Blurb：
Ian Tost, the ruthless underworld prince of Harbor City, had always spoiled Mira Kazinsky—until he hired bodyguard Cece Yates. After a kidnapping leaves Cece with a scratch, Ian’s obsession shifts. He punishes Mira’s family, causing her mother Beatrix Kazinsky’s stroke and brother Michael Kazinsky’s death. Overhearing Ian’s cold confession, Mira realizes his lies. As scandalous headlines expose Ian and Cece’s affair, Mira faces betrayal while pregnant. Can she uncover the truth behind the ninety-nine bodyguards and Ian’s twisted love? A dark romance of revenge, secrets, and heartbreak.
Content：
Ian Tost was the prince of the notorious underworld. Everyone in Harbor City knew he spoiled me rotten. He even went so far as to hire ninety-nine female bodyguards to keep me from harm.
It did not prevent a kidnapping attempt on me. One of those bodyguards, Cece Yates, ended up with nothing more than a scratch. Ian immediately brought in the nation’s top medical specialists to treat her.
To comfort her, he even took her to the Maldives for a vacation and gifted her an island.
Not long after they returned from their trip, Beatrix Kazinsky, my mother, suddenly suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. Then, Michael Kazinsky, my younger brother, died in an accident during a competition.
I burst into the morgue while in tears, only to overhear Ian comforting Cece.
“All right now, it was my fault you got hurt last time. I’ve made Mira’s family pay for it. You’ve got too much grace to hold a grudge against her.”
With my nails digging into my palms, I finally realized everything that had happened to my family was Ian’s doing. It was all just because his precious bodyguard got hurt because of me!
I stumbled out of the hospital with my brother’s death certificate in a daze.
On my phone, messages from that person kept coming. It added up to ninety-nine share transfer agreements, along with his promise.
[As long as you want me, my arms will always be open for you.]
Chapter 1
I wandered aimlessly along the street like a soulless puppet.
Across the square, the massive LED screen blared headlines about Ian Tost and Cece Yates’ scandal in a relentless rotation.
[Underworld Prince’s Affair with Bodyguard, Million-Dollar Private Island Gift for Mistress]
Looking at the photos of them coiled together on a yacht deck felt like a knife entering my heart. I could barely breathe.
Moments after, Ian came striding out of the hospital after me. He draped his coat over my shoulders. His voice was as gentle as ever as he said, “Don’t believe the tabloids, my dear. Cece and I were only putting on a show so no one would see you as my vulnerability and kidnap you again.”
The conversation I had overheard outside that ward came flooding back to my mind. I shook uncontrollably.
If it was just an act, why would Ian hurt my family just to get even for Cece?
I stared at Ian with despair written all over my face. “Ian, my brother is dead.”
My own husband had murdered my brother, Michael Kazinsky!
The pain of betrayal pierced my heart like a white-hot dagger. It was unbearable. Ian, meanwhile, continued acting like a devoted lover by pulling me into his arms.
His tone was nonchalant. It sounded like the deceased was just an insignificant stranger. “It’s okay, Mira. You have me.”
At that moment, my heart shattered beyond repair.
Not long after, Cece, who was impeccably dressed, came after us.
The moment she arrived, she slipped her arm through Ian’s arm like it was something she had always done. “Ian, the doctor said I’m injured and need plenty of rest. Anyway, I’m moving into your place. You have to take care of me!”
“Okay, okay. Taking care of one is the same as taking care of two. This is good, actually. You can keep Mira company.”
With that, Ian affectionately stroked the tip of Cece’s nose.
I numbly watched them flirt. Two months ago, after a prenatal checkup, I came home to find ninety-nine women of every conceivable type in my house.
Ian had said these female bodyguards were sent by the Tost family as human shields to better protect me and my baby. He said I could deal with them however I wished if I did not like them.
So, I immediately sent all of them away.
Two days later, I was kidnapped. Cece showed up and saved me.
The kidnappers had only drawn a shallow cut on her arm, but Ian’s face instantly darkened. He was beside himself with worry and summoned the nation’s top medical specialists on the spot.
After that, to comfort Cece, Ian left me, his pregnant wife, behind and took her on a vacation to the Maldives. They left their footprints all over the world.
When they returned from their trip, Beatrix Kazinsky, my mother, who had been perfectly healthy, suddenly suffered a stroke and ended up in a coma. Michael, who had made it to the finals of a piano competition, died on the spot in an accident at the venue.
I was so overwhelmed by the string of tragedies that I nearly miscarried.
If I had not heard it myself today, I might never have connected everything that happened to my family to Ian.
The man who used to treat me like I was the center of his world had killed my family just to get even for Cece, someone he called a human shield!
It was ironic.
Chapter 2
Noticing the paparazzi snapping photos, Ian tried to shake off Cece’s hand.
His eyes darted to my pale face as he offered me a placating smile. “Mira, Cece only got hurt because she was protecting you. It’s only right that I take care of her.”
I wordlessly opened the front passenger door.
Cece suddenly slipped in ahead of me. She looked at me with a saccharine smile and said, “Sorry, I’ve been by Ian’s side when he handles both the underworld and the legitimate side of things since we were little. I’m used to riding shotgun with him. Besides, I have this problem where I get carsick in the back. If you don’t believe me, just ask Ian!”
I looked at Ian. He seemed lost in a nostalgic daze for a moment. Then, he smiled fondly at her and looked as if he could never say no to her.
“Mira, that’s just how Cece is. She’s spoiled and used to her comforts. The front seat is cramped, anyway. Why don’t you take the back?”
I wordlessly climbed into the back seat alone as I watched another woman take the spot that was originally mine alone.
At that moment, my memories took me five years back. Ian had fallen in love with me at first sight and pursued me so fiercely that it became the talk of the entire city.
Once, he spent billions to create an artificial meteor shower on my birthday just to make me smile. To marry me, he even defied his family’s rules, endured punishment, and even starved himself to make his stance clear.
His devotion had been absolute. The love in his eyes had shone brighter than the sun.
However, that devotion had shifted like the wind. Lately, I could not tell if he still loved me at all.
Cece had cooed her way into the new house Ian and I had shared as newlyweds.
Every decoration inside had been something I had chosen and added after our wedding, yet Cece had overturned it all in her redecoration efforts.
The sunflowers I had nurtured with my own hands were ripped out and replaced with bushes of red roses.
On her very first day in the house, she was already strutting around and erasing all of my traces.
It was not until Cece took down our wedding photo that Ian finally, for once, frowned and gave her a scolding.
That night, after giving me a massage and tucking me in, Ian slipped out of the bedroom.
I had not been asleep. I lay there in bed and listened in silence as the wild sounds of passion came from the next room.
Cece’s voice was soft and teasing. “Ian, with Mira pregnant for so long, she clearly hasn’t been keeping you satisfied. With all this noise, aren’t you worried she’ll find out and get mad at you?”
A snort followed. Then, Ian’s familiar voice came through. “Mira has no one but me now. She has no family to turn to. Besides, I’ve been pampering her for so many years. We’re even expecting a baby now. Who else could she turn to if she leaves me?”
The cold cruelty in his words stabbed into my heart like a blade. Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.
Five years ago, I thought I had found true love. I never imagined this marriage would become the cage that trapped me.
I stared into the dark, silent room until morning as the last flame of love I had for him snuffed out completely.
The next day, when Ian saw how exhausted I looked, he actually seemed worried for once.
He came over with concern written all over his face. “Mira, didn’t you sleep well last night? Is the baby giving you trouble again?”
Ian pulled me into his arms, but that was when I spotted the lurid love bite blooming above his collarbone.
At that moment, the revulsion I felt was too much to contain. I bolted into the bathroom.
His touch only made me feel disgusted!
The only reason I buried my hatred deep and stayed by his side was to gather every last piece of evidence of his crimes!
Chapter 3
Two days later, Ian took me to the hospital for my routine prenatal checkup. The moment we got out of the car, he received a call about something that had happened to Cece.
“Mr. Tost, Miss Yates has been ambushed by those men from before. She got into a car accident and is now in critical condition!”
There was an obvious look of concern on Ian’s expression. He glanced at me as I was being examined. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to leave.
“Mira, Cece has been targeted by the same people from before. She got into an accident. I can’t stay with you for today’s checkup. Be good and go through it yourself, all right?”
Before I could answer, he turned and walked out of the room. I could only stare at his back as he closed the door behind him.
Right then, I stopped the doctor from continuing the examination.
My voice was cold. “You may stop the prenatal exam. Please prepare an abortion now.”
The doctor hesitated. “Mrs. Tost, Mr. Tost cares about this baby very much. Are you sure you want to end the pregnancy?”
I stayed silent. To Ian, this baby was nothing more than a chain to keep me bound to him.
I had once longed for us to have a child of our own. However, with the love for him gone, his bloodline no longer mattered to me.
I simply smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll take full responsibility. It won’t come back on you.”
When it was over, I felt the life inside me slip away for good. I quietly walked to my mother’s ward.
Seeing her lying there in a deep sleep, my emotions finally broke loose. I leaned over her bedside like a lost child and cried out every ounce of grievance I had been holding inside.
I was not in the ward long when Ian suddenly barged in with a group of hospital staff.
When he saw my tear-filled eyes, a flicker of unease crossed his face.
“Mira, Cece has been in a car accident. Her kidney ruptured, and the only matching donor is your mom.”
As a team of doctors and nurses wheeled my comatose mother out, I lunged after them, but Ian caught me by the arm.
When I realized what he intended to do, the blood drained from my face. My eyes widened in disbelief. I pounded my fists against his shoulders as I yelled at him without a care for my image, “Ian, are you insane? That’s my mother! She’s the only family I have now! She’s sick and in a coma. Please, take my life if you have to, but don’t touch her! At her age, she can’t survive such a major surgery!”
Ian pinned me to his chest, but I bit down on his shoulder with all my strength before breaking free and bolting after them.
Outside the operating room, Ian’s bodyguards blocked my way. I had no choice but to wait in despair by the door. Two hours later, the doors finally opened.
As soon as the doctor came out, Ian rushed forward. “Was the surgery a success? How’s Cece?”
The doctors nodded. Relief lit Ian’s face. It was as if he had been the one to escape the jaws of death.
While everyone crowded around the now-stable Cece, I pushed past to find my mother, whose body had been covered with a white sheet.
In the morgue, I held my mother’s lifeless body and wept until there were no tears left in me.
When Ian Tost found me, my eyes held nothing but emptiness and numbness. “I want a divorce, Ian.”
He ignored what I said. He lifted me off the floor with a frown and said, “Don’t talk nonsense. Who else could you turn to besides staying with me? This was just an accident. It’s okay. You still have me.”
That false tenderness made my skin crawl. I tore myself from his arms and shoved him toward the door. “I said I want a divorce. I don’t love you anymore!”
It was as if I had struck a raw nerve. He snapped, “Mira, even if you die, you’ll die as my wife. Who said you could just stop loving me?”
He dragged me back to the house and locked me inside the mansion. Right then, I finally made up my mind to give that person an answer.
Chapter 4
After being locked in the bedroom for a week, the last person I expected to see was Cece.
Around her neck hung the diamond necklace Ian had bid for me at an auction. She was wearing his favorite black shirt.
When she saw me, she laid out tabloid photos from the past few days and flipped through them one by one, like a victor flaunting her spoils.
“Open your eyes and take a good look. Ian only pursued you back then because he was looking for something new. Did you really think you could walk all over me just because you had the title of Mrs. Tost? In the end, I only have to lift a finger, and he would give me whatever I want, including your family’s lives!”
Her smug tone snapped the last thread of my restraint. I slapped her.
As she fell with the force of the blow, the bedroom door creaked open.
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked pitifully at Ian with the red mark on her cheek stark against her skin. “Ian, I was only trying to tell her not to defy you anymore, to apologize to you, but she…”
My eyes burned bright with fury. As Ian walked toward me, I started to wonder what might come next. When Cece got injured last time, Ian had destroyed my family. What price would I be made to pay after slapping her?
However, the punishment I expected never came. Ian just wrapped his arms around me forcefully with a manic urgency, as if trying to fuse me into his chest.
His lips brushed against my hair again and again. His voice was trembling as he said, “Mira, you’re jealous. That means you still love me, right?”
The disbelief in Cece’s eyes made me smile, even as tears streaked down my face.
Ian thought he had me completely under his control, but not my heart.
When I saw the ecstatic look on his face at the feel of my arms circling him back, an idea for the perfect revenge took root in my mind.
A few days later, I sent a message to that person.
[Stage an accident for me. I want to fake my death and get out of this.]
In the days that followed, I watched indifferently as Ian showered me with his full attention and went out of his way to please me in every possible manner.
It was almost like five years ago, when he had done everything he could just to make me smile.
However, my heart was already consumed by hatred. I could never smile at him again.
Two days later, I was kidnapped. I was dangling from the edge of a cliff.
Ian was attending a family party with Cece when he heard the news. He went livid and mobilized every resource in Harbor City to find me.
The cold wind at the cliffside whipped at my thin dress.
When Ian finally found me, his eyes were bloodshot. His expression was raw with panic.
When the kidnappers demanded someone in exchange, he shoved Cece forward without hesitation.
So I was right. I did matter more to him than Cece did. Yet it remained a fact that he hurt my family for her!
Ian was a twisted lunatic!
He stretched out his hands cautiously. “Mira, let’s go home.”
Seeing him like that, my lips curled into a twisted smile. I took a step back.
The sheer drop yawned behind me as I stared at him with burning hatred in my eyes.
“Ian, you killed my mom and my brother. My home is gone.”
His eyes were full of pleading. “You still have me, don’t you? Isn’t that enough? We have a baby. We have a home!”
I pressed a hand on my flat stomach and stripped the bloody truth bare. “The baby’s gone. And I don’t love you anymore. I could never bring myself to give birth to my enemy’s child. Ian, it’s over between us! Meeting you was the biggest mistake of my life.”
The moment I fell from the cliff, I saw the color drain from Ian’s face.
A tear landed on my cheek as he stumbled to the edge and murmured something I could no longer hear.
Download the GoodNovel app, Search 【 344193 】reads the whole book.
