For the first time, a female intern appeared beside my husband—the CEO who had always kept his distance from women.
She looked harmless, sweet even, with a pair of wide, innocent eyes that begged for guidance. And Nathaniel Langford gave it to her—step by step, patiently, until he drowned in the glow of her worship.
She was spoiled. She pouted and insisted on a high-end custom bag—the kind with my name engraved on it.
Nathaniel chuckled indulgently.
“This is the first time she’s asked me for something,” he said, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Baby, you already have too many bags. Let her have this one, just this once.”
I didn’t respond. I signed the bill with a flick of my wrist and walked out of the store with the bag in hand.
He chased after me, gently tugged me into his arms, coaxing.
“Come on, is a little intern really worth all this jealousy? You know my heart only holds you.”
But three years later, that heart turned to stone.
My parents’ company collapsed. Both of them leapt from their office building, leaving nothing but blood and debts behind. I was a wreck—broken, grieving—when Nathaniel threw a bag at my feet.
The same bag.
Blood-soaked.
He looked down at me and said coldly,
“I arranged everything. The bankruptcy, their deaths. You liked custom bags, didn’t you? This one’s made of crocodile skin... and your parents’ old faces.”
“You’re insane!” I screamed, reeling in disbelief.
But the weight of it all crushed me. I jumped from the rooftop that night—ready to end it all.
Only… I woke up.
Back in that store. Back in the moment when Delilah Vance, the intern, was begging for my bag.
This time, I handed it over without hesitation. Then stepped aside and made a call.
“Brother,” I said coolly, “I need a favor.”
——
“Mr. Langford,” Delilah chirped, holding the bag up to Nathaniel. “This bag is sooo pretty. Can I have it, please?”
She grabbed the custom-made bag like it was hers by right. When I turned around, I saw Nathaniel’s familiar smile—gentle, but lined with authority.
In my past life, he destroyed my family, stripped away my sanity, and desecrated my parents’ corpses.
I swallowed the rising bile.
“Elena is new. She doesn’t know the rules yet,” he said softly.
“But it’s her first request, and I already promised her. You have more bags than you can carry anyway—can’t you let her have just this one?”
Before I could answer, the girl looked at me with wide, watery eyes and bit her lip.
“Boss, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were married… Did I cause trouble?”
She turned to him, voice trembling.
“Your wife looks upset. Is she mad at me for taking her bag? If so, I don’t want it anymore…”
Tears rolled down her cheeks like loose change.
Nathaniel frowned, about to speak, but I gently pressed the bag into her arms and patted her shoulder.
“You already stole the man,” I said lightly. “What’s a bag compared to that?”
The sales clerk raised an eyebrow in disdain, as if suddenly realizing who was truly pathetic in this situation.
The girl’s tears came harder. “No—I didn’t steal anything!”
Nathaniel rushed to soothe her.
I just stood there, cold and distant, and dialed the phone again. On the other end, a familiar lazy drawl greeted me.
“Adrian,” I said with a smile, “I need a favor.”
When I hung up, I caught Nathaniel watching me, a frown tugging at his brow.
“Who were you talking to? You look… pleased.”
“Just my sister,” I replied smoothly. “She asked me out for afternoon tea.”
He didn’t question it. Since marrying him, I’d lived like a docile, full-time wife. My social circle was tiny—everyone I knew was under his thumb.
His shoulders relaxed. He offered a helpless smile.
“Baby, when did you become so petty? Getting worked up over a little intern?”
