Chapter 1: The Return
"You’re saying they broke up?"
A man’s deep voice rang out over the drone of a private jet’s engines.
The voice on the other end responded, "Yes, just now. At Carnival KTV. It got really ugly."
The inky darkness churning in the man’s eyes threatened to spill out.
"Book the fastest flight. I’m going ho."
"But, Mr. Hawthorne, what about the ten-billion-dollar acquisition..."
"Cancel it." Ethan Hawthorne’s voice held not a trace of hesitation. "There will always be more opportunities to make money, but I can’t miss my chance with her again."
For ten years, he had been the most patient of hunters, waiting for this very mont.
「Kingsland. A torrential downpour.」
Maxine Rhodes staggered through the curtain of rain.
The rain soaked through her thin clothes, but it was nothing compared to the chill in her heart.
「Half an hour earlier. Carnival KTV.」
The private room was thick with smoke, the sound of laughter sharp and grating.
"Young Master Sterling, I’ll bet you a thousand that your little housekeeper will be here within half an hour, guaranteed!"
"Half an hour? You’re seriously underestimating Young Master Sterling’s training thods! Last ti, he made her go out for hangover dicine in the middle of the night. She ran so hard she broke a heel but didn’t dare say a word. Just waited for us barefoot in the hallway for two hours, like so unwanted stray! HAHAHA!"
"That’s right, that’s right! I’ll bet on twenty minutes! Loser has to crawl on all fours!"
Benjamin Sterling lounged on the sofa with the exquisitely made-up Rose Joyce in his arms. A smirk played on his lips as he tossed a thick wad of red bills onto the table. "You’re all thinking too small. I’m betting on ten minutes."
The words had barely left his mouth when the door to the room was thrown open with a BANG.
Maxine Rhodes stood in the doorway, soaked to the bone. Strands of hair were plastered ssily to her face, and the corners of her eyes were red and damp, which paradoxically lent her a kind of broken yet stunning beauty.
The room fell silent for an instant, followed by an even more raucous explosion of laughter.
"Holy shit! Young Master Sterling, you nailed it! Ten minutes, right on the dot!"
"What else would you expect from the man himself! Oh, look, the barefoot dog turned into a drowned rat this ti? HAHAHAHA!"
"Young Master Sterling, we’re all so jealous you have a plaything who cos on command. You have to teach us your ways!"
Buoyed by the flattery from the other young scions, Benjamin Sterling grew even more smug and arrogant, as if he had just successfully completed another spectacular training session.
"You guys could never pull it off. I’m just too charming. The woman is simply that in love with !"
As he spoke, he peeled a few bills from his winnings and contemptuously flicked them in Maxine Rhodes’s face.
"There. Your delivery fee. Kneel and pick it up."
The red bills grazed her cheek before fluttering to the floor.
Maxine Rhodes didn’t move. Not so much as an eyelash trembled.
Her gaze swept over them one by one, lingering on every gloating face before finally settling on Rose Joyce.
Rose Joyce stood up, her tone a mix of coquettishness and mild rebuke. "Oh, you guys, don’t be so an to Maxine~"
But when she turned to Maxine, her eyes held an unconcealable sense of superiority. "Maxine, don’t be mad. They’re just joking around. They don’t an any harm."
Soone imdiately chid in, "See? Our Rose is just so kind-hearted! No wonder Young Master Sterling dotes on you so much!"
"Exactly! So people aren’t even worthy of carrying Rose’s shoes!"
"I’m just saying, Rose, you and Young Master Sterling are the perfect match. You’re not even blood-related, so why don’t you just beco our sister-in-law! HAHAHAHA!"
Benjamin Sterling was clearly enjoying the suggestive banter, but he put on a stern face anyway. "What nonsense are you spouting! Rose is the little sister I helped raise. I won’t have you tarnishing her reputation with your garbage!"
Rose Joyce gave the speaker a push, feigning embarrassnt. "Exactly. It’s one thing to joke around on your own ti, but don’t say things like that in front of Maxine. She might get the wrong idea..."
As she spoke, she stepped forward, reaching out with the sa hand that had just been draped over Benjamin Sterling’s arm. She made to grab Maxine, but her hand was violently flung away.
Five years.
Maxine had seen enough of this filthy ga they played under the guise of being siblings. She was sick to her stomach of it.
At Benjamin Sterling’s birthday party, Rose Joyce had publicly licked cream from the corner of his lips, claiming she ’couldn’t let it go to waste.’
She would post lingerie photos late at night, making them visible only to Benjamin Sterling, with the caption: ’Do you like my new lingerie?’
And he would hide in the bathroom, poring over the photos, utterly entranced and aroused.
She would deliberately put on his pajama shirt, wearing nothing underneath, and parade around in front of him, asking innocently, ’Your clothes are so comfy, big brother. Maxine won’t be mad if she sees like this, will she?’
It was always the sa.
They used their ’sibling’ relationship as a fig leaf to enjoy their immoral little thrills, all while standing on the moral high ground and accusing Maxine of having a dirty mind for disrupting their ’pure’ family bond.
"There’s no misunderstanding."
Maxine Rhodes’s voice was quiet, imbued with a calm born of complete emotional exhaustion. "This is great, actually. I was just wondering how to sort the trash, and you’ve gone and taken care of recycling yourselves."
Rose Joyce’s expression instantly turned ugly.
Benjamin Sterling shot to his feet, pointing a finger in Maxine’s face. "Maxine Rhodes, who the hell do you think you are? Apologize to Rose this instant!"
Maxine lifted her chin, looked at Benjamin Sterling, and enunciated each word with perfect clarity. "Apologize? Fine. But I only apologize to people."
"So here’s your official notice, Benjamin Sterling. You’re dumped."
Without another look at the spectacular expressions on their faces, she turned and left decisively.
She shut the curses and the sound of smashing bottles behind her as the door closed.
The mont she stepped outside, the downpour swallowed her whole.
She walked without a destination, her strength and body heat draining away together.
On her phone screen was the final conversation thread with Benjamin Sterling.
"You’ve walked out, so don’t you dare co crawling back! Even if you beg , you’ll never get another chance!"
Maxine let out a cold laugh. She didn’t reply, simply blocking his number.
The mont she did, it felt as though her last pillar of support had crumbled.
Five years.
For five years, he had personally woven a nightmare for her.
In the beginning, he had said, "Don’t be afraid. I’ll shield you from the wind and rain."
Only later did she realize that he was the source of all the wind and rain.
He would tell her, "Maxine Rhodes, you’d better never forget who pulled you out of that hellhole and gave you a job. If I hadn’t taken pity on you, your parents would have sold you off to be so man’s baby machine by now!"
"Being with is the blessing of a thousand lifetis. You should be grateful and know your place."
"Without , you’re nothing. In this world, only I can give you everything."
"Why are you so gloomy and lifeless all the ti? You can’t even manage to be half as charming as Rose!"
She had tried so hard to grasp onto a little love, a little warmth, but all she caught in the end was a knife aid at herself.
A cold despair, more biting than the storm, spread from her heart to the very marrow of her bones.
She didn’t know where to go, or where she even could go. Kingsland was a huge city, yet there was no place in it for her.
Her vision began to blur as her body slowly slid downward.
She lost track of ti. Just as she felt she couldn’t hold on any longer, the rain suddenly stopped.
No, the rain hadn’t stopped.
A black umbrella was held steadily over her head, shielding her from the violent wind and rain.
She stiffly raised her head.
Through the curtain of rain, a man stood as straight and tall as a pine tree. He wore a fine black coat, the dust of a long journey still settled on his shoulders.
His features were so handso they were almost severe. His jaw was clenched, but his eyes were as deep as the sea, roiling with complex and intense emotions she couldn’t comprehend.
Maxine’s mind went blank.
She recognized that face. It was Ethan Hawthorne—a larger-than-life figure from the pages of financial magazines, the legend who could move heaven and earth in Kingsland’s business world.
’Why is he here?’
Ethan Hawthorne gazed at her gaunt face, and a sharp pain lanced through his heart.
’Ten years... How did she end up like this?’
His gaze lingered on her trembling form for a mont, a flicker of heartache in his eyes.
He then took off his coat, which still held his body heat, and draped it over her without a word, wrapping her securely within it.
His voice was low and resolute, piercing the sound of the rain to strike her straight in the heart. "Maxine Rhodes, marry ."
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