On the fifth New Year after marrying Leonardo Ferney, he just up and vanished.

Gabrielle went to the police station to report him missing. After the officer in charge read her statement, his face looked a bit strange.

"Did you just say that your husband is Leonardo Ferney? So what's your name?"

"My name's Gabrielle Padgett. Have you heard anything about my husband?" She was blind and nervously twisted the hem of her clothes with her fingers.

The officer frowned and banged on the desk. "Please help us out here and tell us your real name!"

Gabrielle was stunned. "But I am Gabrielle."

Behind her, a guy with bleached blond hair sneered at her. "Hey little blind girl, don't think just because you kinda look like her that you can pretend to be someone else.

"Who in all of Boston doesn't know? Mr. Ferney gave Ms. Padgett a yacht worth 2 billion dollars to celebrate her pregnancy! Ms. Padgett posts photos on social media every day. They've been trending for days now."

At the same time, there was an interview with Leonardo playing on the LED screen across the street.

"Mr. Ferney, yesterday was New Year's Eve! What wish did you make for the new year?"

"Well, I really hope my lovely wife has a smooth delivery and that our life is filled with peace and happiness."

"Thanks, darling."

Alaina Lawson's sweet, familiar voice came through and Gabrielle felt her scalp tingle instantly as all color drained from her face.

***

Five years ago, Gabrielle lost her sight in a car accident, and Leonardo was heartbroken.

Everyone in Boston said the heir to the Ferney family would never marry a blind woman.

Somebody even found a college girl who looked a lot like her and secretly arranged for her to sleep with him.

When Leonardo found out, he nearly lost it with that girl named Alaina.

His eyes were red as he struggled to control his emotions.

"Get out! Gabrielle is the only one for me. Anyone who looks like her makes me sick!"

He drove to the hospital late at night, held Gabrielle tightly in his arms, and let his tears fall on her shoulder.

"Honey, let's go get our marriage license tomorrow, okay? I want you to be Mrs. Ferney."

Everyone knew how much Leonardo loved her and how much he hated Alaina.

But why was it Alaina—pretending to be "Gabrielle"—who now stood beside him as his partner?

Her chest tightened, and a heavy coldness settled inside her.

What the heck was happening?

She needed to find Leonardo and get some answers.

As she stumbled out of the police station in a daze, a falling billboard knocked her out cold.

Just before everything went dark, she thought she heard someone shouting frantically, "Honey, are you okay?"

When she finally opened her eyes again, the bright light hurt like crazy.

Then it hit her. She could see again!

She miraculously regained her sight!

Before she could really take in this strange new world around her, she caught snippets of a conversation between Leonardo and his friend outside the door.

"Leonardo, how long are you going to let Alaina keep pretending to be Gabrielle? It's been five years already!"

Leonardo sighed heavily, clearly upset as he said, "I don't know! Back then, those old directors from the Ferney family wouldn't let me marry a blind woman no matter what. But I loved Gabrielle so much. I had no choice but to lie and say her eyesight got better and let Alaina step in for her."

"But all those old directors are gone now! Why do you still..."

"Alaina is pregnant!" Leonardo interrupted sharply, sounding annoyed. "And honestly... after playing this game for so long, I think I can't live without her anymore."

His friend stared at him, shocked. "Are you serious? You actually have feelings for Alaina? Have you forgotten? The driver in that hit-and-run accident was Alaina's brother, who had a drinking problem.

"If it weren't for him, Gabrielle wouldn't have lost her sight. And if she finds out about all this..."

"Enough!" Leonardo frowned deeply. "Alaina didn't do anything wrong. Her brother's actions don't reflect on her at all. I've already sent that drunk to prison. He won't be getting out.

"After losing her sight, Gabrielle doesn't like going out anymore, and there's no signal here either. She lives in this castle I built just for her. She'll never find out about any of this for the rest of her life."

Inside the room, Gabrielle bit down on her lip tightly as tears streamed down her face.

The castle felt warm and cozy like spring all year round, but she felt a bone-chilling cold throughout her entire body.

She pulled out a stack of beautiful paintings from beside the bed—all painted by Leonardo himself—showing moments of their shared past.

The first painting showed the moment Leonardo and her met during a desert trip. He had broken his leg, and she took care of him for three whole days and nights.

The third one had Leonardo climbing a 4,000-meter snow-covered mountain all by himself to pick a flower for her, just to win her heart.

The eighth one captured the scene where, after she mentioned that she liked ballet, he spent billions inviting all the famous ballet masters from Northern Europe to celebrate her birthday.

The fifteenth one depicted the castle that Leonardo built just for her, designed perfectly for the blind—big, safe, and comfortable.

In the painting, he knelt down on one knee and said, "Honey, from now on I'll be your eyes. From this day forward, you're the only one in my heart."

The girl in the painting smiled brightly with soft eyes full of love as she jumped into his arms.

Gabrielle forced out a bitter smile as she set each of these paintings on fire one by one and then tossed them onto the bed.

She thought, "Leonardo, your love is tainted. I don't want it anymore."

The flames were raging, and the fire alarm was going off like crazy.

In all the chaos, Gabrielle made a run for it through another exit. She spotted a phone booth by the road and dialed that mysterious number.

"Nicholas, you said I could come back to join the orchestra anytime within these five years. Does that still stand?"

A deep voice came through, smooth like a cello. "Of course, my dear Alice. Your fans in Northern Europe have been missing you like crazy."

"But I'm having some issues with my identity. It'll take three days to sort out the paperworks for going abroad."

"How do you plan on leaving Boston? From what I hear, Leonardo won't let you go without a fight."

Gabrielle's eyes darted around. "I'm planning to leave him with a corpse and it will be mine."

Hadn't Leonardo already let someone else pretend to be "Gabrielle"?

If that was the case, then she would finally disappear from his life for good—once and for all!

Out of nowhere, a pair of warm, big hands wrapped around her waist.

Leonardo buried his face in her shoulder, his voice shaking with fear. "Honey, thank God you're okay. If anything happened to you, I don't think I could go on."

His best friend chimed in, patting his chest with a look of lingering panic. "Gabrielle, Leo thought you were still inside. He said he couldn't see anything and insisted on going in to find you. The fire was raging and a chandelier nearly fell on him!"

That was when Gabrielle noticed that Leonardo's arms were all burned up, part of his clothes was ripped apart, and his eyes were red and puffy from the smoke.

She gasped as pain shot through her heart like tiny needles.

She thought, "Leonardo, you're willing to risk everything for me.

"But how can your heart love two women at the same time?"

"Mr. Ferney." A soft voice came from behind.

Alaina stood there in a white dress looking fragile as she pulled along a suitcase.

Gabrielle felt the hands around her waist tense up for a moment, then he let go.

Leonardo ruffled her hair and said with a straight face, "Honey, I've got a business partner here to talk shop. Just hang tight for a sec."

Then he quickly stepped forward, pulled Alaina into his arms, and signed to her.

"Alaina, why did you come by all alone? Didn't I say I'd be there tonight to help you and the baby?"

"I missed you so much! I wanted to come take care of Gabrielle as an apology. It's really my fault,"

Alaina replied in sign language too.

"You don't owe her anything! It's me who owes you and the baby for making you pretend to be someone else."

He kissed Alaina softly. His eyes were filled with warmth. He continued signing.

"I've already picked out names for the baby. If it's a boy, we'll name him Theodore Ferney. If it's a girl, Lana Ferney."

Gabrielle stared blankly at the scene, her heart feeling like it was being ripped apart, each slice bringing a wave of pain.

This time last year, she found out she was pregnant.

Leonardo was over the moon. He booked an entire hot spring resort and gave her a CD filled with 9,999 love messages he had recorded just for her.

Just as she was about to hit play, his phone rang. She could hear a girl softly crying on the other end.

Leonardo kissed her belly and said, "Honey, there's an emergency at work. Just wait for me to come back."

Gabrielle didn't think twice about it. She waited patiently for a whole day and night. But instead of him coming back with love, what came crashing down was heartbreak.

Their baby passed away that winter.

She watched Leonardo gently caress Alaina's belly in that same loving way made Gabrielle let out a bitter laugh.

It turned out she was the only one caught in that avalanche.

"Honey, I've been very busy lately, so I got you a nutritionist to take care of you."

Leonardo took Alaina's hand, his eyes full of affection.

"Hello, Ms. Padgett!" The girl called out in a shy, sweet voice.

It was "Ms. Padgett"—not "Mrs. Ferney."

When Leonardo heard her say that, he frowned just a bit but didn't bother to correct her.

Gabrielle couldn't help but stare at Alaina's lips, which were all swollen from kisses, while her nails dug into her palm.

Out of nowhere, she felt this warm wave wrap around her—Leonardo had thrown his wool coat over her shoulders.

"It's freezing outside. Let's head home, honey."

Before she could even respond, she saw Alaina give a little gesture like "got it," and then the guy leaned in to give her a loving kiss back.

She watched as they strolled hand in hand ahead of her, looking so close and inseparable.

She noticed how the man who usually hated cooking smells put on an apron to help Alaina whip up dinner while laughing loudly with the kitchen fan buzzing away in the background.

Then there was Leonardo again—always so thoughtful—as he scooped soup into a bowl for Gabrielle. But right after that, he reached out to wipe off some rice stuck at the corner of Alaina's mouth with his own hand.

"Silly girl! How can you be this cute?" he signed with his hands.

Gabrielle took a sip of the hot soup and let her head hang low, her chin nearly touching her chest.

Her eyes felt sore and burning, but not a single tear fell.

Having been loved by Leonardo before, she recognized all his familiar gestures and looks.

In that moment, Gabrielle finally realized that he had really fallen for Alaina.

After dinner, the private doctor came by as usual to check Gabrielle's eyes.

"Mr. Ferney, Dr. Giblan had an emergency, so I'm filling in for him. I've gone over the medical records. If Mrs. Ferney keeps taking her meds regularly, there's a good chance she'll get her eyesight back."

Standing outside the door, she listened to the doctor talk about her condition with Leonardo, feeling a heavy ache in her chest.

What did it matter if she could see again? She and Leonardo could never go back to how things used to be.

In this game full of lies and tricks, she'd rather stay "blind."

For the next five days, all she wanted was to leave Boston without any fuss.

Then... she would never see him again, in this life or the next.

There was a moment of silence in the room before he said calmly, "No need.

"Didn't Dr. Giblan tell you? For the last five years, I've only had him prescribe basic nutritional supplements for my wife.

"If she gets her sight back, where does that leave Alaina?"

A sharp crack echoed through the air.

The diamond ring on Gabrielle's finger snapped off from her rough tugging as blood started oozing between her fingers.

She hurried back to her room in shame, trembling all over without even realizing it.

In her panic, she accidentally knocked over the wedding photo on the table.

In that picture, Leonardo was leaning in a bit, giving the girl a sweet kiss on her forehead.

Tears suddenly started falling to the floor.

As she cried, she couldn't help but burst into wild laughter, her stomach shaking and bringing up waves of bitter feelings.

"Hahaha! Leonardo, you really are something!"

So all those dark days and nights—when she felt lost, helpless, scared, and timid—were all part of Leonardo's plan.

When there were no more tears left to cry, she yanked the wedding photo out of its frame and shoved it into the paper shredder.

The moment it got torn apart into little pieces, all those sweet memories of her and Leonardo began to fade away slowly in her mind.

"Honey, what are you doing?"

Gabrielle dumped the white shreds into the trash can.

With a dry and hoarse voice, she said, "Nothing much. Just getting rid of some mistakes."

Leonardo frowned at the shredded paper. It felt oddly familiar to him for some reason.

But before he could think about it any longer, Alaina walked in holding a bouquet of flowers.

His attention immediately shifted to her.

She stuffed the flowers into Gabrielle's arms.

"Happy birthday, Ms. Padgett!"

Gabrielle was overwhelmed by the strong smell of the bouquet, coughing like crazy until tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Alaina even covered her eyes and dragged her to the dining table.

"Ready? Surprise!"

On the white marble table were a few pieces of spare ribs swimming in blood foam and some greens that had been stir-fried until they were burnt black.

It was so ridiculous it almost felt ironic.

Alaina slapped her forehead in frustration.

"Oh! I totally forgot Ms. Padgett can't see..."

Before she could finish, she quickly covered her mouth, looking like she realized she'd messed up big time.

Leonardo immediately tried to reassure her with sign language. "It's okay. Gabrielle won't mind."

Alaina hung her head low and sighed, "Why can't I do anything right?

"But it's all good. I also made a mango cake for Ms. Padgett!"

Seeing that, Leonardo's eyes filled with compassion as he urged, "Honey? Come on, hurry up and eat the cake."

Gabrielle stood there, fists clenched tight.

Suddenly, she felt this heavy weariness wash over her, and her voice came out dry and rough like it had been scraped by gravel.

"Leonardo, today isn't my birthday. It's the anniversary of our child's death.

"I'm also allergic to mangoes."

Leonardo froze for a moment. A flicker of regret flashed in his eyes. "Honey, I..."

She ignored his attempt to stop her and turned away to leave.

Back in her room, she shut the door hard enough to block out both the woman's sobs and the man's comforting words.

She didn't know how long she'd been asleep when a strange noise from downstairs woke her up.

Dazedly opening her eyes, she spotted someone familiar.

Leonardo was sitting by her bed with a gentle look on his face. "Honey, you're awake.

"I made carrot cake for you. Want to get up and have some?"

Gabrielle gently pulled away from him. "No thanks. I'm not hungry."

His hand stopped mid-air as he let out a soft sigh. "Come on honey, don't lie to me. You're still mad at me, right?

"As soon as things calm down around here, I'll take you to a musical, okay?"

Gabrielle turned her head away, staring at the ends of her hair and staying quiet.

Noticing this, the guy pressed his lips together, his brows knitting slightly.

He took Gabrielle's hand. "Honey, the girl has set up a beast show to say sorry to you."

She frowned a bit, ready to say no, but Leonardo scooped her up without thinking twice and carried her downstairs.

The night of the first lunar month was freezing cold.

Gabrielle was just in thin pajamas, her face was pale from the chill, though it was too dark for anyone to really see it.

She shivered a few times and then watched as the man walked straight over to Alaina with a coat in his arms...

He helped Alaina put on a thick protective suit, then gloves and a helmet. Finally, he gave Alaina's cheek a gentle kiss.

"Alaina, don't push yourself too hard. You and the baby are what matters most."

The wind carried his soft voice right into Gabrielle's ears like a heavy punch.

As soon as Alaina lifted the cloth covering the cage, Gabrielle's eyes widened sharply.

There was a full-grown tiger and a black wolf inside.

They seemed to have caught some kind of scent, crashing around wildly in their cage.

The black wolf howled at the sky, its fierce tawny eyes locked onto her with an intense wildness.

Gabrielle instinctively took a step back, suddenly remembering the bouquet with its weirdly strong smell.

Trying to shake off her fear and unease, she said, "Leonardo, I'm not feeling well. I want to go back to my room."

In the past, whenever she mentioned not feeling well, he would get super worried and take her back right away.

But this time, he just frowned and sighed. "Gabrielle, don't be difficult. She's been planning this for ages."

Gabrielle felt like there was a lump in her throat. She forced out a bitter smile.

The show kicked off, and Alaina was trying to direct the tiger and black wolf, but her moves were a bit clumsy.

The two fierce animals weaved through the flaming hoops and crossed the narrow bridge, and at first glance, everything looked fine.

"Awesome! This is amazing!"

Leonardo kept cheering, his eyes glued to Alaina with so much affection.

He completely ignored that Gabrielle couldn't even "see" this performance meant as an "apology" for her.

But that wasn't even the biggest issue. The panic in Gabrielle's heart was growing stronger, and her hands were shaking more than ever.

Because only she could tell that the tiger and the black wolf were glancing back at her more often.

And in their eyes, there was a wild, hungry look.

She started to step back slowly, one foot after another.

Just when she thought she'd moved out of their reach, a scream pierced through.

Alaina on the command platform swayed dangerously. She fell over, and the chain in her hand snapped loose with a sharp jolt.

At that moment, the tiger and the black wolf suddenly started roaring like crazy.

"Alaina!"

Leonardo yelled out without thinking, then rushed forward like a sword ready to strike.

As soon as he took off, Gabrielle was left completely vulnerable to those two beasts.

The tiger and the black wolf abruptly stopped their wild movements and showed their sharp teeth at her.

Gabrielle's eyes widened in fear, her breath caught in her throat.

In an instant, two massive dark shapes lunged at her.

"It hurts! It's so painful!"

It felt like her insides were being crushed.

"Ah!" A desperate scream escaped from Gabrielle's lips.

Her vision turned red with blood. Through the haze not far away, she saw the man holding Alaina tightly in his arms, protecting her completely.

***

When Gabrielle opened her eyes again, she found herself in a VIP room at the hospital owned by the Ferney family.

The sharp pain in her chest and legs made her let out a muffled groan.

"Don't move," the nurse said as she pressed down on Gabrielle's shoulder. "You're really lucky to be alive. You've got three broken ribs and a bleeding liver. Last night, only Dr. Hackhet was left in the ER, and another patient's family member insisted that he treat his wife first—claiming she was pregnant.

"Luckily, her injuries were just minor scratches, so it didn't hold up Dr. Hackhet from taking care of you.

"By the way, where are your family members?"

Gabrielle felt like she'd been run over by a truck. Her voice came out dry and raspy. "I don't have any family."

The nurse paused for a moment, sympathy filling her eyes.

Alaina's voice drifted in from outside the room. "Leonardo, I'm so sorry! I had no idea things would spiral out of control like that. It's my fault Ms. Padgett got hurt."

"Alaina, this isn't on you. You got hurt too."

He gently kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes. "You're still carrying our baby. Don't cry, just go back to your room and rest."

Alaina cried even harder. "I don't want to go back. I want to apologize to Ms. Padgett."

This was the third time Gabrielle heard the word "apologize," and she couldn't hold it in anymore. She raised her hand and smashed the cup on the floor.

The noise outside went quiet right away, and Leonardo rushed in. "Hey, honey, are you thirsty? Let me get you some water."

Seeing his genuine concern, Gabrielle suddenly felt completely drained.

"Did you find out what happened? Why did they freak out all of a sudden?"

Her voice was rough, and there was a final glimmer of light in her eyes.

The tiger and black wolf clearly sensed something that sent them into a frenzy—and she was their only target.

"It was just an accident," Leonardo said quickly as he wrapped her up in a blanket. "Just focus on getting better, okay? Don't overthink things."

The last spark of light in Gabrielle's eyes vanished completely.

She stared at him for a long moment, her heart aching with sharp bursts of pain.

Three years ago, she went out by herself to save a female cat that was giving birth in the middle of a rainstorm.

But she never thought she'd run into a bunch of thugs who had bad intentions toward her.

When Leonardo showed up, he just happened to see the gang leader grabbing her arm and dragging her into an alley.

A flash of rage lit up his eyes. "Beat them up and leave them with one last breath."

The screams from the alley went on for three whole hours, and there was so much blood it almost turned the ground red.

Gabrielle had never seen him this angry before.

In the end, all those thugs ended up in prison. The one who laid hands on her got his arm broken and was tortured to death behind bars.

But now, she'd been beaten nearly black and blue, almost losing her life over it.

Yet he didn't even bother to look into it at all or suspect Alaina in the slightest bit.

A heavy silence settled in Gabrielle's heart. She calmly turned away and said, "I understand."

Leonardo had a feeling that something was off. But before he could figure it out, he heard some noise coming from Alaina's room.

He quickly got up. "Honey, I'll go whip up some food for you. Just hang tight."

Gabrielle just lay there quietly, not even looking at him.

Leonardo never came back after he left.

She was feeling hungry and sleepy, so she drifted off into a deep sleep.

Even in her dreams, it seemed like she ran into something sad. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed the whole time.

Gabrielle woke up with a sharp pain in her arm. When she looked down, she saw a big piece of blood-stained gauze wrapped around it.

"I'm just changing your dressing. You had skin graft surgery," the nurse said as she pulled out a fresh piece of gauze.

"What skin graft surgery?" Gabrielle asked, shocked.

"Mrs. Ferney in the next room scraped her arm, so Mr. Ferney had you donate some skin for her," the nurse sighed.

"It really shows how different people's lives can be. Mr. Ferney was totally upset over just a little scrape on Mrs. Ferney, unlike folks like us."

Gabrielle's face went pale as if half of her heart had been ripped out with a knife.

Her lips trembled like she'd swallowed something scalding hot alive, and tears started to well up in her eyes. "Could you please help me transfer to another hospital?"

"What hospital transfer?"

The guy pushed the door open and walked in, juggling a big stack of nutritional supplements and Gabrielle's favorite snacks.

He took off his coat, wiped her hands and feet himself. Then, he washed some fruit, and fed it to her mouth. He even whipped up nutritious meals according to the recipe at least ten times just to get them tasting perfect.

"Honey, eat well and get better soon."

He scooped up a spoonful of soup, carefully blew on it bit by bit to cool it down before finally feeding it to her lips.

He was as caring, thoughtful, and gentle as ever.

Gabrielle watched all this unfold but felt her heart getting colder with each passing day.

Because deep down she knew that Leonardo's love had changed long ago.

He would always give Alaina the best portions of all those nutritious meals.

He would lean in close to Alaina's belly over and over again with excitement written all over his face saying, "In a few more months, we'll feel the baby kick."

After she fell asleep in the ward, he would sneak over to Alaina's ward until both of them bore the marks of their secret intimacy.

He would introduce Alaina to everyone like this. "This is my wife. She's pregnant now. I hope you all take good care of her."

Gabrielle just watched everything quietly, not crying or making a scene.

People who really wanted to leave often hesitated so much that even saying goodbye felt pointless.

The cold winter was harsh, and the wind kept blowing fallen leaves around.

Sometimes, when Leonardo was with Alaina, she would call her agent to check on how her paperwork for going abroad was going.

On the day of her discharge, the agent finally sent someone to give her an update.

"Ms. Padgett, your paperwork should be done by tomorrow morning."

Gabrielle let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly.

Leonardo, who was holding Alaina's hand for support, paused for a moment. But his eyes were drawn to Gabrielle instead.

When she smiled, she looked just as beautiful as five years ago—like nothing had changed at all.

But if you looked closely, there was a hint of sadness in her expression.

A strange feeling bubbled up in his chest. He instinctively pulled Gabrielle into his arms and said, "Honey, cheer up! I will always be here for you."

Gabrielle gently pulled away from his touch and smiled softly. "I'm okay."

Leonardo tried to shake off the unease in his chest and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Alright, let's get you home."

During the drive back, Leonardo couldn't take his eyes off Gabrielle.

Just as he was about to reach for her hand, he heard Alaina yell, "Watch out!"

A loud crash echoed through the air.

In an instant, a black commercial vehicle slammed into their car and flipped it over.

Gabrielle had a really long dream.

She found herself back five years ago, the first time she met Leonardo.

Back then, she hadn't lost her eyesight yet, and her favorite thing to do was go on outdoor adventures.

One day, she stumbled upon him after he accidentally tumbled down a barren mountain—he'd broken his leg, had a high fever, and was pretty much at death's door.

She used up all her food, water, and medicine to save his life.

Leonardo was out cold for three days before finally waking up. By that point, Gabrielle had already passed out from exhaustion.

It was him who cut his own wrist and fed her his blood ten times, so they could hang on until the rescue team showed up.

When Leonardo started pursuing her later on, he said their survival together on that barren mountain must mean they were meant to be—like some unfinished business from a past life or something like that—a match made in heaven through thick and thin.

But just like that, everything changed when he left her behind for the wild beasts just to save Alaina.

Gabrielle let out a scream and opened her eyes.

Her hands and feet were tied up, and there was a black cloth blindfolding her, so she couldn't see anything at all.

All she could make out was someone talking in the background.

"Mr. Ferney, your family took the Sullivan family's land and drove us to bankruptcy. Don't you think it's time you paid for that?"

"Wyatt, how dare you kidnap me? You're asking for trouble."

That was Leonardo's voice.

Wyatt Sullivan burst into wild laughter, sounding frantic. "Even if I die, I'll take you down with me! But just killing you would be too easy."

He glanced at Gabrielle for a moment before suddenly breaking into a cruel smile and said, "How about we play a little game?"

Leonardo clenched his fists tightly; pure rage flashed in his eyes.

"I've got three small punishments here. Mr. Ferney, it's up to you to choose who gets saved."

With a wave of his hand, Wyatt had Gabrielle and Alaina dragged over to him forcefully.

Alaina cried out, struggling in fear.

Gabrielle gritted her teeth, trying to handle the sharp pain of gravel digging into her back.

Seeing this scene made Leonardo's forehead vein pop.

"Let them go! This is just between you and me. Why drag others into it?"

But Wyatt ignored him completely. "First punishment, drowning in the sea."

Leonardo gasped. "I'll give you whatever you want. Just let them go."

"Cut the nonsense!" Wyatt's eyes turned cold and threatening. "If you don't make a choice, I'll toss both of them into the sea for the sharks!"

As soon as he said that, Gabrielle and Alaina were kicked straight into the freezing water.

"No!" Leonardo shouted angrily.

In a flash, the salty smell of seawater filled Gabrielle's nose and mouth, making her feel like she was suffocating.

She fought against the water, her lungs feeling like they were about to burst.

This whole process of being tossed into the sea and pulled out happened three times in a row.

Gabrielle was already on the brink of death.

When Wyatt signaled his guys to throw them back in for the fourth time, Leonardo's eyes turned bloodshot, and he croaked out, "Wyatt! Stop it, I'll decide."

"Oh? Mr. Ferney, who will you save? Gabrielle or Alaina?"

Leonardo hesitated between looking at Gabrielle and Alaina for what felt like forever before finally locking his gaze on Gabrielle.

"I choose..."

Alaina let out a painful whimper. The cloth stuffed in her mouth fell out, and she sobbed, "Leonardo, please. Save me! Save our baby!"

At that moment, Leonardo felt like he couldn't breathe. He shut his eyes tight.

After a while, he finally managed to say in a rough voice, "Alaina."

At that instant, all the strength seemed to leave Gabrielle's body.

Wyatt laughed maniacally, "Nice one! What guts you have, Mr. Ferney!"

He grabbed Gabrielle by the hair and tossed her into the freezing seawater.

Once... twice... three times... until it hit ten times.

Leonardo couldn't take it anymore. His eyes were blazing with rage. "Are you really going to torture her to death?"

"Isn't this your own choice?" Wyatt sneered as he enjoyed watching Leonardo's furious face.

"The second punishment is 99 lashes. So tell me, Mr. Ferney. Who are you going to save this time?"

Leonardo's fists were so tightly clenched that blood was dripping from them, and his chest was heaving like crazy.

Gabrielle was still coughing hard, with seawater flooding her insides—every single cell in her body felt like it was on fire.

She had been thrown to the ground, barely able to breathe.

It was clear she couldn't hold on much longer.

But then, in the next second, Leonardo's words sent her spiraling into despair.

"Alaina."

Alaina next to him burst into tears of joy. She pressed her lips together and glanced nervously at Gabrielle. "Gabrielle, you've been through so much."

Gabrielle ignored her completely. She just stared at Leonardo in disbelief, her heart aching almost to the point of numbness.

In an instant, the whip struck her body. She let out a muffled groan as cold sweat broke out all over her skin.

The unbearable pain made her ten slender fingers dig into the rough ground tightly, leaving behind ten shocking bloodstains on the gravel.

One lash... two lashes... three lashes... fifty-five lashes!

Blood poured from Gabrielle's back as she teetered on the edge of passing out.

Leonardo watched the scene unfold in front of him, his heart feeling like it was being ripped apart.

"Stop hitting her! I told you to stop!" he shouted in desperation, breaking free from his restraints and lunging toward Gabrielle.

Suddenly, Alaina let out a piercing scream. Clutching her stomach, she looked pale as a ghost. "Help me! I-I think I'm having a miscarriage!"

Leonardo froze mid-movement. Without thinking, he grabbed her hands tightly. "What's wrong?"

In that split second of hesitation, another heavy lash came down. Gabrielle spat out blood.

The man's eyes widened in shock. "Gabrielle!"

Wyatt stood back watching this crazy scene unfold, laughing loudly.

"Mr. Ferney, I've got a medical team right here with me. But you can only save one person.

"So tell me... Are you still picking Alaina?"

Whip after whip landed on Gabrielle's body. All she could hear was this sharp ringing in her ears. She couldn't even catch what Leonardo said in response.

She struggled to keep her eyes open and caught just a glimpse of Leonardo and Wyatt seemingly talking to each other.

Wyatt nodded and agreed.

Right after that, he scooped Alaina up into his arms and rushed off.

He walked away quickly with the woman in his arms, not even bothering to look back at her.

"Haha..."

All she felt was the blood on her body turning cold, and her laughter came out desperate and broken.

The 99 whip marks on her skin couldn't compare to the gut-wrenching pain in her chest.

The setting sun looked as red as blood on the horizon. Seagulls landed around her, their white feathers getting soaked in blood right away.

She thought, "Leonardo—this so-called 'perfect match' and 'bond forged through life and death' you always talked about? Turns out it's just this pathetic situation."

She struggled with what little strength she had left.

Everything in front of her started to fade away slowly.

She thought to herself, "Leonardo, if there's an afterlife, I swear I'll never love you again."

It was hard to tell how much time had gone by when the loud wail of police sirens cut through the air.

Gabrielle was saved.

She got some basic treatment for her wounds at the hospital but decided against staying overnight and headed back alone to the empty castle.

This was where Leonardo had once drawn up all the plans and supervised the building, just to make her smile.

But Alaina had only been around for a couple of months, and already there were signs of her everywhere in the castle.

The walk-in closet and music room that used to be Gabrielle's were now overflowing with stuff.

Even those wooden carvings she made for Leonardo were just tossed haphazardly on the floor.

Back then, he had clearly said with red-rimmed eyes that he would treasure it for a lifetime.

Gabrielle looked up at the dark sky outside and let out a bitter laugh.

An entire day and night had gone by.

Leonardo was still with Alaina.

She smiled without much feeling, wiped the blood from her mouth, and dropped three things into the mailbox in front of the castle.

The first one was the test report on the scented powder from the bouquet Alaina had given her yesterday.

If he just took a look at it, he'd see that the chaos caused by those tigers and black wolves wasn't an accident. It was all part of someone's plan.

That bouquet was packed with enough crazy-inducing spices to drive anyone mad.

The second one was her medical check-up report from the hospital showing she'd lost their baby.

It happened when he chose to save Alaina instead of her.

When he stood there helpless as she got pulled under icy seawater.

When he let her take 99 lashes just to protect Alaina.

This was the second time he'd indirectly taken their child away for Alaina's sake.

The third item was the broken diamond ring.

This was the same diamond ring that Leonardo used to propose to her. He had personally gone all the way to Africa to pick out and polished.

He polished it 13 million times, which took him about 6 months.

Back then, their pure and unwavering love made quite a splash in Boston.

He was the one who treated her like she was everything to him.

He was the one who promised eternal love at their wedding, swearing he'd love Gabrielle forever.

But he also delayed her eye treatment for ages just so he could take care of Alaina.

He put her in a really risky situation all for Alaina's so-called "apology" animal show.

And he stood by while she went through 10 drownings and 99 whip lashes.

In the end, what used to be such a fiery love had turned into nothing more than some charred coal after all those rainy seasons in Boston.

Over the last five years, no matter how mad they were, Gabrielle never took it off.

"Now, Leonardo, it's time to give it back to you," she said in her heart.

The sound of a helicopter roared from above as it came down.

Gabrielle squinted and looked up, spotting a familiar face peeking out at her.

"Aren't you leaving, Alice?"

She paused for a second but then suddenly smiled and asked, "Got a lighter, Nicholas?"

Nicholas Harlan whistled and tossed down a box of matches. "This is all I've got."

Gabrielle nodded. "That'll do."

Ignoring the pain in her body, she slowly made her way toward the castle.

Their love had started here but quickly faded away with all the lies and betrayals.

She struck one of the matches in her hand, lit it up, and threw it inside.

With a loud "boom," flames shot up and swallowed the whole castle in an instant.

What used to be their warm little "home" now looked like some scary hellhole that devoured people alive.

"Goodbye," Gabrielle whispered before turning around without looking back. She walked away and hopped on the helicopter.

The helicopter's engine roared to life. The hem of her clothes flapped and whipped around in the dark as it zoomed across the ocean.

At the same time, Leonardo, having found out that Gabrielle was safe, was racing back in his car, driving like a man on fire.

On the ground and up in the air—two totally different paths that were never meant to cross.