Chapter 1

• “We’re done, Callahan,” her voice shaky as she tries her best not to cry. This was not something she was prepared to say to him. Never once did she think she would ever utter those words after she married him three years ago.
• She took a deep breath to gather her strength and to keep herself from further breaking down. She could feel her throat tightening as her body shook a little.
• ‘Calm down, Celine. You can do this,’ she thought to herself. She looks at him with all the remaining pride in her before she speaks.
• “I’m letting you go. Isn’t this what you’ve wanted to hear from me? Fine! I’ll file for a divorce, and you don’t have to worry about your money. I won’t take a single cent. I don’t need you to stay with me out of pity. I can stand on my own. I know when it’s time to leave when I’m no longer wanted.” The words, heavy with heartbreak, hung in the air, a sad declaration of her strength in the face of her crumbling love.
• His eyes devour no emotion as he looks at her like nothing is surprising from what she just said. It was like he was anticipating it like it was just a matter of time before she uttered those words.
• With a broken heart, she turned her back, her steps heavy as she walked away from the love that she thought she would forever have.
• And as she does, Celine can’t help but look back on the past and reminisce how everything started for her and Callahan.
• Celine Dashiell Everson had always enjoyed living a life away from the shadows of her family’s wealth. Being the youngest daughter of Achilles Everson, her bank account contains millions, if not billions, as her family owns an empire that was enough to buy not just a whole city but another.
• Does she enjoy her family’s wealth? Of course, she does.
• But Celine had long learned that being away from the spotlight and living anonymously without the shadow of her last name is the most effective way to live a happier life.
• That’s why to people who barely know her, she is Celine Montgomery. She hides her real identity with her mother’s last name.
• Celine enjoys everything that doesn’t involve her family name. When no one knows who you are, they treat you better. Some may not always be real to her, but at least no one licks her feet like a dog just because they know how much money and power she has.
• She was on vacation in one of the rooms of a villa reserved just for herself in the Maldives because she was desperate to relax when she noticed a man who appeared to have just emerged from the water and was walking toward the shore like a model, brushing his hair backward and appearing to be a Greek god who had just descended from heaven.
• Celine, who was on her sun lounger sipping her juice, was astonished by the massive body of the stranger. The trickling water flowing down his body was like paid actors doing wonders to him, and even the scorching heat of the sun kissing him made him look so vividly hot that Celine gasped as she lost touch with reality.
• He was like the real perfection of how intense men were built. He looked tall, brooding, massive, and immaculately handsome. It was that kind of physique that any woman would wish to date, do them hard on the bed with, and even have lots of kids with because of the genes.
• She couldn’t take her eyes off him, and the stranger noticed it while walking to the other lounger that wasn’t away from her as she shamelessly glanced to his side, making sure that he wouldn’t leave her sight.
• The stranger smirked and picked up the towel on the lounger, including the rum that was resting on the side, as he gulped it down while side-eyeing her.
• Celine could feel the playfulness in his eyes. She could sense that it feeds their ego when women are drooling and head over heels for them.
• As soon as Celine got a snap back from her reality, she took her eyes off him and decided to take a deep dive into the sea instead of staying there and ogling the stranger.
• She took a dip and dove into the water. It was so relaxing that she forgot the part where she was captivated by a stranger earlier.
• Though Celine wasn’t really invested in having a relationship, she knew that she didn’t really need it yet because she was focused on her studies.
• Though she could already do everything she wanted with the massive wealth of her parents, she wanted to take things slow to enjoy every bit of it.
• When she was satisfied, she rose out of the water and pushed her wet hair backward as she squeezed its length a bit while walking back to her sun lounger until she noticed the stranger, who was now watching her the way she watched him earlier, while he was resting on his sun lounger.
• So, like what the stranger did to her earlier, she smirked and picked up her own towel.
• “Like what you see?” she fired nonchalantly, as she wasn’t that nervous for him not to talk because he didn’t intimidate her.
• Celine is the type of woman who just doesn’t get intimidated by someone else’s stance as she believes that every human is justly equal despite differences in height, color of skin, and size. She was the kind of person who wouldn’t really step aside unless she really had to because it’s part of the law, and she’s just so invested in obeying orders to keep things organized, which is what she’s obsessed with.
• “I’m enjoying it,” the man replied in his husky voice.
• Celine glanced at him once again, smiled, and turned her back without saying anything anymore as she walked back to her room so she could change and prepare for dinner later.
• One thing about her was that no matter how someone got her attention, making an effort or giving them too much of her time that it would affect her whole day schedule, wasn’t really her cup of tea. She is obsessed with doing things accordingly. She’s a woman who follows a schedule. A woman with a plan.
• She wanted a perfect dinner at exactly six while the sunset was peeking over the horizon and she thought spending more time on the lounger might reduce her time getting ready.
• She doesn’t like doing things in a rush so, she really makes sure that she does things on time.
• She chose a backless white dress that was an A-line. It covered her whole legs so that the only thing that showed was her feet as she didn’t like stepping on them, while at the back, it cascaded down the ground.
• She put her hair in a bun and put on a little make-up. She brought her phone this time so she could take pictures of the beautiful sunset.
• “This way, ma’am,” the waitress told her, guiding her to her own reservation so she could have a nice view.
• It was perfect timing as she had more than enough time to order food for herself while the sunset was almost peeking and making everything golden as the wind kissed her.
• Another man occupied the front table and she could feel someone watching her, so she raised her eyes a bit to look who it was and saw the stranger on the sun lounger earlier.
• The man locked gazes with her. He smirked at her as if telling her that they met again and she tried to escape an important meeting earlier. Elyse smiled back, brought her eyes to the menu, and called the waiter so she could place her order.
• While waiting for the food, she impassively rested her elbow on the side of the table and glanced at the sunset to watch how it slowly turned a dark shade. She took her phone and took a video of it while she could sense the eyes of the stranger at the front still looking at her.
• She side-eyed him to capture his eyes as she shamelessly grazed her gaze on his physique. He was wearing a black button-down shirt, and the two buttons were opened as his disheveled hair was being played by the wind. He was leaning against his chair while looking straight at her as if he were already imagining her on the bed while he hovered over her.
• Though, despite the attention he was giving, she could sense the emotion that was ruling over him—pure lust.
• For the longest time that she’s been surrounded by different boys in different parties, places, and even countries, she could already tell the shit that they were hiding and what the meaning behind those playful smiles and those sparkling eyes.
• The men with sparkling eyes don’t really mean they’re genuinely attractive to her with no lust in their minds. Of course, they were still imagining things, such as banging her roughly while looking at her with those sparkling eyes, as if they adored her that much.
• The stranger in front of her exudes this kind of mystery into which she can’t delve deeply, but one thing is for sure: he wants her body. He wants to taste her every time his eyes lay on her. He wants her legs wrapped around his waist, as he would do for her.
• When he had no patience for watching her, as soon as the stranger stood and went to her table, Celine had already seen it coming. She predicted it. She foresaw it.
• “May I?” The stranger gestured to occupy the seat in front of her.
• “Sure. I’m alone,” she pointed out.
• “That would be a waste if you were with your boyfriend,” he chuckled while taking a seat.