Chapter 1
It had been a dreary summer night, and the rain poured heavily as the air began to feel humid.
On the rooftop of Ebony Hotel, a man was holding a woman in a threatening position as he slowly retreated towards the
dangerous edge of the building.
"Don't come any closer!" the man roared through the loud rain; his expression was almost like that of a lunatic.
At that moment, Sophia felt like both the sky and the ground were spinning.She could feel the wind brushing her back.
The man's rapid breathing blew over her head, and his thick arms tightly strangled her neck.
With every step he took, frightened screams erupted from the horrified onlookers.She knew why they were terrified.
Falling from a high-rise building that scaled hundred of meters was enough for anyone to die in a horrific manner of their blood
and flesh splattered on the ground below.
The expressions on their faces changed rapidly.They looked at Sophia with sympathy or pity.Their eyes seemed to show that
they had never thought that one day, one of the beloved lovers would become a ticking time bomb that would explode at any
time.
In contrast to their shock, she was remarkably calm.
Sophia was neither crying nor making a fuss.
"He is likely to be having his honeymoon abroad by now.Even if you lose your life like this, it would mean nothing to him.Zack,
listen to my advice.Let go.He will not come for me"
Sophia reasoned to her captor in a calm voice.
However, the man refused to give up and was adamant about his plan.
"Shut up...Shut up! He will come.He will definitely come'’ Zack's arm tightened around her neck.
He turned his attention back to the people in front of them who were slowly trying to approach.
"Step back! Step back, all of you! Or I will take her down with me right now!"
The policemen quickly stepped back when they heard this.
They patiently tried to defuse the situation and said, "Zack, calm down.If the business fails, we can start again.There's still hope
for another chance if we stay"
Zack shook his head and roared, "That's impossible! I have nothing...Stop trying to feed me with lies! I'm sick and tired of hearing
them! Hurry and call Patrick! Now!"
As he spoke, he took a step back in rage.
Seeing the faces of the crowd turning more horrified, Zack looked even angrier.He dragged Sophia along as he continued to
retreat.
As cold as the endless darkness of the night, the wind continued to howl from behind them.
The rain was still pouring heavily as Sophia, and her captor stood faceoff with the authorities.The people could do nothing except
watch in despair.
Sophia closed her eyes and resigned to her fate as she waited for death to approach her.
"Zack, don't do anything impulsive..."
Before Sophia could continue to speak, a man walked out of the shadows.
The man's slender figure was barely visible under the dim light of the streetlamps.
He was holding a black umbrella that obscured his face in the shadows.
"Mr.Evans, you are finally here!"
The crowd exclaimed in crazed elation.
Everyone made way for the man to come closer.
When Zack saw who it was, he laughed maniacally.His voice filled with the desire to seek his revenge.
"Patrick Evans, because of you, my wife lost everything.Now, I will let you experience the pain of losing your wife and child."
As he said this, his grip on Sophia tightened even more.
The man took out a cigarette from his pocket and held it in his mouth.
He lowered his head, his hands cupping around his mouth to shield the flame of his lighter from the harsh winds.
Then, smoke filled the air, and his eyes were indifferent as he shifted his attention back to them.
"Sophia, didn't I tell you to get rid of the child as soon as possible? If you had done so earlier, you wouldn't be in this mess."
The man turned his gaze to the man behind Sophia and said, "And he wouldn't have thought about threatening me with two lives
at stake"
Zack's eyes widened, his expression turning manic in disbelief.
"Patrick Evans, you are fucking crazy!"
Then, Zack took another step back.
But they were both already at the very edge of the building with nowhere else to go.
The wind blew on Sophia's face.
The harsh cold breeze, along with the sharp drops of rain, was stinging her skin, I but she still refused to shed a single tear.
"There are still twenty minutes left” the man casually said.
He approached a little closer; his voice was as elegant as a cello's somber tune as his words floated in the air.The man brought
his cigarette back up to his mouth.He took a deep breath and let the smoke float past his lips, the smell wrapping around Sophia
and her captor.
Zack stood in stunned silence as he dumbfoundedly stared at the man.
The man smiled and casually played with the wedding ring on the finger of his left hand.
"I said, I still have twenty minutes left before my plane takes off.If you want to jump, please hurry up.I don't have much time”
At that moment, everything and everyone went quiet.
Only the silent darkness of the night surrounded them.
However, despite the utter silence, Sophia's heart was thumping loudly in her ears.
It was as if something heavy had crashed down onto her heart and shattered it.
As though someone reached in to push the shards of her broken heart deeper, it made her bleed inside.
Was it because of the pain in her heart? Or was it more than pain? Zack collapsed and roared, "Impossible! How could you have
this kind of reaction? You're only pretending to make me look like a joke, right? Yes, that must be it"
Sophia looked at the dark and dim face through the curtain of rain.
Even though she knew the answer to the question, she still couldn't help but ask.
"Patrick, you...Have you ever loved me for even a second?"
"No”
His answer was curt and cold.
"Well, Zack, did you hear that? He never loved me at all'’ Sophia said as she smiled bitterly at the irony of the situation.
She felt like her heart dropped to her stomach at his words.
The wind whistled, and then there was the sense of weightlessness of her body falling rapidly.
The whole world was spinning, and then it went calm.
Five years later.
The summer rain in Frostford City was continuous, and the foggy mist on the window glass blurred the initially bright sunlight into
a more bleak color.
It was a new morning, and Sophia was gloriously late because she couldn't sleep well last night.
After punching in at work, before she could even sit down at her desk, she was called over by her manager, Samuel Myers.
Sophia walked into his office and asked, "Mr.Myers, are you looking for me?"
Samuel smiled and nodded.He pointed to the chair opposite his office table.
"Sit down, and let's talk."
It was the first time that Sophia's manager called for her to talk alone.She felt slightly nervous, already anticipating the worst.
"You should have heard of the Evans Enterprise, right?" Samuel asked, getting straight to the point.
She was stunned for a few seconds before answering truthfully, "Yes, Garry is following the commercial evaluation case""
She did not only know this, but she also knew that the current leader of the Evans Group was Patrick Evans.
The conglomerate he led was rated as a business giant in Frostford.
Evans Group was a media Group, and the percentage of people reached by their company catered to 78% of the entire city.
Patrick Evans himself was regarded as a rare business genius in recent years in Frostford City.
He stood at the top of the pyramid of the bourgeoisie and was famous for his decisiveness and strategies.
However, who would have thought that someone as insignificant as her was once married to this legendary god-like man for five
years.
Sophia was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her boss Say, "Yes, Garry asked for a leave yesterday.He said that
something had happened in his hometown and he would not be back for a while.On that note, you should continue to follow up
on this business evaluation case.After this, we will triple your bonus"
"Me?" Sophia exclaimed in disbelief.
"Manager Myers, I can't do it.I just got transferred back from the headquarters.I am not familiar with the domestic evaluation
market at all."
Sophia tried to reason her way out of his decision, but he was quick to interject her.
"Hey, don't hurriedly turn it down.Only when you put yourself in that position will you know whether you can do it or not.I think
highly of you, Sophia"
Samuel encouraged her.The implication was that she had no choice but to go