Chapter 2
I stumbled backward, desperate to get as far away from them as possible.
Three years. 1,096 days and nights.
Every time I saw a flicker of hope, it was crushed in the next second.
And still, I survived.
I held on with nothing but my love for them-on the belief that they would come for me.
I dragged myself through it, again and again, even when I was on the verge of dying.
And somewhere along the way…something inside me split.
I turned sharply to Cassian, the man who had once sworn, at our wedding, that he would always protect me.
“Every time I was about to die… you showed up.”
My voice shook, then hardened.
“But every time, you forced me out into the storm. To the edge of the cliffs. Made me kneel, over and over, begging for someone to save me!”
Cassian flinched.
A flicker of pain crossed his eyes as he stepped closer.
His fingers brushed the thick scar on my forehead, his voice low, almost hoarse.
That mark-left behind after countless times my head hit the ground.
“Every time your head hit the ground, it hurt me too,” he said. “I wanted to run to you. To hold you.”
He swallowed hard.
“But for the film’s realism… I held back. Aurelia, you’re Delphine’s greatest masterpiece.”
“Didn’t you ever think I could die?” I grabbed his collar, my vision burning red.
“I knew you wouldn’t.” His arms tightened around me, forceful, suffocating. “We had a full medical team on standby.”
“Even if you did die…” His voice broke slightly. “I would’ve dragged you back from it.”
He leaned down and kissed the scar on my forehead.
A wave of nausea hit me so hard I almost gagged.
Then a ringtone cut through the moment-sharp, intrusive.
He didn’t even hesitate.
That tone. Only Delphine had it.
Cassian’s lips curved before he even answered.
“Cassian, what’s taking so long?” Her voice came through, soft and sweet.
“There are only twelve hours left before the Halcyon Awards. My leading actress still needs to get ready.”
Her voice pulled me straight back into the past.
Back to that night.
At the awards ceremony, Cassian had dropped to one knee, sliding a ring onto my finger.
The room had been filled with cheers, applause, flashing lights.
And then Delphine stood up.
Wearing an outdated dress, clutching a microphone, her voice trembling-but loud enough for
everyone to hear.
“Aurelia… can you give me back the life and reputation you stole from me?”
The cameras exploded.
Flashes turned the night into daylight.
My fanbase collapsed overnight. Endorsements were canceled. For three months straight, I trended
as the villain.
Cassian had been my last lifeline.
And I held onto him.
We tangled together in bed like drowning people, and he whispered the same promise again and again.
“Aurelia… we grew up together. We’ve loved each other for ten years.”
“No matter who you are, no matter your name-I won’t leave you.”
But he did.
The film I spent three years perfecting was pulled it from the awards list at the last second.
When he looked at me then, there was nothing left in his eyes.
Only coldness.
Only disappointment.
“Why do you keep targeting Delphine?” he demanded. “Smearing her, hiring trolls, even drugging
her?”
“If I hadn’t gotten there in time, those men would’ve destroyed her.”
“And now she’s pregnant with my child. I’m doing this to help you atone.”
“I never did any of that!” I had shouted.
No one believed me.
Every piece of evidence pointed straight at me.
My world collapsed.
All I wanted was to run.
Leave the country. Start over. Live again.
“Almost there,” Cassian said gently, pulling me out of the memory like nothing had happened. “We
hit a delay on the way, but you’ll be on stage soon, accepting your Best Actress award.”
The blood rushed to my head.
Before I could stop myself, my hand flew.
Chapter 2
22.22%
The slap cracked across his face.
“This world still has justice!” I shouted. “What you’ve done is illegal-this is imprisonment, abuse
“Aurelia.”
Evander’s voice cut through mine like a blade.
He pulled a stack of documents from his bag and tossed them in front of me.
Every page bore my signature. My fingerprint.
“Everything’s airtight. Voluntary participation. Survival challenge. Psychological endurance.”
He met my eyes, expression cold.
“You even signed the psychiatric clearance.”
His voice didn’t waver.
“This was a legal production.”
