Chapter 1

Everyone in Flarora deemed Trina Shepherd the city's most beautiful red rose. She was beautiful, confident, and unrestrained. She was having the time of her life abroad when her father summoned her home with a telegram. It had only one cold message. "Come back immediately. Marry Julian." Julian Hauser was the youngest and most promising officer in the unit. He was cool and disciplined—her polar opposite. She loved noise and crowds, but he preferred silence. She did whatever she wanted and pulled plenty of outrageous stunts, while he followed every rule, his discipline unshakeable. She was bright and free, changing boyfriends as easily as she changed clothes, while he kept his distance from women and had never so much as touched a female soldier's hand. Just imagining being married to someone that uptight made Trina feel like she couldn't breathe. So, she did everything she could to break the engagement. She spent three days and three nights dancing and partying, thinking Julian would give up on her. Yet he walked in wearing a crisp uniform, ignored every stare in the room, and carried her home on his back. She deliberately crashed into the commander's garden fence, hoping Julian would decide she was a lost cause. But he apologized in person, paid for the damages, arranged the repairs, and settled everything without making a fuss. She made a mess of things without a care, but he was always right behind her, quietly setting things right. This time, she had been detained for fighting. He had just finished a three-day emergency mission and was still in uniform, red veins spiderwebbing his eyes as he rushed over to bail her out. Looking at his tired but straight back, Trina felt a rare urge to explain herself. She wanted to say that she wasn't causing trouble this time. The guy had reached for her first just because she was pretty. But before she could get a word out, Julian had already walked up to her and quietly taken her hand. There was a thin cut on the tip of her finger. She hadn't noticed it at all, but he had. He pulled a small first-aid kit from his pocket. Then, he disinfected the cut and gently pressed a band-aid over it. "Does it hurt?" he asked. At that moment, all the explanations Trina had prepared caught in her throat. He lifted his gaze, his eyes calm and steady. "I don't care how big a mess you make or how much trouble you stir up. I can handle all of that. What matters to me is whether you're hurt." Trina felt her whole world jolt. It was as if something had slammed into the softest part of her heart, shattering every defense she had built. Whenever she caused trouble, her father only snapped at her for being a disgrace. Her stepmother only put on a fake smile and told her to act like a lady. No one had ever asked her if she was hurt or upset. Her voice came out hoarse as she heard herself say, "Julian, we can get married." She thought she saw a flash of light in his dark eyes. "But before that, I need to ask you something," she said, her tone full of pride and possessiveness. "Do you have someone you once loved but couldn't have? My man must belong to me completely. There can't be anyone else in his heart. It can only be me." Julian's gaze locked onto hers, unwavering. "No. There's only you." So, Trina married Julian. Flarora's brightest red rose married the coldest, most ascetic officer in the military. After the wedding, a saying spread through the city's inner circle—no one in their right mind provoked Julian's wife, Trina. No matter how big of a mess Trina made, Julian was always behind her and took care of everything. Trina genuinely believed her warmth had thawed Julian's frostiness—until the day she went to the military base to drop off some documents Julian had left at home. Just as she reached the training ground, she saw a group of officers gathered together. They seemed to be at some kind of mixer. The mood was lively and upbeat. Julian was surrounded by a few fellow officers. They had clearly roped him into some game, and he had lost, so they were heckling him into answering a "truth" question. Someone called out, "General Hauser, come on, tell us. What's the biggest lie you've told in your life?" The noisy scene quieted a little. Everyone looked over, curious what the famously strict and honest commanding officer would say. Julian stayed silent for a few seconds. His side profile was obscured in the shadows, making it impossible to read him. He picked up the cup of tea in front of him, took a sip, then finally spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to Trina's ears as she stepped into the doorway. "Someone asked me if I had someone I loved but couldn't have. I lied and told her I didn't." The shock cracked through her like lightning, stopping her cold. She froze in place, every drop of blood in her body turning to ice. He had lied? He did have someone he couldn't have? Then why had he told her he didn't? Why had he married her? A chill spread all the way up from the soles of her feet as though she had been thrown into an ice cellar. Even her bones felt cold. She was just about to storm over and demand answers from Julian when a guard suddenly ran up to him and whispered a few urgent words in his ear. Julian's expression shifted in an instant. He shot to his feet, grabbed the uniform jacket off the back of his chair, and strode off without even pausing to explain. His movements were so fast they stirred the air around him. He didn't even notice Trina standing at the door. His shoulder hit her hard as he passed, but he didn't seem to feel it. It was as if every bit of his attention had narrowed into the need to rush forward. Trina staggered from the impact, pain shooting through her shoulder. But her heart hurt even more. She swallowed the ache and the storm of questions racing through her mind and, almost without thinking, followed him. She watched Julian jump into a jeep. The engine roared, and the vehicle shot out like an arrow. Trina immediately flagged down a cab and told the driver to follow close behind. The jeep finally stopped at an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Julian rushed inside with the guard at his heels. Trina slipped in after them and stayed in the shadows. Inside, a kidnapper with a twisted face was holding a woman at knifepoint. The woman wore a plain, modest dress. She was crying so hard that she looked like she might pass out any second. The instant Julian saw her, his expression turned stormy. His voice carried the faintest hint of a tremble as he said, "Let her go!" The kidnapper let out a cold laugh. "I knew I grabbed the right person. Julian, everyone thinks you spoil your reckless wife, Trina. But I know the woman you really care about is Sienna Blake!" Sienna Blake? Trina's heart sank. The kidnapper kept shouting, "On that last border mission, you got my brothers killed or crippled! Today, I'm going to make you feel what it's like to lose the one you love!" The veins on the back of Julian's hand stood out, but he forced himself to stay calm. "I'm the one you want revenge on! Let her go and take it out on me!" "Let her go? Sure!" The kidnapper kicked a knife across the floor. It clattered to a stop at Julian's feet. "Stab yourself in the heart! Then, I'll consider letting her go!" "No! Julian, don't!" Sienna sobbed and shook her head, tears falling like a broken string of pearls. Julian looked at her for a long moment. His eyes held a depth of feeling Trina had never once seen in them. Then, he bent down, picked up the knife, and drove it hard toward his own heart. Hidden in the back, Trina dug her nails into her palms to keep from crying out. Julian was actually willing to kill himself for another woman without a second thought.