Chapter 1
After years of a fruitless relationship, today I finally decided to let go.
“Ms. Carter, this is for your pre-booked death service. Your death is scheduled for Leo’s celebration party in three days, by falling into a river. Both you and the baby will be faking your deaths. Please confirm.”
I gently patted the sleeping infant in my arms, then signed my name neatly on the client section of the document.
Everyone in this city knew I was Julian Hayes’s most ardent admirer. I had been obsessed with Julian for eight years, relentlessly chasing him until I finally became Mrs. Hayes.
But they didn’t know that when Julian was five, he gave me his mother’s diamond ring and said he’d marry me when he grew up.
When Julian was fifteen, he solemnly tattooed both our initials over his heart, his voice earnest, “Anya, I want to love you every day, forever.”
At eighteen, Julian risked his life to rush into a burning building to save me. A falling beam struck his head, requiring emergency surgery. The doctors warned he might suffer memory loss. Before the surgery, Julian took off the amulet he’d worn since childhood and placed it on me. “Anya, death can’t separate us, let alone a little memory loss. Wait for me, I promise I’ll remember you!”
“Remember to wear this amulet and never take it off. It’s our token of recognition!”
Later, Julian woke up, but he’d lost all memory from before he was sixteen. He even mistook Seraphina Reed, who secretly loved him, for his girlfriend.
For eight years, I tried everything to make Julian remember. But because Julian’s mother insisted he marry me, he only grew to resent me more. He even said, when I was in labor, nearly dying, “Just tell me when she’s dead, so Seraphina can take her place as Mrs. Hayes.”
That single sentence drained the last shred of affection I had for him.
I held my baby and went to the fake death agency, wanting nothing more than to leave his world forever, never to see him again!
Leaving the agency, I saw a large screen in the mall, looping an interview with Julian. He was holding Seraphina’s hand, his eyes soft. “Seraphina’s son, Lucas, is only three. He needs a father’s love, so we don’t plan on having children for now. I don’t want to upset him.”
Julian’s answer triggered wild cheers from the onlookers.
[Ugh, this ice-cold CEO ignores his own flesh and blood but treats his ex-girlfriend’s kid like a treasure? So devoted and loyal, I’m dying of envy!]
[This is the woman Mr. Hayes fell for at sixteen. Even after she abandoned him when he went blind, he stayed devoted, waiting three years to win her back. Such an open-minded and passionate man is rare!]
[That obsessed stalker thought taking care of the blind Mr. Hayes for three years would win his heart? Those two are true love, alright!]
[Who knows how Anya Carter, that manipulative faker, got her position. She actually thought giving birth to his son would win him back. Mr. Hayes never even looked at her properly, she’s completely deluded!]
[I’ve never seen such a shameless woman. Those two are beautiful and brilliant. She clearly knows Julian only has eyes for Seraphina, yet she clings to the position of Mrs. Hayes. So dark-hearted!]
The cold words of the crowd pierced my heart like sharp swords, leaving it riddled with holes. The pain made it impossible to breathe.
My baby’s cry broke my reverie.
Ignoring everything else, I hurried into a nearby mall, searching for a nursing room to feed my child.
Unfortunately, I ran into Julian again on the first floor, buying toy guns with Seraphina’s son. Julian patiently picked out toys, a rare smile gracing his usually stern face.
The moment our eyes met, Julian’s smile vanished. He spoke coldly, “Can’t you do anything productive for once, instead of spending all day tracking my movements and crying for me to come home?”