Chapter 1

"I need you to fake a private jet crash for me, so I can slip away from Audrey without any trouble." When Alexander Jarman made that request, his best friend Sean Shore's jaw nearly hit the floor. For a moment, Sean wondered if he'd heard him right, just like when he first learned that Alexander was marrying Audrey Scurfield. After all, Alexander was just a penniless man from the mountains, while Audrey was Zelbury's darling, their so-called "crown princess". The two came from such different worlds that no one ever expected them to end up together. The crowd buzzed with speculation. Some thought Audrey was just after novelty, while others assumed she had settled for Alexander as a substitute for someone she couldn't have. A few even joked that she'd only married him on a dare. But after three years, Audrey proved them all wrong. She hadn't married Alexander for any of those reasons. She'd married him because she loved him madly. Back then, Audrey fell for Alexander the moment she saw him and threw herself into winning him over. She didn't stop at showering him with gifts. She donated tens of billions in his name to major charities and built schools for underprivileged children across the globe, naming each one Alexander Elementary School. Audrey wanted the world to know his name and to be in his debt. That way, no matter where life took him, someone would always have his back. To spend more time with Alexander, she took part-time jobs alongside him—waiting tables, handing out flyers, sorting packages, and more. This heiress, who'd never done her own laundry, endured three years of hardship at his side. Her delicate, violin-trained hands grew rough and calloused. Audrey's persistence eventually broke through Alexander's resistance. But their vastly different backgrounds meant that her family remained completely opposed to their relationship. She went through 16 rounds of punishment as part of a family tradition to win her parents' approval. The whippings left her back shredded and bloody, leaving scars that would never fade. When she finally understood that her sacrifices meant nothing, Audrey turned her back on the family fortune and built her own company from the ground up. This way, no one could dictate her heart's choices. Her high-society friends thought she'd gone mad. The famously shrewd heiress was tossing away a multigenerational fortune for a man. In the end, her family had no choice but to relent and allow her to marry Alexander. After marrying Alexander, Audrey dismissed all of her male staff and replaced them with women. She kept Alexander updated on her every move—even though he never asked—and even installed a tracking app so he could monitor her location at all times. Fans online swooned over them, praising them as the ultimate couple and proof that true love conquers all. For a while, their relationship overshadowed even the biggest celebrities. But only Alexander knew the truth. While the world saw Audrey as the "perfect wife", she had secretly given birth to twins with another man and was living a double life behind Alexander's back. When Alexander discovered the truth, the shock was so severe that it made him cough up blood before he lost consciousness. The moment Audrey heard about what had happened, she abandoned a multi-billion-dollar deal and flew back to the country. She stayed at his side for two straight days without rest. When Alexander finally woke up, she was still there. Her face was tense with worry, and her fingers were curled around the IV tube to warm the fluid entering his veins. "You're awake? You scared me half to death." Audrey pressed his hand to her cheek, her eyes glistening with tears. Once, during a business deal, someone had held a gun to her head, but she hadn't even flinched. But the moment she heard Alexander had coughed up blood, her legs nearly gave out beneath her. Seeing the concern and panic in her eyes, Alexander felt his heart tear in two. The love in her gaze was real. She truly loved him. But was this the same woman who had looked at Gavin Hepher with that same devotion? Had she whispered those same tender words to him? Gavin was Audrey's childhood sweetheart—and the man she had an affair with. When news first spread that she was pursuing Alexander, Gavin rallied his friends to bully him at college. He showed up at Alexander's part-time jobs, picking fights and getting him fired more than once. Gavin had even hired thugs to corner Alexander, forcing him to crawl between their legs. That was when Audrey walked in, just as she'd come to confess her feelings. She didn't care about their families' history. She crushed the Hephers, bankrupting them without hesitation. If not for her mother's intervention, she would have killed Gavin long ago. Unless Alexander had seen those videos and the paternity test with his own eyes, he'd never have believed that Audrey had betrayed him with Gavin, or that their secret twins were already a year old. Alexander closed his eyes and turned his face away, tears streaming down his cheeks, soaking a wide stretch of the pillow. Audrey didn't realize he was crying. She simply assumed he was exhausted. "Xander, I have amazing news. The doctor just examined me. I'm two months pregnant! We're finally going to have our own baby!" Normally so distant and aloof, Audrey was now beaming like an overjoyed child. "Our anniversary is in five days, and now this? It's like a double celebration!" Alexander's eyes flew open. He and Audrey had always wanted children of their own, but after years of trying, luck had never favored them. Because of that, Ronan Scurfield and Odette Endewelt, who already disapproved of him, had shot him countless scornful looks. Since they were Audrey's parents, Alexander had to swallow his pride each time. But Audrey refused to stand by while they made him suffer on her account. Her voice was icy as she spoke. "Xander is the love of my life. Just being with him is more than I ever thought I'd deserve. If you keep giving him hell because we can't have kids, then we're done. We won't be family anymore." Alexander ran his fingers over Audrey's belly, his eyes filling with tears despite his efforts to hold them back. Why did this child have to come now, of all times? And more importantly, was he the father, or was Gavin? Audrey curled into him and murmured, "You seem upset. Who pissed you off? I'll set them straight for you." A strange perfume clung to her, mingling with the milky scent of baby formula. Alexander pushed her away, lurching over the edge of the bed as he retched violently. Thinking he was simply sick, Audrey instinctively cupped her hands near his mouth to catch the vomit. She didn't even flinch at the thought of him throwing up on her. Alexander gaped at her, stunned. She was a known clean freak, yet there she was, willing to go that far for him. She even hand-washed his everyday clothes and shoes. She had loved him completely for three years, and he had loved her just as much. The thought of losing her now was unthinkable. He even considered letting go of his principles, thinking they could forget this whole mess as long as Audrey cut ties with Gavin. But then her phone buzzed. She read the message, called it an urgent work emergency, and hurried off. Half an hour later, Alexander received a photo from Gavin. It showed Audrey cradling her twins, leaning down to kiss their foreheads. That picture shattered his last remaining hope. Audrey had betrayed him so thoroughly that she had even borne children with Gavin. As soon as Alexander left the hospital, he went straight to Sean and ordered him to stage a crash with their private jet. He knew Audrey too well. She would never accept a divorce. She wouldn't even allow him to leave. If he tried, she would unravel completely.