Chapter 2

"Move!"

Silas shoved through the crowd blocking his way.

He strode toward me. The panic in his eyes finally crushed his pride and anger.

He dropped to one knee on the broken ice.

His hands shook as he reached out to gather my convulsing body.

"Silas, wait. Please don't be so easily manipulated."

Vivian shoved a tablet right into Silas's face, blocking his view.

A secret video played on the screen.

It was me in my studio last week.

I was looking for inspiration for a "Despair" couture line, rolling and gasping on the floor.

The moves and expressions were exactly like my pain right now.

"I didn't want to show you this," Vivian's voice was full of reluctance and disappointment. "She's not sick at all. I saw her practicing these exact moves in her studio last week for her new collection. She's just using your trauma to test your love for her!"

Silas's movements froze.

He stared hard at the video. His eyes turned red instantly. The veins on the back of his hand bulged.

Death and separation were his greatest fears, yet I used it to play with his feelings! The hard-won worry in his eyes vanished completely. It was replaced by the deep pain of absolute betrayal.

"Aria." His voice was ice-cold, filled with gritted disappointment. "Get up right now."

He pulled back his rescuing hands. He stood up straight again, glaring down at me coldly.

I hurt so much that even my fingertips trembled. My lungs had completely quit. I shook my head desperately, unable to make a single sound.

"She must be too deep in her own performance," Vivian sighed. "Let's give her a hand, maybe some fresh air will snap her out of it."

A few socialite friends walked over. They gently but firmly hoisted me up by my arms, completely ignoring my bruised, oxygen-starved face.

"Come on, Aria, enough is enough. Toast and apologize to Vivian!" they snapped.

Silas picked up a glass of wine from a nearby table. He held it right to my lips.

"Drink it," he ordered. "Drink this, and I'll let tonight's stupid stunt slide."

I stared into his cold eyes. My tears mixed with cold sweat and fell into the icy water. In agony, I bit the inside of my cheek.

"No..." I used every last drop of my strength to force out the word.

"Still refusing a toast? Aria, you really are holding a grudge, aren't you?" Vivian sighed as if she was deeply hurt.

She picked up a concentrated essential oil diffuser from the table.

"Her breathing is so shallow from anxiety. As a doctor, I recommend aromatherapy. This potent eucalyptus oil will open up her chest."

She placed the steaming device directly beneath my nose.

My lungs screamed. It felt like swallowing broken glass.

Unable to breathe, I opened my eyes wide in pain. Blood vessels popped in my eyes. A violent, tearing pain exploded in my chest.

I clutched my chest tightly. Out of instinct, I reached a trembling finger toward Silas for help.

"Save... me... my lungs..."

Silas slapped my hand away hard. He was absolutely ruthless, but he didn't dare look into my desperate eyes again.

"Stop faking it, Aria! It's just essential oils! It won't hurt you. I've known you for so long, and I've never heard a word about any asthma! I stayed quiet because I loved you. I wanted to give you a chance to change, but you disappointed me too much!"

I closed my eyes in total despair.

Years ago, I ran away from my powerful family to chase my dream as a designer. One day, I was trapped in a horrifying multi-car pileup during a storm. Silas showed up like a hero and pulled me from the wreckage.

We fell in love at first sight.

We became inseparable.

I learned this cold, distant man lost his parents to a sudden, severe illness.

So, I decided to hide that I was the President's daughter, because I wanted to live a normal life with him without the complications of my political background.

I hid my trauma and illness from the kidnapping too.

I didn't want him to relive the fear and helplessness of watching a loved one suffer from illness ever again.

I never thought this kind secret would one day get me killed.

Silas turned around with extreme disgust and heartbreak. He didn't look at me again.

After he turned his back, Vivian knelt down beside me. She pretended to check my pulse, but her sharp acrylic nails dug painfully into my wrist.

"Why... why are you doing this to me?" I managed to whisper.

Vivian leaned close so only I could hear her. The innocent doctor persona melted into a vicious smile.

"You don't deserve him," she whispered venomously. "Silas is handsome, rich, and the CEO of Thorne Group. I spent eleven years trying to win his heart, and I failed. You're just a nobody from the slums. Why do you get to keep him?"

She 'accidentally' let go of my wrist, letting my head hit the floor hard.

"A nobody... from the slums?"

A grim, cold smile crept onto my lips. If my father—the man who controlled the entire Federation military and government—knew I was humiliated and trampled like this, what kind of bloody hell would he unleash?

Sadly, I would never see him again.

My vision blurred. Through the haze, I saw my spare emergency pill. It had dropped near a waiter's feet far away. It was my last glimmer of hope.

The will to live drove every part of my body.

Just a few more crawls... I thought. Just a few more...

I thought I could reach the pill. Even if I couldn't, I hoped I could get the waiter's attention. Maybe he would kindly give me the medicine. Then I would at least have a chance to see my father one last time.

I clenched my teeth until they almost broke.

Dragging my dying body, I crawled forward with every last drop of my strength.