Chapter 1

I tamed my wild self for Ethan Shaw, enduring three years in silence just for his love.

Then I overheard him confessing to his friends.

"Vivian's so dull now. I miss the old her."

He even gave my mother's heirloom to Fiona, who humiliated me, and let her smash it to pieces.

In a fire, he abandoned me to save her. I died inside, took my trust fund, and left for Zurich.

When he chased me to Zurich begging for another chance, he didn't know I'd already placed my engagement ring on someone else's finger.

He held the shattered bracelet and said "I love you."

I just smiled and took my fiancé's arm.

"Sorry, I don't pick up trash."

Vivian POV

I was once the most spoiled heiress in this city.

In the Hayes family's heyday, our hillside mansion hosted parties every night, and our yacht gatherings lit up half the city's sky.

I lived boldly and freely, driving limited edition supercars, bidding against rivals at auctions for paintings. All with the bright, unpolished pride of someone who'd never been broken.

Then I turned twenty four, and the Hayes empire collapsed without warning.

The funding chain broke, auditors moved in, my father jumped from the top floor of the corporate building, and my mother's heart gave out before they could save her.

The people who once fawned over me instantly showed their true faces.

Overnight, I fell from the highest heights to the lowest depths. I rented a room in a noisy old building and witnessed the full spectrum of human coldness.

Just when I was pushed to the edge, my longtime rival Ethan Shaw found me.

He reached out his hand, his eyes reddening.

"Come with me. From now on, I'll protect you."

We used to compete openly and secretly, never yielding to each other. Everyone's favorite topic of gossip.

I never expected that when I hit rock bottom, the first person to extend a hand would be him.

After that, everyone said I was lucky. First my parents treasured me like a jewel, and even after losing everything, I still had someone like Ethan protecting me.

So for him, I began to rein in my bold, arrogant personality, dulled all my sharp edges, became gentle, obedient, and considerate, loving him with my whole heart.

But the Shaw family always thought I was too unruly. They made me go to church every month to pray for Ethan, staying there all day until my legs went numb and nearly lost all feeling.

This routine continued for three whole years.

This time, Ethan's mother's attitude finally softened.

"Alright, after you finish praying today, you won't need to come next month."

My heart pounded.

"You mean..."

"You've been well-behaved these three years. Rain or shine, you've never missed coming to pray for Ethan. I can see you truly care for him."

Mrs. Shaw said coolly,

"At the next family dinner, have Ethan bring you along. We'll discuss your wedding together."

So, does this mean the Shaw family has accepted me?

A wave of bittersweet joy surged through me. I cried tears of happiness, eager to share this good news with Ethan.

Learning he was still at the office, I hailed a cab and rushed over.

Before I even reached his office, I heard Ethan laughing with a few of his childhood friends.

My lips curved into a smile. I was about to push the door open when I caught the content of their teasing and froze.

"I've got to hand it to you, Ethan! You actually managed to tame the wild Miss Hayes. Made her so docile. Who would've believed Vivian Hayes could be as obedient as a kitten?"

"That's because Ethan deliberately competed with Vivian for everything back then to get her attention. But after the Hayes family went bankrupt, instead of turning his back on her like everyone else, he took her in. How could Vivian not fall for him?"

"But seriously, Vivian has really changed for you these past three years. I heard even your notoriously difficult mother has warmed up to her. At this rate, you two should be getting married soon, right?"

After the question, there was silence for a few seconds before Ethan's hesitant voice came through.

"About marriage... we'll see."

"What, you're having second thoughts? Don't want Vivian anymore?"

"It's not that. I still love her, but..."

Ethan paused, his tone complicated.

"She's become a bit too docile, too... boring now."

"Boring?"

"Now she cooks for me and hides her burned hands so I won't notice. My mom deliberately tests her patience, and even when her knees get injured from standing too long, she never complains to me."

I stood frozen.

To spare him guilt and heartache, I'd never shown him those repeatedly burned hands or injured knees. I'd never uttered a single complaint.

I thought I'd hidden it all so well.

But in reality, he knew everything?

"Isn't that good though? She does all this for you. It shows she's completely devoted to you."

"I know she does it all for me."

Ethan frowned.

"But the old Vivian would've turned the entire Shaw family upside down. She never would've accepted this kind of treatment."

I heard Ethan say slowly,

"Compared to who she is now, I loved the old her better. Vibrant and eye catching, bold and radiant. Now she's so quiet and obedient that I find her...boring."

As those words fell, not only did the people in the office freeze, but my blood seemed to freeze too.

Boring.

He knew I'd changed my bold, spoiled nature and endured all the humiliation for him.

But he said this version of me made him feel... bored?

"I heard you've been getting pretty close to that Fiona girl these past two months?"

Ethan neither confirmed nor denied it, but his voice held a hint of interest.

"Fiona's quite... interesting. At the horse track, she dared to bet recklessly against me to win first place. For a Monet painting, she fought me tooth and nail. Watching her reminds me of the old Vivian."

"Vivian can't stand even a grain of sand in her eye. If you get too close to another woman, watch out. She might dump you in anger."

"She won't."

Ethan said with confident certainty,

"She knows she's not the Miss Hayes she used to be. She has nothing left except me. Without me, she'd be even less than nothing."

Just then, Ethan's phone rang.

"Gotta go. Fiona invited me sailing tonight. It's about time."

I heard chairs scraping inside.

I instinctively stepped back, quickly hiding in the shadows around the corner.

I watched Ethan walk out of the office with one hand in his pocket, hurrying along while answering his phone, his tone holding an interest and pleasure I hadn't heard in a long time.

"Got it, Miss Fiona. I'll be right there. I promise you'll have a great time tonight."