(This chapter contains mature themes and adult content. Reader discretion is advised.)Fae clung to Derek like a stubborn little cat, desperately trying to hold on to the one person who had made her feel safe.“Derek, I know that now my engagement's been called off, you have no reason to agree to be my boyfriend. But I don't want to spend the rest of my life regretting that I let this moment pass.”“I've thought about it carefully. Even if we can never be together, I still want my first time to be with the man who gave me the happiest memory of my life.”“Derek, don't worry. I won't cling to you afterward or expect you to take responsibility for me. And I'll still pay you for gettng me out of that engagement. It's only right that I give you something in return. So... what do you say?”There was a faint sadness in Fae’s voice. But how could Derek accept it?Fae was still young, while Derek was a man whose marriage was already falling apart. He couldn’t ruin her future.“Fae, calm down.

The next morning, Derek woke with a start and found the other side of the bed empty.Fae was gone.The only thing she had left behind was a handwritten note on the nightstand.“Dear Mr. Moss,A deal’s a deal. Don’t worry, I’m not going to cling to you or demand anything from you.But what I told you last night still stands. Since you helped me call off the engagement without a hitch—combined with your rather impressive performance last night—I’ll pay you five million dollars in total, naturally. Text me your account info whenever you get a chance, my one-night boyfriend."At the bottom of the note, Fae had written down her private number.Beside it, she had drawn a tiny cartoon version of herself holding a phone, with a little thought bubble above her head:Hope you call me.Derek stared at the neat handwriting for several seconds, already able to picture the mischievous look on Fae’s face while she wrote it.He let out a helpless laugh. “That woman really does have too much money.”W

Derek clenched his jaw. “Erin, have you really sunk this low?”“You’re the one who keeps pushing for this divorce,” Erin said. “I’m just trying to save my marriage. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”There wasn’t a trace of guilt on her face. If anything, she looked almost pleased with herself.“If you really want to leave me that badly, Derek, then show me how serious you are.” She lifted two fingers. “Twenty million.”Derek’s brows drew together. “What are you talking about?”“That’s what it’ll cost you to get your parents’ house back.”His expression immediately darkened. “That house isn’t even worth a fraction of that.”“I know.” Erin smiled. “But we both know its market value isn’t what matters.”She knew exactly that house didn't. worth much. It was old, remote, and practically worthless compared with the properties she owned.But it had belonged to his parents. That alone made it priceless to Derek.“Pay me twenty million,” Erin continued, “and I’ll release the lien, give y

After leaving Erin’s company, Derek went straight home.The first thing he did was sit down and write his resignation letter.Twenty million dollars.That was what it would take to get his parents’ house back and finally cut himself free from Erin.Even if he rose through the ranks to become a vice captain or even a captain someday, a lifetime in the fire department still wouldn’t earn him anything close to that.But Derek had never been just a firefighter. Before marrying Erin, he had studied finance at the renown Westbridge University and graduated at the top of his class. If life had gone differently, he could have entered investment banking, private equity, or any number of high-paying careers.Instead, he had chosen Erin.At the time, her political ambitions had begun to take shape. So Derek had walked away from that path and joined the fire department instead.For years, he had almost forgotten the person he had once been. But now, there was no reason to keep sacrificing that p

Derek let out a quiet laugh, crushed the financial reports into a ball and dropped them into the trash, the sound of paper hitting metal echoed in the empty apartment.For the rest of the evening, he went back through everything he had once learned about finance—valuation, capital structure, market analysis, risk management. Years away from the field had left some of it buried, but not forgotten.By the time he finally closed his laptop, the old instincts were coming back faster than he had expected.He was about to get some sleep when his phone rang.Unknown number.“Hello?”A man’s voice came through the line, steady, measured."Mr. Moss... I'm Alan Wells."Derek sat up.“Alan Wells?”“That’s right. Frank is my younger brother, and you’re the man who saved my mother and sister. I’m sorry to call so late.”Now Derek knew who he was speaking to.Benjamin Wells had three children. Brit, his youngest daughter, was one of the people Derek had rescued. Frank was the second son and the man