Chapter 1 Ten Years For Nothing

On the night of her twenty-sixth birthday, Eliana Walker pushed her wheelchair through bar after bar, scouring every club in sight.

It wasn't until she received a call from the police station that her search for Lucien Lane came to an end.

"Is this Ms. Walker? Mr. Lane got drunk and started a fight. We need you to come down here."

After hanging up, Eliana rubbed warmth into her stiff fingers, unsure whether to feel relief or sorrow.

Before dawn, she finally reached the police station, just in time to see Lucien erupting in fury, "Who the hell told you to call her? Sure, she saved my life-but those useless crippled legs have shackled me for ten damn years! If she weren't Ethan's sister, I would've thrown a few million at her to be done with it long ago!" Ethan Walker was Eliana's elder brother.

Shards from the shattered bottle sprayed through the air, one slashing across Eliana's face.

Her face was slick with wetness-she couldn't tell if it was blood or tears.

With trembling hands, Eliana dialed a number.

She drew in a deep breath, her voice resolute, "Send out the message worldwide, the Anonymous hacker alliance will no longer offer any support to Lucien Lane's company. If any hackers want to test the strength of Lane Corporation's firewall, be my guest."

After posting bail, Eliana looked calmly at Lucien.

He had clearly been drinking heavily, his cheeks flushed with an unnatural redness.

Catching Eliana's gaze, Lucien pulled a mocking smile across his face, "So, you came. Don't be mad-give me a kiss, huh?"

No matter how outrageous Lucien's behavior had been, a kiss had always been enough to appease Eliana.

But this time, Eliana moved aside without a word, "Lucien, if you despise me, just say it to my face." I never intended to cling to you."

Lucien's brows drew tight as he wrestled with the weight of his hangover.

After a long pause, he finally asked with feigned nonchalance, "What did you just say?"

Eliana looked at him, a wave of helplessness washing over her.

Just as she was about to repeat herself, a girl with tear-reddened eyes flung herself into Lucien's arms, "It's all my fault, it's all because of me... If it weren't for me, Lucien wouldn't have fought them, and he wouldn't be this badly hurt!"

Eliana recognized the girl as Vivian Carter, the new intern at Lucien's company.

Not long ago, she had still addressed him respectfully as "Mr. Lane".

He had even laughed as he called the new girl adorably clumsy.

The girl's fingers brushed carelessly across Lucien's Adam's apple.

Eliana's pupils contracted sharply.

That was the most sensitive spot on Lucien's body.

Once, out of sheer curiosity, Eliana had touched it, and Lucien had shut the door, taking a cold shower for half an hour to cool down.

Yet now, facing Vivian, Lucien's voice was hoarse as he caught her earlobe between his lips, "Can't get enough, huh?"

The girl blushed scarlet and buried her face in his chest, "Someone's here!"

Lucien seized her lips in a fierce kiss, "Who gives a damn about the others!"

He kissed her with such force that the wound on his chest split open, blooming scarlet across his shirt.

He was truly drunk-wild, reckless, almost unhinged.

Or perhaps, this was who he really was.

Eliana looked at the upturned corners of Lucien's eyes, already misted with passion from his fervor.

She remembered how, whenever she tried to take things further, those smoldering, flirtatious eyes would curve ever so slightly, "No, we can't."

She had protested, demanding why it was only her who wasn't allowed.

Lucien would ruffle her hair, "You're too young, having sex this early isn't good for you."

Back then, she had been smug, believing she was cherished, set apart as the one dearest to his heart.

But now she realized that the Lucien who had seemed so restrained and ascetic before her was perhaps only that way because he never loved her.

Just as he claimed to be a germaphobe, yet his shirt bore glaring stains of another woman's lipstick.

Because he didn't love her, even the simplest touch repulsed him so much that he cloaked it with lies.

Her palm was already torn and bloody, yet the pain in her heart was far worse.

Eliana steered her wheelchair forward, slowly coming to a stop before the two of them.

She lifted her hand high and struck them each across the face.

"This is a police station-show some damn decency, both of you."