Chapter 1

For ten years, my legs ached like they were being sawed off every time it rained.

It was a hidden injury from walking to all those churches. But I never complained. It was the price I paid to pray for my dead love.

Until today.

On the TV screen of a rundown motel, I saw Julian, who was supposed to be resting at the bottom of the lake.

The headline screamed: Ascension Ceremony for the New Don of Chicago's Biggest Mafia, the Falcone Family.

He looked sharp in a tailored suit, full of pride. Beside him sat my former best friend, Scarlett.

Like a madwoman, I dragged my crippled legs to the TV station.

I bumped into them in the underground parking garage.

Scarlett froze when she saw me covered in mud like a beggar.

The next second, her eyes turned red. She hid in Julian's arms and sobbed, "Aurora... I'm sorry. After he fell into the river, his family found him. He just lost his memory. I loved him too much, and I was too greedy for the power and wealth of this mafia empire. I could only tell him I was his girlfriend and lie to you that he died..."

How vicious.

I looked at Julian.

Those eyes that were once full of love now looked at me like a total stranger. The ruthless coldness of a powerful man suffocated me.

Julian pulled Scarlett behind him. He frowned slightly. His tone was gentle but reeked of arrogant pity.

"I don't care who you used to be, but stop bothering my wife. We have a five-year-old kid. I know you had a hard life in the slums. For old time's sake, I'll have the family accountant write you a check. It'll be enough to last you half a lifetime as compensation. Stop being jealous of Scarlett."

Compensation? Jealous?

My vision went dark. Even breathing hurt like hell.

We grew up relying on each other in the mob-ruled streets. To escape that shithole, we studied like crazy to get into college. I treated him as the love of my life, and Scarlett as a little sister I swore to protect.

But it turned out he wasn't a slum orphan. He was the lost heir of the Falcone family.

On Graduation night ten years ago, a rival syndicate sent hitmen to stop him from returning to his family. Julian took three stabs for me and fell off the bridge into the freezing rapids.

Guilt consumed me. I threw away my future. I lived in a walking hell.

Ten years of blood and tears, all for a cruel lie!

Grief and anger shattered my heart. Sharp pain hit me, and I collapsed onto the concrete floor.

...

"Aurora, stop crying. Julian wouldn't want to see you like this in heaven."

A familiar perfume, along with a fake touch on my arm. I snapped my eyes open.

White roses, black clothes, and a black-and-white portrait right in front of me.

I breathed heavily and looked down at my perfectly fine legs.

22 years old.

I was back in the year I graduated college. Back at the memorial service we held a full month after Julian went missing in the river.

Next to me, Scarlett was holding a tissue. She tried to hide the smug look in her eyes as she put a fake comforting arm around my shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" I slapped her hand away hard.

Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, I marched to the portrait and grabbed the mic off the table.

"Cut the act!" I glared at Scarlett in the audience, my voice echoing through the hall. "Julian isn't dead!"

The room went dead silent.

Scarlett's face instantly drained of color, but she quickly covered her panic with a look of devastated disbelief. "Aurora, what are you talking about? I know you're grieving, but how is that possible? We all saw him fall into the river... Please, stop making a scene, let him rest in peace!"

"Rest in peace?" I stepped off the stage and closed in on her, my eyes piercing through her fake tears. "Scarlett, do you dare swear to God right now? Swear on your own life that Julian is truly dead, and that you haven't been hiding him like a dirty thief?!"

"I... you're crazy!" Scarlett backed away, tears spilling over as she looked around helplessly. "Why are you attacking me? I'm just as heartbroken as you are!"

Just as she played the perfect cornered victim, the heavy doors of the hall pushed open with a loud bang.

Two rows of made men in black suits filed in and stood on both sides.

Julian walked out from behind the crowd.

Seeing Scarlett crying helplessly, his brows furrowed deeply, and he immediately strode over to her.

He wore an expensive custom Italian jacket. His eyes were full of guard.

Although he had only been recovering at the Falcone estate for a month, he already had the coldness of a boss.

"Who are you?" he asked me coldly, pulling Scarlett securely into his arms.

Scarlett grabbed my hand and leaned into my ear, tears streaming down her face instantly.

"Aurora, I didn't mean to! When he woke up, he thought I was his girlfriend... I told him he was the Falcone heir and that you guys were just crazy stalkers mistaking him for your dead friend! I didn't tell you the truth because I didn't want to hurt you!"

What a vicious, perfect lie.

An amnesiac Julian, brainwashed into thinking he was just a victim of mistaken identity, bought it completely.

He didn't even glance at the portrait on the altar, dismissing this whole grieving crowd as lunatics.

He stepped forward and hugged the crying Scarlett, shielding her behind him.

"What exactly do you want?" Julian glared at me, his eyes showing disgust for a greedy beggar. "If you want cash, just say it. There's no need to scare my girlfriend at a funeral that has nothing to do with us. This is Falcone territory. Don't test my patience."

Looking at his face, I didn't break down. No tears.

Just disgust. Just an unprecedented clarity and relief.

"I don't want anything." I gave a cold smirk and tossed the mic on the table. "Since you're not dead, I guess I can save money on wreaths. We're just childhood friends, nothing more."

With that, I walked straight through the crowd and left the hall without looking back.

The early autumn sun was blinding.

I grabbed a cab and rushed straight to the law school building on campus.

I pushed open the door to my professor's office.

"Valenti? Didn't you just graduate?" My professor looked up in surprise.

I took a deep breath and slapped my deferred agreement on the desk.

"Professor, I've made my choice." I looked him right in the eye. "I'm accepting the full-ride scholarship to Columbia Law. Please reinstate my admission."

He smiled with relief and was about to speak.

Suddenly, the office door was shoved open. Julian stood at the door, panting.

He should have been comforting his 'girlfriend' back at the hall. But for some reason, he had chased after me.

He stared at the admission letter in my hand. Beneath his cold, stranger-like gaze, there was a hidden panic even he didn't realize.

He forced down that strange unease, his voice tight. "Where... where are you going?"