Inside the dimly lit suite, the man gradually regained consciousness.

He hadn't been able to catch a clear glimpse of the woman's face, he thought.

On the floor, his phone vibrated relentlessly against the carpet, the sound cutting through the silence of the room.

Reaching down to retrieve it, he felt his heavy brows knit together the moment he recognized the caller ID.

"Grandma, is this some kind of joke to you?" he demanded, his voice rough. "You actually arranged someone for me?"

Driven by a desperate obsession for a great-grandchild, his grandmother had resorted to every tactic she could think of to set him up with someone.

From the other end of the line, his grandmother let out a guilty, awkward chuckle. "I haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about, dear. Oh, heavens! The reception is terrible-I can't hear a word you're saying!"

Before he could even begin to argue, the call was abruptly disconnected.

Shaking his head with a bitter, wry laugh, he stepped into the shower to wash away the night; upon emerging, his eyes caught the glint of a bracelet on the floor, which he picked up and began to examine closely.

It was a simple piece, adorned with plain charms that looked like something bought from a common street market.

Narrowing his eyes, he spotted a tiny engraving on the charm. "K&H."

Clearly, this belonged to the woman who had been here.

Settling onto the sofa by the window, he lit a cigarette and watched the smoke curl into the air as he dialed his assistant. "I need the surveillance footage from outside Suite 1107, starting from two hours ago."

True to form, his assistant worked with lightning speed, delivering the requested files within thirty minutes.

With the cigarette still dangling from his lips, he hit play and watched as the woman was led directly into his room, Suite 1107.

By a striking coincidence, this was a woman he had encountered previously.

She was Kaitlin, the woman with the same initial engraved in that bracelet.

A subtle smirk touched his lips as he inhaled deeply from his cigarette, the smoke curling around his sharp features. After his assistant provided a fresh suit, he changed and exited the room with purposeful strides.

Outside, a steady November drizzle chilled the air. Confined to the guest room, Kaitlin felt a hollow sense of despair while listening to the rhythmic pacing in the corridor.

After lying motionless for an eternity, she forced herself up and threw her weakened frame against the door.

"I need to talk to Hugh. Seriously, I'll do whatever he wants, just tell him to let me out of here," she rasped.

The bodyguard stationed outside hesitated before disappearing down the hall. He returned shortly to turn the key. "Mr. Williams is waiting in the study."

Kaitlin forced her leaden limbs to move, slowly making her way toward the study.

She glanced around the interior, noting the decor she had meticulously selected-from the sconces to the greenery. This mansion had been the trophy of her and Hugh's first successful business venture.

She had once envisioned this house as a sanctuary for their future family.

Reality, however, had taken a far more bitter turn.

When Kaitlin reached the study, the door was slightly ajar. Through the narrow gap, she saw a petite woman seated on Hugh's lap-it was Rosalie. Her arms were wrapped around his neck.

Rosalie leaned into him with a coy expression. "Look, Miss Clarke is your ex. I don't want us to upset her. Everyone at the office is gonna think you're ungrateful for forgetting how much she helped you start out."

Idly twirling a soft lock of her hair, Hugh leaned closer to inhale the intoxicating scent of her perfume. "Her compensation at Pioneer Group was more than generous; she ought to have known when to stop. Since she dared to plot against you, letting her live was the greatest act of mercy I could offer."

Gazing at her with adoration, he whispered, "Rosalie, you are the only woman who holds my heart now."

Standing frozen in the hallway, Kaitlin felt her nails bite into her skin as a fresh wave of agony ripped through her already hollowed chest.

Forcing the door wide, she finally crossed the threshold and stepped into the room.

Staring at the face she once loved, Kaitlin saw only a terrifying stranger lurking behind his handsome features.

Releasing a jagged, hollow laugh, she felt the hot tracks of tears spilling down her cheeks.

Decisively, she lunged forward in a blur of fury and tore Rosalie from his arms.

Kaitlin stared at Hugh with cold eyes and said, "You are truly pathetic, Hugh. You believe everything other people tell you. It seems you lost your brain along with your memory."

"How could you say that?" Rosalie frowned.

Gently, Hugh patted Rosalie's back to calm her down, but then he looked at Kaitlin with a very scary and cold stare.

"Do not ever let Rosalie see your face again."

Kaitlin let out a sad, empty laugh and replied, "Sure."

To his surprise, Hugh felt a sudden pain in his heart, but he quickly ignored the feeling and acted like he didn't care.

Because Rosalie had stayed by his side after he fell into the sea, he felt he owed her everything. She had helped him walk again after he broke his leg and cried for him often, so he promised never to let anyone hurt her.

Hearing Rosalie's voice brought him back to the present moment. "Please don't hurt anyone for me, Hugh," she said with a shaky voice. "If what you do for me makes people think badly of you, I would rather just leave..."

"Don't be silly. You are the only person I love. If you leave me, I will have nothing. I already talked to your father, and we are getting married next month."

"As long as you stay with me, I will never leave you," Rosalie promised. She rested her head on his shoulder, but when he couldn't see her, a mean and evil smile appeared on her face.

While the storm grew worse outside, Kaitlin got drenched from the cold rain and walked the streets looking pale and lost.

In all her twenty-five years, this had been the saddest and most painful one to date.

She and Hugh had been each other's entire world since their days in the orphanage, a bond forged over twenty years of survival. It wasn't until five years ago that Hugh's biological family finally tracked him down and welcomed him back into high society.

And yet, that twenty-year history of shared struggle proved remarkably fragile, crumbling in the face of the mere six months he had known Rosalie.

A sleek, black luxury sedan glided to the curb in front of her. The door flew open, and a figure emerged, cutting through the rain toward her under the shelter of a large umbrella.

Kaitlin's vision blurred as her knees finally buckled. With the last of her energy drained, she pitched forward, falling directly into the broad, solid chest of the stranger.

After waking up in an unknown room, Kaitlin's survival instincts immediately spiked, her eyes darting around the lavish space.

"Finally awake?" a low, resonant voice asked, shattering the quiet of the room.

Perched on a black leather sofa near the bed, a man in a bespoke suit watched her; his face was a masterpiece of refined features and icy indifference.

A flicker of dark amusement danced in his eyes as he studied her with a languid, predatory interest.

Kaitlin recoiled, pressing herself against the headboard as she gasped, "Who on earth are you?"

His hand shifted lazily on the armrest, drawing her attention to the platinum bracelet he was holding-it was intricately designed with the shape of a delicate bluebell. "Suite 1107. Don't tell me your memory is that short."

As Kaitlin saw the bracelet, memories came rushing back.

Kaitlin's exhaustion was quickly overtaken by fury. "Why are you here? Get out!"

The man let out a dry, mocking snort. "Get out of my own home? I'm the one who just pulled you out of the rain. And you're mistaken-Hugh's setup was in 1109, but you walked into 1107."

Kaitlin froze as the reality of the situation began to sink in, her fingers bunching the expensive silk of the blanket as she finally recognized the man before her.

The situation was beyond surreal. This wasn't just some random stranger; it was Andrew Evans, the formidable CEO of the Evans Group in Zluasey. He was a power player her own firm had been desperate to court only months ago.

Handsome yet ruthless, he had already secured a powerful foothold in the domestic market at a young age.

Kaitlin swallowed hard. "What are you planning to do to me?"

Without warning, Andrew threw a legal document onto the table. "You know exactly what happened between us. I need a wife now. Once we have an heir, you can leave it with me and walk away with enough money to live in luxury for the rest of your life."

This plan would finally get his grandmother to stop nagging him about marriage and stop setting him up on terrible dates. Above all, it would give her the great-grandchild she wanted. To him, it was a flawless fix.

Kaitlin felt a cold shiver run through her.

"And why on earth would I agree to that?" she demanded.

He stood up, his tall shadow stretching over her where she sat. "Because I'm the only one who can help you fight against Hugh."

He walked out without looking back. Kaitlin sat there in shock for a moment before she finally picked up the contract to read the fine print.

The amount promised for the divorce settlement was a staggering five hundred million dollars.

That kind of money would guarantee her a life of complete freedom. Besides, the Evans family was far more powerful than either the Williams or Douglas families combined.

She realized that marrying Andrew might actually be a very safe way to protect her future.

She looked down at the platinum bracelet.

It was the very first gift Hugh had given her after he started his career. Even though it didn't really cost much, she had treated it like a priceless treasure for years. Now, it just seemed like a cruel joke.

For the next two weeks, Kaitlin stayed away from work and remained hidden in her home to heal. She ignored everyone except for her close friend, Haley Yates.

Haley had been her roommate back in college. Coming from a wealthy family in Zluasey, she had started her own law practice right after law school. For the last two years, she had been the one handling most of the legal trouble for the Pioneer Group.

Haley was always the first to know the latest gossip, and she spent the whole time trashing Hugh for being so cold-hearted while she spilled all the news. One piece of news was that Rosalie had already started parading around the office as Hugh's fiancee, and she was already moving into Kaitlin's old office to take over as general manager.

Kaitlin didn't have the strength to worry about the office drama. After some consideration, she had decided to accept Andrew's proposal.

She decided to lean into this new reality and forge a different path for herself.

She had been innocent from the very beginning, so she saw no reason to let herself be kicked out of the Pioneer Group in shame just to make room for another woman.

Kaitlin pressed her lips together, reached for her phone, and dialed the number she had been thinking about.

Over at the Evans estate, Doris Evans sat with her reading glasses on, occasionally peeking over them at Andrew, who was relaxing on the couch with a magazine.

"Why aren't you married? You won't even go on a date. I'm eighty years old, and I don't have much time left. Your father is a disgrace, and he clearly likes that other woman's son more than you. If you don't have an heir, who is going to keep your grandfather's company away from them when I'm gone?"

Andrew's father, Glenn Evans, had been unfaithful during his youth. The stress had devastated his wife, who tragically died from amniotic fluid embolism shortly after giving birth to a stillborn baby. Only six months after her death, Glenn had married again and moved in a son who was actually two years older than Andrew.

Andrew gave a cold smirk. "Don't worry, Grandma. I won't let him get anything."

At that exact moment, his phone started vibrating on the table.

Andrew looked at the caller ID, and a small smile appeared. "Grandma, your wish might be coming true sooner than you think."

Doris sat up straight, her eyes bright with excitement. "Oh, is that so?"

Andrew picked up the phone and put it on speaker. "Miss Clarke, do you have some good news for me?"

A woman's voice responded, sounding quiet but sure. "Yes. Is our deal still on?"