Chapter 1

The harsh white light in the hospital room glared down at Caroline Fuller, making her squint as she forced her eyes open.

The sharp smell of disinfectant assaulted her senses, almost suffocating her.

A prickling pain spread across the back of her left hand, the misplaced IV needle pressing coldly beneath her skin.

She tried to move her fingers, and a ragged moan escaped her dry, cracked lips.

"You're awake," A deep, icy voice came from the shadows, not a trace of surprise, cold and dull, like a rusty knife.

Caroline turned her head and saw Darian Cooper sitting in the shadows by the window.

He wore a perfectly tailored dark gray suit, his back straight, an unlit cigarette between his fingers. He exuded an icy aura that made him seem unapproachable.

"Darian," Caroline's voice was hoarse as she tried to sit up.

The moment the car crashed, all she could think about was that she hadn't called Darian. It was their third wedding anniversary.

She'd cooked his favorite dishes and waited for him all night, but what she got was news that he was out drinking at a bar with Bonnie Burke, that socialite, until dawn.

Darian didn't help her up. Instead, he pulled a few thin sheets of paper from his briefcase and casually tossed them onto the overbed table in front of her.

The sound of the papers sliding across the table was especially harsh in the quiet hospital room.

"Sign it," Darian said, his gaze finally settling on her face, devoid of any warmth.

Caroline lowered her head, her eyes falling on the bold, black title: [Divorce Papers.]

It felt like someone had punched her right in the chest, the pain spreading all over her body.

She let out a bitter smile, her fingers trembling as they brushed over the papers. "I just woke up, and you're already in such a rush?"

"Caroline, the Fuller family already got 100 million from the Cooper Group. There's nothing left to squeeze out of this marriage," Darian said, standing up and walking over to the bed.

He leaned down, his long fingers gripping her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Aren't you sick of pretending to be the perfect wife for three years?"

Caroline was forced to tilt her head back, swallowing the tears that threatened to spill.

She stared at the face she'd loved for three years, the same face she'd waited for night after night. But now, it felt like she was looking at a stranger.

"So in your eyes, I've been acting this whole time," she murmured, her voice barely a whisper.

*****

As the Fuller family's illegitimate daughter, Caroline was nothing more than a bargaining chip to her father, Edgar Fuller, who handed her over to Darian like property.

For three years, she kept her true self hidden, tried to be the perfect, obedient Mrs. Cooper, endured Daniela's endless nitpicking, and swallowed all the sneers and rumors about Darian's affairs.

She believed that if she worked hard enough, she could warm up his frozen heart.

But in the end, all she got was a divorce agreement shoved at her bedside, waiting for her signature.

"Sign it, and the Cooper family will give you a downtown apartment, plus 17 million in cash. That's more money than someone like you could ever dream of," Darian said.

He finally released her chin. He pulled a fountain pen from his suit pocket and slapped it down on the divorce papers.

Caroline stared at the pen. It was the birthday present she'd picked out for him last year, his initials etched into the side.

She let out a self-mocking laugh, suddenly realizing that three years of holding everything in had been nothing but a cruel joke.

She lifted her left hand, still attached to the IV, and ripped the needle out.

Bright red blood immediately welled up from the tiny hole, running down her pale hand and dripping onto the spotless white sheets. What a jarring sight.

Darian's pupils contracted sharply, his fingers twitching unconsciously at his side, but in the end, he stood there, frozen.

Caroline acted as if the pain didn't exist. She snatched up the pen and signed her name on her side of the papers.

Her signature was so fierce that the tip nearly ripped through the page.

"Darian, we're square now," she said, shoving the divorce papers into his chest. Her face was ghostly pale, but her gaze was icier than he'd ever seen.

Darian took the divorce papers, his thumb lingering over her signature. Without another word, he turned and strode toward the door.

"Wait," Caroline called out suddenly.

Darian paused, but didn't turn around.

Caroline stared at his back, her gaze drifting to his right hand braced against the doorframe.

On the cuff of his dark gray suit, a dark red stain was strikingly conspicuous under the harsh light.

That wasn't her blood.

Her blood was still wet, but that stain had blackened and dried.

Darian noticed her staring, quickly pulled his hand back, and dragged his sleeve over the stain to hide it.

He opened the door and left without a backward glance, vanishing at the end of the corridor.

Caroline collapsed back onto her pillow, unable to shake the memory of that bloodstain. It lingered in her mind like a shadow.

She wondered where he had been tonight and whose blood he had on his sleeve.

Outside the hospital room, chaotic footsteps thundered down the hallway. The nightmare Caroline had been running from was coming for her.