Chapter 1

Celeste Wilde secretly sent Damien Ashford's mistress out of the country without telling him.

That very evening, he kidnapped her parents and used their lives as leverage to find out where his mistress was.

Damien pushed his phone toward her. The screen showed her parents tied to chairs with time bombs strapped to their chests. The countdown displayed the numbers ticking down second by second.

He sat across from her in his immaculate suit, his slender fingers tapping lightly on the table, unbothered.

"Celeste, you have 59 minutes left." His voice was calm, even carrying a hint of tenderness. "Tell me, where did you send Lia off to?"

Celeste felt cold all over, her throat constricted as if being choked, unable to utter a single word. This was already his third time asking her.

She remained silent the first time he asked where Ophelia Hart had gone. The second time it happened, he gripped her chin as his fingertips caressed her lips, asking in a low voice, "Celeste, stop throwing a tantrum."

Now, this was the third time, and he was using her parents' lives to force her hand.

"Damien..." she said with a trembling voice. "Those are my parents. They're the most important people to me..."

He let out a soft laugh, but his eyes were terrifyingly cold. "Is that so? Then, when you sent Lia away, why didn't you think about how important she is to me?"

Celeste stared at him intently, suddenly finding it all absurd. So, Lia was important?

He once said that women on the side were just for fun, to be discarded when he grew tired of them. He said that she was the one he loved most. But now, he was willing to kill her parents for Ophelia.

"Damien, if I don't tell you, will you really let them die?" Celeste's voice was hoarse beyond recognition.

He leaned forward slightly, his dark eyes reflecting her pale face. "You can try and find out."

Celeste trembled all over, tears falling onto the table. She couldn't understand how things had become like this. Damien had loved her so genuinely and so deeply.

Back then, she was just a young woman from an ordinary family, while Damien was the heir to one of the most prestigious families in the city. He was born privileged, proud, and arrogant, never bowing his head to anyone.

Yet he fell in love with her at first sight.

Damien pursued Celeste with such intensity that the whole city knew about it. He had confessed his love dozens of times, each declaration causing a sensation throughout the city.

Giant roses dropped from helicopters, the entire Financial District's LED screens lit up with his declarations of love, and he made all the fireworks in the city bloom just for her on her birthday.

She was moved by his gesture, but her parents were firmly opposed. They knew too well what wealthy families were like.

They liked keeping up appearances at home while playing around behind closed doors. The love of these privileged sons was never that of a fairy tale.

They wanted to marry her off to someone of equal social standing, but Damien knelt at their doorstep for an entire day and night, abandoning all his pride just to ask for a chance to marry her. Thus, her parents eventually softened.

After their marriage, he showered her with love and indulged her every whim.

When she had menstrual cramps, he would fly back from abroad overnight just to care for her. When she casually mentioned wanting to eat a specific cake from the west side of the city, he drove halfway across town to buy it for her.

She thought she had married the right man. That was until she first heard the name "Ophelia Hart."

Damien's assistant, Taylor Cross, mentioned it during a casual conversation. He said some college student had deliberately fallen in front of Damien during his lecture, trying to get his attention with old-fashioned tactics.

She laughed it off, not paying it much attention. After all, too many women wanted to attach themselves to him, but he had always maintained his integrity.

Yet the second time she heard the name, it was in bed. He was on top of her, and he whispered "Lia" in a low voice in the heat of passion.

In that moment, she felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss. When she confronted him, he held her and explained that he had indeed thought about taking Ophelia as a mistress, but she was just someone he kept on the side for fun.

He told her, "Everyone in our circle does this, Celeste. You're still the one I love most—that will never change."

But later, he became increasingly brazen. He bought Ophelia jewelry, gifted her luxury penthouses, and even brought her to private parties. The rumors spread like wildfire throughout the city.

Celeste cried and threw tantrums about it. Yet Damien no longer coaxed her like before, only saying coldly, "Stop being so unreasonable."

Finally, she couldn't bear it anymore and sent Ophelia out of the country. But she never expected his reaction to be so extreme. He abducted her parents and strapped bombs to them, all to force her to reveal Ophelia's whereabouts.

"She's in Helvetia," she said with a trembling voice. "At that villa under my name in Gevena."

Damien stared at her for several seconds, as if judging whether she was telling the truth, then picked up his phone and made a call. After confirming her location, he grabbed his suit jacket, his steps urgent as he prepared to fetch Ophelia.

"What about my parents?" She grabbed his sleeve desperately.

"You promised that if I told you, you'd release them!"

He turned back to look at her with an indifferent expression. "They're at the abandoned factory in Southridge District. Go find them yourself."

Celeste stumbled out the door and drove straight to Southridge. By the time she found them, the bomb only had ten minutes left on the timer.

Her parents were tied to chairs with their mouths gagged. They shook their heads frantically when they saw her, gesturing for her to leave quickly.

She rushed over, her trembling hands trying to untie the ropes, but the bomb's countdown ticked like a death knell. There were only about three minutes left.

She couldn't untie them, and tears began streaming down her face in desperation. Her father suddenly rammed into her with force, causing her to stagger backward.

The next second, he threw his body toward the bomb—

"Dad!"

The explosion was deafening, and the blast wave knocked Celeste down. She hit the ground hard, and everything before her eyes turned crimson.

...

When Celeste woke up again, she was in the hospital. Both her parents were severely injured, but thankfully, they were still alive.

She knelt beside the hospital bed, crying as she apologized, "I'm so sorry... I chose the wrong person..."

Celeste's mother, Eleanor Stone, weakly lifted her hand and touched her hair. "Silly, you can always start over."

Celeste shook her head. "He won't let me go."

When she first learned about Ophelia's existence, she couldn't accept it and had thought about divorce. But every time she drafted the divorce papers, Damien would tear them up.

He said he was only playing around with Ophelia and would dump her once he got tired of her. He proclaimed that true love was Celeste, and he would never let her go.

Her father, Thomas Wilde, gripped her hand. "No, Celeste, there's something you don't know, and he probably forgot too. The night we agreed to let you marry him, your mother and I made him sign a divorce agreement."

Celeste froze.

"If he ever betrayed you, the agreement would take effect. You could immediately divorce him, and our family could simply disappear forever," Thomas said softly.

Celeste was stunned to hear this, and tears flowed uncontrollably. It turned out her parents had already prepared her an escape route.

…

The next day, Celeste did two things. First, she brought the signed divorce agreement to the law firm with her parents.

After reviewing it, the lawyer nodded. "The agreement is valid. The divorce is effective immediately."

The second thing she did was to handle identity erasure procedures with her family. Once the process was complete, it would be as if Celeste Wilde had never existed.

And Damien would never be able to find her!

Chapter 2

After learning that the identity erasure procedures would take two weeks to complete, Celeste discussed it with Thomas and Eleanor and decided to return to the Ashford residence first.

For these two weeks, she had to continue staying by Damien's side without him noticing anything unusual. Otherwise, with what he was capable of, none of them would be able to leave unscathed.

After returning to the mansion, Celeste began sorting through her belongings. She gathered everything—treasured photos, Damien's love letters, souvenirs from their travels together—and threw it all into the fireplace.

The flames devoured the past, as if burning away a ridiculous dream.

On the second day, Celeste went to the backyard. There was an entire grove of plane trees that Damien had planted for her with his own hands. He said plane trees symbolized loyalty, just like his love for her that would never wither.

Celeste picked up an ax and chopped them down one by one while the household staff stood in the distance, not daring to approach or stop her. The dull thud of falling trees echoed through the yard, each crack as brutal as the obsession she was severing.

Celeste went to Lover's Cliff on the mountaintop on the third day. There hung a love lock with their names engraved on it.

Damien had held her and thrown the key off the cliff years ago, saying they would be locked together forever in this lifetime. Now, Celeste used bolt cutters to break the lock.

The lock fell to the ground with a sharp sound. She turned and walked away, never looking back once.

When she returned to the mansion, there were two additional people in the living room. Damien sat on the couch with Ophelia leaning against him, her figure slender and fragile as if a gust of wind could knock her over.

Celeste walked past them expressionlessly and headed straight upstairs.

"Stop," Damien's cold voice called out.

Celeste halted but didn't turn around.

"Do you know why I brought her back here?" he asked.

"I don't care."

"After you sent Lia abroad, she couldn't adapt to the environment or sleep properly for days." His tone carried reproach. "Celeste, apologize to her."

Celeste finally turned around and looked at them. Ophelia timidly clutched Damien's sleeve, though a flash of smugness flickered in her eyes.

"And if I don't apologize?" Celeste asked calmly.

"Never mind. It's okay..." Ophelia spoke softly and weakly. "I don't mind suffering a little. After all, Celeste is the lady of the house."

Damien immediately held her tighter. "Didn't I tell you not to be so understanding?"

He kissed the top of her head. "From now on, I'll spoil you. You can do whatever you want."

Celeste's lips curved into a sardonic smile, finding it utterly ridiculous. A maid then brought over a mug of calming chamomile tea, saying it was specially prepared for Ophelia.

Just then, Damien's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and said gently to Ophelia, "You always get headaches when you hear me talk business. I'll go outside to take this call. Drink your tea."

With that, he got up and left. Celeste stood there, feeling as if a blade had struck her heart. Damien never used to discuss business outside because it involved commercial secrets, but now he would even change his habits for Ophelia's sake.

Now, only Celeste and Ophelia remained in the living room. The fragility on Ophelia's face instantly disappeared, replaced by the arrogance of a victor.

"See that?" She laughed softly.

"Even though you sent me away, Mrs. Ashford, Damien's body and heart are with me."

Celeste looked at her indifferently. "If you want him, then take him."

Ophelia was stunned for a moment before becoming furious. "I don't need you to give him to me! He'll be mine alone sooner or later, and your position will be mine too!"

Seeing that Celeste remained unmoved, she became even more frantic. Just then, Damien's footsteps could be heard from outside.

A flash of malice crossed Ophelia's eyes as she suddenly picked up the scalding chamomile tea and poured it on herself.

She screamed, tears instantly streaming down her face.

Damien rushed in when he witnessed the scene. Ophelia was in a disheveled state, the tea dripping from her clothes, and she was crying pitifully.

"Celeste!" His brow furrowed with barely contained anger. "Forget apologizing, how dare you do this to her?"

"I didn't do it," Celeste said calmly. "You can check the security cameras."

"Fine, let's check it out!" he sneered.

Ophelia immediately grabbed his arm, choking back sobs. "Damien, it's not Celeste's fault... I shouldn't have foolishly hoped to stay by your side. I'll leave right now..."

She had just taken a step when Damien pulled her back.

"I went through so much trouble to find you and bring you back, and now you want to leave my sight again? Are you trying to kill me?"

He held her tightly, like he was embracing a precious treasure he had lost and found again. Then he looked at Celeste, his gaze terrifyingly cold.

"I will make sure you pay for this."

Celeste was then locked in the walk-in freezer. When the bodyguards dragged her in, she struggled desperately. "Damien! Check the security cameras! I didn't do it!"

He didn't even glance at her, only saying coldly, "There's no need for me to check. She's the only person I trust."

The freezer door slammed shut heavily. Darkness and cold instantly engulfed Celeste. She curled up in the corner, trembling all over, but her heart felt even colder than the freezer.

Was this what he meant when he said she was the one he loved most?

Tears couldn't help but fall from Celeste's eyes. She had always been sensitive to cold and feared it greatly.

After their marriage, Damien had paid a high price to install a temperature control system throughout the house, keeping even the outdoor courtyard as warm as spring all year round.

During winter, he would warm her cold hands and feet in his embrace, laughing as he said, "I'll keep you warm like this for the rest of our lives."

Now she realized that promises were probably only true in the moment they were made.

Chapter 3

The freezer door was finally opened the next day. Celeste had nearly passed out from the cold.

A bodyguard, Gale Smith, stood expressionlessly by the entrance as he said, "Mr. Ashford says if there's a next time, the punishment won't be so lenient."

She leaned against the wall and staggered out while trembling all over. Even her teeth were chattering.

There wouldn't be a next time. Soon, she would make him disappear from her world completely.

That evening, Taylor delivered a gown and jewelry, saying Celeste needed to attend a charity auction dinner.

Despite all the events, she still went. Then, she saw Ophelia at the entrance to the banquet hall.

Ophelia wore a haute couture gown, and around her neck was the diamond necklace that Damien had bid eight figures for at an auction last month.

Celeste stopped in her tracks and looked at Damien. "She's here too, so what do you need me for?"

His expression was indifferent as he replied, "I wasn't originally planning to bring her, but she's never been to an occasion like this and wanted to come, so I brought her along."

He paused, his tone casual as he added, "Celeste, don't be so petty."

Celeste's body trembled slightly. She wasn't being petty. Damien hadn't considered how much gossip and ridicule she would face when she and Ophelia appeared together at the event as wife and mistress.

Damien walked straight in with Ophelia, who wore a sweet smile while affectionately linking her arm through his. Meanwhile, people around them began to whisper.

"Mr. Ashford and his wife have such a loving relationship. They're such a perfect match."

"You've got the wrong person. That woman is Mrs. Ashford, and the other one beside him... is just his mistress."

The person looked embarrassedly at Celeste and said awkwardly, "But Mr. Ashford treats the other woman so well, giving her authentic designer pieces while his wife gets the complimentary items. It's no wonder I was confused."

Celeste clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.

After the auction began, Celeste casually raised her paddle to bid on several collectibles. But whatever she bid on, Ophelia would raise the price by just one dollar.

Low laughter rippled through the crowd.

"This is the first time I've seen a legitimate wife being bullied and suppressed by a mistress…

Celeste remained expressionless and signaled for an open bid. An open bid meant she would outbid anyone, regardless of price—there were no limits.

Ophelia's face went pale as she tugged pitifully at Damien's sleeve. "Damien, I really love this piece..."

Damien frowned and looked at Celeste. "Celeste, let her have it."

"No. She can't place an open bid, but I can, because I'm your wife and we share marital assets." She looked at Ophelia mockingly.

"No matter how much you give her, she'll never compare to me."

Ophelia's eyes immediately turned red as she stood up abruptly. "You..."

She suddenly covered her face the next second and cried. "Yes, you're his wife... I'm just a mistress who shouldn't see the light of day, I shouldn't have foolishly hoped for more…

"Damien, let's just end this!"

With that, she turned and ran.

Damien's expression darkened as he grabbed Celeste's wrist, gripping so hard it felt like he might crush her bones. "I told you I'd get tired of playing around after a while, but you just had to drive her away!"

Celeste looked at him calmly. "Whether she leaves or not—what does that have to do with me?"

His gaze was menacing as he released her wrist and strode after Ophelia. Celeste stood there as everyone looked at her with mockery and pity.

Nevertheless, she didn't care. After all, she would be leaving soon.

…

Celeste was jolted awake the next morning by a news alert on her phone.

"Breaking News! 999 Private Photos of Ashford Group CEO's Wife to Be Publicly Auctioned at the Auction House!"

Her blood instantly turned to ice. Only Damien had those photos.

Chapter 4

Celeste called him with trembling hands, her voice hoarse as she asked, "Did you release those photos?"

On the other end, Damien let out a cold laugh. "Didn't you enjoy making open bids?

"If you don't want others to see those photos, you'd better get over there and bid on them one by one until you've had enough!" he said cruelly.

Ophelia's sickly sweet voice could be heard in the background. "Damien, is that Celeste calling? I... I should leave. I shouldn't stay by your side..."

"Don't talk nonsense." His voice instantly became gentle, followed by the sound of intimate kissing over the phone.

"I've already stood up for you, so don't you dare try to leave again."

The call eventually ended. Feeling as if she had fallen into an icy abyss, Celeste immediately rushed to the auction venue.

The moment she pushed open the door, her whole body started to tremble. The room was full of men, and her intimate photos were being shown on the large screen.

There was her sleeping profile—he had said it was adorable and specially saved it.

There was her silhouette while bathing—he had coaxed her into letting him take it, saying he could look at it when he missed her.

And there were photos of her naked body covered in love bites on the bed, which he said were proof of how he expressed his love for her.

The men's lustful gazes clung to Celeste, and their comments pierced her ears like knives.

"That figure… My, my, Mr. Ashford is truly blessed."

"I heard Mr. Ashford used to love Mrs. Ashford deeply back in the day. How is he now selling his wife's intimate photos?"

"He got tired of her, obviously. These wealthy wives may look glamorous on the surface, but behind the scenes..."

Each comment stabbed into Celeste's heart like a knife. She suddenly remembered how possessive Damien used to be.

The year they vacationed on an island, she wore a backless dress. When some men gave her more than a few glances, Damien immediately dragged her back to the hotel room.

He pressed her against the floor-to-ceiling windows, coaxing her to say the words, "Celeste belongs to Damien."

Yet now, he had personally sold her intimate photos for these men to ogle for the sake of another woman! She bid on them one by one, and with each raise of the bidding paddle, her heart grew colder.

By the time she finished bidding on the last photo, her love for him was completely exhausted. As she walked out of the auction house, her phone rang.

"How did it feel making all those open bids? Enjoyable?" Damien's voice carried mockery.

Celeste gripped her phone tightly, her nails almost digging into her palm. "Aren't you afraid I'll divorce you for doing this?"

His tone was very flat, as if talking to a child who didn't understand. "You can't divorce me, Celeste. Without my signature, this marriage can't be dissolved."

She remained silent. He had indeed forgotten that she had a divorce agreement in her possession that he had already signed.

Hearing nothing but her silence, Damien's tone softened. "Today was just a small lesson."

He paused. "I told you, as long as you don't target Lia, I'll return to the family after some time.

"Your birthday is in a few days. I'll throw a party to make it up to you."

Celeste was about to say "no need," but the call had already been hung up.

Over the following days, she saw Ophelia's social media posts almost daily. The latest one was a photo of Damien holding her on a yacht, with the caption: "I said I wanted to see the ocean, so he bought me an island."

Scrolling down further, there were even more posts.

"Even though he's allergic to cat fur, he got me a Ragdoll!"

"His phone gallery is full of my photos! Hehe."

A week ago, Celeste would have been heartbroken to the point of suffocation. But now, she felt utterly numb to it all.

Damien had been staying at Ophelia's place recently, only occasionally coming home. He hadn't even noticed that things were disappearing from the house.

He probably wouldn't even notice if she disappeared.

Chapter 5

Damien drove to pick her up on the day of her birthday party. He was alone in the car.

"You didn't bring Ophelia?" Celeste asked indifferently.

Damien frowned. "I'll avoid having you two meet from now on, so you won't always be angry."

Celeste's lips curved slightly. He wasn't afraid of her being angry; he was scared of her bullying Ophelia.

In his heart, she had long since become a malicious woman.

The party was grand, and Damien held Celeste's hand throughout, giving her jewelry and famous paintings. He even whispered to her in a pleasing tone, "This should finally make you happy, right?"

Celeste looked at him and suddenly remembered the past. When he made her angry before, he would also lower himself like this to coax her, and she would always soften and forgive him.

Nevertheless, this time was different. He had used her parents' lives as bargaining chips, trampled on her dignity, and publicly auctioned her intimate photos. He couldn't make up for it now, even if he placed the entire world before her.

Celeste was about to speak when the banquet hall doors were suddenly pushed open. Ophelia stood timidly at the entrance, wearing a white dress.

Damien's expression changed when he saw her. "Didn't I tell you to stay at the villa?"

Her eyes reddened slightly as she said, "I... I wanted to celebrate Celeste's birthday, and I even brought a gift..."

"I don't want to see you," Celeste said coldly.

However, Damien had already beckoned for a waiter to arrange a seat for Ophelia. He whispered to Celeste, "She kindly came to celebrate your birthday. Let's let bygones be bygones about what happened before."

At the party, even though he was supposed to be celebrating Celeste's birthday, Damien's attention was entirely on Ophelia.

He initially took Celeste's hand when the band started to play music. However, he ultimately turned around and walked toward Ophelia instead when he caught sight of her teary-eyed expression from the corner of his eye.

Celeste stood in the corner, watching them dance together in an embrace, feeling completely numb inside. When the dance ended, Ophelia complained coquettishly that her high heels were hurting her feet.

Damien immediately went downstairs to buy her flats.

Taking advantage of his absence, Ophelia walked over to Celeste and waved her phone. "Celeste, you probably don't know this, but the gifts Damien gave you were all things I didn't want.

"He still had to report to me and send me messages every minute just to attend your birthday party..."

She smugly showed the chat records. "Look, he said, 'My dear, just be patient a little longer, I'll be back to keep you company soon.'"

Celeste was beyond caring. She asked, "What exactly do you want?"

"I want you to step aside."

"Soon." Celeste looked at her calmly, adding, "You'll have him all to yourself very soon."

Ophelia narrowed her eyes, seemingly thinking about something. Just when Celeste thought she had believed her, Ophelia suddenly grabbed Celeste's hand and slapped herself hard with it!

The crisp sound of the slap rang out. When Damien rushed over, he saw Ophelia covering her face with tears streaming down.

"Celeste!" He was furious. "You're bullying her again?"

"I didn't."

"I saw it myself!" He grabbed Celeste's wrist, gripping so hard it felt like he might crush her bones.

"Wasn't the last lesson enough? I told you, whatever you do to Lia, I'll pay back tenfold!"

Ophelia sobbed and shook her head. "Forget it... It's okay..."

"What are you afraid of when I'm here?" Damien tenderly wiped away her tears. "I told you, you can do anything. You could burn the whole place down, and I wouldn't care.

"Stop being so timid all the time, or you'll just get bullied."

With that, he had Gale hold Celeste down and said to Ophelia, "However hard she hit you, now you hit her back tenfold."

Ophelia pretended to be frightened. "I... I wouldn't dare..."

"I'll teach you." He took her hand and slapped Celeste hard across the face.

"That's to teach you to fight back."

Another vicious slap followed.

"That's to teach you not to cower."

He didn't stop there as the third strike landed, then the fourth.

Celeste was in so much pain that her vision darkened; blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Her ears were ringing, yet she gritted her teeth and remained silent.

Damien didn't stop until the tenth blow.

The guests around them whispered, "Mrs. Ashford is so pitiful, and today's her birthday too..."

"She deserves it for bullying the other lady..."

Damien gently cupped Ophelia's hand as he asked, "Does it hurt? I'll take you to apply some ointment."

With that, he scooped Ophelia up in his arms and left without looking back. Gale released Celeste, and she collapsed to the floor with her cheeks burning with pain.

However, her heart hurt a thousand times more. She truly regretted it. She regretted falling in love with him.

She regretted it so very much.