Braeden was the illegitimate son of Matthew's grandfather, Frank Cooper, conceived when Frank had already reached the age of fifty-four. Actually, Braeden was merely three years older than Matthew.

His standing within the Cooper family had always been painfully uncomfortable, and the family regarded him as nothing short of a stain on their reputation.

Although Frank had formally recognized him and taken him back into the family, the rest of the family refused to welcome him.

After Frank died, Braeden and his mother were forced to relocate to the city's outer edges, forbidden from showing their faces in public.

Kristina had never imagined that her lawful husband would be Braeden.

She heard that Braeden had spent the past few years overseas, working on building his career.

That meant if she wanted to end the marriage, she would have to travel abroad to track him down.

Noticing the pensive expression settling on her face, Mabel lost her composure. "Kristina, you're not still hung up on that bastard, are you? He's just one pathetic excuse for a man. You don't need to ruin your entire life over someone like him. There are plenty of better guys out there. Dumping a jerk like that should be reason enough to celebrate. I'm booking eight male escorts for you tonight so you can properly enjoy the perks of being a rich single woman!"

Kristina abruptly came back to her senses.

Since Matthew wasn't her husband at all, she was in no hurry to divorce.

She tucked the marriage certificate away, then casually propped her chin against one hand and turned to look at Mabel. The warmth that had lingered in her gaze disappeared, replaced by something colder and far more rebellious.

"Make sure every single one of them has eight-pack abs," she said coolly. "Otherwise, I'm not interested."

Mabel finally let out a breath and spun the steering wheel with a sharp motion. "Now that's more like it," she replied with a grin.

At seven in the evening, Kristina walked into Club Prism dressed in a black, ultra-short bodycon skirt, a cropped white blouse trimmed with ruffles and pulled tight at the waist, and a pair of studded lambskin ankle boots.

The top three buttons of her blouse were deliberately left undone, tracing the graceful curve of her chest.

A black choker circled her neck, making her smooth skin stand out even more.

Mabel, on the other hand, wore a red spaghetti-strap dress that made her look fiery and alluring.

The instant the two women stepped inside, they attracted countless hungry gazes from the men nearby.

Mabel guided Kristina straight toward one of the best booths on the first floor and beckoned the manager over, a premium membership card held between her fingers. "Bring me eight of your best male escorts," she instructed.

The manager glanced at the exclusive card, nodded at once, and hurried away to make the arrangements.

Kristina uncorked a bottle of liquor and took a small sip. As the music pulsed around her, she let her body sway lightly with the rhythm, finally allowing herself to loosen up after three years of holding everything in.

The attention fixed on her never faded.

A burly man draped in a chunky gold chain sauntered over, lazily spinning his car keys, and plopped down beside Kristina.

"Hey there, beautiful. Why waste time calling for male escorts? I could keep you entertained just fine," he drawled, his hungry gaze sliding straight toward her chest.

Before he could take in the sight properly, an ashtray suddenly hurtled toward him.

"Get out of here!" Mabel snapped. She hadn't aimed for his skull. Instead, the ashtray sliced through the air between his legs, a clear warning rather than a strike.

The man, Alec Hall, was a familiar face in the criminal underworld, and he clearly didn't regard the two pretty women as any sort of threat.

With a casual flick of his hand, several bodyguards dressed in black closed in and surrounded the booth.

Grinning obscenely, he tugged his belt free and sneered, "Listen carefully, ladies. Be obedient, and I promise I'll be gentle. Otherwise, you'll be groveling beneath me."

He even gave his thick waist a cocky thrust and stretched out a grimy hand toward Kristina.

But before his fingers could brush her, Kristina slipped aside as lightly as air and deftly twisted his belt into a tight knot.

She jerked it so sharply that Alec's mouth flew open with a pained gasp.

With a faint smile still resting on her lips, she chopped her hand down in a swift strike, sending the car keys flying from his grip while splitting his lip at the same time. "Close that filthy mouth."

The bodyguards surged forward immediately.

Kristina snatched a bottle from the table and smashed it across one man's head.

At the same moment, Mabel pivoted and drove a kick into another guard's neck, sending him sprawling hard onto the floor.

Alec finally coughed up the car keys he had bitten down on. His face burned crimson as he began shouting angrily, "Call more men over here! I'm not letting these two bitches walk away tonight!"

Up on the third floor, inside a private booth, someone let out a quiet exclamation.

"Hey, Braeden, doesn't that woman look a lot like Matthew's wife? But the whole aura is different. There's no way that's Kristina, that stay-at-home wife. Just look at her figure and those moves. She's dropping those guys like it's nothing."

Seated across from him in an armchair, Braeden slowly turned his head. In the dim lighting, his gaze settled on Kristina.

At that moment, she moved with the lethal grace of a hunting predator, and as she shifted, a sliver of her slim waist flashed into view.

His friend, Cristian Watson, clicked his tongue. "Things are getting intense over there. Two women against that many men. Braeden, this is your territory. Aren't you going to step in like some hero and rescue them?"

Right then, Alec suddenly pulled a dagger from his pocket and, using the chaos as cover, lunged toward Kristina's back.

Braeden's half-lowered eyes snapped fully open, a dangerous glint flashing through them.

As he rose abruptly to his feet, he grabbed the knife on the table, its blade glimmering coldly between his fingers with a deadly sheen.

Before the knife could even be hurled, Kristina reacted as though she had already anticipated it.

Her leg lashed out in a sharp, fluid motion; Alec's wrist was knocked downward, and his hand was forced firmly against the couch. The blade slipped free and struck the floor with a hard clatter.

Without hesitation, she seized the bottle and brought it crashing down onto his skull. The shattered glass left a jagged, blood-smeared edge that she pressed straight against his thick neck.

Her stunning face held the chill of a death angel. "Are you looking to die?"

The instant the question left her lips, a furious voice erupted behind her. "Kristina? Stop it!"

Matthew emerged from the private room across the corridor, still reeling from the brutal scene he had just witnessed.

Was that really Kristina?

Once the shock settled, his gaze dropped to her smooth thigh, and an unexplainable irritation flared in his eyes. "Why did you come somewhere like this? What kind of trouble are you stirring up? Let him go."

Kristina turned toward him. During the struggle, her clothes had been slightly torn, exposing part of her shoulder. A smear of blood stained her skin, the stark contrast making it even more striking.

Not a trace remained of the gentle, virtuous housewife she once appeared to be.

Matthew was even more infuriated and wanted to scold Kristina further, but Mabel cut him off. "Matthew, you only showed up once everything was finished. How convenient."

Only then did Matthew notice that the woman fighting alongside Kristina was none other than Mabel Davies. The Davies family was one of the four powerful ones in Ouverpus.

Kristina, a woman whose life had once revolved around cooking and housework, actually knew someone from the Davies family?

And had Mabel just shown her those moves right there on the spot? Kristina had executed them almost flawlessly.

"Uncle Alec?" At that moment, Zoe rushed out from behind Matthew and hurried over, anxiously reaching for Alec, whose wrist had been held down by Kristina. "Kristina, what are you doing? Let go of my uncle."

Kristina was caught off guard, and in that brief lapse of focus, Alec managed to jerk himself free. "Zoe, this woman's completely insane."

Zoe helped him stand, and the moment her hands touched him, they were instantly smeared with blood. Even the pristine white of her dress quickly turned red, making the injury appear even more alarming.

Matthew's brows drew together tightly. "Kristina, why aren't you at home at this hour? All you ever do is create problems. Go back home now."

Mabel was about to explain what had actually happened when Zoe cut in, her voice trembling, "Matthew, my uncle is seriously injured. We have to take him to the hospital."

A thought crossed Alec's mind. He let out a dramatic groan and allowed his heavy body to slump toward the floor.

Matthew's expression turned serious. He stepped forward at once and personally helped Alec to his feet. "Hang on. I'll take you to the hospital right now."

Most of Alec's weight leaned against him. The proud young heir of the Cooper family now looked thoughtful and considerate, patiently supporting Alec.

He never once asked what had caused the fight, nor did he ask whether Kristina had been hurt.

Instead, he gently reminded Zoe to watch out for the broken glass scattered across the floor.

He treated Kristina as though she did not exist while showing Zoe obvious concern.

Mabel planted her hands on her waist in anger. "Just look at him. What kind of man behaves like that? You might as well put a bullet in that bastard and send him straight to hell."

Kristina merely watched the group as they walked away, her gaze steady and calm. "Let them go. People who don't matter anymore aren't worth ruining our mood."

The manager quickly arranged for the mess to be cleaned up, and before long, fresh drinks were brought out again.

The eight male escorts Mabel had ordered lined up neatly in a row.

The music started again, and the lively energy of the place returned almost immediately.

In the private lounge on the third floor, Cristian slapped his hands together and laughed. "So that was really Kristina. I've crossed paths with her a few times before. Always seemed dull as dirt. Never guessed she had that kind of temper when nobody's watching. And those strikes were clean and merciless. Nothing like the quiet woman I remembered. But Braeden, your nephew's really something else. His wife got harassed and he didn't even defend her; instead, he sided with the asshole and scolded her. No wonder she ran off to a bar to blow off some steam."

Braeden lounged back as his gaze drifted lazily toward the scene below, a faint trace of dark amusement flickering in his eyes.

Kristina lounged on the velvet couch, relaxed and unbothered, a circle of male escorts around her as she drank without restraint.

During the past three years, she had already settled every obligation she once owed Matthew. If he ever tried to order her around again, she would make certain he paid dearly for it.

A male escort wearing a translucent black shirt knelt between her thighs and held up a glass of wine for her.

Kristina only tilted the rim with a playful flick, letting the wine spill straight into his mouth instead.

The liquor splashed across the front of his shirt, soaking the thin fabric until it clung to his chest and traced the firm lines of his well-built muscles.

Mabel burst into laughter, her whole body shaking with it. "What do you think of this one, Kristina? Big enough to suit your taste?"

Kristina lifted a finger and tapped the man's quivering chest, nudging him aside. "I'd rather have someone a little more innocent."

That remark only made Mabel laugh harder, as though the two of them had slipped right back into their old carefree days.

She caught hold of a young man who looked barely out of college and pushed him toward Kristina. "This one has to be a virgin."

The man staggered forward and brushed against Kristina's leg by accident, then hurriedly straightened up with his face burning red.

His looks were fresh and striking, carrying the softness of youth.

His wide, moist eyes held a gentle warmth, paired with a shy and hesitant expression.

Kristina had already knocked back several glasses of strong liquor. Her gaze turned hazy as she cupped the guy's chin and studied his face more closely.

Through the blur clouding her sight, his face seemed somewhat like Matthew's, yet there was a depth of feeling in his eyes that Matthew had never once shown her.

Memories flooded back, and the ache she believed had faded suddenly surfaced again.

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, he asked softly, "Miss, would you like to spend the night with me?"

For a moment, it sounded exactly like Matthew speaking to her.

Kristina abruptly seized the back of his head, her beautiful face moving close in an instant until their noses nearly touched.

A strange heat rushed through her body, and an uncontrollable desire surged upward.

Realizing something was wrong, she quickly let him go and headed straight for the restroom.

She splashed cold water over her face, yet the restless heat inside her only intensified, almost swallowing her whole.

With irritation, she tugged at the collar of her shirt until the buttons nearly sprang loose.

A black camisole hugged tightly against the full curve of her breasts beneath the fabric.

When she turned around, she collided with a solid chest.

A faint woody fragrance mixed with a cool, crisp scent drifted toward her. It seemed to calm the restless desire in her body, yet at the same time, it stirred an even stronger one.

Her control nearly shattered in a single instant.

She eagerly slipped her arms around the man's neck. Her drunken, half-closed eyes could not see his face clearly; she only sensed that his features reminded her faintly of Matthew's.

She assumed he was the male escort who had been asking her to book him for the night. He really was stubborn.

Her red lips curved faintly. Her cool fingertips traced along the man's jaw before settling at his Adam's apple, brushing over it lightly. "I'll book you for the whole night. Show me what you can do."

As she spoke, her hand grew increasingly bold. No longer content to toy with his throat, it slid down across his chest and drifted lower toward his waist.

But a large hand, its palm rough with faint calluses, caught hold of her wrist.

"Are you certain you want to book me?"

The man's voice was deep and husky, nothing like the clear tone she had heard earlier at the booth.

Kristina gave a faint shake of her head, though her vision remained blurred. As she tried to pull her hand away, it accidentally brushed between the man's legs.

She broke into laughter.

"So a man's voice changes when he's excited," she murmured. "It actually sounds pretty good."

Before the last word left her lips, she lifted onto her toes and pressed a kiss against his Adam's apple, licking it recklessly.

A muffled groan escaped the man as desire stirred within him.

In the next second, he simply scooped her up and walked away.

From the elevator ride to the top-floor suite, they kissed as if they were both drunk on each other. By the time they staggered into the bedroom, most of their clothes had already been torn away.

Kristina's desire burned fiercely. She shoved him hard against the door, ripped open the belt that stood in her way, and wrapped one long leg around his waist.