Chapter 1

The night before our engagement, my best man Reese suggested we play Never Have I Ever — our version, where you name something you have that you think no one else does, and anyone who doesn't have it puts a finger down.

"Sitting in this room is someone I can't have," he said.

Everyone else's fingers went down, except Reese's and my fiancée Molly's.

The others erupted in whistles and teasing, not caring that I was right there.

"I have the most loyal fiancé," Molly said. "Boring and dull."

Everyone glanced at me, and the private room fell into an awkward silence.

I was suddenly exhausted.

Molly and I had been together for two years. Tomorrow was our engagement party, yet she'd just publicly admitted there was someone she wanted but couldn't have.

And in her eyes, the only redeeming quality her fiancé had was loyalty.

When my turn came, I said calmly, "I have a grand wedding of the century."

I turned to Molly beside me. "But as of now, it's canceled."

Chapter 1

"Molly, your turn." Reese winked at her. "You're the one who just beat me three rounds in a row."

Molly laughed. Light, easy, girlish.

She hadn't laughed like that around me in a long time.

Molly tilted her head, thinking. "I have the most loyal fiancé."

She turned to me with a half-smile. "Boring and dull."

The atmosphere in the private room went cold.

Everyone looked my way, some with concern, others with barely concealed mockery.

But I just sat quietly beside Molly, gently swirling the wine in my glass.

Reese seemed completely oblivious to the tension. He clinked his glass against Molly's. "Does something that obvious even need saying? Molly, you're not even taking this game seriously!"

Reese leaned forward, the collar of his white shirt falling open to reveal a strip of honey-gold skin.

"Let me show you how this game is supposed to be played."

His voice dropped, intimate and deliberate. "In this room sits someone I can't have."

Reese paused, his gaze drifting toward Molly, casually and purposefully at the same time.

"Every inch of her skin is beautiful, and she has the most captivating red heart-shaped birthmark."

The moment those words landed, I tightened my grip on the wineglass until my knuckles went white.

Molly had a red, heart-shaped birthmark on the inside of her right breast. I'd only found out by accidentally walking in on her changing.

She was a devout Christian who strictly refused any form of premarital sex.

Even being seen undressed by me had been a source of shame for her.

So back then, Molly had slapped me across the face without a second's hesitation. But right now, she just smiled.

Everyone shook their heads and put their fingers down, except Reese and Molly.

Whistles and shrieks filled the room as everyone's eyes bounced between the two of them.

I forced the corners of my mouth up, my heart sinking to the floor.

But Molly didn't seem to notice how I felt. She kept playing, eager as ever.

"I have a private island covered in roses."

"I had no idea. Was that from Davis?"

"Davis is too stiff and dull to ever surprise me like that." Molly's gaze drifted toward Reese, her cheeks flushing under the influence of alcohol. "It's a birthday present I got for someone."

When she finished, my entire body went rigid, my jaw clenched tight.

I knew exactly which island she was talking about.

A few weeks ago, around Valentine's Day, Molly had told me she'd prepared a surprise for me.

And the purchase contract for that island had shown up the very next day after she mentioned the surprise.

I'd been thrilled, waiting for her to hand me that contract. But Valentine's Day came and went, and she never did.

I'd assumed she simply forgot. I never imagined that the real surprise was using my money to buy an island as a birthday present for another man.

The room went dead silent.

Reese ignored the awkwardness entirely and waved at me. "Your turn, Davis."

I raised my glass and said in a low voice, "I have a grand wedding of the century."

"Are you kidding me? You're just some office worker. What wedding of the century!" Reese scoffed.

I wasn't surprised by his contempt.

After all, in their minds, I was nothing but a talentless pushover trailing after Molly, patient and loyal and pathetic.

"But as of now, it's all canceled."

I finished speaking and drained my glass in one go.

When the glass hit the table with a heavy thud, the room fell silent.

Molly frowned, her voice impatient. "Davis, do you have any idea how embarrassing you're being right now?"

"Embarrassing?" I let out a cold laugh. "That's rich, coming from you."

"Davis, it's just a game. What are you throwing a tantrum for!"

"Davis, don't be a buzzkill."

Reese's voice carried a condescending edge. "It's just a game."

"You don't look so good. Want to step out onto the terrace for some air?" He reached over, casually dropping a hand on my shoulder.

I looked down at that hand. On his middle finger sat a serpentine platinum ring.

I'd bought that ring at an auction last year as a birthday gift for Molly. And now it was sitting on Reese's hand.

Molly noticed where I was looking and opened her mouth as if to say something.

Reese cut in first. "I'll walk with you. I could use a stretch anyway."

On my way out, I clearly heard the voices behind me.

"Molly, tonight was a bit much. You should go smooth things over with him."

"Relax. He can't live without me.

"It's Reese I feel bad for. He was having a good time and Davis ruined the mood, and now Reese has to go comfort him." Molly raised her voice deliberately, making sure I could still hear through the door. "If Davis apologizes to Reese properly, I might consider forgiving him."

My hands clenched into fists.

This was the woman I'd given up everything for. The woman I'd set my heart on protecting.

And on the eve of our engagement, not a single moment of her care or patience had been spent on me.

Chapter 2

At the far end of the hallway, by the floor-to-ceiling windows, Reese and I both stopped.

"Davis, you okay? You know Molly and I run the law firm together. We see each other a lot. Don't read too much into it."

"Read too much into what? The someone you can't have, or the rose island?" I said flatly.

"Everything Molly said is true." He stepped closer. "You're just a regular employee at the Winchester Group. You don't have access to the upper circles, so you don't understand what a woman like Molly needs."

Reese was smiling, but every word was ice. "She doesn't want some dull, lovesick puppy. She wants a knight, someone romantic and exciting.

"You should work on that. Stop being so rigid. Boring and dull."

As he said all this, there was a knowing look in his eyes.

He always did this, offering advice that sounded genuine on the surface.

He'd told me the color scheme of our new apartment was too dreary and oppressive. By the time I came back from a business trip, all the walls had been repainted in dusty pink.

"Reese did it himself," Molly had said, sharing a smile with Reese.

When we were picking wedding photos, Reese pointed at the worst one and said, "This one turned out okay, but Davis, your bow tie is too narrow. Makes your neck look short. Go wider next time."

"And white is so dull. Try an elegant powder blue instead."

After hearing that, Molly swapped my suit to blue. The white suit that matched the wedding dress became Reese's best man suit.

That was how they always operated. Under the banner of friendship, pushing every boundary there was.

My thoughts snapped back. I looked at Reese.

He was still going. "Davis, you have to admit, she's more relaxed around me. You? You're about as interesting as a rock."

"Compared to you, I definitely am boring."

I let out a quiet scoff. "After all, I have boundaries with my friends. I don't show up outside her hotel in the middle of the night pretending to be drunk. I don't use a breakup as an excuse to take her on some island getaway. And I don't insert myself into someone else's wedding and home.

"Reese, this is my last warning."

I dropped the act and let my expression go cold. "Cut the games!"

Reese's face shifted. He dropped his own act and pointed a finger at me. "Molly told me you're not romantic. She told me you barely talk. She texts me at three in the morning saying she wishes I were the one beside her.

"She even thinks of my face when the two of you are intimate!

"Davis, all Molly feels for you is pity and obligation."

I looked at the smug satisfaction on his face and almost laughed.

"None of that matters anymore." I grabbed my coat and turned to leave.

The moment I walked out of that room, I knew it was over between Molly and me.

So whoever she loved after this, whoever she wanted to marry, none of it deserved a single second of my time.

Chapter 3

I went back to the apartment alone, without turning on the lights.

Moonlight spilled in, falling across the massive wedding portrait in the living room.

In the photo, I was the only one smiling, while Molly just stood beside me, expressionless, her arm hooked through mine.

So it had already gone wrong back then.

I'd just chosen to ignore it.

"Davis, you actually left?" Molly pushed through the door, brows furrowed. "Do you know how rude that was! Reese has been running around helping with our wedding, and you just left him sitting there?"

I didn't respond. I got up and walked into the living room.

This place used to be decorated in the minimalist style I loved. But now...

The couch was draped with the glossy silk cushions Reese liked. The coffee table held one of Reese's limited-edition sports car models.

Even the scented candle had been changed, from the cool mint I preferred to the cloyingly sweet tuberose that clung to Reese.

My gaze finally settled on the wedding dress in the center of the living room.

The dress I'd designed myself, the one I'd commissioned and had hand-sewn over six months, had been tossed carelessly on the floor.

In its place, hanging on the rack, was the tackiest off-the-shelf design from the bridal shop.

Molly walked over and lifted the dress from the rack. "Reese picked this one. He said a backless dress is sexier."

When she spoke, her eyes lit up, a glow that only appeared when she mentioned Reese's name.

"But that's not the one I chose," I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could.

"But it's the one Reese likes." Molly cut me off as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "His taste is better than yours."

I didn't say anything more.

When someone doesn't care about you, nothing you say makes a difference.

Molly said casually, "On the wedding day, Reese wants to be the one to lift my veil. He says it'll be more dramatic. Just go along with it."

I turned and looked at her.

In the moonlight, her face was breathtakingly beautiful and terrifyingly unfamiliar.

"You said you'd give me a grand wedding of the century, didn't you?"

"Even though that was just an empty promise." Molly reached up and touched my face. "After the wedding, I'll make it up to you."

She pressed a careless kiss to my lips. They still carried the taste of the sweet lip gloss Reese liked.

I stood there and didn't move.

Somewhere deep inside me, something shattered with a deafening crack.

I turned my head, and my gaze fell on the freshly opened bottle of Macallan on the coffee table.

The whisky caught the light, dark and red as the blood that had run down my temple three years ago, on that rainy night, in an alley in the slums.

A power struggle within the Family. I'd walked into an ambush and barely made it out alive.

Back then, it was Molly who had walked toward me through the rain, holding a black umbrella.

She was trembling with fear, but she still reached out her hand.

Her hand was cold, but in that moment, I felt a warmth I'd never known before.

For her, I retracted every fang I had as the Don of the Winchester Family and willingly became a silent shadow behind her.

I even assumed the identity of an ordinary employee at the Family conglomerate, turning myself into a loyal ornament she could display whenever she needed.

But now, I was exhausted.

I made a call. "Greene, send word. The wedding is off."

Greene hesitated. "Are you sure, sir? Weren't you planning to reveal your identity at the wedding and give Ms. Prescott a wedding she'd never forget?"

I hardened my voice. "She doesn't deserve it."

Chapter 4

Over the next few days, I began packing, removing every trace of myself, along with my heart.

Meanwhile, Molly sat in the living room video-calling Reese, her laughter flirtatious and sweet.

"Davis finally got rid of that ugly ornament." Molly held up her phone, grinning at the empty space where my things had been.

Reese's smug laughter came through the speaker. "Davis really does do as he's told. From now on, don't even bother asking him. Just do it."

I didn't react. I turned and went upstairs.

That evening, Molly brought Reese home.

Her excuse was that his apartment was being renovated and he had nowhere to stay.

The second Reese walked in, he casually tossed his jacket onto the armchair where I always sat.

"Just crashing for one night. You don't mind, right?"

I acted like I hadn't seen him and went upstairs to the study.

The study was dark, lit only by the glow of the computer screen.

I pulled up the security cameras. The screen split into multiple feeds.

In the living room, Molly sat beside Reese, feeding him freshly washed fruit by hand.

In the bedroom, Reese's suitcase sat brazenly on my side of the bed.

Molly's ragdoll cat used to love curling up on my lap. Not anymore.

Now it was nuzzling against Reese's leg, purring for his attention.

Molly watched the cat and laughed. "Looks like even she prefers Reese over her boring old owner."

I shut off the feeds and calmly packed my last bag.

If her world had no place for me, then I'd return to mine.

Late that night, Molly pushed open the door, with the smell of alcohol and Reese clinging to her.

"Reese had too much to drink. You're sleeping on the couch tonight.

"He says he can only sleep in a real bed."

"Fine." I grabbed a thin blanket and walked straight out of the study.

Passing through the living room, I saw Reese lounging on the couch, playing with the lighter Molly had given him, the one that had been mine.

It was one of the Family's heirlooms, engraved with the Winchester crest.

Reese spotted me and curled his lip into a mocking smile.

He made a show of spinning the lighter between his fingers, then tossed it onto the floor. It hit with a sharp, metallic crack.

That was a provocation. A declaration of war.

"Pick it up!"

"Davis, you still don't get it—" Before he could finish, I'd already locked my hand around his wrist with practiced precision.

Then a single, effortless twist.

A clean snap echoed through the room, and Reese's hand hung at a grotesque angle.

He looked up at me, eyes wide with shock.

I straightened my cuffs, unhurried, revealing the edge of a black tattoo, the hidden mark of the Winchester Family.

Reese opened his mouth as if to speak, but all that came out was a howl of pain, his voice cracking.

Then came Molly's scream, raw, broken, and choked with tears.

But none of it concerned me anymore.

I walked out the front door, pulled off the gold-rimmed glasses I'd worn as part of my disguise, and tossed them into a roadside trash can.

A black Lincoln bearing the Winchester crest was parked nearby.

As I approached, my underboss Greene opened the door with a respectful bow. "Welcome home, sir."