"Up next is lot thirty-seven, a natural sapphire necklace. We'll open the bidding at eight hundred thousand," announced the auctioneer from the stage. Kaylee Marsh's hands tightened into fists, her nails pressing into her palms. On display was the one thing she had left of her father, a necklace he had made himself before he died. Lifting her paddle, she spoke with a slight tremor in her voice. "One million." Before the auctioneer could acknowledge her offer, a light came on in VIP Room 207 upstairs. "Two million." The voice belonged to Damien Robinson, the man Kaylee was engaged to. Relief washed over Kaylee when she recognized that voice, and her shoulders finally relaxed. Only two weeks ago, she had told Damien about the necklace. His arms had wrapped around her, and he had kissed the top of her head. "Leave it to me. I'll get it back for you, and when we get married, I'll be the one to put it around your neck." So he had kept his word. Here he was, just as he had promised. Other bids quickly followed until a voice from the crowd offered five million. Without missing a beat, Damien raised the bid to ten million. When someone countered with twelve million, he said without hesitation, "Twenty million." No one in the room made a sound after that. Beside Kaylee, a wealthy socialite moved closer and gave her an envious look. "Ms. Marsh, Mr. Robinson really would do anything for you, wouldn't he? You couldn't find another man like him in all of Olkirae." Tears stung Kaylee's eyes as a smile spread across her face. A car crash years ago had killed her father, and her mother had been in a coma ever since. The medical bills kept piling up, but she had never once turned to Damien for money. Getting that necklace back, though, was worth whatever she had to pay. Too eager to stay in her seat, she got up and headed for Room 207. Someone had left the door slightly open. What Kaylee saw through the gap made her smile stiffen. Inside the room, Damien was leaning forward, his hands carefully fastening the sapphire necklace around another woman's neck. The woman's cream cashmere dress fit closely enough to show the swell of her stomach. There was no mistaking her pregnancy, which looked at least about five months along. Tilting her head to give him better access to the clasp, she smiled sweetly. Kaylee recognized the woman, Chloe Miller, the model Damien had poured a fortune into making famous. As Chloe turned, she looked past Damien's shoulder. Her eyes met Kaylee's directly. Touching the sapphire necklace at her collarbone, she made a point of asking in a sweet voice, "Damien, what do you think? Does it look good on me?" "Yes, of course," Damien answered in a tender voice. Cold spread through Kaylee until she felt it in her bones. Pushing the door fully open, she walked into the room. Seeing Kaylee, Damien went briefly stiff, then settled back into his usual calm. Instead of explaining things to her, he let out a sigh and walked over to her. "Kaylee, you're here." Kaylee's nails pressed deeper into her palms, almost cutting the skin. She couldn't keep her voice steady when she said, "You knew that necklace was the only thing my father left me." "I know that," Damien responded, reaching for her shoulder, but she turned away before he could touch her. For a moment, he left his hand outstretched. When he spoke again, he sounded worn out. "The pregnancy has been hard on Chloe. Her emotions are all over the place, and she can't sleep at night. She hardly ever gets this excited about anything. Can't you just let her have it, Kaylee?" "You want me to give it up?" Kaylee looked at him, unable to believe what he had just said. "So your side piece gets to keep the one thing my dad left me? Is that really what you're asking?" As if she had been waiting for her cue, Chloe began to tear up. A small sob slipped into her shaky voice. "Please don't blame Damien. I fell in love with the necklace and talked him into buying it for me. I didn't know that your father had left it to you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked him to get it for me—" "You don't even deserve to touch it!" Kaylee interrupted as she looked coldly at the necklace on Chloe's neck. "You advanced in your career by getting involved with an engaged man. What makes you think you have any right to wear something my father made?" Chloe's tears spilled over at once. Clutching her swollen belly, she retreated behind Damien as though she needed him to protect her. Damien's expression darkened as he moved, blocking Chloe from view. "Don't you dare speak to her like that, Kaylee. She's carrying my child!" he snapped. Bitterness slipped into Kaylee's sharp laugh. "She has obviously been pregnant for months. How long were you planning to keep me in the dark? Tell me when this started." For two painful seconds, Damien didn't say a word. But that brief silence hurt more than anything he could have told Kaylee. Whatever hope she still had died right then and there. "You're making all this fuss over a necklace," Damien said at last, his tone condescending. "I'll buy you something better to make up for it." Kaylee's gaze dropped to the three-carat diamond ring on her left hand. Damien had knelt before her and put that ring on her finger in front of a crowd. Back then, she had cried so hard because she couldn't imagine anyone being happier than she was. Looking back, she could hardly believe she had been that foolish. Keeping her expression blank, Kaylee slowly worked the ring off her finger. Damien's eyes widened in shock. "Why are you taking that off, Kaylee?" The ring fell to the floor. A sharp clink rang out as it struck the marble and rolled to a stop against Damien's polished leather shoe. "You make me sick," Kaylee said, forcing each word through clenched teeth. Refusing to look at either of them again, she turned and strode out of the room. Damien's voice followed her into the hall, low and furious. "Get back here, Kaylee!" But nothing could make Kaylee turn around. Each click of her heels came faster as she hurried down the tiled hallway. Outside the auction house, the cold night air hit her, and she shuddered. Her phone was already in her hand as she called her best friend, Jordyn Davis. Jordyn soon answered the call, and Kaylee spoke with an unsettling calm. "I'm not marrying Damien, Jordyn. I need you to find me someone to marry. It has to happen right away. My dad wanted me to get married before I turned thirty, and I promised him I would before he died. I'm keeping that promise."

A sharp click broke the silence of Kaylee's apartment late that night. Someone had managed to force the lock open from the outside. Kaylee woke with a start and found Damien walking through the door with a paper bag in his hand. He looked perfectly comfortable, as though he had every right to be here. "Kaylee, why did you change the lock code?" he asked gently, pretending nothing had happened at the auction where she had caught him with another woman. "Look, I spent two hours waiting in line at that twenty-four-hour sandwich place you love. I got your favorite. You should eat it while it's still warm." The sight of the sandwich was enough to make Kaylee feel sick. She wasn't interested in arguing with him. So, she grabbed her phone and quickly dialed the police. "Someone has broken into my apartment. My address is—" "Kaylee!" Damien's face darkened with anger. He rushed over, snatched the phone out of her hand, and threw it onto the sofa. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're seriously calling the cops over something so trivial?" "Trivial?" Kaylee gave him a cold, mocking smile. "You broke into my apartment, and you've been cheating on me. That's quite a few things you don't seem to think are a big deal, Mr. Robinson. Why are you even here? Is Ms. Miller not enough to keep you entertained tonight?" Damien finally lost his temper and slammed the paper bag onto the table. "Once Chloe gives birth, I'll give her some money and get her out of our lives! You're still the one I'm going to marry, and that's not going to change! What more do you want me to do?" "I want you out of my apartment." Kaylee looked him straight in the eye. "Remember what happened a year ago when you slept with Chloe? You told me someone had drugged you and set the whole thing up. You even promised that you'd never see her again, and I was stupid enough to believe you. But now, she's already pregnant with your child. So tell me, Damien, what excuse are you going to use this time?" For a brief moment, Damien looked a bit uneasy. But he quickly regained his composure and lowered his voice. "Kaylee, will you just hear me out?" Kaylee spoke slowly, making sure he understood every word. "No. Damien, I already made a mistake by believing you. Do you seriously think I'm going to repeat my mistake?" "Kaylee, please, just give me one more chance! I swear I'll make things right this time." Damien moved closer and reached for her, intending to pull her into his arms. But before he could touch her, his phone suddenly started ringing in his pocket. As soon as he saw who was calling, his anger seemed to disappear. He answered the call immediately, and even his voice changed. The way he spoke was so gentle and affectionate that Kaylee felt sick just listening to him. "Chloe, what's wrong?" he asked. "Your belly hurts? Okay, don't panic. Just try to breathe slowly, all right? I'm coming over now." After ending the call, he gave Kaylee a stern look. "Just calm down for now. We can talk about this again when you're finally thinking clearly." He then walked out and slammed the door shut behind him. Without showing any emotion, Kaylee made her way to the dining table. She grabbed the paper bag and tossed it straight into the trash without a second thought. Just then, her phone screen lit up with a message from Jordyn. "Hey, someone finally responded on the dating app!" Kaylee opened the screenshot Jordyn had sent her. The man's profile was surprisingly straightforward, with only one sentence in his bio. "Good-looking, great in bed, and won't get too attached." He had even included a recent medical report from a well-known hospital, confirming that he was in good health. A moment later, Jordyn sent Kaylee a voice message. "There's just one thing, though. He doesn't have much money. He's a programmer, so he's nowhere near Damien's level financially. Are you sure you don't want to think it over..." Kaylee studied the short profile for five seconds. Then, she remembered how Damien's entire attitude had changed when Chloe called. He had sounded so concerned and gentle with Chloe, as though the woman he had just tried to win back hadn't been standing right in front of him. "I'll go with him," Kaylee replied without any further hesitation. Her eyes narrowed as she thought about what she really wanted. She was done caring about family backgrounds, social status, or how much money a man had. Right now, she just needed someone she could marry. If she could use the marriage to finally get Damien out of her life, that was enough. She knew she might end up trading one bad situation for another, but she was willing to take that chance if it meant escaping the mess she was in right now. "Let him know I'll meet him at the courthouse tomorrow morning at ten," she added, sounding perfectly calm.

Kaylee reached the courthouse thirty minutes before the appointed time. Dressed in a plain white shirt and denim trousers, with her hair carefully tied back and not a trace of cosmetics on her face, she looked refreshingly unadorned. She rested against her vehicle, mentally reviewing the contract she was about to sign with the man. Three years of marriage on paper, followed by a peaceful separation once their arrangement ended. Nothing complicated. They wouldn't interfere with each other. Neither party would have any obligations toward the other beyond their agreed terms. Kaylee's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a modest black car. It glided to a halt directly before her. When the driver's door swung open, her gaze immediately fell upon a pair of exceptionally long legs. For an instant, she forgot to breathe. The owner of those legs emerged from the car and approached her, his figure outlined by the sunlight behind him. He was strikingly tall, with wide shoulders and a lean frame. His eyebrows were well-defined, his nose perfectly sculpted, and his jaw so sharply contoured that it seemed almost unreal. He had dressed casually in a black sweatshirt and denim pants. Nevertheless, his remarkable appearance elevated the inexpensive ensemble to something worthy of a luxury boutique. Kaylee found herself staring. It was hard to believe that this refined, impeccably handsome man, Julian Shaw, was the one her friend had randomly found on a dating app. "Have you been waiting for long?" Julian asked upon reaching her. His deep voice possessed a peculiar charm that made the simple question sound strangely captivating. "Not at all. I only arrived a moment ago." Trying hard to compose herself, Kaylee steered the conversation toward business. "Mr. Shaw, you've already reviewed the proposed arrangement. Provided everything is satisfactory—" "There are indeed some issues," Julian interjected. His towering figure cast Kaylee entirely in shadow. He spoke without raising his voice, yet an unmistakable air of authority accompanied his words. "For starters, a marriage without intimacy isn't something I'll agree to. Also, throughout those three years, you need to belong exclusively to me. Every part of you, including your heart." Heat rushed to Kaylee's ears when she heard that. She retreated instinctively, putting some distance between them. "That wasn't what we agreed on..." Julian's mouth curved in a faint smile, though his gaze remained unfathomably dark. "Ms. Marsh, since you want to use me to get rid of your past, you'll need to give something in return." Kaylee's pulse stumbled. The question escaped her before she could think better of it. "How did you know that?" "Getting the information wasn't particularly difficult." Julian's voice grew lower as he looked at her. "So, Ms. Marsh, are we going to proceed?" Kaylee remained silent for a moment, weighing his demands before answering, "I can't promise to accept your first condition immediately. I'll need some time." Julian watched her closely, a trace of amusement in his expression. "There's no rush," he assured her. He looked like a patient hunter, coaxing his quarry into a trap. Kaylee pressed her lips together. The memories of Damien's cruelty and the shame he had forced upon her surfaced in her mind, strengthening her determination. "All right. Deal." A fleeting glimmer of satisfaction appeared in Julian's eyes before vanishing almost immediately. Thirty minutes later, Kaylee stood outside the courthouse, staring at the official marriage document clasped between her fingers. It felt strangely warm against her skin. She was really married now. She had become the wife of a man she had just met. As Kaylee and Julian prepared to leave, Kaylee's phone suddenly began ringing. Damien's name appeared on the screen. Kaylee paused briefly, then answered the call. "Kaylee, where are you right now? I'll come over, and we can finally sit down and talk properly." Damien's voice carried its familiar sense of arrogance, the tone of someone who had always assumed he could dictate others' decisions. Kaylee lifted her eyes toward Julian, who was beside her, then answered without the slightest hint of agitation, "Don't bother. I just got married." For several seconds, nothing came from the other end of the line. Then, Damien let out a scornful laugh. "Give me a break, Kaylee. You refused to sleep with me throughout our entire three-year relationship, and now, you expect me to believe some other man is willing to marry you? Seriously, who else would tolerate you the way I did?" Before Kaylee could respond, a broad hand reached over and took the phone from her grasp. Julian brought the device close to his ear. His expression remained unreadable as he said coldly, "Get lost." He then ended the call, showing no interest in hearing whatever Damien might say next. Kaylee remained rooted to the spot, her attention fixed on the man looking so protective of her. An unfamiliar warmth stirred deep within her chest. For the first time in a long while, she felt that she might finally be able to lower her guard around someone. Julian possessed a quiet steadiness that made her feel safe. What Kaylee failed to notice was the change in Julian's expression once she turned away. He watched her retreating figure, the coldness in his eyes giving way to an affection he had concealed for far too long. It had been seven years. It had taken him seven years to bring her back into his life. This time, he would make certain she never slipped away again.