Eva burned with a fever all night.

Leo stumbled into the villa just before dawn, still reeking of alcohol from the Red Rose Club. The moment he stepped inside, he sensed something was wrong. The air was too still, too quiet.

Then he saw Eva. She had collapsed on the bed, her cheeks flushed red and her skin burning to the touch.

In an instant, the haze of alcohol vanished. He swept her into his arms and rushed her to their private hospital.

"Get a doctor. Dr. Wilson—now! If anything happens to her, I swear, I'll bury every one of you with her." His voice was ice-cold, laced with barely contained fury.

When Eva opened her eyes again, the sharp scent of antiseptic stung her nose. She stirred, barely able to move, her limbs heavy and her mind hazy.

A nurse noticed her stirring and gasped with relief. "Mrs. Sereno, thank God! You've had a high fever for over 24 hours.

"Mr. Sereno's been here the whole time. He just stepped out. There was an emergency call from the syndicate he had to take."

Eva raised a hand weakly and murmured, "You don't… need to tell him I'm awake."

The nurse hesitated, then nodded and quietly slipped out of the room. Silence fell over the room.

From down the hallway, Eva could hear Leo's voice, low and measured as he spoke on the phone.

His tone was calm and composed, yet beneath it, she caught the unmistakable edge of restrained excitement. "Good news? It's confirmed? Alright. I'll be there soon."

He hung up, and his footsteps echoed farther and farther away.

Eva forced herself upright, her body still weak and unsteady. She reached for the coat and draped it over her hospital gown before slowly making her way toward the door.

Her footsteps were nearly silent as she moved down the stairs, trailing the familiar figure ahead.

Just as she reached the lower level of the hospital, she saw it. Leo was carefully guiding Cleo out of the obstetrics department.

Cleo looked radiant, with a soft glow in her eyes and a smile curving on her lips. Her hand rested lightly on Leo's arm, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Cleo spotted her first. "Mrs. Sereno?" she said, eyes wide with faux surprise. "Wow. What a coincidence! You're here too?"

Leo looked up, and their eyes met. His entire body went stiff, as if she had caught him in the middle of a crime.

In a flash, he dropped Cleo's hand.

He said quickly, "Eva, I just... I was downstairs picking up medication and ran into Cleo. She told me she was pregnant. I didn't want her to get hurt, so I offered an arm. That's all."

His excuse came out rushed, his voice tight with barely hidden panic.

Eva's gaze dropped to Cleo's stomach.

She inhaled slowly, then looked up again. "Ms. Guzman, when did you conceive? And where's the child's father? Didn't he come with you?"

Cleo smiled sweetly, her voice soft. "I just found out. I'm barely a month along. My husband couldn't make it here today, but he already bought me a few properties and transferred 100 million dollars into my account. He even said he's setting off fireworks in Marrowind tonight to celebrate our little miracle."

Leo's expression darkened, inch by inch.

Eva didn't even blink. Her face was devoid of emotion. "Is that so?"

Cleo tilted her head, the corners of her mouth curling in subtle provocation. "Mrs. Sereno, why don't you join us for dinner? I'll introduce you to my husband."

"No need. Eva doesn't have time for that kind of nonsense," Leo cut in sharply, his reply a beat too quick.

He turned to Eva, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. His voice dropped to a tender coax. "Darling, you're still recovering. You shouldn't be walking around like this. That woman is just a brand ambassador. You don't have to listen to a word she says."

Cleo's smile faltered. She looked down, her eyes turning red at the rims, like a scorned lover on the verge of tears. "I got carried away… Of course I'm not worthy of sharing a meal with Mrs. Sereno."

She then turned and walked off in a huff.

Leo hesitated for a beat, caught between instinct and impulse. He took half a step after Cleo, but when he saw Eva's unreadable expression, he stopped.

That night, back at the villa, Leo was visibly restless.

After tucking Eva into bed, he mumbled something about business and locked himself in the study.

Eva sat quietly in the bedroom. Then, her phone lit up.

It was a message from Cleo.

The screen showed a photo of a pregnancy scan. Then, came a string of cruel, deliberate taunts.

"Eva, I know you've already figured it out. The baby is Leo's. Don't be stupid. You think he loves you? Then what am I?"

"Do you know how obsessed he is with me? Every year on your birthday and on your anniversary, after you fall asleep, he comes to me. Every time, we go through an entire box of condoms. I can't even walk the next day."

"He's taken me in his Maybach, in his penthouse office, and even in your bed—he's taken me in 72 different positions. How many have you tried?"

Eva's fingers trembled slightly as she scrolled through the messages. Her chest tightened with emotions she couldn't name.

She took a deep breath and slowly locked the screen.

Just then, Leo slipped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His familiar scent enveloped her.

Like always, his voice was low and indulgent. "What are you looking at, darling?"

His chin rested in the crook of her shoulder, but all he saw was her phone's blank screen.

Eva didn't answer. She just stared silently out the window, into the night, where city lights blurred behind the glass.

"Nothing," Eva whispered, her voice soft as her eyes welled with tears. She stared out into the night skyline of Veritas.

A second later, fireworks burst across the sky, looking brilliant and blinding.

Then, she remembered what Cleo had said earlier that day. "He's setting off fireworks in Marrowind tonight to celebrate our little miracle."

The sky sparkled, dazzling and surreal, but it wasn't for her.

Leo followed her gaze, misreading the look in her eyes. He smiled indulgently, thinking she was dazzled.

"You like fireworks? I'll plan a whole fireworks show just for you. It'll be even bigger than this. On your birthday, I'll light up the sky from Halden Bay all the way to Elmridge Park. Just for you, okay?"

He pulled her into his arms, holding her like something rare and priceless. His voice was low and coaxing.

Eva let out a soft laugh. "Leo, I don't like what's already been used."

His body stiffened instantly.

Silence stretched between them before he tightened his hold on her, his voice low and hoarse. "Then I'll find another way to surprise you. I'll make sure you never envy anyone again."

But Eva didn't answer. She just kept her eyes on the sky as the last spark fizzled into darkness.

That was what their love had become—briefly dazzling, then completely gone.

…

In the days that followed, Leo changed. He left early every morning with a motorcade, didn't return until late at night, and canceled all routine meetings.

He gave only one instruction to his subordinates. "Keep everything low-profile. No one disturbs Eva."

Even the maid had picked up on the shift. Their whispers behind closed doors were filled with speculation and mischief.

"Mrs. Sereno, Don Leo must be planning something big for you. He just ordered a one-of-a-kind Karamir sapphire ring. We also heard he's been talking to some custom artisans in Merilan."

"Sounds like someone's about to become the happiest woman in the world," another giggled.

Eva said nothing.

A few nights later, Leo finally came to her in person. He was dressed in all black, his expression unusually light.

He gently took her hand. "Eva, come with me tonight. I want to show you something. I promise you'll love it."

She opened her mouth to turn him down, but her phone buzzed.

It was a message from Cleo.

"Eva, take a guess. Right now, who do you think matters more to Leo—me or you?"

She glanced up instinctively, catching a glimpse of Leo's expression just as he opened a new message.

It was a photo of Cleo in sheer black stockings, with her legs posed deliberately. The message beneath it was even more suggestive. "Clock's ticking."

Leo swallowed hard.

In just three seconds, he snapped the phone shut and murmured, "Eva, a deal's gone sideways. I need to take care of it. Let's do it another day, okay?"

Eva looked at him with calm, unreadable eyes.

Then, she smiled. There was no argument, and she made no effort to keep him.

A few hours later, Cleo sent her another message.

This time, it was photos—ripped condom wrappers tossed into a trash can. One after another, messy and deliberate, like trophies lined up for display.

"Eva, you lost again. I'm still carrying Leo's child, and he couldn't keep his hands off me. Tell me, how much more proof do you need that he loves me?"

Eva stared at her phone, and for the first time in a long while, she felt grateful—grateful that she was leaving.

No matter how vile or humiliating it all was, none of it could hurt her anymore.

Leo didn't come home for days. Eva didn't ask, and she didn't go looking for him.

The only thing that kept arriving relentlessly was Cleo's messages.

She sent photos of racks filled with limited-edition designer dresses. There was a bowl of neatly sliced fruit, with a sticky note attached that read, "Leo cut it himself—he was afraid I might slip and hurt my hand."

She even included snapshots of Wynoran-style dishes, all carefully prepared by Leo himself, as if to prove a point.

"Eva, you know what he told me? He said that I'm the one who really understands him. He kissed me ten times while cooking. Can you even cook? Do you even remember what Leo likes?"

Eva scrolled through each image in silence.

She didn't reply.

She was busy erasing her presence from the villa—her clothes, her books, her makeup, even the little fleece throw she always curled up with on the couch.

She had made up her mind.

She was leaving Leo.

Eva sat quietly in the underground vault, flipping through the love letters Leo had once written to her by hand.

They were penned in military-grade invisible ink on black-market anti-forgery paper. In the end, she fed every single one of them into the shredder.

The morning she planned to leave, Leo stood by the bed, his expression grim as he stared at the notification on her phone.

"Your account just received a deactivation confirmation," he said, his voice low and hoarse. "Eva, what did you delete?"

Eva calmly took back the phone and pressed her fingerprint on the screen. The screen flashed a single message. "Identity deactivation successful."

"My old account was hacked. I had to shut it down," she answered smoothly, a faint smile on her lips.

Leo studied her for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her. "Guess what I brought back for you?"

She answered flatly, "Strawberry cupcake from Wendover Street."

Leo paused. "How did you know?"

He remembered that night vividly. She had been angry at him. He had botched a mission and still ran through the pouring rain across Wendover just to buy her favorite cupcake.

That night, she had looked at him and said, "It's not that I'm easy to please. It's just… I still love you. But if the day comes when I stop loving you, even putting a gun to your head won't make a difference."

Leo pulled out the cupcake from the insulated bag, and she took it without a word.

"My wife is too smart. I can't hide anything from you."

Just then, he got an encrypted call and left in a hurry.

Eva followed him to the hallway but stopped at the door.

Outside, Cleo stood there in a long trench coat. Underneath it, a provocative black lace dress clung to her curves.

Leo's face instantly darkened. "Are you out of your mind? I told you not to show up when Eva's home."

Cleo threw herself into his arms, her eyes red with unshed tears. "I can't take this anymore… Even the baby misses you."

She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her belly.

Leo froze. He quickly pulled away. "Go home. I'll deal with this in a few days."

But Cleo leaned in and kissed him. He resisted, yet his hand instinctively slipped under her coat.

A second later, he pushed her back gently. "Just tonight. One time. That's it."

Cleo smirked victoriously and dragged him toward the car.

That night, when Leo returned to the villa, he spoke to Eva in his softest voice. "Something came up at the company. I need to take care of it, but once it's handled, I'm all yours. Okay?"

Eva looked at him and replied with gentle concern, "Go ahead. Be safe."

After he left, Eva stared at the untouched box of cupcakes on the table. She didn't take a single bite.

A single tear slipped down her cheek silently.

She picked up the suitcase she had packed days ago and sent one last message. "Two weeks are up. You can open your anniversary gift now."

Leo responded almost immediately. "Wait for me. Let's open it together."

Eva smiled faintly. She found the word "together" almost laughable.

She forwarded Leo every last message, photo, and video Cleo had sent over the past few days, each one dripping with spite and shameless provocation.

Then, she snapped her SIM card in half and went completely offline.

She boarded a flight bound for Felnor, under a new name, ready for a new life.

At that moment, Leo had just stepped out of Cleo's house. When he returned home, the place felt hollow.

"Eva, I'm back…" he called out.

His voice echoed through the silence.

The photographs were gone. Their wedding portrait had disappeared. The cherry trees in the backyard had been uprooted.

The maids were planting roses in their place.

"Who told you to touch that?" he roared.

One of the maids flinched. "Mrs. Sereno gave the order three days ago… and you told us her instructions always take priority…"

Leo stood frozen in place, like the ground beneath him had crumbled.

For the first time, he realized Eva wasn't acting out of anger or impulse. She had really left him.

She had ripped out the trees they had planted together, even the one that bore her name. It was as if she were burying their past, roots and all.

"Where did she go? When did she leave?" Leo's voice was low and hoarse.

He stood at the threshold like a man unraveling.

The bodyguards and maids lined up silently. No one dared meet his eyes. "Don Leo, Mrs. Sereno left early this morning with a suitcase. She didn't say a word or leave a note."

She was gone.

He ran half the criminal underworld of Veritas, yet he couldn't even trace where his wife had gone.

Eva would never go to her parents. Those cold, distant people had remarried years ago and even cut ties with her.

Leo began making calls, starting with her closest friends, then his informants, and finally the lowlife runners in the underground network.

"Is Eva with you?"

"No, and if she were, do you think I'd dare lie to you?"

He made call after call, but nothing turned up. Eva had vanished without a trace.

In a fit of rage, Leo ordered the entire Sereno syndicate's intel division to track her. However, not a single camera caught which train she boarded or which street she crossed.

"Eva, this isn't funny," Leo muttered, slumped in his office chair, his fingers digging into his scalp. His voice cracked into a growl.

For a moment, he was yanked back to his youth. He was standing frozen at a street corner, and his parents lay lifeless in a pool of blood, their blood smeared across his face.

Just then, Leo's phone rang. It was an encrypted line—an emergency alert from one of his insiders. He answered.

A frantic voice came through on the other end. "Don Leo, we just got a tip. Someone reported finding a woman's body out by the outskirts this morning. Female. Her age and build… match Mrs. Sereno's."

Leo's face turned ashen. "What the hell did you just say?"