Chapter 1Everyone knew Celeste was Dominic's little sugar baby.
Beautiful. Obedient. Compliant. Perfectly accommodating.
Give her money, and she'd put up with every one of his selfish whims.
Even when he threw her out like trash the second his first love crooked a finger. Even when he stood by and watched her get ripped apart.
Everyone thought she'd never let go—that she'd still be there, pathetic and waiting, even when he walked down the aisle with someone else.
But guess what?
Celeste got married first.
To a man who had nothing but love to give.
---
When this month's $300,000 deposit hit her account, Celeste was sorting through documents for her move back home.
Her friend Iris Lang asked hesitantly, "You're really going through with this? Moving back and getting married after graduation? What if Dominic finds out and comes after you?"
Celeste's hands paused, but her voice stayed calm. "He won't."
Dominic was always generous with mistresses who called it quits. He never looked back.
Once she returned home, he'd probably forget her quickly enough and find a replacement.
Another obedient little canary just like her.
"Alright then."
Iris sighed. "When are you leaving?"
Celeste's lips curved slightly. "One month."
In one month, her contract with Dominic would expire. There wouldn't be a renewal.
After that, she'd start fresh - new name, new city, forget Dominic entirely.
Forget everything about England and just be herself.
London's weather was perpetually gloomy. When Celeste emerged from Wilkins Building, a fine mist had started falling again.
She hurried home under her umbrella, then froze at her apartment door.
Another umbrella stood there.
He was here.
In that instant, her heart felt like it was melting in the rain.
Celeste clutched her papers tighter and slowly pushed open the door.
Warm amber light spilled out.
Dominic's silhouette moved in the kitchen, the dim lighting outlining his tall frame. From the doorway, she could just make out the sharp angles of his face.
Celeste watched for a few seconds before stepping inside.
She plastered on a bright smile and wrapped her arms around Dominic's lean waist from behind. "It's been nineteen days. You usually come back after fifteen."
Occasional complaints from the canary provided emotional value to her patron.
Usually Dominic would give her that half-smile and ask if she needed more money.
This time, he simply plated the steak from the pan, his voice flat. "After dinner, go shower."
Celeste froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of his rolled-up sleeve - a clear bite mark on his wrist, the wound crusted over with dried blood. Someone had bitten him hard.
Celeste said nothing more. She released Dominic, ate her steak obediently, then went to shower.
Under the spray, the fresh woody scent of her shampoo filled her nose.
The same scent from the first time she'd met Dominic.
Rain drummed against the windows outside.
Celeste's thoughts drifted back with the sound of rain to that first glimpse of Dominic.
When she'd hit rock bottom.
Four years ago, during her college entrance exams.
Her mother Grace - who'd never once cared about her grades - had slipped a note into her pencil case, getting her flagged for cheating and all her scores invalidated.
When Celeste confronted her, Grace cried and said she'd only meant well, it was a blessing, why was Celeste blaming her?
Celeste nearly laughed until she cried.
Grace had always played favorites. Everything Celeste owned were her sister's hand-me-downs.
Yet during the entrance exams, Grace's "blessing" went to Celeste, not her precious younger daughter. The irony was suffocating.
Celeste - who should've gotten into China's top universities - ended up branded a cheater, mocked by everyone.
She wanted to retake the exams. But Grace dropped to her knees in front of the entire apartment complex, sobbing.
"Your sister needs art school, we don't have money left. I'm begging you, be good, let your sister have this."
"Mom already talked to your aunt - you can work at her factory. I'm doing this for your own good, giving you a way forward."
A bright future reduced to the endless darkness of a factory floor - this was "a way forward"?
Celeste refused to accept it. She took every penny she'd saved from years of part-time jobs and fled to England for university.
When Grace found out, for the first time she didn't guilt-trip Celeste - she just screamed obscenities over the phone and swore she'd never help her again.
To survive, Celeste spent every waking hour working side jobs, skipping meals, just to finish those four years of school.
Then one night walking home, she got mugged. She fought desperately to keep something, anything, but only got beaten bloody for her trouble.
What little money she had left wouldn't even cover next month's rent.
Finally, she called Grace, begging for just enough to get through one month. Grace cried, "How is this my fault? You chose this."
That's when Celeste broke.
She hadn't cried working double shifts on three hours of sleep. She hadn't cried getting robbed. But that phone call destroyed her.
In the international student circles, broke students like her had limited options for quick money beyond scholarships - find a rich "boyfriend."
The day her landlord came demanding rent, Celeste spent her last dollars getting her hair and makeup done, made herself look as stunning and alluring as possible, contacted her acquaintance Iris Lang, and went to the biggest private party in their circle.
She spotted him immediately - the man sitting at the center of the crowd, everyone fawning over him.
Chapter 2
Celeste couldn't remember how she'd crossed that room, how she'd knelt before Dominic Ashford and let his hand reach for the most vulnerable part of her neck.
She only remembered the kaleidoscope of lights, Dominic narrowing his eyes at her, then letting out a low, mocking laugh.
Crack—
Thunder rumbled outside.
Celeste snapped out of the memory and stumbled out of the bathroom.
The bedroom lights were off except for the faint glow from the bedside lamp.
Dominic stood by the window, silently watching the rain.
Even in the warm lamplight, his features seemed carved from winter ice - cold and imperious.
Celeste just looked at him. Even after three years together, she understood clearly the unbridgeable distance between them.
She had no idea how wealthy the Ashford family really was.
She only knew that every wealthy patron in the kept-woman circuit treated Dominic with profound respect.
Lost in thought, she heard Dominic's detached voice. "Come here."
Celeste walked over obediently. The next moment, she was pulled onto the bed.
Tonight Dominic was rough.
Ruthless, even.
Celeste bit her lip, her face pale, not daring to make a sound.
Dominic's lips curved coldly. "Not going to ask about the bite mark? Not curious why I'm angry?"
Celeste forced a smile. She wrapped her arms around Dominic's neck and kissed him first.
"As long as you're happy, nothing else matters."
When she'd first become his mistress, she couldn't tell love from lust. She'd thought Dominic's affection meant love.
The first time he'd been this brutal with her, she'd given him the silent treatment. "Dominic, you're being awful!"
But Dominic hadn't coaxed her like usual. He just stubbed out his cigarette coldly and said, "Don't like it? Leave."
The second time, she didn't dare complain. She just trembled and begged him to stop.
Dominic told her to shut up and take it.
Eventually, she learned.
She finally understood - to Dominic, she was just a pet.
A plaything when he was in a good mood, a stress toy when he wasn't. Sooner or later, he'd get bored and discard her.
But she was still human. So she'd leave first.
Celeste held Dominic tight, letting herself drown in this ocean, even as a single tear slipped down her cheek.
The next morning, Dominic was already gone when Celeste woke.
His business kept him split between Washington and London - half the month in each city.
Celeste checked her phone. The international students' kept-women group chat had blown up overnight with hundreds of messages.
Half of them tagged her.
Surprised, Celeste clicked in and found an obviously secret recording.
In the video, Dominic gripped a woman's hand. The woman bit down hard on his wrist. Dominic winced in pain but refused to let go.
The way he looked at that woman - Celeste had never seen such raw sorrow and tenderness in his eyes.
His bodyguards moved to intervene, but Dominic waved them off.
Then he grabbed the woman's chin and kissed her forcefully.
Chapter 3
The video cut off abruptly.
Celeste stared at Dominic's wrist wound from yesterday, slowly clenching her phone tighter.
The group messages kept flooding in.
[@Celeste Wren - girl you better watch your man, first time I've seen someone bite Dominic and get kissed for it]
[That's not just a man, that's $300K monthly plus an unlimited black card. Can you even survive if you lose that?]
[@Celeste Wren - want me to teach you some bedroom tricks?]
They all pretended to worry about her, but really they were just waiting to watch her fall apart.
Only Iris sent a genuine message: "You okay?"
Celeste slowly typed back: "I'm fine."
She'd always known the rules. A canary stays in her cage and doesn't pry into her keeper's life.
Besides, she was leaving Dominic anyway.
Even thinking this, Celeste found herself replaying the video, staring at that tender expression on Dominic's face until her eyes stung.
With graduation approaching, Celeste stayed busy.
After picking up documents from her professor, she headed home through another downpour.
She rushed back under her umbrella, but paused at her door.
Piano music drifted from inside.
Dominic never came home this early...
Surprised, Celeste pushed the door open and looked up to see a woman sitting at the piano in her living room.
Soft white light fell across the woman's face - the same profile from the video.
Celeste froze in the doorway.
When the woman heard the door, she turned. The music stopped.
Only then did Celeste get a clear look at her face - delicate features tinged with pallor, like a lady from a fifteenth-century oil painting.
But when this woman opened her mouth: "So you're the little plaything Dominic keeps in London?"
Celeste's hands clenched.
After a beat of silence, she managed politely, "Hello. I'm Celeste Wren."
The woman didn't introduce herself. She just said carelessly, "The tuning on this piano is still perfect. Dominic must have it serviced regularly?"
That dismissive attitude made Celeste's fingers curl tighter. She forced herself to stay composed. "Yes, it's maintained regularly."
This piano was the one thing in the apartment Dominic truly cared about. He even had technicians come tune it monthly.
When Celeste first moved in, she'd thought Dominic loved piano, so she'd spent a year learning to play.
But when she'd finally performed for him on a special occasion, Dominic had suddenly yanked her away from the piano, practically yelling at her.
"What makes you think you have the right to touch this?"
The first and only time he'd ever lost his temper with her.
Now, the woman who was worthy of touching this piano had finally appeared before Celeste.
Celeste just watched her, waiting for what would come next.
But the woman only smiled slightly, then ignored her completely and started playing again.
Celeste felt something heavy pressing against her chest, suffocating.
Just then, the front door opened.
When Dominic walked in and saw the woman, his entire body went rigid.
After a long pause, he said coldly, "Fighting with my brother again? Sister-in-law?"
Sister-in-law?
Celeste froze. That was the last identity she'd expected.
The woman looked at Dominic, her tone subdued. "Dominic, do you really have to talk to me like this?"
Dominic pressed his lips together, his icy expression cracking just slightly. His jaw tightened as he asked, almost casually, "When did you get here?"
The woman looked down, saying nothing, her face pale.
Dominic watched her in silence. After a long standoff, he seemed to surrender, softening his voice. "You haven't eaten?"
The woman shook her head. "I was waiting for you."
Celeste watched as Dominic immediately shrugged off his suit jacket and headed to the kitchen. "The usual? Filet mignon with Merlot?"
Celeste went still again.
Filet with Merlot - that was the dinner Dominic often made for her.
Wealthy patrons rarely cooked for their mistresses. Celeste had thought it was proof she meant something different to him.
Turned out it was just him recycling another woman's preferences.
A sharp pain stabbed through Celeste's chest. Then the woman turned to her. "What would you like to eat?"
Only then did Dominic look over.
Since walking through the door, this was the first time his gaze had landed on Celeste's face.
Celeste started to say it wasn't necessary, but before she could speak, Dominic said coldly, "You should go."
Celeste met Dominic's indifferent eyes. It took everything she had to curve her lips into what she hoped looked composed. "Okay. I'll come back later."
But the moment she finished speaking, Dominic cut her off. "No need. Stay at a hotel for the next few days. I'll call you when to come back."
