After handing over her work at the station, Celine went home and began packing.

After ten years of marriage, every corner of the house was filled with memories of them.

Photos from their trips, the scarf she had knitted by hand, anniversary gifts, his handwritten letters… one by one, she tossed them into a box. She wanted none of it anymore.

She packed for most of the day. Just as she finished dealing with everything, Adrian stormed through the front door, fury written all over his face.

"Celine! Where the hell did you hide Lydia?"

Celine looked at him, baffled. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're still pretending?"

Adrian clamped down on her wrist so hard that bruises bloomed beneath his fingertips.

"If you hadn't said something to Lydia, why would she suddenly disappear?"

Looking at him like this, Celine felt that long-rotten wound inside her split open and bleed all over again.

So this was who she was in his eyes. Petty. Vicious. Capable of anything ugly.

"Enough!" She flung his hand away, her voice turning icy. "Adrian, let me make one thing clear. I'm a police officer! I would never do anything illegal. If your mistress is missing, you should call the police, not come barging in here to accuse me!"

"But..." Adrian started to say more.

Just then, his phone rang.

"Adrian, save me!"

The second he answered, Lydia's desperate scream came through the line.

Adrian's fingers twitched, his eyes going bloodshot in an instant. "Lydia! Where are you?!"

But before Lydia could answer, another man took the phone. "Mr. Lennox... long time no see."

The voice was hoarse and low. Celine recognized it almost instantly. It was Gideon Shaw.

He had once worked under Adrian, but his ambition had grown too large. When he tried to replace Adrian, he ended up kidnapping Celine.

For Celine, Adrian had walked into that danger alone, shown up to the meeting by himself, broken three ribs, and nearly lost his life.

It wasn't until the police arrived that the two of them were rescued.

But Gideon had still managed to get away. She had never expected him to come back again, let alone kidnap Lydia.

"What do you want?"

Adrian forced the words out through clenched teeth.

On the other end, Gideon laughed. "So I was right. This woman really does matter to you. Relax, I'm not going to do anything to her. I just didn't expect Mr. Lennox, the man who once risked his life for his wife, to go and find himself someone new. Now that... is interesting."

"What exactly do you want before you let her go?" Adrian was nearly out of patience.

"Easy, Mr. Lennox..." Gideon deliberately dragged out the words. "I'll give you one chance. If you really want to save her, trade your wife for her. I'm curious which one you'll choose."

The call ended, and all the color drained from Celine's face.

She knew better than anyone how terrifying Gideon could be.

"Adrian, don't do anything reckless. The first thing we need to do is call the police!"

Celine grabbed her phone, but before she could dial, Adrian knocked it out of her hand.

"Aren't you a cop?"

Looking into Adrian's cold eyes, Celine felt her heart sink to the bottom.

"Gideon is insane. We were lucky to get out last time. We may not get that kind of luck again."

Adrian's fingers tightened slightly. After a long pause, he spoke in a low, coaxing voice. "Celine, you've had professional training. You'll be fine. But Lydia is different. She's still young, and she scares easily. She won't be able to handle this. Don't worry. Once you've traded places with her, I'll call the police right away. Your team will do everything they can to get you out."

A bitter laugh rose in Celine's heart. So this was the man she had loved for half her life.

In the past, if she got even the slightest injury, he would pull her into his arms like it hurt him too.

And now, for another woman, he was willing to send her straight into hell with his own hands.

But Adrian was right about one thing. She was a police officer. She could not stand by and let someone die.

In the end, she only gave a small nod, her voice flat and still.

"Fine. I'll go with you."

Before long, they drove to a remote warehouse on the outskirts.

Gideon had already been waiting for them there.

"So you really could bring yourself to do it." He burst out laughing, amusement glittering in his eyes.

Adrian paid no attention to him at all. His eyes were fixed only on Lydia, who was tied to a chair not far away.

"I brought her. Let Lydia go now!"

Even though she had prepared herself for this, seeing how desperate Adrian was still felt like a blade driven straight through her chest. The pain was so sharp she could not speak.

Gideon seemed to catch the shift in her expression and drawled with a mocking smile, "Don't look so heartbroken, Mrs. Lennox. Since Mr. Lennox doesn't want you anymore, why not come with me? I'd treat you real well…"

Adrian's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles went white, fire nearly bursting from his eyes, yet he did not say a single word.

Celine let out a self-mocking smile and stepped forward slowly. "You'd be better off turning yourself in now. Otherwise, my team won't let you walk away."

"Cut the crap." Gideon was in no mood to listen. His voice turned cold. "Either you stay or she stays. Pick."

"Celine..." Adrian sounded frantic, like he could not wait even one second longer.

Celine closed her eyes briefly, then said in a low voice, "Let her go. I'll stay as the hostage."

"Good. That's what I like, nice and easy."

A moment later, Lydia was untied and shoved forward.

As they passed each other, Celine clearly caught the flash of triumph in Lydia's eyes.

Adrian rushed forward in one stride and pulled Lydia into his arms. "Lydia, don't be scared. It's over now."

He gently wiped away the tears on her face and never looked at Celine again.

Watching the scene unfold, Celine found that not even a trace of sadness rose in her anymore.

From this day on, she and Adrian were finished. Completely.

Gideon kept taunting her. "I really didn't expect Adrian to hand you over that easily. Back then, he nearly died for you. And now he's giving you to me for another woman. He must've forgotten that my two friends and I ended up dead or in prison because of you! Today, I'm going to make sure you learn exactly what living worse than death feels like!"

He bound Celine tightly to the chair and raised a branding iron, glowing hot, right in front of her face.

"Wait!"

At the sight of Celine in mortal danger, a sudden, inexplicable panic surged through Adrian.

He thrust out a hand and shouted sharply, "Isn't revenge what you want? Take me instead!"

"Adrian! Are you crazy? You're not going!" Lydia screamed.

She grabbed Adrian's arm and refused to let go no matter what.

Just then, the sound of sirens suddenly wailed outside. The police had arrived.

"Gideon, give it up and surrender. You're not getting away," Celine said coldly.

In fact, before leaving, she had already sent a message to her team and arranged the arrest.

But Gideon did not panic in the slightest. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed.

"Even if I die, I'm taking you with me!"

He suddenly yanked a handgun from inside his jacket and aimed the dark barrel straight at Adrian.

In that split second of crisis, Celine tore free of the ropes and threw herself at Gideon with every ounce of strength she had.

The shot rang out.

Lydia instantly threw herself in front of Adrian, and the bullet grazed her arm. Blood burst out at once.

She cried out and collapsed into Adrian's arms.

"Lydia! Are you okay?"

Adrian caught her in sheer panic, never noticing that the same bullet had struck Celine too.

A second shot cracked through the air.

Gideon was hit by the SWAT team and dropped dead on the spot.

Holding Lydia tightly, Adrian rushed out without ever looking back.

Lying in a pool of blood, Celine watched Adrian's figure disappear into the distance, and a faint smile slowly tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Adrian, you saved me once before. Now I've saved you too. From now on, we owe each other nothing."

When Celine woke again, she found herself at a military base thousands of miles away.

The moment Talia saw her open her eyes, she threw her arms around her, visibly emotional. "Celine, you're finally awake. I was scared to death!"

"How long was I out?"

Celine shifted slightly, and a sharp, piercing pain immediately shot through her abdomen.

"Three whole days!" Talia quickly pressed her back down and explained, "Mr. Mercer said the medical facilities here were better for recovery, so they transferred you to the base right away. Once you're healed, you can go straight into training. Do you have any idea that bullet nearly killed you? Don't ever push yourself like that again. It's not worth it for a bastard like Adrian! I heard he stayed by that assistant's bedside for three days and three nights and never mentioned you even once..."

Talia kept rambling on, but Celine's thoughts had already drifted far away.

That day still played vividly in her mind. The sight of Adrian carrying Lydia away had cut into her like a knife and lodged deep in her heart.

Once, he had looked at no one else but her.

But now, everything had changed.

Maybe because Celine had gone silent for too long, Talia finally stopped talking, pulled something from her pocket, and held it out in front of her.

"Look what this is."

Celine focused her eyes and saw a divorce decree in front of her.

"It's finally done."

Celine let out a quiet breath of relief and took it from her, her fingertips brushing lightly over the cover.

From today on, she was free.

She was no longer anyone's wife, no one's accessory.

She was only herself. She was only Celine.

......

Meanwhile, Adrian, still keeping watch beside Lydia's hospital bed, had just started to get up for a glass of water when a sudden heavy stab of pain hit his chest.

His fingers jerked around the cup, and it slipped from his hand, smashing against the floor with a loud crash as shards of glass scattered everywhere.

"Adrian? What's wrong?" Lydia sat up and looked at him in concern.

Adrian stared blankly at his own hand, forcing down that strange flicker of unease inside him.

Only after a long moment did he bend down to pick up the broken glass, but one careless move sliced his finger open, and blood immediately welled from the tip.

"Ah... blood, you're bleeding!" Lydia cried out.

Drops of blood fell from his fingertip onto the floor, blooming like dark red flowers.

A flash of that day suddenly crossed Adrian's mind, the image of carrying Lydia away, covered in blood, still leaving a chill of fear behind.

But Lydia was already safe. So why did he keep feeling as if something important was quietly slipping away?

He told himself it was because he had been too worried about Lydia.

After all, she had taken a bullet for him and bled that much.

As for Celine...

His heart gave a sudden jolt as he realized he had not contacted her in three whole days.

But what did that matter?

Her colleagues would take care of her. She had always been so independent, so strong, as if she had never needed to rely on anyone.

Lydia was different. Her parents had died young, and she was gentle by nature. Other than her little brother, she had no one but him.

Once Lydia recovered a little more, he would buy Celine some gifts to make it up to her. He believed she would understand.

With that thought, he stopped dwelling on it. He stood up and soothed her gently, "Don't be scared. It's nothing serious. Compared to what you went through, this is nothing. But you're not allowed to be this reckless again, okay?"

Adrian frowned, but his voice stayed gentle. "What would I do if something happened to you?"

"Adrian..." Deeply moved, Lydia wrapped her arms around him and said in a trembling voice, "I'd die for you if I had to, as long as you don't leave me..."

"Don't say that." Adrian cut her off at once. "Don't worry. I'll stay with you. I'm not going anywhere..."