Chapter 1

The 95th love letter had been burned on the day of an auction.

Samuel Lynch accompanied Catherine Jackman to bid a keepsake from her mother, Alice Smith. It was a sapphire gemstone necklace Alice had treasured a lot before she passed away.

Not long after the auction began, Samuel saw Natalie Sullivan working as a part-timer there.

Just because Natalie had stolen a few glances at the necklace, Samuel raised his paddle and bid it at an astronomical price. Then, he gave the necklace to her in front of everyone.

"I've bought it because you like it. You like that?" His voice was deep.

Natalie, wearing the attendant uniform, shoved Samuel's hand aside righteously and replied, "Sir, I told you that I'm not interested in rich families. I don't want to be your sugar baby. It's not going to work, no matter what you give me. Please take the necklace back and don't bother me while I'm at work."

With that, holding the empty glasses, she spun on her heels and left.

Instead of getting infuriated, Samuel chuckled and ran after her.

Catherine felt her heart tightening. She froze for a bit before she dashed out of the venue.

The cold breeze blew from the sea to the deck, and Samuel was still pestering Natalie. Seeing that she refused to accept the necklace, he raised his arm and casually tossed the valuable sapphire gemstone necklace into the sea.

"Since you don't like it, I'll pick again until you're pleased," he said in an exceptionally gentle voice.

Then, he left with Natalie without looking back.

He didn't notice that Catherine, without a second thought, had climbed over the railing and dived into the cold waves in the dark.

As the sea water gushed into her nose, Catherine suddenly recalled that he had proposed to her on a cruise five years ago.

He had said, "Cathy, even if you ask for the stars next time, I'll get them for you."

But now, he had casually thrown Catherine's mother's keepsake into the sea.

Catherine only got out of the icy water after a whole night.

She gripped the necklace tightly, the gemstone shining after getting soaked in seawater. But her fingers were all numb from the extreme cold.

On her way home, she scrolled her social media feeds.

"Mr. Lynch has fallen so hard this time. Everyone knows he's courting an attendant."

"I don't think he caused such a big stir when he pursued his wife last time, right?"

Catherine's fingers paused. She felt suffocated, as though something was clutching her heart.

They were right. Back when Samuel was courting Catherine, she had only agreed to be with him after he had written 99 love letters and confessed 99 times.

They had been dating since high school until they got married, and it had been a blissful marriage. Everyone thought Samuel was deeply in love with Catherine.

In the fifth year of their marriage, he had gone to the hospital for an IV drip and met a clumsy houseman there. She had injected him incorrectly numerous times, causing him to be in so much pain. The back of his hand had been bruised too. However, he hadn't lost his temper and merely smiled upon seeing how anxious she had been.

After that, he spent a lot of money to buy her a car and a house, trying to make her his woman. Yet, she had turned him down without hesitation. "Mr. Lynch, I'm not interested in rich families. Please behave yourself."

Besides, she had even gone to Catherine and said, "Please control your husband and tell him to stop pestering me."

Samuel would've been infuriated if it had been someone else.

He wasn't mad at her, but instead, he pursued her more aggressively.

When Catherine questioned him, he replied nonchalantly, "She's pretty interesting. I'm just fooling around with her, and I'll be back with you when I'm done.

"Cathy, I love you a lot, but it's just so hard to love only one person in life. You have to give me the chance to make different choices."

Catherine was in agony, yet she couldn't bring herself to leave him.

Hence, she took out the 99 love letters and decided to give him 99 chances.

She would burn one letter every time he hurt her.

The day when all the letters were burned, she would give up on him completely.

And so, she lit up the lighter and burned the 95th letter.

As the flames engulfed the paper, she thought, "He has only four chances left."

The car arrived at the villa, and Catherine had just entered the house when she saw Samuel standing on the staircase, looking down at her. "You're back. I need to talk to you."

Catherine nodded. Just like she always did in the past, she ascended the stairs without suspecting anything.

Little did she expect that he would suddenly reach out to push her down.

"Ah!" Catherine shouted and stumbled down the staircase. The back of her head hit right against the step. Warm blood dripped down from her head, blurring her vision.

She was in so much pain that she couldn't stop trembling as she stared at Samuel in disbelief.

He gradually walked down and crouched down in front of her, then wiped the blood off her face. "Cathy, just bear with it. She's looking for a caregiver job. She can only move in when you're injured."

Chapter 2

Catherine hadn't expected Samuel to go this far because of Natalie.

He would even harm his own wife just to win Natalie's heart.

Overwhelmed by the tormenting pain, Catherine wanted to say something. But her vision went black, and she passed out.

When she regained her consciousness, she could feel an excruciating pain in the back of her head. She struggled to open her eyes, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar sight of the ceiling. She couldn't even tell how long it had been.

"Mrs. Lynch, you're awake." A cold voice rang out.

Catherine turned around and saw Natalie standing next to her bed while holding a first-aid kit.

She wore a basic white T-shirt and denim pants. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she had no makeup on. Yet, she looked so youthful.

"I'm your caregiver, Natalie Sullivan." Natalie looked composed, but her tone sounded distant. "Although I've moved in, please make sure Mr. Lynch behaves himself. If he does anything out of line again, I'll leave right away."

Catherine felt a sharp pain in her chest.

It was such an irony. Natalie had moved into her house, yet she wanted Catherine, the lady of the house, to make sure her husband behaved himself.

"I want another caregiver." Catherine's voice was hoarse.

As though she hadn't heard it, Natalie took out a syringe. "I'll give you the anti-inflammatory shot now."

When Natalie pushed the needle in for the first time, she couldn't detect the vein.

The second time, she positioned the needle at the wrong angle, and a bump immediately formed on the back of Catherine's hand.

Catherine's hand started bleeding when Natalie pushed the needle in for the third time.

"Let someone else do it if you don't know how to handle this." Catherine's voice trembled from the pain.

Natalie's eyes turned red and she questioned stubbornly, "What do you mean? If not because my grandma is severely ill, I wouldn't want to be here."

As she said that, she wanted to grab Catherine's hand again. This time, the needle pierced through her skin, and blood dripped down her pale wrist.

Catherine couldn't stand the pain anymore and shoved her away. "That's enough! Don't touch me!"

Natalie stumbled backward and knocked the medicine tray over. The glass bottles shattered into pieces.

Just then, the door was pushed open forcefully, and Samuel strode in.

"What's wrong?" He swept his gaze across the two before fixing his eyes on Natalie, who had stumbled on the floor. His expression changed at once.

"If I'm not welcome here, I'll leave!" Natalie's eyes were red as she stood up to get out of the room.

Samuel immediately tugged at her. "Who said so?"

Natalie struggled to shake his hand off. "Your wife! I was giving her a shot, but she pushed me! I'm not skilled in doing this, and you knew that from the start!"

Samuel swiftly looked at Catherine's swollen hand. A distressed look flickered in his eyes, but he relented when he turned to look at Natalie.

"What should we do so that you'll stay?" he asked, putting his pride aside.

Natalie raised her chin. "I hate it when rich people like you act so superior. I want her to apologize to me."

"Cathy." Samuel turned to Catherine, his voice firm. "Apologize to her."

Catherine stared at him in disbelief. "I was hurt because of her, but you want me to apologize?"

Samuel's eyes dimmed. "If you refuse, think about your parents' company."

Catherine felt a chill down her spine. "Are you… threatening me for her?"

"Cathy, it's only an apology. It won't hurt you. Are you really going to sit by and watch your parents' company go bankrupt?" he questioned.

At that moment, Catherine felt as though someone was stabbing her heart, over and over again.

She bit her lips hard until a metallic taste filled her mouth.

Seeing how Samuel had grown colder, Catherine realized that he was serious. She struggled to get up from bed and put up with the humiliation before she said to Natalie, "I'm sorry."

Frowning, Natalie retorted, "Is that how the rich apologize? It was so soft."

Catherine's nails dug into her palms, and she raised her voice. "I'm sorry! Are you happy now?"

The tension on Samuel's face eased a little after he saw Natalie nod reluctantly. Then, he persuaded her to apply the medicine.

When the door was closed, Catherine couldn't hold it in anymore. She slumped to the ground and cried in silence.

She fumbled out an aged love letter under the pillow and lit up the lighter with her trembling hand.

As the fire consumed the 96th love letter, the sight of the 16-year-old Samuel writing the letter appeared in her mind.

Under the magnolia tree on the campus, his ears were red as he gave her the letter. "Cathy, will you be my girlfriend? I'll treat you well for the rest of my life."

Just as the flames were about to go out, the door was pushed open suddenly. "What are you burning?"

Chapter 3

Catherine clutched the debris of the burned love letter, the lingering warmth of the flame burning her palm. "Nothing. Just some unwanted stuff."

Frowning, Samuel stared at the burned pieces and felt that they were somewhat familiar. Before he could mull it over, Natalie's voice rang out from outside. "Mr. Lynch, are you going to the gathering? If not, I'm not going too!"

Catherine looked up. "What gathering is it?"

"I plan to bring her there so that she gets to know the people in our circle." After a momentary pause, he continued, "But she said that since she's your caregiver, she'll only go if you're also going. Cathy, just come with me."

Catherine felt as if she had been punched in the chest. She smiled bitterly. "Samuel Lynch, what am I to you?"

Samuel was taken aback for a bit. After a while, he finally said, "Cathy, I explained to you before. I've never met a woman who's so hard to get, so I'm really interested in her.

"You don't have to feel jealous of her. When I'm sick of her, I'll come back to you."

Catherine closed her eyes gradually. It seemed like she could no longer feel any pain.

In the end, Samuel forcefully took her to the gathering.

In the car, Natalie suddenly took out a few white tablets from her bag. "Mrs. Lynch, these are the anti-inflammatory medicines. You'll recover faster if you take them."

Catherine merely stared at the tablets without taking them. "Are you sure these are the anti-inflammatory medicines?"

Natalie's face fell. "I have nothing to say if you don't trust me."

"Cathy, take the medicine." Samuel frowned and spoke up for Natalie.

Under his cold stare, Catherine felt a wave of weariness.

Closing her eyes, she picked up the tablets and gulped them down with water.

…

Samuel's friends had been waiting for a long time in the private room. When they saw the three come in, they instantly started teasing them.

"Samuel finally brought Ms. Sullivan out!"

"So this is Ms. Sullivan, whom Samuel has fallen head over heels for? She's truly one-of-a-kind!"

Sitting in a corner, Catherine watched the same group of people who had helped Samuel pursue her last time and felt her heart aching.

"Ms. Sullivan, Samuel truly loves you! As long as you ask, he'll even get the stars for you!" one of them said with a smile.

Natalie was doubtful. "Really?"

She was skeptical, so they persuaded her to try it.

"Hmm… What about giving the most expensive car in your garage to him?" Natalie pointed at one of Samuel's friends.

Without hesitation, Samuel tossed the car keys over with a grin.

Everyone rejoiced at that.

After that, she made another few requests from asking for a watch to a house, and Samuel fulfilled all of them.

The ecstatic atmosphere in the private room peaked in an instant. "Did you see that? Samuel's feelings for you are real. I think you should just give in and become Samuel's sugar baby!"

Natalie was firm. "No way! I'll never be anyone's sugar baby! I'm leaving if you all keep this going!"

Fearing that she would leave, everyone changed the topic and started playing games.

They would deliberately make Natalie lose in every round.

And they either dared her to sit on Samuel's lap or to intertwine her fingers with his.

When Natalie lost for the tenth time, they challenged her to kiss the person next to her for three minutes.

Clamor and cheers echoed in the private room. Samuel was sitting right next to Natalie.

Her face stiffened as she stood up abruptly. "Did you do that on purpose? I'm out if you keep this going."

"We're just playing. Don't take it seriously."

"Exactly. Why would we cheat? Samuel is a multi-billionaire. Would he be so immature?"

Catherine gripped the wine glass tightly and forced a smile while staring at Samuel.

Why wouldn't he?

A multi-billionaire like Samuel was pulling such childish tricks with his friends so that he could create more opportunities to get intimate with Natalie.

The last time Catherine had seen Samuel acting like this was when he was still courting her.

It felt as though someone was slitting her heart slowly with a knife. She was bleeding inside and suffering from the pain. To make things worse, she felt increasingly uncomfortable and had difficulty breathing.

Catherine was in so much distress that she clutched her chest. Only then did she notice that her arm was covered with horrifying rashes.

It was obviously an allergic reaction.

However, she had always been careful with what she ate.

She started gasping for air and thought of the medicine Natalie had given her.

With everyone cheering in the back, Natalie swiftly planted a kiss on Samuel's cheek.

Obviously, he wasn't happy about it. All of a sudden, he held the back of her head. "Is this even a kiss? Let me show you what a real kiss is."

The next instant, Catherine watched them kiss each other passionately as he ran his fingers through Natalie's hair.

He didn't even notice that the rashes had spread up to Catherine's neck. Her breathing grew increasingly rapid.

"Samuel Lynch…" Catherine used all her might to grab his arm. "Send me to the hospital. I'm having an allergic reaction."

"Stop messing around." Without looking back, he pushed her away, one of his hands still clutching Natalie's nape.

"Please…" She tugged at his sleeve again, her voice hoarse.

He shook Catherine off and pinned Natalie to the couch, deepening the kiss.

He became increasingly aggressive when he kissed Natalie. It was like an addiction as their lips locked into a passionate kiss.

Just as he was fully immersed in the kiss, Catherine's vision became blurred, and she knocked against the champagne tower.

As the glasses shattered, Natalie's scream echoed in the room. "She's fainted!"

Chapter 4

When Catherine woke up, she found herself lying in the hospital.

Natalie's sobs could be heard outside the room. "What should I do? I didn't mix up the sleeping pills with anti-inflammatory medicine on purpose.

"It'd be a major medical accident if something really happened…"

Samuel comforted gently as he said, "Don't worry. I'm here, and I won't let anything happen to you. If anyone were to pursue this matter, I'd write the mediation letter as her family."

Catherine bit her lips so hard that she could taste blood.

Not long after, the door of the ward was pushed open, and Samuel walked in.

"What happened to me?" Catherine asked in a trembling voice. "Why did I pass out?"

"Low blood sugar," he replied.

Catherine could hear her heart breaking into pieces when she heard his reply.

When they had just married, a socialite had tried to make Catherine drunk during a gathering. The following day, Samuel made the shares of that person's company plummet to rock bottom.

When that person kneeled before Catherine to apologize, he held her waist and said, "Cathy, no one can lay a finger on you when I'm around."

And now, Catherine had almost died because of Natalie's mistake, yet he was still defending her.

She couldn't understand why Samuel would hurt her like that.

Catherine was in such great pain that she quivered, but Samuel didn't even notice her strange response.

Seeing that she was fine, Samuel quickly rose to his feet. "Natalie has been worried sick for the whole night because of you. I'll send her home, and I'll come back to keep you company later."

However, Catherine didn't see him for days after.

Catherine saw from her social media feeds that Samuel had brought Natalie to the seaside. The two had attended a concert and had gone to places where Samuel and Catherine had always wanted to go but didn't get to.

The day Catherine was discharged from the hospital, Samuel finally showed up.

Holding a bouquet of chrysanthemums and leaning against the car, he saw Catherine and handed her the flowers. "Something came up in the company these days, so I didn't come to visit you. It's your mom's death anniversary today. I'll go with you."

Without saying a word, Catherine took the flowers and noticed that Natalie was also in the car.

She paid no heed to Natalie and got into the backseat. Staring at the view outside the window, Catherine recalled her mother's last words. "Cathy, I hope you find someone who truly loves you."

She touched the last three love letters in her bag and lamented bitterly, "Mom, I guess I found the wrong person."

After arriving at the cemetery, Catherine hadn't even paid her respects when she heard the bad news.

"I'm truly sorry, Ms. Jackman. It has been raining frequently these days, and the landslide is getting worse. This part of the cemetery will need to be moved…"

She clutched her bag, her knuckles turning pale from the force.

Her mother had always enjoyed serenity, but now, she couldn't even be at peace after she died.

Samuel stood behind her unknowingly. He took the document handed by the staff and quickly signed it. "Cathy, bring the cremains down first. I'll handle the formalities for the move."

Catherine nodded before she turned around and walked up the hill.

The steps were wet from the rain. Weakly, she dragged herself up the hill, and every step felt as though she was walking on blades.

In front of her mother's tombstone, the staff had started clearing up the graveyard.

Catherine kneeled on the muddy ground and carried her mother's cremation urn. The urn was made of sandalwood, and her mother's name, Alice Smith, was carved on it.

"Your mom must be really pretty," Natalie suddenly said. She reached out and wanted to help. "Mrs. Lynch, let me help you carry this."

"It's fine." Catherine turned sideways to avoid her. Then, she carried the urn carefully and walked down the hill.

Just then, Natalie shrieked, "Ahh! Bugs!"

In a panic, she bumped against Catherine. Catherine was caught off guard and rolled down the steps.

She clutched the cremation urn with all her might and fell hard on her back. It was so painful that her vision went black for a second.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't do it on purpose!" Natalie ran down anxiously. "I'll help you pick it up!"

Then, Natalie reached for the urn, but she slipped before Catherine could stop her.

The cremation urn fell hard on the ground, breaking into pieces.

The cremains spilled over the floor and were soaked in rainwater in no time.

"I'm sorry! I-I'll clean this up!" Natalie grasped the cremains anxiously, only to make things worse.

As the rain poured, Alice's cremains seeped through the ground, bit by bit.

Catherine trembled vigorously and couldn't hold herself back anymore. She slapped Natalie as she roared, "Enough! You did it intentionally, right?"

Covering her cheek, Natalie broke down into tears. "No! I only wanted to help. I was clumsy, but I did it out of kindness. Why did you slap me? I might be poor, but you can't humiliate me like this!

"You might've lost your mom's cremains, but I've lost my dignity!"

Catherine was full of despair. She raised her arm again but was held down by someone.

Samuel suddenly appeared and grabbed her by the wrist. "Catherine, what are you doing?"

Natalie sobbed her heart out as she explained, "I wanted to help her carry the cremation urn, but I accidentally spilled it. Then she slapped me…

"Since you two find it so hard to accept me, I'll leave."

Just as she took a step forward, Samuel held her in his arms. "Don't go. I'll make sure you get your justice."

With that, he shot Catherine a cold look. "Apologize!"

The rainwater streamed down Catherine's face, along with her tears.

She watched as Samuel wiped the tears off Natalie's face. At that moment, Catherine felt as if someone had ripped her heart out forcefully.

Catherine fixed her eyes on him, her lips trembling. "Samuel Lynch, did you hear it just now? She broke my mom's cremation urn!"

"But you shouldn't slap her because of that!"

Samuel's voice was colder than the rain. He gripped Natalie's wrist. "Don't worry. Since she slapped you and refused to apologize, you should hit her back."

Catherine's pupils contracted. Before she could react, Samuel held Natalie's hand and slapped her.

That slap was much harder than how Catherine had slapped Natalie earlier.

Chapter 5

Catherine stumbled backward and felt her head spinning.

Her back hit against the hard tombstone, then her knees landed hard on the steps. The sharp pain instantly spread across her limbs.

However, that was nothing compared to what she suffered deep down. She was suffocating from the pain that felt as though she had been torn apart.

Samuel didn't even spare her a glance. He merely lowered his head and wiped the rainwater off Natalie's face with his fingers. "Do you feel better?"

He was only relieved when he heard Natalie whimper. He took off his suit jacket and wrapped Natalie with it, then carried her.

When he turned around, he stepped on the cremains spilled on the ground, leaving behind a glaring trail of footprints.

Catherine sat in the rain, and the tormenting pain in every part of her body made her shudder.

Quivering, she reached out and tried to scoop the gray ashes. However, the rainwater washed them away too soon. No matter how hard she tried, the ashes kept slipping away, just like her relationship with Samuel.

"Mom, I'm sorry…" she said as she choked up. "I married the wrong guy. I shouldn't have married him."

After keeping the last bit of cremains, she took the 97th love letter from her bag and burned it as she shivered.

As the flames burned away the paper, she recalled Samuel's promise to her sickly mother back then. "Don't worry. I'll protect Cathy with my life, and I'll never let anyone bully her."

It turned out that slapping Catherine for another woman was how he "protected" Catherine.

Catherine was in so much regret for falling for Samuel.

After that incident, Catherine ran a high fever the whole night.

She dreamed that she was deep in the icy-cold sea, and her mother's cremains were scattered around her like snowflakes. She wanted to hold the gray ashes, but she failed to do so, no matter how she tried.

"Cathy… Cathy…" someone called out.

Catherine struggled to open her eyes, only to realize that she wasn't on a bed but in a speeding car.

The view outside the car flitted by. Samuel gripped the steering wheel, his face grim.

"Samuel Lynch, where are you bringing me to?" Her voice was extremely hoarse.

Samuel didn't even look at her as he replied coldly, "Natalie has been kidnapped."

Catherine was shocked and slowly snapped out of her trance. "So?"

"The person asked for you. It was Leonard Zeller." Samuel finally turned to glance at her.

That name stabbed into Catherine's heart like a knife.

Leonard Zeller was the lunatic who had been driven out of the city by Samuel for pestering her.

"Are you… sending me there in exchange for Natalie?" Catherine's voice trembled.

Samuel held the steering wheel tighter. "Leonard liked you in the past, so he wouldn't do anything to you."

An extreme coldness traveled to every inch of Catherine's skin. She struggled to open the car door, but she realized that her hands were tied under the seatbelt.

"Samuel Lynch! Are you out of your mind? Don't you know what kind of person Leonard is?" she screamed.

"Cathy, calm down." Samuel's voice was terrifyingly calm. "I'll come back to save you once I send Natalie back."

The car stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse.

"I've brought her here. Where is Natalie?" Samuel pushed Catherine to the front.

Leonard snapped his fingers, and two subordinates brought Natalie out. Her hair was disheveled, and there were traces of tears on her face. Her eyes shone when she saw Samuel. "Mr. Lynch!"

Samuel immediately let go of Catherine and strode forward to hold Natalie in his embrace. "It's okay. Don't be scared. I'm here."

Catherine stood rooted to the spot, quivering.

She watched as Samuel checked on Natalie and wiped her tears gently. He didn't even look at Catherine.

"Samuel Lynch!" she couldn't help yelling.

Only then did Samuel turn around and say, "Don't worry. I'll come back to pick you up soon."

With that, holding Natalie, he turned around and left without hesitation.

Catherine wanted to run after them, but Leonard grabbed her wrist. "It's been a while, Ms. Jackman."

She could sense his breath next to her ear, and it made her shudder.

Leonard shoved her into the car and drove straight to the hotel.

As soon as the door closed, he pushed her onto the bed.