Chapter 1

I waited five years for my boyfriend to finally complete his mission and retire from the Special Forces, ready to come back and marry me.

But then I found thirty-six farewell letters among his personal belongings.

These letters were all written before he went abroad to carry out counter-terrorism missions, filled with his longing for the one he loved—but that person wasn't me.

Clutching my pregnancy test report with a shattered heart, I came to the snowy mountain peak, only to see him—always so proud—kneeling before Lillian Reed.

"Lillian, give me a chance to redeem myself. If you're willing, I'll marry you right away."

His eyes were full of affection, his tone pleading.

I tore up the pregnancy test report and scattered it across the snow mountain, deciding to leave.

But on the day I ran from the wedding, he lost his mind.

At the peak of a snow mountain 15,360 feet above sea level, I witnessed my boyfriend of seven years propose to someone else among the crowd.

Adrian Cross, usually so cold and aloof, knelt on one knee. He held out a diamond ring, and the scene overlapped with the proposal I'd imagined he'd promised me.

"Lily, I've thought about you every single day during these five years we've been apart. Will you marry me?"

"If not for yourself, then for our child."

Amid the grating cheers and screams from passersby, Lillian Reed slowly extended her left hand.

And just like that, the ring I'd waited five years for slipped onto her finger.

Adrian stood up and pulled Lillian into his arms with trembling hands, then kissed her.

As tenderly as if she were some priceless treasure.

I clutched the crumpled pregnancy test in my hand, my heart feeling as though a blade had been driven through it.

I turned and walked away, tearing up the test results as I went, scattering the pieces down the mountainside.

Five years ago, Adrian told me he'd been selected by the organization to go to war-torn Country A to carry out counter-terrorism missions.

He knelt before me, his expression pleading:

"Luna, will you wait for me? Once the mission is over, I'll come back and marry you."

Because of those words, I waited for him for five whole years, turning down any interest from other men.

But now, my five years and the child in my womb had become nothing but a joke.

On my way down the mountain, I ran into Adrian and Lillian again.

Lillian rubbed her belly and huffed indignantly:

"Adrian, after what Luna did to me back then, you have to help me get even with her!"

Adrian smiled and asked:

"What do you want to do?"

"If you really want to marry me, then run away on the day of your wedding to her!"

I hid nearby, clutching my swollen, aching foot, waiting for Adrian's answer.

We'd known each other for ten years, and he'd always been righteous, upstanding, and noble.

I was curious which he would choose—morality or Lillian.

"Alright, I promise."

Adrian's cool voice drifted over.

All the blood in my body seemed to freeze in an instant.

Lillian giggled and collapsed into his arms:

"Really? Aren't you afraid she'll be angry?"

Adrian affectionately tapped her nose:

"She'll be angry, sure, but I risked my life to save hers once. If it weren't for me, she'd be dead already."

"Running away from one wedding—she won't say anything about it."

The injury on my leg suddenly flared with pain.

I have an old injury in my right leg. Whenever I'm in cold places or during rainy seasons, it hurts unbearably.

But to hear Adrian's explanation with my own ears, I'd dragged this damaged leg up more than 13,000 feet of snowy mountain.

My hometown is in a flat plains region. Between my leg injury and altitude sickness, I felt absolutely miserable.

Still, I stubbornly needed an answer.

I took a deep breath, forced down the pain in my chest, and made a phone call.

"Hello, Mom? I miss you so much. Can I come visit?"

My mother was stunned for a long moment before she responded.

She quickly said:

"Of course you can, Luna. Your room has always been ready for you."

"But..."

She hesitated:

"Aren't you about to marry Adrian?"

"If you come now, what about the wedding?"

I paused. After all, Adrian was the one who saved my life. I didn't want to tell my mother about his affair—I was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle it.

So I lied:

"There's no rush. Getting married is complicated, and we're not ready yet. Besides, we haven't seen each other in so long—don't you miss me?"

"Miss you, miss you so much."

My mother said joyfully:

"Then Mom will wait for you."

After hanging up, thinking about these past seven years, I couldn't help but curse myself for being so stupid.

If I hadn't seen those thirty-six farewell letters filled with Adrian's love for Lillian, I might have still thought I'd won.

On the way to the snow mountain, I kept telling myself it was fake, just a misunderstanding.

After all, he'd once loved me so much he'd nearly died for me—how could he betray me?

Until I saw Adrian propose to Lillian—the same Lillian who'd nearly gotten my entire family killed.

He was even willing to publicly humiliate me for her sake.

My thoughts were in chaos, and with my leg injury, I didn't notice my footing and tumbled down the mountainside.

At that exact moment, Adrian called me.

"Luna, I'll be back a bit late today, you—"

Adrian stopped. The next second, his tone turned urgent:

"Luna, why is it so noisy on your end? Where are you?"