Chapter 2

But he wasn't finished.

"After Jason died, she poured every ounce of her guilt and grief onto you."

His voice grew colder with every word.

"She convinced herself that you were the reason she couldn't save him. In her mind, you were the one who got in the way. The one who killed the man she truly loved."

He yanked open the collar of his shirt.

Beneath his collarbone, thick welts crisscrossed his skin—deep scars left by a whip.

Scattered among them were perfectly round burn marks from cigarettes.

"They weren't love marks," he said flatly. "They were reminders. When she proposed to you... when she married you... none of it was because she loved you.

"It was revenge.

"The day after your wedding, she locked you in the basement of her mansion. For twenty years."

His hollow eyes stared straight through me.

"Sometimes she'd keep you chained up like a dog.

"Sometimes she'd force you to kneel in front of Jason's photograph and apologize to him.

"And every day, she'd come up with new ways to torture you. Things you'd never even imagine another human being could do."

A bitter laugh escaped his cracked lips.

"To the rest of the world, she was the devoted CEO who never abandoned her husband.

"They believed you had suffered a mental breakdown after an accident left your leg permanently crippled. They praised her for standing by your side—for taking you to doctors, caring for the wounds you supposedly inflicted on yourself."

He lowered his gaze.

"Only you knew the truth."

A deafening crack of thunder split the sky.

But it was nothing compared to the sound of my world collapsing.

Memories of Nicole came rushing back, one after another.

When I was a sophomore in high school, Jason had grabbed me by the collar and dragged me toward the restroom, making sure to stay in the school's surveillance blind spot.

Nicole had happened to be walking back to the classroom to retrieve something she'd forgotten.

She'd always kept to herself.

The quiet, withdrawn daughter of a wealthy family who never got involved in anyone else's business.

That day...

She stepped in for the first time.

Later, I learned why.

Her father had abandoned her mother for another woman. After her mother was remarried into a wealthy family, Nicole had spent years being tormented by her new elder stepsister.

She knew exactly what it felt like to be trapped with nowhere to run.

That day, she'd seen herself in me.

From then on, she became my guardian.

Every afternoon after school, she'd wait for me so we could leave together.

Jason didn't dare provoke the Smith family, and he certainly didn't dare provoke Nicole.

Little by little, he lost every opportunity to bully me.

Wanting to repay her, I started tutoring her after class.

At first, she resisted.

She'd already given up on herself.

I told her, "Nicole, it's easy to stay buried in the mud.

"Climbing out is the hard part.

"Your future belongs to no one but you."

Little by little...

She changed.

We studied together.

We pushed each other forward.

Eventually, she cut off the long, unkempt hair that had always hidden her face. For the first time, I saw the clear, stubborn determination in her eyes.

One evening, beneath the glow of a streetlight, she looked at me as though I were the only star in the sky.

There was admiration in her eyes. Something so intense it bordered on obsession.

"Ethan," she whispered, "you're my reason for living. I'll reach the very top. For you."

We endured countless sleepless nights together.

In the end, we were both accepted into the same prestigious university.

To everyone around us, we were the perfect couple.

Two broken people who had saved each other.

Proof that love could heal even the deepest wounds.

And now...

The man standing before me—the man I would become—was telling me that the girl I'd pulled out of the darkness with everything I had...

Had betrayed me.

She hadn't just fallen in love with the man who had ruined my life. She had imprisoned me.

Tortured me. For twenty years.

I covered my face with both hands. A broken sob escaped through my fingers.

It felt as though a giant hand had reached into my chest and torn my heart apart.

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't accept it.

I'd poured every ounce of my youth, my faith, and my love into Nicole.

She knew exactly how Jason had tormented me.

She knew what his mother had done to mine.

She knew everything.

And just then—

As if to confirm every horrifying word coming out of my future self's mouth—

The rain began to pour.