Everyone in the business world knew that Jessa Darling was Sawyer Pitt’s ace. With Jessa around, the Pitt Group could win any business negotiation.

Sawyer loved Jessa and would give up his life for her.

At least, that was something even Jessa believed.

She had unhesitatingly shot herself five times for the Pitt Group when stuck in the Golden Frontier. In Mejika, she drank with a supplier until she ended up puking blood.

Every time, she thought that Sawyer would be waiting for her return. That was until she found Sawyer looking at a bodyguard with intense love in his eyes.

He said that it was sympathy for the woman, but he did not know that every look gave lie to that sentiment.

The second the ten-billion-dollar merger was signed, Jessa Darling heaved her weary body from the negotiation table.

Being awake for seventy-two hours straight with no rest whatsoever had set in a bone-deep level of exhaustion.

“You’ve done a great job, dear. Thank you.”

Sawyer Pitt opened his arms wide and took Jessa tightly in his embrace.

Mixed in with his familiar cedar scent, Jessa smelled a hint of something coldly foreign.

Jessa looked right past Sawyer’s shoulder and locked her gaze on the woman behind him.

“Who is she?”

Sawyer let go of Jessa and rubbed circles into the back of her hand comfortingly. “Vanessa Rivera. She’s quite a good fighter. She’ll be your personal bodyguard from now on. Come, let’s get into the car.”

After Sawyer spoke, Vanessa got into the driver’s seat.

Meanwhile, Sawyer smoothly pulled open the front passenger door.

Jessa was left to occupy the expansive backseat alone.

Sawyer had always repeated that the passenger seat was for her, his wife. Yet, he was sitting in that same seat with a woman by his side.

Sawyer looked out of the window. A doting smile never completely faded from his expression.

“Dear, get in the car quickly now. The backseat is spacious enough for you to lie down and get some rest.”

But what he used to say was, “The road’s bumpy. You’ll only be able to rest better when you’re leaning against me.”

Jessa did not respond and quietly pulled the door open.

During the car ride, Sawyer kept chatting happily with Vanessa.

Whenever he looked at Vanessa, there was heat in his gaze.

However, when his gaze swept over Jessa through the rearview mirror, that fire promptly went out.

The distance that was between them felt like a blade slipping right into Jessa’s exhausted psyche.

Back at the villa, Vanessa did not seem like she was intending to leave.

Jessa’s voice was icy as she said, “I told you before, Sawyer. We don’t allow overnight visitors in this house.”

Before Sawyer could speak, Vanessa answered. She picked up a mug of warm water and presented it to Jessa as she said, “Ma’am, I’ll be doing all the work around here from now on, as Mr. Pitt has ordered. Don’t worry, I don’t make much noise. I will not bother you or Mr. Pitt during your private moments.”

Jessa did not respond immediately. Her gaze was fixed on Vanessa’s wrist.

Around her wrist was a Patek Philippe Celestial G-052.

It was the exact watch that Jessa had given Sawyer for his birthday last year.

He had once said that this watch belonged to him and him alone. It represented their time together and how they would always be in step with each other.

But that watch that purportedly meant so much had found itself wrapped around another woman’s wrist.

Jessa froze for half a second as pain blossomed in her heart.

She looked up at Vanessa.

Coincidentally, a hint of panic appeared on Vanessa’s face. She hurriedly pulled her sleeve down to hide the watch. Her acting was so smooth that it seemed perfectly natural.

“Jessa, Vanessa has quite a pitiful backstory. Don’t make life harder for her. She has no home to return to, so she has to stay here in the meantime. She’ll be in the annex, so she won’t disturb us.”

Sawyer took the mug from Vanessa and personally held it out to Jessa. His tone was a very clearly protective one.

Jessa held the mug that had been forced into her hand. The steam from the water blurred her vision, but also stung her eyes.

At Jessa’s silence, Vanessa dropped to her knees and started to cry. She looked as though she was an abandoned puppy on the streets.

“Ma’am, Mr. Pitt saved me from an underground fight club. I will do anything you need of me! Please let me stay! I don’t have to stay in the annex. I can guard the front door all night! I won’t take up much space, nor do I eat a lot. I swear!”

Jessa assessed her. A woman who had escaped a cruel and violent place like an underground fight club could not possibly have such a flawless and unmarred face as Vanessa’s.

“She’s lying to you, Sawyer.”

When Jessa looked up, she found pity in Sawyer’s eyes.

“Jessa, you’ve always been a kind person. Vanessa has gone through a lot in that place. You should pity her.”

Pity her?

Jessa looked at Sawyer. She could not help but think of what had happened that rainy night three years ago, at the Golden Frontier.

In an attempt to retrieve the Pitt Group’s core chip worth tens of billions, she had been held at gunpoint by the region’s most powerful warlord, a man nicknamed the Reaper.

Forced into a game of Russian roulette, she had pointed a revolver at herself and pulled the trigger five times.

By sheer bravery, she safely left that negotiation table.

She had managed to get that core chip shipped back home as well.

She had not escaped unscathed. The Reaper’s underlings had left grievous wounds on her body. Every time she swallowed, she tasted blood in her saliva.

But Sawyer had only comforted her through the phone. “You’ve done so well, Jessa. Come home soon.”

Even after surviving a near-death experience for Sawyer, she still seemed to fall short.

Yet, a bunch of creative lies had won his sympathy.

Disgust roiled in her and rose to choke her.

Jessa did not say a word more before getting up to leave.

“Jessa…”

When Sawyer was just about to get up and chase after her, Vanessa hugged his legs and begged, “Please don’t fight with your wife, Mr. Pitt! This is all my fault! I’ll get out of the way now! I won’t come between you and your wife!”

Saying this, she rammed her head toward the corner of the marble fireplace.

“Vanessa!”

Shocked, Sawyer lunged forward to pull Vanessa into his arms.

“Jessa, I’m taking Vanessa to the hospital.”

Jessa was extremely disgusted to hear Sawyer’s panicked voice behind her.

She sent a text to her assistant: [Investigate this person named Vanessa Rivera. I want to know everything about her.]

After that night, Sawyer no longer set foot in the master bedroom. His excuse was that Vanessa had been plagued by recurring nightmares after getting hurt. She would feel so ill at ease whenever Sawyer left her sight that she would attempt suicide.

A week later, the negotiations with a company from a neighboring city reached a crucial point.

As Jessa prepared to fly to Soverna, Sawyer went to her with Vanessa by his side.

“What’s your plan for the negotiations?”

“The proposal is fine, but I’m going alone. The company has a complex background, so having more people would only complicate matters and jeopardize the negotiations.”

“Alright, but bring Vanessa with you so she can learn a thing or two.”

Jessa looked up abruptly. It was a long-established rule that Jessa would not intervene in the group’s management, while Sawyer would not interfere in its business negotiations. Sawyer was breaking that rule because of Vanessa.

“We’re going to negotiate, not fight in a ring. I can go on my own.”

Sawyer had been straightening Jessa’s coat collar. When he heard her words, he stilled and frowned. His tone hardened as he said, “I’d feel better if Vanessa were there.”

After he spoke, he looked past Jessa and commanded Vanessa, “Take good care of Ms. Darling today.”

Then, he leaned close to whisper into Jessa’s ear, “Trust me, Jessa. Give me seven months. I will give you a huge surprise after seven months.”

Jessa’s heart sank heavily.

She did not understand what Sawyer meant by asking her for seven months, but she was willing to trust him that one time.

As expected, the negotiations were tense.

The head of the company she was dealing with, Tom Rogen, had a beer belly, coupled with vicious, beady eyes. He intentionally provoked Jessa. “Ms. Darling, you’re such a great beauty, but you’re such a shark when it comes to business negotiations. I wonder if you’re just as formidable in bed?”

Strangled laughter sounded within the conference room. It was awkward, but Jessa knew that her opponent had run out of moves when they resorted to personal attacks.

Just as she was about to speak up, Vanessa kicked the redwood conference table, flipping it.

Everyone watched in stunned silence as Vanessa rushed forward and pressed Tom to the floor. She rained punches on him until he was out cold.

Before that incident, Jessa had the upper hand in the negotiations. After Vanessa’s assault, they had become the party in the wrong. As such, they owed the other party compensation.

“Call an ambulance! Vanessa, stop now!”

Jessa’s face was deathly pale.

Sawyer walked in at that very moment.

He rushed instinctively to Jessa’s side and took hold of her icy hands. His eyes were filled with worry.

“Why are your hands so cold? Did he do anything to you?”

Jessa was about to speak when Vanessa broke through the chaotic crowd. She dropped to one knee and pulled out a knife. With great force, she plunged it straight into her thigh.

The wet squelch of the blade entering flesh stopped everyone in their tracks.

Vanessa’s face immediately went pale with pain. When she looked up, there was steel in her gaze.

“I have failed in my job, Mr. Pitt. I should be punished!”

Sawyer was taken aback. “Have you gone mad?”

His voice was tense and thready with fear. It was far more sincere than when he had spoken to Jessa.

“Doctor! Call a doctor! Where has everyone disappeared to?”

Jessa could feel her heart plunge back into the icy depths after having just warmed up the slightest bit.

Normally light-footed at the negotiation table, Jessa suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

An ambulance quickly arrived. Sawyer said, “Handle things here,” picked up Vanessa, and left.

“Ms. Darling, your arm…”

Jessa’s assistant, Alex Johnson, rushed over as Jessa let out a shocked cry. He started bandaging her wound.

The wound on Jessa’s arm was so deep that the bone could be seen. But even though the blood had stained Sawyer’s palm, he had not even noticed it.

“I’m fine.”

Jessa looked away from Sawyer’s and Vanessa’s parting backs to survey the mess they had left behind.

Jessa spent the whole night dealing with the fallout from the incident of Vanessa’s attack on Tom Rogen.

She had visited him personally to apologize while also promising that she would pay for all the medical fees incurred. She also paid a premium of twenty percent more than the agreed amount for their contract. It was the only way she managed to resolve the situation.

When she got back to the villa, the sky was just getting lighter.

The dawning light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting shafts of light on the floor.

Jessa dragged her tired body upstairs. She kept moving around after injuring her arm, so it started to hurt again. Blood spotted the bandage.

She forced herself to go back downstairs for some medication. When she passed by the study, she heard muffled crying coming from inside.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, Sawyer. Really, I was just trying to protect Ressa. He wanted to sleep with her! I didn’t want her to suffer that kind of insult.”

“I know.” Sawyer’s voice was extremely gentle and hinted at a level of patience Jessa had never experienced before.

Vanessa’s sobs lessened. “By the way, the baby has been kicking me today. I think it’s trying to tell its dad not to be angry.

“Thankfully, the baby’s only three months old. If it were bigger, I might not have been able to defend Ressa today.”

What Dad? What baby?

Jessa’s heart constricted painfully.

Sawyer’s voice echoed again in the study. “Don’t think about this nonsense. Focus on the pregnancy. Jessa will take care of that business deal.

“Vanessa, remember your place in this house. I only spent that night with you because I made a mistake. I’m only giving you a place to live. Don’t think you can use this baby to win my love.

“Jessa is the only one I love. We can’t let her know about our relationship. If she finds out, you’ll be done for.”

Jessa did not hear the rest of their conversation. She felt the blood freeze in her body.

A pregnancy lasted forty weeks. The baby was already three months old. Was this what Sawyer had meant about the seven-month stay?

Was Sawyer’s idea of a surprise to give her someone else’s child?

Jessa did not know how she ended up back in her room.

As she sat on the bed, she realized that her wound had reopened.

Crimson blood stained the bandage, but she could not feel even a hint of pain.

At that moment, she understood that the pain in her heart could hurt more than physical pain, so much so that the physical pain could be completely numbed.

Jessa gripped her phone tightly. The voice recording was still going.

She had cultivated this habit over the years, but she had never expected to use it at home.

Jessa carelessly redressed her wound and turned on her laptop. The light of the screen illuminated her pale face.

[Finish up the investigation and send everything you’ve found to me after you’ve compiled it into a report.]

An encrypted email promptly arrived in her email inbox. The contents shocked her thoroughly.

Vanessa’s story was much more complicated than she had anticipated. Sawyer had basically invited a wolf into their home and treated it as a precious puppy.

Jessa closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She would not let Sawyer’s stupidity ruin the Pitt Group.

Jessa spent the night sending out orders to people on her laptop.

She got some employees overseas to find new sources of capital. Once everything was ready, she would uproot the Pitt Group and leave. Sawyer could stay there and rot with his loyal side piece.

Early the next morning, Jessa put on delicate makeup and hid her bandaged wound under a silk shirt.

Her world-shattering, heart-breaking experience from the previous night was nothing but a dream.

She went downstairs and saw Sawyer passing Vanessa a plate of breakfast. It was such a gentle and caring gesture.

When he saw Jessa, Sawyer froze. He stiffened, only for a moment.

Vanessa immediately stood up, but the wound on her leg made her hiss in pain. “Mrs. Pitt.”

“Vanessa’s leg got hurt, Jessa. Don’t treat her too badly over the next few days.”

Treat her badly?

Jessa stood in place and stared at Sawyer. She had never even said anything before Vanessa stood up and attacked someone. Did that count as Jessa treating Vanessa badly?

Sensing that he had misspoken, Sawyer immediately changed the subject. “Have you handled the situation with Tom Rogen and the business negotiation?”

“It’s settled.”

Jessa’s cool and detached demeanor made Sawyer strangely annoyed. Still, he did not try to say anything further.