So, he had personally come to this island to buy her a boutique. By now, Ethan had probably brought Serena to the island. She was draped in designer brands, looking nothing like the sweet, innocent girl from three years ago. Instead, she dripped with superficial arrogance. As she looked around the luxury shopping district, her eyes suddenly locked onto a spot across the street. "Babe, look at that woman. Doesn't she look like my stepsister?" "Didn't you say the kidnappers dumped her on some desolate island three years ago? All those media scandals about her back then must have been true! Do you think she's been working as a cheap hooker here for the last three years?" "No wonder she refused to go with you earlier. She probably knows she's been ruined by too many men..." On their way here, Ethan had already confessed to running into me. He thought his wife was kind and generous enough to welcome her sister back. But he never expected to see me sitting on another man's lap in broad daylight, looking completely flushed. This was not the Summer Sterling he knew! Ethan's eyes flared red, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned white beneath his sleeves. "I have to go save her." Serena's face twisted in anger, and she grabbed his arm tightly. "Are you crazy? What do you think you're doing?" "This is a private island. We don't know anyone here. Do you even know who that man is?" "What if he's someone we can't afford to mess with? You want to ruin us?" Ethan struggled to pull away, but Serena held onto him with desperate strength. Julian tightened his grip around my waist, his fingers tracing my hip. "Sweetheart, I just found out this resort has a private villa with an outdoor heated pool. Want to go try it?" Only after marrying him did I realize how incredibly passionate—and shamelessly romantic—Julian could be. Every time we went somewhere new, he always wanted to play, leaving me utterly exhausted. But I could never say no to this giant, handsome devil when he started teasing me. I sighed softly, running a hand through his dark hair. "Fine, fine. Let's go." Soon, we got into our armored SUV, and the driver sped off toward the villa. The villa was indeed breathtaking. The massive marble tub was already filled with warm water and fresh red rose petals. "Summer..." Julian's voice grew husky. He pinned me against the wall, his lips dropping onto mine in a deep, intoxicating kiss. Just as his hands slid down to unbutton my dress, a loud, frantic knocking banged against the wooden door. "Mr. Mercer! Please, let Summer go!"
My heart skipped a beat. It was Ethan's voice. Didn't he go to pick up Serena? Why the hell was he here? With our romantic mood completely ruined, Julian's face darkened instantly. "Who is that?" "I'll handle it." I pressed a hand against Julian's chest to soothe him, then walked over to pull the door open. The moment Ethan saw me, he reached out frantically to grab me. "Summer, come with me!" I didn't budge. I coldly slapped his hand away. "Mr. Vance, didn't you go to meet your wife? Why are you so obsessed with stalking me?" "I can't just stand by and watch you get abused by these criminals!" Ethan's eyes were bloodshot, staring at me with desperate intensity. He looked consumed by guilt and regret. "Three years ago, I made a mistake." "I thought that if I got Serena to safety first, I'd have enough time to come back for you. I didn't know those monsters would... would share those horrific photos online!" "I tried to find you afterward. But no matter how much money or power I used, I couldn't trace you." "I finally found a medical record of your depression treatment at a private clinic, but by the time I got there, you had already been transferred..." By the end of his speech, his voice had degraded into a pathetic whimper. "I can't imagine what you've been through these past three years." "I was wrong, Summer. Come with me. Please, give me a chance to redeem myself..." I let out a lazy, amused laugh. "Come with you? Mr. Vance, if memory serves me right, you are a married man." Two years ago, Serena got pregnant, and Ethan married her. They threw a massive, multi-million-dollar wedding in New York. It was the talk of the town. That night, I had stood at the top of Julian's penthouse, watching the custom fireworks spell out "I love Serena" across the night sky. Panic flashed through Ethan's eyes, and he stammered. "But Summer, you said you loved me." "You said we would be together forever, no matter what. Five years ago, when you bought me out of 'The Pit,' you told me you never saw me as a slave. You said I was your family. Did you forget?" I stared at his desperate face, feeling absolutely nothing. Those memories felt so distant they might as well have belonged to someone else. Julian cleared his throat behind me, pulling me back into his firm, warm chest. "Mr. Vance. What a pleasant surprise." "You barge into my room and keep staring at my wife. Do you value your life on this island?" The cold reality seemed to wash over Ethan. "Mr. Mercer." "I apologize for the intrusion. But Summer is... my friend. I'm taking her with me." Julian raised an eyebrow, amused. "Just a friend? And why on earth would I let you take her?" Ethan closed his eyes, his knees buckling as he slammed heavily onto the floor, kneeling. "She means everything to me." "If you let her go, I will sign over twenty-five percent of the Vance Group's shares to you..." "I have no interest in your petty shares," Julian cut him off. He played with a strand of my hair, looking down at Ethan like a predator watching a dying rabbit. "But if you want me to let her go, we can make a deal." "Let's see what you're willing to pay." Ethan looked determined, his expression hardening. "Anything I own. If you want it, it's yours." "I only have one condition: set Summer free." Julian's eyes turned dangerous. I sighed inwardly. Julian was a deeply possessive man; hearing another man claim his wife was probably driving him insane. He pinched my waist lightly under his hand—a silent, jealous punishment. "My, my. It seems Mr. Vance is truly devoted to my Summer." "But I don't care for material things." "How about this, Ethan? If you want to take her, I want you to—" "Shoot yourself in both knees." Ethan snapped his head up, his face filled with utter disbelief. "Too scared?" Julian mocked. "I'll do it!" Ethan spat. The next second, Ethan pulled a compact handgun from his waistband. He pressed the cold barrel directly against his right kneecap. "Mr. Mercer, a man of your status shouldn't break his word. Two shots, and you let Summer go." I stared, momentarily stunned. He looked up at me, his eyes completely bloodshot. "Summer, watch closely. This first shot is what I owe you." BANG. Blood sprayed instantly across the pristine white rug. Ethan let out a strangled groan, cold sweat pouring down his pale face. "And the second one," he wheezed through gritted teeth. He shifted the gun to his left knee. BANG. The sound of shattering bone was sickeningly clear in the quiet room. Sitting on the sofa, the amusement in Julian's eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating stare. "I see your sincerity, Mr. Vance." Ethan collapsed onto the floor, weak and trembling, but he forced himself to look up at Julian. "Please... let her go." I couldn't stand this pathetic circus any longer. I stepped forward, away from Julian. "Let me go?" "Ethan, are you completely delusional?" I leaned down and draped my arm over Julian's shoulder in a deeply intimate gesture. "I am Mr. Mercer's wife. Asking a husband to let his own wife go with you... don't you think you're being utterly ridiculous?" Ethan's head snapped up. The last drop of color drained from his face. "What did you say? You're... Julian Mercer's wife?"
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