The CEO's Runaway Wife

The silk tie bit into my wrists. Vance pulled it into a dead knot, binding me entirely to the bed.

Three years ago, I lied to him about going to buy strawberries, and then I vanished from this world. I thought I had cured his madness. I was wrong.

Now, the system had thrown me right back in front of him.

There was no broken boy needing salvation in front of me, only a coldblooded tyrant controlling the entire city's underground empire.

He leaned in, his voice a hoarse, dangerous rasp. "Piper… the strawberries you owed me from three years ago… tonight, do you want them planted on your neck, or your waist?" Chapter 1 I closed my eyes, then opened them.

Closed them again, opened them. I confirmed it over and over, but the view never changed. It was still the familiar skyline of New York.

Outside the fivestar hotel, a steady stream of luxury cars and glamorous women arrived.

Cameras flashed nonstop, capturing the preparations for the Vance Corporation's annual gala tonight. I stared blankly. I had really transmigrated back. Damn it.

I crouched in the corner, not daring to move a muscle. [Hurry up and find the target!

What are you squatting here for, waiting for dollars to fall from the sky?] The moment the system spoke, I blew up. "Waiting for dollars? I'll give you dollars!

Didn't we agree that once the mission was over, I was done?" "Why am I back here? Three years ago, to break up with him, I practically humiliated Vance to his face.

Now you want me to go find him? Why don't you just let me die?" [Who else can we blame? You didn't finish your mission properly!

You've only been gone for three years and Vance has lost his mind!] [Who else should we call back?

If you don't figure something out, never mind the female lead, he's going to tear this whole world apart!] I rubbed my temples.

A few years ago, I took a commission to transmigrate into a redemption novel and cure the psychotic male lead.

My job was to train him, hand him over to the female lead, and then I'd be free. I never expected him to go dark again just three years after I left.

The kind of dark where he wanted to destroy everything in his path. So, they summoned me back. While I was squatting there in a daze, the system shrieked: [Look!

The target has appeared!] I looked up. Under the brilliant night sky, the camera flashes followed him like flowing water all the way to the entrance.

A driver in white gloves opened the car door. The man who stepped out had a blank expression. He was tall, his charcoal suit crisp and flawless, his aura overpowering.

He walked straight toward the venue, his secretary trailing behind him, trembling. I held my breath. Vance. It had been three years.

He looked much more mature now, but the air around him was freezing cold. Two people nearby whispered: "He's the current CEO of the Vance Corporation?

God, looking like that, why isn't he a runway model?" "Don't talk nonsense. He was an illegitimate child.

I heard he used coldblooded methods and sent all the executives who stood in his way straight to hell to get to where he is now… Model my ass." I carefully shrank back a little more.

A burning gaze sliced through the crowd and landed dead on me. Vance turned his head, his sharp eyes locking onto my spot. "What is it, Sir?" his secretary asked.

I swallowed nervously and ducked my head.

Vance stopped in his tracks, his long fingers suddenly gripping the hem of his suit jacket so hard his knuckles turned white. "Nothing." Then, he strode into the banquet hall with his long legs, never looking back. [Coward!

If you don't go up and reveal yourself now, what are you waiting for!] I rubbed my nose. "Wait a bit… he looks that terrifying right now… I feel like he's going to slap me." He was even more terrifying than when I left this world three years ago.

Back then, the female lead was about to appear. My mission was complete, and I was cleared to leave. To help me escape, the system created a fake identity and a fake excuse.

It said my parents had gone bankrupt and I had to go abroad to avoid the fallout. At the airport, Vance refused to let me go.

He just held onto my hand, his eyes red, asking over and over: "How much? How much do your parents owe?" I couldn't break free, so I hugged him.

I lied to him. "Just pretend I'm going far away to buy you strawberries, okay?" He wasn't crazy back then. So why was he radiating such a murderous aura now?

Just as those two bystanders had said. Vance—the male lead of this story. He was an illegitimate child of a wealthy family.

Chapter 2 His father was a prominent politician in New York. A brief fling with his secretary resulted in a child. The secretary didn't want him to take responsibility.

She simply quit, packed her bags while pregnant, and ran far away. She gave birth to Vance in her hometown.

But not long after, the secretary died of illness, and Vance's true parentage was dragged into the light. He had no choice but to return to New York to find his father.

Thus, he was taken back into the wealthy family. I figured, wasn't this just a male version of Cinderella? But he didn't have Cinderella's luck.

Because in the entire Vance household, not a single person could stand him. His relatives wouldn't let him eat at the table. His halfbrothers shut him out and bullied him.

Even the nannies would spit curses at him, making him fight the dogs for table scraps.

So when I transmigrated in and first met him, he was… Well, getting cornered and beaten half to death by his five cousins.

I tossed a massive firecracker to scare off those brats, pulled Vance up from the snow, and asked, "Are you hurt?" New scars layered over old ones on Vance's face.

Blood dripped down his jaw onto the snow. He clamped his teeth together, staring dead at the ground like a lone wolf guarding its food, not saying a word.

He was only a teenager then. In the dead of winter, his puffer jacket was soaked through with freezing water, his neck packed with icecold, slushy snow.

Yet he was unnervingly calm. I thought for a second and said, "I just moved in next door. My parents are business partners with your dad.

Do you want to come to my house and change clothes?" I didn't know which keyword triggered it. Vance slowly turned to look at me. Our eyes met.

His gaze was dead, like a blade hidden in the dark. I froze slightly, my fingers unconsciously loosening their grip on him.

He stared at me with eyes like ice and spat, "Get lost." Thus began my long road of trying to crack him open. To be honest, Vance wasn't an easy target.

To get close to him, I transferred to his school and landed in his homeroom. Only then did I realize that his weak, easily bullied persona in front of his family… was half fake.

The truth was, he had top grades and was a lethal fighter.

He could easily rally a crew of followers with one word, and he could beat anyone who came looking for trouble into submission. I let out a long breath. "That's good.

He knows exactly how to protect himself." [Good my ass. In a few years, he's going to start killing people,] the system snapped. Oh, right.

My mission was to stop him from developing a fullblown antisocial personality. So, I started trying to reform him.

When the teacher set up study groups and he was left out, I immediately ran over and grabbed his hand. "I can be in your group, Vance!" When the teacher told everyone not to wander off alone during the spring field trip and he was isolated again, I rushed right over. "Stick with me, Vance!

I can take down a grizzly bear barehanded. Keeping me around is a total steal!" At first, Vance just ignored me. Later, when he got annoyed, he'd toss me a few words.

Like: "Get lost." "Stop following me." "Beat it." I didn't really care. If I couldn't crack him in a day or two, whatever. After all, I had plenty of time.

It was still a long way off from when he would take back the Vance Corporation, meet the female lead, and turn completely dark. I had all the time in the world.

So as the years passed, through freezing winters and blazing summers, I stuck to him like a shadow.

With me around, he never got pinned to the ground and beaten by his cousins again. Nobody stepped on his face, leaving shoe prints behind.

No teacher framed him for stealing at school or publicly humiliated him for being a motherless bastard. And then, much later, he started his own company.

Chapter 3 I also helped him dodge spiked drinks, frontpage scandals, and humiliation from his family. He took back the company, and his career slowly got on track.

Next, as long as he got together with the female lead, he would have a happy, fulfilling life in every sense of the word. So why did he… still turn dark?

I squatted on the floor, unable to figure it out. But my legs were numb, and I was starving. I decided to slip into the venue first to grab a bite.

Today was the Vance Corporation's annual gala. Vance sat at the head table while people came up round after round to offer toasts.

He'd occasionally clink glasses to give them face, but most of the time, he didn't drink.

Through the crowd, I caught a glimpse of his tight jawline from afar—smooth, cold, and utterly indifferent. I asked, "He's already taken back the Vance Corporation.

Nobody can bully him anymore. Why does he still look that miserable?" [How should I know? Walk over and ask him.] I didn't go over. But I saw an intern walk up to him.

Looking like a fragile little bird, she held a glass of Cabernet with both hands. "Mr. Vance, I'm this year's new intern. I'm Robert's youngest daughter, do you remember me?

Let me toast you." Vance propped his chin on one hand, paused, and finally turned his head.

His eyes were bottomless, devoid of any warmth. "Robert?" "Yes, we met at the birthday gala last year…" "Doesn't ring a bell," he cut her off. "I make it a point to forget ugly people." The girl stood rooted to the spot, her face crumbling.

I shook my head and sighed. Three years apart, and his mouth was still a lethal weapon. But… "Where's the female lead? Why isn't he with Faye?" The system stayed dead silent.

The intern lost her footing. She stumbled, and the red wine splashed onto Vance.

Like a feral beast whose territory was breached, Vance swatted her hand away, fiercely guarding his left wrist. A collective gasp sucked the air out of the room.

His secretary quickly pulled her away, asking cautiously, "Sir, are you alright? She didn't mean to. Let me take you to change your suit jacket." Vance's gaze swept over the intern.

The surrounding air seemed to instantly drop to the freezing point. His jawline tightened, his eyes like icecold razor blades, before he forcibly suppressed it.

Without a single word, he turned and left with his secretary. Only then did the suffocating tension in the hall finally break, allowing the air to circulate again.

I frowned. "Why is he covering his left hand?" A passing guest caught my question and eagerly supplied the gossip. "Oh, that's a bracelet from his wife.

Rumor has it, it's a string of obsidian beads.

He treats it like a holy relic, never takes it off, and forbids anyone from touching it." "His previous secretary didn't know the rules and accidentally splashed a few drops of water on it once… he nearly choked the guy to death." I froze, a piece of strawberry shortcake halfway to my mouth. "His wife?" But that beaded bracelet on his wrist… It was… it was the one I gave him.

I reasoned it out. Either the guest got the story wrong, or the bracelet he was wearing now wasn't the one I gave him.

I sat by the dessert table, deep in thought, stresseating ten strawberry shortcakes in a row.

Once I was full, I grabbed a random employee wearing a staff badge. "Excuse me, is there a girl named Faye working in your company?" The employee's expression shifted into something weird the moment they heard that name. "Never heard of her." They dropped those four words and practically sprinted away.

I grabbed a second person and asked the exact same question. "Have you seen a girl named Faye?" The second employee looked conflicted, opening their mouth as if to say something, but ultimately just shook their head. "No, nope." I asked five people in a row.

They all claimed they had never seen her. This was getting seriously weird. Faye was the female lead, the future Mrs. Vance.

She was supposed to have met Vance three years ago and fallen head over heels in love with him at the speed of light! How could nobody have seen her?

Still lost in thought, I reached for my eleventh strawberry shortcake. Chapter 4 The lights in the venue suddenly dimmed.

The host stepped onto the stage, a bright, professional smile plastered on his face. "Mr.

Vance is in a fantastic mood tonight, so we're going to play a little game." "Now, I need everyone in the room to close your eyes!" "I'll count to fifteen, and then you can open them, alright?" The lighting was pitch black.

I had no idea what kind of stunt he was pulling, but the women around me began to shut their eyes one by one. I hesitated for a second before closing mine too.

A terrifyingly familiar and overpowering presence stopped right beside me. A large, heavy hand clamped down hard on my wrist. "Piper." Vance ground out the syllables one by one.

His hot breath brushed directly against my ear, his voice a hoarse rasp. "Is it you? Are you back?" My heart slammed against my ribs.

My body recognized his scent before my brain could even process it. My fightorflight instincts screamed at me to run. "I'm not—" My struggle was useless.

Both of Vance's arms banded around my waist, locking me in an iron grip. The suffocating, aggressive scent of cedarwood crashed over me.

His jaw pressed heavily into my shoulder, burning hot against my skin. "Piper." Under the dim lights, his hoarse voice carried a tiny, almost unnoticeable tremble. "Don't move.

Just let me hold you for a second." I froze. A loud buzz exploded in my brain, and cold sweat pricked my skin. I frantically shoved at his solid chest. "No—Vance, act normal!

Your girlfriend is watching!" Even though I had zero idea where his supposed girlfriend, Faye, actually was. A damp, intense heat bloomed right where our skin met.

He hooked a finger under my collar, pulling it aside to expose my neck.

Then, like a feral vampire, he bit down—a sharp, deliberate nip. "Piper." Any trace of vulnerability in his voice was obliterated. "Nobody dares to mention the word 'girlfriend' in front of me anymore.

Because the entire Vance Corporation knows I only have one wife… and her whereabouts are unknown." His fingers trailed lower, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "You bringing that up… are you asking me to rip you apart tonight?" I stiffened in his arms like a literal corpse.

I didn't dare breathe. Wait, what the hell did he mean by that? Three years apart, and Vance was already back to threatening to murder people!

Those fifteen seconds dragged on for an eternity. Like a demon draining my life force, Vance only slowly released his grip when he had his fill.

The front lights flickered back on, and a harsh spotlight slammed down onto me. "Wow!

Surprise!" The host's voice boomed with exaggerated cheerfulness. "It looks like our lucky guest for tonight has been found! Mr.

Vance has personally walked over to her seat to present tonight's special grand prize—" "Number one: A private dinner with our CEO. Number two: A tour of the CEO's personal office.

And number three: A private viewing of the CEO's collection of glowinthedark watches at his home!" "Alright, let's give her a massive round of applause!" The entire hall erupted into thunderous applause.

The surrounding guests threw me looks ranging from deep sympathy to a silent "good luck." I stared, blank.

A million question marks exploded in my head. "Wait, what kind of lucky guest is this? Aren't we supposed to draw names from a hat? Tell you what, I'll give up my spot.

Let's do a raffle for everyone to hype things up…" "Wow, it seems our lucky lady tonight is that thrilled she's babbling nonsense!" the host cut me off smoothly. "Quick, let's have our security team escort her backstage to rest!" Before I could even open my mouth to argue, four massive, musclebound bodyguards in black suits materialized out of thin air.

They grabbed my arms and hauled me out of the banquet hall at the speed of light. Vance sat back in his seat, unfazed, slowly adjusting his cuffs.

After a long moment, he stood up, coldly tugged at his tie, and muttered, "Excuse me." I was "escorted" by two bodyguards straight up to Vance's executive office.

And forcefully shoved down into his massive leather desk chair. Chapter 5 I stood up, and they forced me back down by the shoulders.

I tried again, and they shoved me right back into the seat. I stared blankly. What was the point of all this theater? Vance could have just straightup kidnapped me.

It wasn't like anyone would dare object anyway. I tried to explain. "You guys have it all wrong. Your boss and I… we aren't what you think.

Actually, I'm his godmother… or, you can just think of me as his mom…" Before I could even finish the sentence, a rich, icy scoff echoed from the doorway. "My mother died when I was in elementary school.

Her ashes are already molding in the cemetery, are you sure about that?" My head snapped up. "Vance!" His expression was deadpan.

He gave a sharp nod to the four bodyguards. "Out." The four men, built like doubledoor refrigerators, nodded and filed out of the office in perfect sync.

I shrank back into the massive executive chair, wrapping my arms around my knees. I didn't dare move a muscle. I watched Vance stalk toward me, step by slow step.

The executive office was on the top floor. Outside the massive floortoceiling windows, the glittering New York skyline stretched out endlessly. He took his time.

As he walked, he unfastened his cufflinks and shrugged off his suit jacket. Then his fingers moved to his tie. Then his watch.

Alarm bells blared in my head. "Vance, what are you doing?" I wasn't an idiot.

I'd read enough trashy novels to know exactly what it meant when the male lead started stripping off his accessories! He stopped dead in front of me.

Both his hands clamped down onto the armrests, caging me in from above.

The veins on his forearms bulged against his skin. "So now you know my name." His voice was a freezing rasp. "Weren't you pretending not to know me down in the hall?" His clean, sharp scent crashed down on me.

I tried to press myself deeper into the chair. "I wasn't… I wasn't pretending.

I was just passing by." "You look that rich now, I didn't dare say hi." "Is that so?" Vance clearly didn't buy a single word. "Don't hide from me, Piper." Like a cornered cat, I pressed myself flush against the massive leather backrest. "Okay." His heavy breath struck my ear, carrying a highly aggressive cedarwood scent that forced my brain to shut down. "Where have you been these past few years?" Where had I been?

Since we parted at the airport three years ago, I had vanished without a trace. After I extracted from this world, Faye was supposed to dilute his memory of me.

So, I spent every single day sunbathing on the beach, clubbing, and feeling up the washboard abs of hot guys. But there was no way in hell I was going to tell him that.

I stammered. "I… I was on the run every day… secretly missing you." Vance's hand stopped. [Host!

Vance's darkness level just dropped by one point!] the system suddenly yelled in my head. I cursed it silently. Are you asking for a death wish?

I called you earlier and you played dead, but now you show up? [Keep up the good work, Host!] I really wanted to keep up the good work, but right now, I couldn't read a single thing on Vance's mind.

I tested the waters, asking quietly, "Vance, have you been doing well?" Vance's Adam's apple bobbed hard. He let out a cryptic hum. "Yeah." "That's good.

Then… have you seen Faye around?" Vance stayed silent. [Host! Vance's darkness level just shot up by ten points!] My breath hitched. Fuck this, I'm out.

I frantically grabbed his sleeve, forcing tears into my eyes as I started spouting pure nonsense. "Faye is my distant cousin!

You know how my parents went bankrupt and fled the country… well, her family is still here!" "Now that I'm back… I just wanted to ask if you had run into her…" "Your cousin?" The corner of Vance's mouth ticked up in a terrifying smirk. "Did you know this 'cousin' of yours used to work at my company?" "I know, I know." I nodded furiously like my life depended on it. "I'm the one who told her to come here.

I told her you were a great guy, and that if she worked for you, you'd definitely take care of her…" Chapter 6 Vance suddenly gripped my throat.

His skin was icecold. "Say that again." "I… I said you were a great— Mmph." Vance lowered his head again, sinking his teeth into my shoulder.

Enough! "Are you a rabid dog?" Vance ignored the question, letting out a dark chuckle. "You should know best if I'm a dog. You really went out of your way.

Vanishing from the face of the earth, yet you still didn't forget to send a woman to my side." With that, he released his grip on the chair.

I instinctively followed his movement and stood up. Before I could even find my footing, the world spun. He clamped a hand around my waist and hoisted me over his broad shoulder.

The system in my head almost threw up from the sudden motion. I thrashed against him. "What are you doing!" "Want to see Faye?

That depends on your performance tonight." "Per… performance?" "Be a good girl.

Make me happy." He scoffed. "If I'm in a good mood, I won't just send you to see one cousin, I'll send you to see ten." In the original novel, the male lead was a psychopath.

When he lost it, he did a lot of irrational things. Things involving ties, belts, handcuffs… That was why the original female lead tried to run away.

And every time she got dragged back, she faced even more savage and intense blushinducing punishments.

By the time I snapped back to reality, Vance had already hauled me back to his place. It was a massive, brilliantly lit mansion built halfway up a cliff by the ocean.

There was literally nowhere to run. He walked into the bathroom without a single word to take a shower.

I lay on his kingsized bed, deep in thought. "The performance he wants… it couldn't possibly be the kind of performance I'm thinking of, right?" [I can see the trash in your brain right now.

There's no other way anyway, why don't you just give it a try?] "Try my ass. The male lead is obsessed with the female lead, he only wants her.

If I screw this up, what if he literally murders me!" [From where I'm sitting, you haven't screwed anything up and he still wants to murder you.] [Host, what exactly did you say to Vance in the car earlier?

Why does his darkness level keep spiking?] "Uh…" In the car, he had pinned me down, expressionless and perfectly still, not saying a word. So I just kept rambling.

Things like: "Did you get into a fight with Faye?

Girls do like to throw little tantrums, just coax her a little and she'll be fine." "Why aren't you saying anything… Do you not know how to coax a girl?" "Let me teach you!

Start by calling me 'baby' so I can hear how it sounds!" [...] A soft click came from the bathroom door.

Vance's tall silhouette, wrapped only in a towel, was cast against the frosted glass. [Host, you're on your own.

Good luck.] I gripped the bedsheets, cold sweat prickling my skin. "Wait! Don't go! System!" Vance killed the bathroom lights. Step by slow step, he stopped right in front of me.

I held my breath, shrinking backward. Putting aside everything else… the man's physique was unbelievably ridiculous.

I had felt up all kinds of washboard abs over the years, but none of them compared to his