Sunflowers Uprooted, Love Dissected

Ian Tost was the prince of the notorious underworld. Everyone in Harbor City knew he spoiled me rotten. He even went so far as to hire ninety-nine female bodyguards to keep me from harm.

It did not prevent a kidnapping attempt on me. One of those bodyguards, Cece Yates, ended up with nothing more than a scratch. Ian immediately brought in the nation’s top medical specialists to treat her.

To comfort her, he even took her to the Maldives for a vacation and gifted her an island.

Not long after they returned from their trip, Beatrix Kazinsky, my mother, suddenly suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. Then, Michael Kazinsky, my younger brother, died in an accident during a competition.

I burst into the morgue while in tears, only to overhear Ian comforting Cece.

“All right now, it was my fault you got hurt last time. I’ve made Mira’s family pay for it. You’ve got too much grace to hold a grudge against her.”

With my nails digging into my palms, I finally realized everything that had happened to my family was Ian’s doing. It was all just because his precious bodyguard got hurt because of me!

I stumbled out of the hospital with my brother’s death certificate in a daze.

On my phone, messages from that person kept coming. It added up to ninety-nine share transfer agreements, along with his promise.

[As long as you want me, my arms will always be open for you.]

I wandered aimlessly along the street like a soulless puppet.

Across the square, the massive LED screen blared headlines about Ian Tost and Cece Yates’ scandal in a relentless rotation.

[Underworld Prince’s Affair with Bodyguard, Million-Dollar Private Island Gift for Mistress]

Looking at the photos of them coiled together on a yacht deck felt like a knife entering my heart. I could barely breathe.

Moments after, Ian came striding out of the hospital after me. He draped his coat over my shoulders. His voice was as gentle as ever as he said, “Don’t believe the tabloids, my dear. Cece and I were only putting on a show so no one would see you as my vulnerability and kidnap you again.”

The conversation I had overheard outside that ward came flooding back to my mind. I shook uncontrollably.

If it was just an act, why would Ian hurt my family just to get even for Cece?

I stared at Ian with despair written all over my face. “Ian, my brother is dead.”

My own husband had murdered my brother, Michael Kazinsky!

The pain of betrayal pierced my heart like a white-hot dagger. It was unbearable. Ian, meanwhile, continued acting like a devoted lover by pulling me into his arms.

His tone was nonchalant. It sounded like the deceased was just an insignificant stranger. “It’s okay, Mira. You have me.”

At that moment, my heart shattered beyond repair.

Not long after, Cece, who was impeccably dressed, came after us.

The moment she arrived, she slipped her arm through Ian’s arm like it was something she had always done. “Ian, the doctor said I’m injured and need plenty of rest. Anyway, I’m moving into your place. You have to take care of me!”

“Okay, okay. Taking care of one is the same as taking care of two. This is good, actually. You can keep Mira company.”

With that, Ian affectionately stroked the tip of Cece’s nose.

I numbly watched them flirt. Two months ago, after a prenatal checkup, I came home to find ninety-nine women of every conceivable type in my house.

Ian had said these female bodyguards were sent by the Tost family as human shields to better protect me and my baby. He said I could deal with them however I wished if I did not like them.

So, I immediately sent all of them away.

Two days later, I was kidnapped. Cece showed up and saved me.

The kidnappers had only drawn a shallow cut on her arm, but Ian’s face instantly darkened. He was beside himself with worry and summoned the nation’s top medical specialists on the spot.

After that, to comfort Cece, Ian left me, his pregnant wife, behind and took her on a vacation to the Maldives. They left their footprints all over the world.

When they returned from their trip, Beatrix Kazinsky, my mother, who had been perfectly healthy, suddenly suffered a stroke and ended up in a coma. Michael, who had made it to the finals of a piano competition, died on the spot in an accident at the venue.

I was so overwhelmed by the string of tragedies that I nearly miscarried.

If I had not heard it myself today, I might never have connected everything that happened to my family to Ian.

The man who used to treat me like I was the center of his world had killed my family just to get even for Cece, someone he called a human shield!

It was ironic.