I Saved My Crime Lord Ex... Now What?

Six years ago, on a stormy night. I carried him out of a pool of blood, bullets still lodged between his shoulder blades. He was battered and broken, breathing faintly, yet murmuring a code name—“Lord Ex.” I didn’t call the police. I didn’t dare ask who he was. I hid him in the old house instead, nursing him back to life with spoonfuls of medicine and sips of water for three long months. During that time, he leaned against my bed and said, “A Zhi, if one day I leave, don’t wait for me.” I said okay. But I lied. I waited six years. Now I lie in a hospital bed, my hands wrapped in bandages, nerves severed—never to hold a gun or knife again. And there he stands at the door, dressed in a black suit, watch gleaming, eyes cold as if he’s never seen me before. “I saved you,” my voice trembles, tears splashing onto the sheets. “Now what? You’ll just watch me die?” Finally, he steps closer. He leans down, lifts his hand, and gently brushes a strand of hair from my face. “Don’t cry,” he says. “I’ll heal your hands.” My heart softens—just halfway—when footsteps echo outside. A line of men in black enters, bowing respectfully. “Sir, the madam and the children are waiting downstairs.” The air freezes. I go rigid. “…What wife?” He pulls his hand away, adjusts his cufflinks, calm and detached. “Married three years. Three children. The mission’s over. Everyone returns to their place.” I laugh—crying and laughing at once. “So who am I? A backup? A forgotten mistake? Or just a decoy to draw attention?” No one answers. Then my father bursts in and slaps me hard across the face. “Enough! Do you think you’re the chosen one? He has a family, a prearranged marriage. You were an unauthorized contact—an accident. Orders have already been issued to eliminate you!” I clutch my cheek, staring at the man walking away. His final whisper, barely audible— “When interests are at stake, where does loyalty stand?” The moment the door shuts, I rip off the heart monitor, throw aside the pillow— A modified revolver lies silently beneath. In the chamber: five empty slots, only the first round loaded. I wipe my tears in the mirror, force a cold smirk. “You say loyalty means nothing…” “Then I’ll use everything you taught me—to tear this entire game apart.” Six years ago, Chloe Summers and Vincent Cole were torn apart by her father. To set her free, Vincent claimed to have fallen for another, shattering her heart. Now as a brilliant surgeon, Chloe unknowingly saves Vincent, who has become a crime lord. When their fate meets again, what future awaits them? What truths will they uncover, and what sacrifice will be made…?