Chapter 1

For three years, Julian Brooks—the Chief Aerospace Engineer of our institute—slept in my bed every single night. Yet in public, he insisted he was completely single.

At the department mixer, Chloe Miller from the Records Division led the charge to humiliate me.

"Dr. Vance, if you don't get hitched soon, you’re going to end up a bitter old spinster."

To flatter her, Julian smiled and twisted the knife:

"Chloe has a point. If nobody wanted you in your prime, you're practically worthless once you're old."

Back then, the humiliation broke me. In a fit of tears, I pulled out intimate photos of us in bed to force him to marry me right then and there.

Cornered, Julian was forced to agree. Chloe quit in tears and vanished.

Soon after our wedding, I was framed for academic fraud. Julian stood by with cold detachment, watching the wolves tear me apart.

When the vile rumors finally drove me to leap from the rooftop, his only parting words were:

"The day you ran Chloe off was the day you deserved to die."

I opened my eyes, finding myself right back at the mixer, facing their sneers once more.

I flashed the diamond ring sparkling on my finger and countered with a cold smile:

"No need to lose sleep over me. I'm getting married."

"That's absolute bullshit!"

The denial ripped from Julian's throat almost instinctively.

Instantly, our colleagues swarmed around us, buzzing with curiosity.

"Wait, really, Evelyn? You didn't drop a single hint!"

"Who's the lucky guy? Where'd you meet him?"

"Talk about keeping it under wraps! You'd better invite us all to the wedding!"

I dipped my head with a modest smile.

"He's an old family friend. Our parents set us up. We know each other's backgrounds inside out, so it feels right."

"Don't worry, invitations will go out soon."

Amid the chorus of congratulations, Chloe’s voice cut through the air, shrill and deliberate. She raised her volume, her gaze flicking suspiciously between Julian and me.

"A family friend? Wait, doesn't Julian come from your hometown, too?"

"Dr. Vance... you don't mean Julian, do you?"

The room went dead silent. Suspicious glances shifted straight onto Julian.

I looked at Chloe and let out a faint laugh.

Instead of answering her directly, I turned to Julian, whose face had gone completely pale, and teased:

"Chloe sure has a wild imagination."

"Our brilliant Chief Engineer claims he's a dyed-in-the-wool bachelor. He wouldn't lie to all of us, would he?"

Julian avoided my eyes, guilt flashing across his face.

Under the collective scrutiny of the entire department, he forced a tight, awkward laugh.

"Of course not. I'm... completely single."

Before I could react, Chloe glared furiously at him. Her eyes welled with tears, and she stormed out of the lounge, looking utterly wronged.

"Chloe!"

Julian bolted after her without a second thought.

Leaving the crowd exchanging confused glances, I shrugged with an air of complete innocence and made my way toward the exit. But I barely took two steps outside before Julian blocked my path.

Fury flared in his eyes.

"Evelyn, what the hell was that in there? When did I ever agree to marry you?"

"Just because I didn't want to go public last time, you threw a tantrum and dumped me."

“Now you're making up this ridiculous lie about getting married? Do you honestly think pulling a stunt like this will force my hand?"

Looking at his face again in this new life, all I felt was pure revulsion.

I didn't want to waste another breath on him. "You're flattering yourself," I muttered, trying to sidestep him.

Julian refused to let it go.

He lunged forward, grabbing my wrist with bruising force.

"You're not going anywhere! Chloe is furious because of your little speech!"

"Get back inside right now and apologize to her!"

His sheer audacity made me want to laugh. I yanked my arm, trying to break free, but his grip only tightened.

Right in the middle of our struggle, a sleek black sedan glided silently to the curb beside us.

It came to a smooth stop.

The tinted window rolled down, revealing the chiseled jawline of the driver.

The man's gaze cut sharply to Julian's hand clamped around my wrist, then moved to my face. His brow furrowed with unmistakable displeasure.

"Evelyn, do you need help?"