Chapter 1

I agreed to go abroad with my mafia boyfriend to hide from the mob chasing him, but the day before our flight took off, he changed his mind.

His friend teased him:

“Not bad, man. To trick Hailey Bennett into leaving, you pretended for this long that mobsters were after you.”

“But you two have been together for seven years. Can you really bear to let her go to a strange country alone?”

Lucas Hayes's tone was indifferent:

“It’s just the neighboring country. How far away can it be?”

“Besides, she circles around me every day. I got tired of it a long time ago, so this is perfect for getting some peace and quiet.”

That day, I stood outside the door for a long time, and in the end, I chose to turn and leave.

He did not know that I tore up the plane ticket meant for our “escape” together and boarded another flight.

Later, when he knelt and begged me to come back, I was already about to marry someone else.

The instant I heard the truth, my heart trembled violently.

Over the past month, Lucas Hayes had been ambushed by another gang, beaten up, and left covered in injuries countless times.

I did everything I could to help him avoid harm, but there were always moments when I missed something.

Unable to endure it any longer, I suggested that he go abroad to take shelter.

At that time, Lucas Hayes had suffered a gunshot wound on his arm and had lost a lot of blood.

His handsome face was pale and pitiful as he helplessly grabbed my hand:

“Hailey, I’m scared to go somewhere unfamiliar by myself.”

I met Lucas Hayes seven years ago, when I was in high school, and he saved me from bullies when I was trapped in an alley.

And from then on, I fell for him at first sight.

Later, we got together.

I thought we would always love each other.

So in a moment of impulse, I promised him, “Don’t be afraid. Wherever you go, I’ll go with you.”

But only now did I learn that everything was an elaborate show he put on just to get rid of me.

I could not help wondering, did Lucas Hayes really hate me that much?

The voices inside the private room continued: “Hailey Bennett is truly devoted to you.”

“If you send her to another country right now, aren’t you afraid she’ll fall in love with someone else?”

“Her?”

Lucas Hayes let out a scoff, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world:

“For me, she even dared to shield me when a gun was pointed at her head. You think she’d stop loving me?”

Someone muttered quietly, “What if she does? Hailey Bennett doesn’t seem like someone you want to mess with.”

Lucas Hayes's tone was lazy: “There is no what-if. Ever since she got together with me, have you ever seen her look at anyone else?”

His tone was inevitably stained with contempt.

“All she does is follow me around all day. Even a dog isn’t as clingy as she is. It’s annoying as hell.”

Harsh laughter rang out in the private room, like a slap across my face.

I wanted to leave, but my feet seemed rooted to the floor, forcing me to listen and to hurt.

Someone clicked his tongue in amazement:

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone personally push away a woman who loves him. I’m impressed.”

“But if you don’t like Hailey Bennett clinging to you so much, couldn’t you just tell her directly? Hailey Bennett doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would keep pestering you.”

Lucas Hayes clicked his tongue, sounding a little impatient: “She’s the Bennett family's heiress. If a breakup really turns ugly, I won’t be able to clean up the mess.”

Then his tone shifted: “Besides, Chloe feels insecure and upset whenever she sees her, and she only feels a little better when I’m with her.”

“For Chloe, I can only trick her into going abroad.”

As soon as he said that, everyone instantly understood.

If you counted the time, Lucas Hayes had decided to pretend he was being hunted by another gang exactly one week after saving Chloe Lane.

Someone laughed and cursed at Lucas Hayes: “You’re something else, man. Don’t tell me you saved Chloe Lane because you had your eye on her.”

“But Chloe Lane really does look delicate and pitiful, and her personality is so soft. It’s only natural for men to be drawn to her.”

“She’s not like Hailey Bennett, who has such a cold, sharp personality and keeps a frozen face all day like she wants everyone to stay away. No matter how pretty she is, that won’t do.”

After Chloe Lane was saved back then, she cried and said she had nowhere to go, so Lucas Hayes kept her by his side.

He said he only treated her as his maid.

The reckless comments about me in the private room rose wave after wave like a tide.

And Lucas Hayes, the man I had loved for so many years, neither stopped them nor refuted them, and from time to time, he even agreed with them.

I stood outside the door as my heart sank heavily into an abyss, empty and dull with pain.

For an instant, I wanted to open the door and loudly question Lucas Hayes.

I wanted to ask him why he lied to me.

I wanted to ask him whether he ever felt a moment of guilt or softness when he watched me get beaten because I was protecting him.

I wanted to ask him whether he ever thought about our seven years of love when he did all this.

But in the end, my mother’s words echoed in my ears: Do not do anything unnecessary.

People do not suddenly rot from the inside.

I turned around and left that private room.