Chapter 1 To tone down Camila Ackley's unruly streak, her father called in Zachary Maddren-his most trusted subordinate-to straighten her out. To Camila, Zachary was nothing more than an employee, and she certainly wasn't about to take orders from him. So, she pulled all kinds of stunts to make him back off. On her first day at work, she went ahead and smashed his Porsche. But Zachary just shot her a calm look and said, "Have it towed for damage assessment. The repair costs are coming out of Camila's paycheck." The next day, she swapped his meeting slides with adult videos. Zachary stayed cool as a cucumber. He rattled off the whole original proposal and secured the key project, leaving ev- eryone impressed. Camila refused to give up. At a business dinner, she slyly slipped a very potent drug into his drink, hoping he'd make a fool of himself in front of everyone. But the joke was on her. Zachary carried her to the presidential suite, where they spent a night of wild passion that left her aching all over. Everyone said he was noble and upright like a real gentleman. But only Camila knew just how wild he could get, pinning her to the bed and taking her all night long. He had slept with her everywhere-the backseat of his Rolls-Royce, the conference room desk, even against the floor- to-ceiling windows of his top-floor office... In her striking red dress, Camila had grown used to the firm hold of this controlled, self-disciplined man at her waist as he "taught her lessons" in every imaginable way and position. One night, after another round, Zachary disappeared into the bathroom. At that moment, Camila received two messages from her best friend, who expressed frustration over her apparent lack of resolve. "Seriously, Camila? Have you lost your mind?" "Zachary is merely a small-time CEO in your family's subsidiary. And for him, you're breaking off your engagement with the heir of the Madderford family, the wealthiest family in New York?" Camila didn't reply. 0.0 % 09:02 What they didn't know was that Zachary was, in fact, Zachary Madderford. He was the very heir to the Madderford family. The man she loved so desperately that she wanted to have him every night was exactly the one she was engaged to. It should've been a great thing. Still, Camila felt no joy whatsoever. After a moment of silence, she called her father, Howard Ackley. "I'll step aside and let Mollina marry the Madderford heir, but I have one condition..." Right away, her parents' excited voices came through the phone. "What is it? Just name your price. We'll agree to anything!" "I want 3.5 billion dollars," Camila said coldly, looking down. "3.5 billion dollars?" Howard's. voice shot up. "Have you lost it? Do you want us to go bankrupt?" Camila let out a cold scoff. "Drop the act. The Madderford family promised you 5 billion dollars. 1.5 billion of that is going straight into your pockets, and Mollina gets to join the wealthiest family in New York. What a deal. You must be ecstatic." Sure enough, Camila's parents fell silent. A couple of seconds later, Howard said excitedly, "Alright then, it's settled!" "Hold on, how can we be sure you won't back out at the last minute?" Camila's mother, Maria Ackley, suddenly asked. That cautious tone felt like a knife stabbing right through Camila's heart. She thought she'd grown accustomed to their favoritism over the years, yet a familiar ache still pierced her heart. "I've already taken care of everything. I'm leaving for good in two weeks," she said, her voice shaking slightly. Twenty years ago, she was the apple of her parents' eyes, showered with love and attention. But then one day, her parents brought home a girl, Mollina Ackley, her biological older sister, who had been kid- napped as a child. Feeling guilty about Mollina's tragic childhood, they started pouring all their love into her. From that moment on, Camila began to face all sorts of unfair treatment. The princess-themed bedroom she liked? That got handed over to Mollina. The competition entry she spent three months of late nights on was given to Mollina, too. Even the honorary medal she earned after risking her life to save someone ended up going to Mollina... 23.9 % 09:03 Chapter Camila had thrown a fit and made a big scene, but all she got was their scolding. "Your sister has been through so much, while you've had it easy for so long. What's the harm in letting her have this?" She felt like a stuffed animal being gutted, watching in helpless horror as every piece of her was slowly pulled out and given to Mollina. Even the engagement to the Madderford heir, set up by her grandmother before she passed, was on the verge of being snatched away and handed to Mollina. It was the last straw. Camila got into a huge fight with her parents, almost wrecking the entire villa. So when Howard heard Zachary was good at handling people, he sent her to work with Zachary, hoping to curb her unruly nature. Snapping out of it, Camila let out a long sigh and picked up Zachary's phone. The password was Mollina's birthday. Camila's hand froze for a second before she opened WhatsApp. Zachary had pinned his chat with Mollina right at the top. As she scrolled through their chat history, she saw that Zachary, who usually called her childish, had saved every cute emoji Mollina sent him. He always acted serious around her, but he reminded Mollina to eat and take breaks every single day. He often left her messages unread, yet he'd share every tiny detail of his life with Mollina. And next to Camila's name? A muted icon. A sarcastic smile tugged at the corner of Camila's lips. Memories of the first time her heart raced for him flashed in her mind. Back then, she had caused a scene at a cocktail party and messed up the project Zachary had worked so hard to land. He'd instantly shoved her into the bathroom and ripped her skirt. Camila was so furious that she bit him, but he just pressed her against the sink from behind, kissed her earlobe, and said in a deep voice, "Cami, be good." That one word-"Cami"-was all it took to completely break down her defenses. Since Camila's grandmother passed away, no one had called her that anymore. Perhaps it was the weight of all those lonely years finally catching up to her. Or maybe it was because he truly cared. He would protect her when creeps bothered her. He would step in and take her drinks for her during business dinners. Moreover, during one of her business trips, she ran into a landslide. Just when she thought it was all over for her, 50.5 % 09:02 Chapter 1 288 Vouchers Zachary showed up and literally dug her out with his bare hands. He even carried her on his back for five whole kilo- meters to get to the hospital. At that moment, his handsome face came into sharp focus through her blurry vision. Suddenly, all those little moments they shared came rushing back to her. Right then and there, Camila realized she had really fallen for him. So she prepared a special gift, planning to confess her feelings to him. But when she went looking for him in the study-full of excitement-she overheard his phone call. "Mr. Madderford, how much longer are you going to keep up the act of being just a small-company CEO? You can have anything you want! So why stick around at the Ackley Group, making only 350,000 dollars a year? Don't tell me it's just so you can be close to Mollina-to pay back that favor from when you both got kidnapped? Zachary's face was indifferent as he said, "Without Molly, I wouldn't have survived. So I owe her." "But aren't you still engaged to her younger sister? I thought you were with her because you liked her and wanted to marry her..." Zachary let out a slight chuckle. "She's just a spoiled little brat-definitely not cut out to be Mrs. Madderford." Each word felt like a sharp knife, stabbing deep into Camila's heart! So it turned out that Zachary had always been in love with Mollina. And Camila was nothing more than a spoiled fling who needed some discipline! At that moment, Camila tossed the carefully wrapped gift right out the window. She was done with Zachary. And she would end their engagement. The thought of that day made Camila's eyes burn with unshed tears. Suddenly, the bathroom door swung open. Zachary stepped out, and when he noticed her teary eyes, he paused. "Why are you crying? Did I go too hard on you?" 78.4 % 09:03