Chapter 1
One of Celeste Adams’s students hadn’t turned in a single assignment all semester. So she docked her participation grade.
That afternoon, her desk was trashed by a group of people.
Her lesson plans were scattered across the floor, the computer screen was smashed, and the water from her travel mug spilled across the desk, soaking through stacks of student essays she’d stayed up grading.
Celeste stood frozen in the chaos, her fingertips trembling slightly.
She took a deep breath, and turned to talk to Vanessa Clarke—but just as she rounded the corner of the classroom building, she saw Lucian Sullivan.
Her husband. He was gently holding Vanessa in his arms, wiping the tears from her eyes with the pad of his thumb, his voice impossibly tender. “Don’t cry. I’ve already settled the socre for you. As long as I’m around, no one’s going to lay a finger on you.”
Vanessa sobbed as she looked up at him, her eyes red-rimmed. “Thank you, Mr. Sullivan… If it weren’t for you, I’d be eaten alive at school. I don’t even know how to repay you.”
Lucian chuckled softly, his thumb caressing her lower lip. “Then repay me with a kiss. Deal?”
Vanessa gave a bashful smile, hesitated for a beat, then rose onto her toes and placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth.
“This is just a thank-you… It doesn’t mean I’m saying yes to you.” She whispered. “You’re married. If you’re really gonna chase me…I do enjoy a good long test drive.”
Lucian ruffled her hair affectionately. “Okay. I’ll wait.”
Hidden in the shadows, Celeste felt her blood run cold.
…
She suddenly thought of their wedding day. Lucian had knelt in a sea of rose petals, his eyes brimming with tenderness As he said, “Celeste, I’ll only ever love you. For the rest of my life.”
And now? It had only been three years. So that was the end of “forever”?
Once Vanessa was gone—back to her dorm—Celeste finally walked up to Lucian’s car, her face pale.
Lucian was leaning against the car, lighting a cigarette. His long fingers held it between his lips, the flame casting sharp shadows over his chiseled profile.
When he saw her, he clearly froze. “Celeste?”
“Lucian Sullivan.” Her voice shook. “You and her… how long has this been going on?”
Lucian paused for a moment, then let out a low laugh. With deliberate grace, he blew a smoke ring into the air, the haze curling around his smoldering bedroom eyes—eyes designed to break hearts.
“Well, since you’ve found out, I won’t bother hiding it.” His voice dripped with lazy nonchalance. “You only get ten good years to mess around in life. Once you’re old and past your prime—the party’s over.”
“I do love you, Celeste. But don’t expect me to love only you. That gets boring.”
“Vanessa has that same untouch innocence you once had. I’m intrigued. Don’t worry, I’m not planning to divorce you. When I’m done having fun, I’ll come back to you.”
Celeste felt her heart twist, like someone had gripped it in their fist and was mercilessly squeezing. “I can’t accept this. If you cut things off with her now, I can still forgive you.”
A frown snapped onto Lucian’s face, his voice turning icy. “Stop overreacting. I’ve made myself clear. I’ll spend most of the rest of my life with you—as long as you…”
He grabbed her chin, eyes glinting like steel. “Behave. And stop bothering my girl.”
With that, he let go and walked away.
Celeste stood there trembling from head to toe.
She’d heard all about the upper-class hypocrisy—men playing devoted husbands at home while collecting mistresses like trophies. And Lucian, as a top-tier heir, was a magnet for socialites and debutantes alike.
But she’d never thought Lucian would become one of them.
Because he had once loved her so deeply.
So deeply he’d insisted on marrying her—a nobody teacher’s daughter—even against the Sullivan family’s objections. So deeply he’d stood outside her dorm for three days and nights just to win her back. So deeply he remembered she needed three sugars in her coffee, remembered the 15th of each month brought her period cramps, remembered how much she hated rainy days…
On their wedding day, he had held her hand and sworn before everyone: he would love only her, for the rest of his life.
Turns out, “the rest of his life” ended way sooner than she expected.
Celeste didn’t even remember how she got home.
She collapsed into bed in a daze, tears soaking through her pillow.
When she woke again, the bone-chilling water had already crept up to her chest.
Her eyes flew open—she was suspended inside a massive glass tank, wrists shackled above her head, and the water level was steadily rising.
Across from her, Lucian sat on a leather sofa in a pristine suit, his long legs crossed, idly playing with a lighter.
The firelight danced on his handsome profile—but none of it warmed the ice in his eyes.
“Lucian…!” she struggled, water splashing everywhere. “What are you doing?!”
“You went to Vanessa,” he said coldly. “Told her to stay away from me.”
The lighter snapped shut. He stood and walked slowly to the edge of the tank. “So she deleted all my contacts.”
“This is your punishment. Remember this lesson.”
“I didn’t!” Celeste shook her head frantically, her voice trembling on the edge of a breakdown. “I never even saw her after I went home!”
“Still lying?” Lucian sneered. He motioned to the guards. “Increase the water.”
The level surged upward, cold water like a thousand ghostly hands wrapping around her throat.
Celeste was forced to tilt her head back, the water now brushing her chin. Every breath felt like a countdown to drowning.
Lucian looked on, unmoved by her pain, his gaze like winter frost. “I told you—I love you. Just give me ten years, and I’ll come back.”
“But first, stop going after Vanessa.”
And with that, he turned and left.
“Lucian! Lucian—!”
Her cries were swallowed by water. Lucian never looked back.
The water kept rising, every ten minutes, inch by inch. The suffocating cold stayed with her like a curse.
On the edge of death, she started seeing flashes—
That school trip years ago, when she’d fallen into a lake and he had dived in like a madman to save her.
The countless nights she was afraid of the dark, and he stayed up talking to her until sunrise.
The time he ran across the city to bring her a bowl of hot chicken soup when her stomach ached…
But now, it had all gone up in smoke.
By the time the guards pulled her out, Celeste couldn’t even stand.
She collapsed to the floor, coughing violently, drenched through and utterly wretched.
Her hands trembled as she pulled out her phone. The screen lit up—
Vanessa had updated her social feed.
“First time someone waited all night under my dorm just to get unblocked~”
The photo showed Lucian holding a bouquet of roses under the dorm building, his eyes gentle and soft.
Celeste stared at the picture. Then, suddenly, she laughed—while tears fell onto the screen.
She stood up, wobbling, and the first thing she did after getting home was draft a divorce agreement.
Lucian didn’t return until that night.
Seeing her pale face, he softened his tone for once. “Let’s grab dinner. I’ll make it up to you, okay?”
He ruffled her hair like he was soothing a pet having a tantrum. “It’s over now. I’m just gonna be with her for ten years. Don’t go looking for trouble again.”
Celeste looked up, calm. “Fine. But you need to sign something.”
She handed him a document. “A contract promising you’ll come back to the family after ten years.”
Lucian didn’t even glance at it before signing.
“Happy now?” He smirked and leaned in to kiss her.
Celeste turned her head away, saying softly. “Yeah. I’m happy.”
She was happy.
Because he hadn’t realized—what he signed wasn’t a promise to return.
It was a divorce agreement…
