Chapter 1

After breaking three ribs, Yvonne Xander finally escaped from the psychiatric hospital.

The very first thing she did after getting out was to sign a consent form to donate her body.

“Ms. Xander, we’re obligated to inform you that this is a special type of donation. Your body will be used in experiments involving a new chemical erosion agent. By the end, there may not be a single fragment of your bone left.”

Yvonne pressed a hand against her throbbing chest. The pain from her fractured ribs turned her voice into a dry and brittle rasp.

She forced the corners of her mouth into a bitter smile. “That’s exactly what I want.”

There were only a few days left anyway. She may as well do something useful before the end.

Her medical report bore a clear diagnosis: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as ALS.

Yvonne was one of the unlucky ones. A complication had caused an infection in her lungs. She had a month to live, at most.

The staff member’s gaze had already turned sympathetic.

“Thank you for your contribution to research. This compensation is a small token of appreciation. Please accept it.”

Yvonne reached out with trembling hands and took the money.

The twitching and spasms in her hands were side effects of neurological medication overuse, and she could not control them.

She planned to donate the money to a children’s welfare center, visit the cemetery one last time to make peace, and then peacefully embrace the end.

As she stumbled out the door, she immediately spotted a few men crouched under a tree waiting for her.

“There she is!”

“Hey, you! Did you think you could run? We’ll fry you alive when we get you back!”

Yvonne’s face turned pale. She spun around and bolted.

A sharp pain bloomed in her chest, tinged with the metallic taste of blood. Her entire body seized up in fear. She could only charge headlong into the building with the most security guards.

She ran so fast that she crashed straight into someone. The cash in her hands scattered across the floor.

The man’s rock-hard chest left her dizzy. Amid startled gasps, a clean and familiar scent filled her nose.

Then came the low and unmistakable voice of a man.

“Yvonne.”

A flat and cold statement froze her in place.

They had not seen each other for five years, and Jason Fender had matured. His downturned gaze was so elegant yet distant. When his eyes landed on Yvonne, they carried undisguised disgust and hatred.

Something in Yvonne’s chest twisted violently as she teared up.

“M… Mr. Fender...!”

The men chasing her panicked the moment they recognized Jason.

Jason’s expression remained cold as he stared at Yvonne.

“Who said you were allowed to come back?”

Yvonne lowered her head and said nothing. Of course, Jason still had no idea that it was that rich playboy who had locked her away in the psychiatric hospital and tortured her for five years.

Jason’s gaze shifted toward the men. One of them caught sight of the money on the floor. He flinched and quickly shouted, “Mr. Fender, that little thief stole from us!”

Jason chuckled. “Yvonne, have you really sunk this low?”

She clutched her spasming hand and instinctively tried to shake her head.

No, that was not true... The money...

“Jason.”

A stunning woman stepped forward and naturally wrapped herself around Jason’s arm. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Yvonne. “Yvonne?”

The ground seemed to vanish beneath Yvonne.

Cindy Yates. She was the ringleader of the people who used to bully her.

Back then, Yvonne had crumbled under the weight of grief after losing her parents. She failed to maintain her GPA and ended up in a terrible high school. That was when the nightmare began.

Torn-up books. A desk stained with god-knows-what. A shredded uniform. A locked bathroom door…

She spiraled into multiple depressive episodes. Cindy was her nightmare, her deepest fear, and her most hated enemy.

Jason, the boy who had grown up with her, found out she had been bullied.

He dropped out of a prestigious private school and transferred to hers. Then he made sure everyone who had hurt her paid the price.

Cindy was forced to withdraw. Only then did Yvonne finally catch a breath of relief.

When the aftershocks of her trauma hit, it was Jason who stayed by her side and whispered, “I’m here,” over and over again. He held her hand and guided her back into the light.

Ten years ago, they confessed their feelings and shared their first kiss.

Eight years ago, they gave in to desire, wrapped up in each other like they would never part. Six years ago, they set a wedding date and were ready to spend forever together. Five years ago, she killed his sister in a fire. The lovers became enemies.

And now, the man she loved most stood beside the woman she hated most.