Chapter 1

To rein in Cassandra Hart's wild streak, her father, Howard Hart, put his most trusted man in charge of her—Ronan Pierce, the CEO of one of Hart Group's subsidiaries. Cassandra refused to let a subsidiary executive boss her around, so she tried every trick she could to make him quit. On Ronan's first day on the job, Cassandra smashed his Porsche on purpose. Ronan only flicked his eyes over her once. "Tow it in and file the damage claim. Deduct it from Ms. Hart's pay." The next day, she swapped the meeting materials and the slide deck for pornographic videos. Ronan didn't so much as blink. He calmly recited the original plan word for word, secured the key project, and left the room stunned into silence. Cassandra still didn't believe he was unshakable. At a business dinner, she slipped some aphrodisiac into his drink, hoping he would embarrass himself in public. However, he carried her straight into a presidential suite and kept her there until her body ached and her legs nearly gave out. Everyone said Ronan was clean-cut and upright—a textbook gentleman. Only Cassandra knew how wild he was once the lights went out. They made love in the backseat of a Rolls-Royce, on the conference room desk, even in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in his top-floor office. In her red dress, Cassandra was held tight by the very man known for his self-control. He lost himself in her, teaching her a lesson however he pleased. After they were done, Ronan headed into the bathroom. Cassandra's phone buzzed with a message from her best friend, Brielle Sutton, furious and exasperated. "Seriously, Cassandra? Did you turn into a love-struck fool? Ronan is just a subsidiary CEO in your family's company. You're really going to break off your engagement to the heir of Southridge's richest family for him?" Cassandra didn't reply. No one knew the truth. Ronan Pierce wasn't his real name. His real name was Ronan Sterling, the heir of the Sterling family. The man she loved, the man she wanted to keep for herself every night, was the same man she was engaged to. It was supposed to be good news, but Cassandra felt no joy at all. After a long silence, she finally called Howard. "I can let Marissa have the engagement," Cassandra said quietly. "But I have a condition." Her parents' excitement instantly came over the phone, almost giddy. "What condition? As long as you give it up, we'll agree to anything!" "I want 20 billion dollars." Cassandra lowered her gaze, her expression cool and unreadable. "20 billion dollars?" Howard's voice spiked. "Are you out of your mind? Do you want us to go bankrupt?" Cassandra let out a cold laugh. "Drop the act. The Sterlings are offering 30 billion for this marriage. Ten billion goes straight into your pocket, and Marissa gets her ticket into the elite circle. That's exactly what you've always wanted." The other end went quiet exactly as she expected. Two seconds later, Howard spoke again, urgent and eager. "Deal!" "Hold on." Her mother, Elaine Moore, cut in, suspicious and sharp. "What makes you think we can trust you to keep your word?" That wary, defensive tone stabbed straight through Cassandra. For years, she told herself she was used to their favoritism, yet her heart still betrayed her, aching in that familiar, humiliating way. "I've already done the paperwork. In half a month, I'm leaving the country. I'm not coming back," Cassandra said, her voice trembling despite herself. 20 years ago, she had been the Hart family's most cherished child. Then, one day, her parents brought home her older sister, Marissa Hart, who had been kidnapped when she was young. Howard and Elaine were wracked with guilt over Marissa's tragic childhood. So, they showered her with love and attention. From then on, Cassandra endured one injustice after another. Her favorite bedroom went to Marissa. The competition project she had stayed up late for three months to complete went to Marissa. Even the medal she had earned after nearly dying to save someone ended up in Marissa's hands. Cassandra had fought, screamed, and protested, only to be scolded every time. "Marissa suffered so much. You lived in comfort for years. What's wrong with letting her have more?" Cassandra felt like a doll being slowly hollowed out, forced to watch everything that belonged to her get taken away piece by piece and slipped into Marissa's pocket. They even tried to snatch the engagement her grandmother had arranged with the Sterling family and give it to Marissa instead. That was why Cassandra had once erupted so violently that she nearly tore the whole villa apart. In the end, after Howard heard Ronan was good at handling people, he sent Cassandra to the subsidiary to learn some discipline. Cassandra let out a long, heavy breath and picked up Ronan's phone. The passcode was Marissa's birthday. Her fingers tightened as she opened WhatsApp. Marissa's chat was pinned at the top. In the messages, the same man who often dismissed Cassandra as childish had saved every cute sticker Marissa ever sent. The same man who was always distant with Cassandra reminded Marissa every day to eat and rest on time. The same man who rarely replied to Cassandra would share even the smallest things with Marissa in detail. A bitter smile tugged at Cassandra's lips. Her thoughts drifted to the very first moment she had fallen for Ronan. Back then, she had caused a scene at a banquet and ruined a project Ronan had fought to secure. He had shoved her into the restroom, pinned her there, and torn the hem of her dress. Cassandra had bitten him in fury. Ronan had pressed her forward against the counter from behind, brushed his lips near her ear, and murmured in a low voice, "Cass, be good." The moment he called her by that nickname, every wall she had built came crashing down. Ever since her grandmother died, no one had called her that way again. Maybe it was because she had been lonely for too many years. Or maybe it was because he had been the one who always protected her. He protected her when a creep harassed her. He took drinks on her behalf at business dinners. Once, during a work trip, a landslide hit, and she thought she was going to die. Ronan had dug her out with his bare hands and carried her over three miles to the hospital. Through her blurred vision, his profile was painfully clear—handsome and composed. All those moments flooded back, one after another, and Cassandra knew she had fallen for him for real. So, she prepared a gift, planning to confess. When she went to the study, full of hope, she overheard him on the phone. "Mr. Sterling, how long are you going to keep playing CEO at that small company? You have everything. "Why are you still working at Hart Group for a measly two million a year? Don't tell me it's just so you can stay close to Marissa and repay her for the years you survived together after the kidnapping." Ronan's voice stayed cool. "Without Marissa, I wouldn't have lived. I have to repay her." "But you're engaged to Cassandra. I thought you were tangled up with her because you liked her and wanted her to be your wife." Ronan seemed to give a faint, indifferent laugh. "She's spoiled and loves stirring up trouble. She's not the kind of woman I'd make my wife." Every word felt like a blade being driven into Cassandra's heart. So, the person Ronan truly cared about had always been Marissa. Cassandra was nothing more than a convenient bedmate, a troublemaker he had to control. At that moment, she threw her carefully prepared gift out the window. She wasn't going to like him anymore. And she didn't want the engagement with the Sterling family either. Cassandra's eyes reddened as she fought the tears back. Then, the bathroom door suddenly opened. Ronan walked out and stopped short when he saw her eyes. "Was I too rough earlier? Did I make you cry?" he asked.