Chapter 1

I’d been with the crime lord for six years.

But on my birthday, he brought home another girl.

He was covered in blood, and the dainty girl was tucked safely in his arms.

From that moment on, he, who had indulged my every whim, never spared me another glance.

Everyone assumed I was heartbroken, utterly devastated by my unrequited love for Julian.

I just smiled, fiddling with the watch on my wrist.

I was an undercover agent for the police, planted deep within the West Coast’s largest criminal enterprise.

All these years I’d spent by his side were to put him behind bars.

How could I possibly… fall for him?

Late at night, the mansion was still blazing with lights.

I sat on the sofa, relighting the candles on the cake.

“Anya, don’t wait up.”

“The boss said he won’t be coming…”

The lighter clicked open and shut in my hand, a flicker of flame springing to life then dying.

I stared at the tiny fire.

“If he doesn’t come back, I’ll just keep waiting.”

“He promised to spend every birthday with me. What kind of excuse is breaking that promise?”

“…”

But in reality, the clock on the wall already showed three in the morning.

He wasn’t coming back.

I was stuck in the mansion with a whole bunch of his men, just waiting. To those who knew, I was waiting for him to celebrate my birthday. To those who didn’t, it looked like I was waiting for him to start a war.

Finally, just a second before the clock struck four AM, the roar of a car engine echoed from downstairs.

“Anya! The boss is back!”

Someone rushed upstairs, shouting the news to me.

I stood up, walking to the banister and looking down.

Yes, he was back.

I frowned, asking the man who stood downstairs, watching me with an unreadable expression.

“Julian, who’s the woman in your arms?”