The President's Daring Wife

Pain. It hurt. 

Her whole body ached so much as if her bones were breaking inside. 

Eve opened her eyes and through her blurry vision, the white ceiling loomed above. Her head pounded as she tried to remember where she was. 

But it was so hard to recall anything when the ache in her head kept increasing. 

The soft mattress underneath her moved as well as the bedsheet on her. 

What was she doing on a bed? 

Her heart stopped beating for a second then it all began coming back. 

The last time before her eyes closed, Eve could remember herself drowning. Her hands and legs were bound with hard ropes and she was blindfolded. She couldn't even struggle as she helplessly drowned.

But now... 

This pain in her body didn't feel like that of someone who had drowned. In fact, this pain felt familiar as if she'd experienced something similar before.

The bedsheet moved again and Eve was now aware of her surroundings. Her eyes strayed to her left and she held her breath to stop herself from screaming. 

Sleeping beside her was none other than her husband, Ethan. 

How was this possible? Ethan was long dead. She saw his car fall off the mountain cliff with her own eyes. 

Eve rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining things. She touched the man under the sheet... He was real, and also naked...

And so was she. 

Her heart skipped again and this time, Eve jumped and let out a scream. 

Now that she could remember this scenario, her confusion only heightened. 

If she wasn't mistaken, this was exactly the same condition she had woken up in the morning after she drugged Ethan. And it happened almost a year ago not long after they got married. 

As if disturbed by her screams, Ethan turned on the bed, his eyelids fluttering. 

He opened his eyes, frowning. He didn't look surprised or frightened, unlike her.

"E–Ethan, y–you..." Eve's heart could not stop beating wildly as she finally realized what was happening. 

"Evelyn Maxwell!" Ethan's deep voice resounded in the room, sending her body shuddering. 

Before she could think about running off, he grabbed her waist with his strong arms. Her still-aching waist. 

"How dare you play such an underhanded trick on me?" His hold tightened and he glared hard at her. "You thought drugging me and setting me up with another woman would give the media a reason to drive a wedge between our families? You want a divorce, right?"

Eve flinched as he brought up his hand to brush her hair aside. 

"In your dreams."

His last words echoed in her ears and she was finally released of his strong hold. 

Ethan got off the bed and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. 

Eve supported her head with both hands and shut her eyes. Every one of Ethan's words was true.

Last night, at his grandfather's birthday party, she and her best friend Mia had secretly made a plan and paid a waiter to spike his drink. They had also arranged for someone to carry out their plan by sleeping with Ethan. The reporter they had also hired to record everything and spread the scandal was ready. 

However, their plan backfired when out of nowhere, Ethan grabbed her to the parking lot and ordered his driver to drive them back home. He started stripping her from the hallway and she ended up becoming the victim of the drug. 

Eve could recall that after this incident, she grew more resentful toward Ethan. Their marriage had always been on the rocks right from the beginning.

Immediately after she graduated from college, her grandfather forced her to marry him to strengthen the business ties between both families.

Although Ethan had never treated her badly and got her everything a woman would ever ask for, her tantrums increased by the day, fueled by her desire to leave him and also her best friend's constant advice that being with Ethan was nothing compared to the happiness she would live in when she finally got to be with Cole, her childhood sweetheart. 

Despite acting cold all the time, Ethan was adamant not to divorce her, and Eve's tantrums became too gruesome that her grandfather developed a heart attack which led to his death. 

When Eve found out that she was pregnant, she didn't think twice before taking out the baby. The drug she took was so lethal that she almost lost her life, but Ethan didn't give up on her. He summoned the best medical practitioners to save her life, spending tons of money. 

But that incident took a huge toll on Eve when people found out what she did. Her family disowned her and Ethan's parents drove her out. That was when she discovered that her best friend who had been rooting for her all the time was actually a two-faced bitch. 

It turned out Mia and Cole were in a relationship, and their goal had always been to destroy her marriage.

It was too late when Eve realized that Ethan had loved her right from the beginning. Because not long after their divorce, he called and wanted to meet with her on the outskirts of the town. 

She had waited for him on the mountain, but his car seemed to have lost control and she watched in horror as it fell down the cliff and exploded. 

Because she was present at the scene, the police arrested her and his family pointed fingers at her that she had a hand in it.

With no one to defend her, Eve spent a long time in jail. And one day, miraculously, a mysterious person bailed her out. 

However, on stepping out of the jail gates, Eve was abducted by strange men. She didn't even know who her killers were because she was blindfolded and bound and thrown into a deep ocean. 

Eve wiped her tears as those memories replayed in her mind. Her heart ached as she remembered how foolish and cruel she'd been in the past. 

If she'd looked on the bright side, marrying Ethan was nothing but a blessing. But she'd allowed Mia and Cole to deceive her and she'd taken all she'd had for granted. 

The repercussions were too horrible to remember. 

Now that she'd woken up way before all that happened, was this a sign that she was blessed by the heavens and given a second chance? 

Did she have the power to prevent the same things from happening again? 

The sound of the bathroom door opening made her look up and Ethan stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist. 

Eve blinked and her heart dropped to her stomach. 

Eve spaced out, and she had the urge to touch him again to make sure he was real. 

There was a stark difference between his current appearance compared to the last days of their marriage. 

Because she had caused him so much trouble, Ethan had a hard time focusing on his business affairs despite his resilient attitude. 

Slowly, he changed from a fine gentleman whom everyone admired to a grumpy drunk whom everyone was afraid to go near. 

"Eve!" 

He seemed to be calling out her name for quite a while now because his voice got louder, snapping her out of her reverie. 

"I said get ready, we're going to the ancestral mansion."

His anger had cooled off because he even addressed her the usual way he did. 

Without waiting for her reply, Ethan walked into the closet. 

The ancestral mansion...

The memory was as clear as day in Eve's mind. 

That time when she drugged Ethan, he'd asked her to follow him to the ancestral mansion the next morning, to apologize to his grandfather for leaving the party without letting him know.

And what did she do? 

She yelled and protested that she wasn't going to follow him anywhere. She even broke things in the house, until she remembered...

She remembered the kind of gift she'd presented to his grandfather. 

'Oh, no!' Eve's eyes widened at the remembrance of the gift. She couldn't let his grandfather see that gift, otherwise, what happened in her past life might repeat itself. 

Hopefully, she wasn't too late. 

Eve jumped out of bed and darted into the bathroom, forgetting the ache in her body. 

After taking her bath and getting ready, she left the bedroom and bumped into the house stewardess in the hallway. 

"G–Good morning, Ms. Maxwell,  I hope you slept well," Elena stammered while trying to hide the fabric in her hands behind her. 

That was Eve's dress. The one Ethan had ripped off last night. 

Seeing the Stewardess's expression, Eve's heart twisted in guilt. Not only did she make Ethan's life difficult, she also made his servants miserable. 

At that time when she saw her dress in the Stewardess's hands, she was reminded of the night before and that made her punish the poor woman by asking her to kneel outside from dawn till sunset. 

Smiling, she stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder. "Sure, I hope you slept well too, Elena. And can you please stop calling me Ms. Maxwell? After all, I'm Ethan's wife and bearing his surname."

"Huh?" The stewardess blinked at her. 

"In fact, just call me Eve. Let there be no formalities between us."

After saying that, Eve hurried off. She still hoped Ethan's grandfather hadn't opened her gift yet. 

In the past, she'd strictly warned all the servants to only address her by her family's surname, Evan included. So none dared to call her Mrs. Anderson, or Madam, or even Young Miss. 

Her phone rang and she brought it out of her purse to see Mia's name displayed on the screen. 

Eve's fingers curled around her phone and she gritted her teeth. Mia had surely called to feed her more lies and heartbreaking words to make her feel more miserable. 

Eve rejected the call and turned off her phone. 

Ethan was already at the dining table, waiting for her. The breakfast was already served and steaming hot. 

"Eve."

As Eve gobbled up her food, Ethan called out to her, his brows creasing together. 

"It's not like we're in a rush," he said coldly. "Don't injure yourself."

Even though his expression didn't hold any warmth, Eve was now sane enough to know that he was genuinely worried that she could hurt herself. 

She flashed him a smile and slowed down her pace, and that made the frown on Ethan's forehead deepen. 

Eve sighed inside. She could swear that she'd never even smiled at him before. Her obvious agreement to go with him and obliging to his silent command must have taken him by surprise. 

She just hoped she would be able to stop those calamities from happening again and free herself of the guilt in her heart. 

Suddenly losing her appetite, she dropped the teacup in her hand and said, "Erhm, Ethan... Can we set off now? I want us to be there as soon as possible." 

"You seem to be in a hurry." The confusion in his eyes increased and he dropped his spoon. "Eve, what are you—"

"Please please please." She cut him off, cupping her palms together. "Please let's go now, Ethan. Besides, we're stopping by the antique store, so we must set out early in order to reach the mansion before the sun comes out." She stood up and went to his side then pulled him up. 

"The antique store?" Ethan asked and she quickly nodded. 

"What are you going to do there?"

"To buy Grandpa another gift." She gave him a desperate look. 

Ethan stared at her as if she'd grown two horns. "But you already gave him a birthday present."

Eve shut her eyes, biting her lips. 

That present was going to land them both in huge trouble. 

And she wouldn't dare to tell Ethan about it. 

She opened her eyes and curled up her lips, giving him her sweetest smile. "I– I just feel like I should give him another present. We left his place last night without bidding him goodbye, definitely, he must be mad. My gift will, in no doubt, pacify his heart." 

Ethan gave her an incredulous look. The more she spoke, the more skeptical he appeared. 

"So I must buy a very nice gift and I'll present it to him. You know grandfather loves antique collection. It will make him happy and we won't have to apologize for long."

She didn't give Ethan the chance to speak and she went on pulling him toward the entrance. 

When they got to the parking lot, she rushed the driver to get the car ready. 

As they sat in the backseat, Ethan didn't take his eyes off her.

The car was just about to leave the villa's gates when he said to the driver, "Stop the car."

Eve's lips parted in shock and her eyes snapped to him. 

"Eve." Ethan held her chin, staring into her eyes. "What exactly are you up to?"