Chapter 1

On his birthday, I brought a cake to Julian's private VIP lounge. Standing right outside the door, I heard his best friend ask him:

"Julian, you've been with Evelyn for ten years now. Isn't it about time to put a ring on it?"

Julian let out a cold scoff. "Marry her? Please. She's so boring and vanilla. She's just someone to pass the time with. The future Mrs. Sterling has to be someone from my social class."

I stood there in the silent corridor. I didn't cry. I just turned around, walked away, and submitted my application to reactivate my classified black-ops file.

For the rest of his life, I would be someone he could never hope to reach.

After I left, someone spotted the cake box sitting on the floor by the door.

"Hey, Julian, Evelyn was just here. You don't think she heard what you said, do you?"

"So what if she did? She never gets mad anyway. Give her two days, and she'll come crawling back to beg for my forgiveness."

Their laughing voices faded into the distance. Inside me, something died completely.

We had known each other for ten years. I really thought I had built a home in Julian's heart. Hearing his true thoughts today made me realize I had wasted a whole decade of my life on a joke. How pathetic.

I shook my head, drove straight to the Agency headquarters that very night.

"Professor," I said, looking at the gray-haired man. "I've made my decision. Reactivate Operation Eclipse."

Professor Harrison looked up from his desk, shock written all over his face. "Evelyn, are you absolutely sure? What about your boyfriend?"

I didn't blink. "We are over. From now on, I have no attachments, no weaknesses. I am the perfect candidate for this mission. Professor, let me go."

The old man's lips trembled, his eyes turning red.

Operation Eclipse was a classified deep-cover mission that started ten years ago. Over the past decade, Professor Harrison had watched my senior colleagues leave one by one. Many never came back. I would never forget the sight of him holding their memorial flags, his old body trembling with grief.

But even while I was with Julian, I had never stopped training. My tactical skills, my physical conditioning—I kept them sharp every single day. I was waiting. Waiting for the right moment. And now, my time had come.

Seeing the cold determination in my eyes, the Professor finally signed the order.

I signed the non-disclosure and non-existence agreement. Once I embarked on this mission, there was no telling how long I would survive. It could be three years, or it could be forever. But I wouldn't regret it.

By the time I slipped back into my townhouse, it was past midnight.

The sight of discarded clothes scattered on the living room floor made my chest tighten.

I stood in the entryway, listening to the muffled, suggestive noises coming from the master bedroom. My heart didn't even skip a beat.

It was time to clean up. My existence had to be completely wiped out. No traces left behind.

I burned all my personal photos. I packed my military-grade laptop into a secure case to return to the Agency. Everything was cleared out, except for the bedroom. As much as I hated to go in there, I had to be quick.

I waited patiently outside the door for the noise to stop. I took a deep breath.

Julian, you're finally getting exactly what you wanted.

When we first started dating, Julian was actually quite sweet. But his wealthy parents despised me. They thought a girl from my background wasn't good enough for the Sterling family legacy. His mother, Mrs. Sterling, thought my manners were atrocious and even hired a high-society etiquette coach to "correct" me. Back then, for Julian's sake, I endured three months of that absolute torture.

To be honest, compared to the brutal survival training I underwent at the Agency, those etiquette classes were a walk in the park. Even when the coach tried to find the tiniest flaws to humiliate me, she couldn't. So we settled into a tense, silent truce.

Well, I didn't have to play that part anymore.

I adjusted my jacket, turned the handle, and pushed the bedroom door wide open.

A sharp shriek pierced the air. The two people on the bed scrambled to pull the sheets over themselves.

Seeing it was me, Julian's face flushed with anger. "Evelyn! Have you forgotten how to knock?"

"I didn't know I had to knock to enter my own bedroom. Or maybe I should call your mother's etiquette coach to remind me of the rules?"

Hearing my calm voice, Julian actually smirked, thinking he had the upper hand. "Oh, so you're throwing a tantrum? Are you jealous?"

"You're not worth my jealousy, Julian. We're done. And take your trash with you. Get out of my house."

The smug grin froze on Julian's face, replaced by a cold, dangerous glare.

The girl beside him clung to his bare shoulder, giving me a smug, provocative look. "Julian, she's so scary! I'm frightened!"

Julian didn't look at her. His lips parted, spitting out a cold command: "Get out."

I turned on my heel and walked into the living room. Behind me, I heard the girl's high-pitched giggle: "She looks like a rejected puppy."

The next second, a harsh scuffle broke out, and the girl was dragged out of the bedroom and thrown into the hallway by her arm.

I watched coldly as she scrambled to gather her clothes and fled the townhouse. I felt absolutely nothing.