Chapter 1 Betrayal

"It itches... Help me..."

Eliana Pierce felt numb yet itchy at the same time, as though thousands of invisible ants were biting her. She squirmed restlessly and kissed the man's Adam's apple desperately. With hunger in her eyes, she begged the man to save her.

No man could refuse such a temptress. She was pure yet attractive, shy yet coquettish.

"If you say so..."

The man was deeply attracted by her. His Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped. He wrapped his arms around Eliana's slender waist, raised her body slightly, and thrust himself into her.

"Ah!" Eliana screamed and moaned. It was hard to tell whether it was out of pain or pleasure.

Her endless desire made her grab the man's shoulders recklessly. The man slipped in and out of her until they finally reached climax. The impact made her tremble and sink into bed.

Before she lost consciousness, she noticed a very obvious scar on the man's glistening chest.

The following morning, Eliana woke up with a splitting headache.

The moment she peeled her eyes open, she felt as though she had been run over by a truck. Her whole body ached, especially her crotch. The pain was difficult to describe.

It was as though she... had lost her virginity?

She pressed her fingertips against her temples, trying to sober herself up.

Last night, she recalled going to a party on a cruise ship because her best friend, Erica Duffy, had invited her. But after drinking a glass of champagne Erica had handed her, her body became hot and itchy, as though she was burning with desire.

Because she had felt so dizzy, Erica offered to take her to a room for her to rest.

But after Erica left her in that room, she spent a night of endless passion with the man with a scar on his chest.

Something was wrong... Something was terribly wrong with that glass of champagne.

Eliana needed to ask Erica about it.

Wincing in pain, Eliana hurried to put on her clothes and rushed to Erica's room.

"Asher... Harder... Harder!"

Erotic gasps came through the crack in the door, making Eliana's heart sink to her stomach.

Standing outside the slightly ajar door, Eliana felt like she had fallen into an ice cellar.

It was none other than her best friend, Erica, and her fiance, Asher Harrison, in the room.

"You're so fucking hot," Asher panted breathlessly. His hoarse voice was full of lust, a voice Eliana had never heard before.

Erica asked coquettishly, "Do you like it? Do you like me more than Eliana?"

Eliana's brain went completely blank. When she came to her senses, she had already pushed the door wide open.

Low and behold, on the bed, Erica and Asher were naked and entangled. The thick smell of sex hung in the air, proving that they had been at it all night.

In a panic, Asher grabbed the bathrobe beside him and started to put it on. "Eliana, wait-why are you here?"

"You... You...!"

Eliana was so angry that she pointed a trembling finger at them.

"Eliana, it was not what you think. I can explain!" Asher pleaded as he stumbled towards her.

"Asher..." Erica called out sweetly.

Eliana felt as though her heart had been stabbed a million times over.

She turned around and ran to the deck. All she wanted now was to leave this filthy place.

"Eliana!"

Asher caught up with her, panic written all over his face.

Eliana was caught in a dead end. After last night's party, all the other guests were still sound asleep, thanks to the alcohol. Only she and Asher were on the deck.

"Eliana, I swear. Erica and I didn't..." Asher stammered, struggling to find the words to complete his lie.

Eliana's back was to the railing. She had nowhere to run.

She shouted angrily, "Do you think I'm blind? Don't you dare come near me!"

Just then, a huge wave came and crashed against the small cruise ship. Eliana failed to grab hold of the railing. The impact of the wave flung her over the railing and she plummeted to the sea.

"Eliana!"

When Asher rushed up to the railing, there was no sign of Eliana on the sea surface.

"What happened, Asher?" Erica ran over, half-dressed and out of breath.

"Eliana fell into the sea. Wait here. I'll go get help."

After he rushed off, Erica plucked up her courage and peeked over the edge of the cruise ship.

Unexpectedly, she found that Eliana hadn't actually fallen into the sea.

It turned out that she was able to grab a rope by the side of the cruise ship when she fell. Her survival instinct drove her to climb up.

But she was quickly running out of strength. Just as she was about to let go, Erica's face appeared.

Eliana's eyes lit up with hope. "Erica, thank God! Help me!"

Erica was stunned for a moment. Then, a wicked smile suddenly played at the corners of her lips.

She reached down, but instead of helping Eliana up, she removed her fingers from the rope one by one.

Eliana's eyes widened with fear and shock. Her hope was dashed and was quickly replaced with despair.

"Why?!" She looked at her best friend in disbelief.

"Go to hell and ask the devil! But now that you're going to die, I will tell you something. Asher doesn't love you anymore. He even made sure that the Pierce Group would go bankrupt. He even played a role in the miserable death of your parents."

Erica's vicious words reached Eliana's ears.

Finally, Eliana felt numb all over. She lost her strength and plummeted to the sea. As she was swallowed by the turbulent water, she also drowned in hatred.

......

Five years later, at the airport.

Eliana pushed the luggage cart and walked outside. Adrian Pierce put on a serious face and said, "Let me help you, Mommy."

She lowered her head and touched his soft hair. "What a considerate son I have!"

"What about me, Mommy?" Aileen Pierce, her daughter, who was sitting in the luggage cart, poked her head out. Her glistening eyes made her look so adorable.

"Well, you are considerate enough to increase the weight of our luggage," Adrian commented sarcastically.

Aileen stood in the luggage cart, glaring at her brother.

Eliana chuckled while watching her kids interact; her eyes were filled with affection.

Just then, her phone vibrated. After Eliana glanced at the message, the smile on her face disappeared.

It was from Jonathan Bowman. "Call me when you arrive. I've arranged a nanny and a car for you," the message read.

While her eyes were glued to the phone, Eliana couldn't help but think of the man's gentlemanly appearance.

She hesitated whether to call Jonathan or not.

Because she was too absorbed in her thoughts, she was oblivious to what was happening to her kids.

Aileen was holding her favorite toy, a round crystal bear and playing happily.

All of a sudden, a passerby touched Aileen's hand, causing the bear to fall to the floor. The airport was crowded, so when the poor bear fell, it got kicked around by the people.

"My bear!" Aileen exclaimed.

"Aileen, wait!" Adrian shouted.

Aileen went after her bear, and Adrian chased her.

Soon, the bear rolled to a man's feet.

"Finally caught you!"

Aileen picked up the bear with a smile and looked up.

The man in front of her was tall and well-built. He was wearing a pure black suit. His facial features were pleasing to look at, and he had deep eyes. His intimidating presence made passersby keep their distance from him, but it captivated Aileen.

The man lowered his head and looked into the little girl's eyes. Their eyes looked so similar.

Aileen's eyes lit up, and she wrapped her arms around the man's thigh.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed.