Chapter 1

After our first time together, Ethan gently wiped the sweat from my forehead.

He spoke softly, "Baby, let's give our school's Stanford acceptance to Sienna."

I looked at him in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"Sienna was having sex with me when I got carried away and agreed. I just said yes in the heat of the moment."

My blood ran cold. "What if I don't agree?"

He chuckled and gently took my hand, then opened a video on his phone.

The video showed us in our intimate moments just now.

"Baby, you sound so sweet in my arms. I don't really want to share that with anyone else."

" Apply to other Ivy League schools next year. I'm sure you'll get into one again. I promise, we'll get married after you graduate from college."

I held back my tears.

Ethan didn't know that my mom had already arranged for me to go to Oxford University.

I would never believe in his promised future again.

"Baby, you know I hate threatening people. Especially you."

He brushed away the damp hair stuck to my forehead with sweat, kissing me tenderly over and over.

But his words cut like sharp knives.

"You have to understand my position though. Sienna stripped naked and climbed into my bed. I couldn't just take advantage for free."

"And it's because you were too afraid of pain. I couldn't bear to hurt you, so I practiced enough on her first before using my best technique on you."

I stared at him in disbelief.

My chest felt like it had been sliced open by a blade, grinding out unbearable pain.

"Why? If you really loved me, why would you betray me?"

My voice was terribly hoarse.

Ethan acted as if nothing was wrong, gently caressing my bloodless cheek.

"No reason. Sienna has a nice body and she's clean. When meat is delivered to your door, why wouldn't you eat it?"

After saying that, he smiled suggestively. "You seemed to enjoy the technique I practiced pretty well just now, didn't you?"

I instantly felt like I'd swallowed a fly, desperately suppressing the nausea churning in my stomach.

Seeing my face turn frighteningly pale, Ethan frowned and pulled me close with pity. "Little fool, don't overthink it. Sienna is just a tool I use to satisfy my physical needs. She can't compare to you at all."

"Besides, she's your best friend. You know her inside and out. While I wait for you this year at Cambridge, sleeping with her means I won't have to find dirty women outside. Doesn't that put your mind at ease?"

"Sienna is very kind. She doesn't ask for status. She just hopes that after we get married, she can still hook up with me once or twice occasionally."

My whole body felt electrified, frozen stiff.

I understood every word, but strung together, they made my entire body turn ice cold.

One was my childhood sweetheart of ten years who kept saying he couldn't live without me.

The other was my friend whom I'd supported for three years, who said she'd spend her life repaying my kindness and whom I'd treated like a sister.

I never would have thought that just an hour ago, I was full of hope for the future, blessed with both love and friendship.

In a flash, I'd been betrayed by the two most important people in my life and left with nothing.

I kept taking deep breaths to suppress the nausea and bitter pain that threatened to explode in my chest.

"Ethan, I can give you up to Sienna, but I won't give up my Cambridge acceptance."

As soon as I finished speaking, Ethan couldn't help but laugh. "Stop playing around."

"You swore at eight years old that you'd marry no one but me. You've been following me around all these years like a puppy. Everyone knows you love me like life itself."

"Without me, could you even survive?"

I felt like a fish thrown onto shore, suffocating and gasping for air.

The year I turned eight, my parents divorced, and I was left with my frequently traveling father.

The nanny taking care of me embezzled all the living expenses my dad left behind and tried to sell me to human traffickers.

It was Ethan who was dragged for over a hundred meters by a black car, risking his life to save me.

Though barely alive, before losing consciousness, he still remembered to cover my trembling, terrified eyes.

"Luna, don't look. I won't die. I still have to protect you for the rest of your life."

That beam of light I'd taken as my salvation had become the sword piercing through my chest ten years later.

Seeing my silence, Ethan pulled a document from the nightstand drawer.

He shoved a pen into my hand, smiling as he hugged me from behind. "The waiver form for the acceptance. Be good and sign it."

The obscene sounds from my phone kept looping. Ethan watched with great interest. "Baby, you have such a nice body and sweet voice."

My whole body trembled. I bit my lip until it bled, unable to tell if it was from anger or hate.

After a long while, I finally swallowed the tears bitter as salt and spoke hoarsely, "I'll sign if you delete the video."

"Of course. Whatever baby doesn't like, your husband promises to delete completely."

A phone ringtone sounded. The screen showed a contact saved as "My Little Sweetheart."

Ethan didn't answer. He put on his pants, grabbed the signed document, and before leaving, kissed my forehead.

"That's my good girl."

Watching his retreating figure, I sat in a daze for a long time.

Only after my tears flowed until I felt numb did I dial a familiar number.

"Mom, I'll listen to you. I'm coming to you."