Chapter 1

Everyone knew I had spent sixteen years shamelessly chasing after Julian Kingsley.

The two of us grew up in an orphanage together, founded Boundless Tech together, and fought side-by-side.

Yet, Julian had always kept me at arm's length, playing hot and cold.

Until three days ago, when a drunken Julian shared a night of passion with me.

I thought my years of devotion had finally paid off, that the dark clouds had finally parted to reveal the moon.

Never did I expect that from that moment on, Julian would become a completely different person.

Not only was he convinced that I had intentionally seduced him while he was drunk, kicking me out of the company, but he also turned around and started dating Giselle Sutton.

Sylvia's POV

The moment Julian opened his front door, I lunged at him from the shadows of the porch, throwing my weight onto him.

Caught off guard, Julian stumbled forward a few steps from the impact, and we both tumbled through the doorway.

I pinned him down, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck, and pressed my lips to his.

Julian turned his head to dodge, but I chased after him, kissing him relentlessly.

My lips brushed frantically against his cheek while my hands desperately yanked at his tie.

"Sylvia! You're drunk!"

"I'm not drunk!"

I mumbled back, ripping his tie off and starting on his shirt buttons.

"I know exactly what I'm doing!"

Julian grabbed my wrists, trying to push me off.

I clung to him, refusing to let go, struggling to tear his buttons open.

"Julian, don't you dare think you can get rid of me!"

"Sober up first before you speak!"

"I am perfectly sober!"

I kept clawing at his shirt, pressing my hands against his chest.

"I just want to know what's so great about Giselle! Why would you stand in the freezing wind by the beach watching stars with her late at night, and even drape your coat over her shoulders afterward? Since when did you become so caring?"

Julian pried my hands off his chest.

"Who I watch the stars with is my business. It's none of your concern!"

"None of my concern?"

I looked up to glare at him, my eyes so red they looked as if they might bleed.

"That night, you knew very well it was me! You were the one who initiated it, and now you won't even admit it!"

I was talking about three nights ago, during the collaborative banquet between Boundless Tech and Sutton Group.

Julian had drunk too much, so I helped him upstairs to a private room to rest.

I laid him on the bed. Just as I turned to fetch some water,

Julian grabbed my wrist and pulled me down onto the bed with a sudden yank.

With an almost frantic urgency, he rolled over and pinned me beneath him, raining kisses down upon me like a storm.

He kissed me so breathless that only one thought remained in my mind:

He is kissing me. Julian is kissing me.

The man I had waited sixteen years for was finally responding to me of his own accord.

That night, Julian was unusually rough. My clothes were torn, and his movements were devoid of any gentleness.

It was my first time, and the pain made me bite my lip until it bled.

But I didn't tell him to stop.

Sixteen years. From the orphanage to starting our business together, I had chased him for sixteen years. Tonight, he had finally responded.

No matter how much it hurt, I welcomed it gladly.

We had barely finished and hadn't even put our clothes back on when a horde of reporters burst through the door.

Camera shutters clicked frantically, exploding into a deafening wall of noise.

I instinctively pulled up the blanket to cover myself.

Someone shoved a microphone right in front of my face.

"Ms. Spencer, someone leaked that you drugged Mr. Kingsley to seduce him. How do you respond to this?"

I froze and turned to look at Julian, waiting for him to clarify.

But with a dark, sullen face, Julian simply put on his clothes and walked out of the room in front of all the flashing cameras, never once looking back at me.

That very afternoon, my employee badge was deactivated.

We had built Boundless Tech from scratch together, yet Julian kicked me out as if discarding a terminated employee.

That night, the media reported that Julian was dating the Sutton heiress, Ms. Giselle Sutton.

The next day, the media reported that Julian accompanied Giselle to an art exhibition.

Yesterday, they said Julian watched the stars with her by the beach and draped his coat over her shoulders.

The Julian in those reports was romantic and passionate—a side of him I had never been shown in sixteen years.

Tonight, I downed half a bottle of whiskey and came to corner him at his door.

At this moment, I simply dragged him down with all my might, and we both crashed onto the floor.

Before Julian could even get up, I had already straddled him.

"You say I drugged you? Fine! You say I'm manipulative? Fine! You kicked me out of the company, and I endured that too! But you turning around to pursue Giselle? No way!"

"Sylvia!"

He grabbed my waist to throw me off, but I beat him to it, reaching down and pulling straight at his zipper.

With a sharp zip, I yanked his zipper down.

His hardness instantly sprang free, rigid and demanding.

"If you have no feelings for me, how do you explain this!"

"Sylvia, do you have no shame?!"

The tips of Julian's ears flushed crimson.

"I don't care about shame."

I leaned down and began frantically biting and kissing his neck.

"I only want you!"

Pushed to his limit, Julian let out a low groan from the back of his throat, flipped us over, and pinned me beneath him.

"You brought this on yourself!"

He leaned down and kissed me with fierce urgency.

The sheer friction of it bruised me, but I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and locked my legs around his waist, refusing to let go.

"Even if you throw me out of the company a hundred times, I'll still cling to you!"

Julian didn't reply; he merely silenced me by kissing me even harder.

Afterward, curled up in Julian's arms, the alcohol and exhaustion washed over me all at once.

In my haze, I felt his phone vibrating.

Julian answered it.

I couldn't make out what the person on the other end was saying. I only heard Julian say, "I'll be right there," before he started putting on his clothes.

I reached out to grab his sleeve, but my fingers were too weak to hold on.

"Don't go..."

Julian looked down at me, hesitated for a brief moment, but then pried my hand away and left anyway.

When I woke up, my phone pinged with a breaking news notification:

[Sutton heiress Giselle Sutton hospitalized with sprained ankle; Boundless founder Julian Kingsley spotted at the hospital overnight, providing constant care.]

In the photo, Julian was crouching by the emergency room door, tying Giselle's shoelaces.

Just a sprained ankle. Was that really worth him abandoning me and rushing over in the dead of night?

My heart ached so deeply that my entire body trembled.