My hope of finding my parents was utterly shattered. Just as I rushed to our meeting spot, they were struck and killed right before my eyes.

I returned home, utterly devastated, only to hear the sound of Silas Vaughn on the phone with his confidant in the foyer.

"First, it was a forged DNA report, and now, a staged car crash."

"President Vaughn, you've really gone to great lengths to keep Zara Lowell from finding her family."

Curled up on the sofa, I felt my breath catch in my throat as I heard his words.

Silas Vaughn took off his coat, his voice weary yet resolute.

"This is the last time. Zara Lowell will never be able to find her biological parents."

His confidant sighed.

"Must you go this far? Letting Miss Lowell reunite with the Sterling Family wouldn't actually affect Miss Sterling's position..."

"No. If Zara Lowell is taken back by the Sterling Family and steals Mr. and Mrs. Sterling's affection, Nina will be upset again."

Silas Vaughn cut him off immediately, his tone exceptionally grave.

"That's why I had no choice but to stage Mr. and Mrs. Sterling's deaths right in front of her. In three days, they'll leave the country, never to return."

"As for Zara Lowell, I've already promised to marry her."

His confidant was taken aback. "Then what about Miss Sterling?"

After a moment of silence, Silas Vaughn finally sounded as if he'd been deflated.

"As long as she's happy, I'll be content..."

...

When Silas Vaughn hung up the phone and turned to see me lying on the sofa, he froze in place.

The shock in his eyes was fleeting, quickly masked by his usual composure.

He strode over, a hint of tension in his voice.

"Zara? Why are the lights off? When did you get back?"

I didn't answer. I just lifted my head and stared at him, my eyes hollow and dead.

The face I had loved for ten years now looked like nothing more than a false mask.

My gaze made him uncomfortable. He reached out to touch my face, but I flinched away as if I'd been burned.

His hand stopped awkwardly in midair.

"What's wrong?" He frowned, a hint of reprimand in his voice.

"Are you throwing a tantrum again? I'm exhausted from dealing with company business all day."

My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise, the pain so intense I nearly convulsed.

He personally orchestrated a car crash, forcing me to watch the parents I'd spent over twenty years searching for die tragically before my eyes, and he had the audacity to say *he* was tired?

Trembling, I held the death certificate up to his face. Each word felt like it was being clawed from my throat.

"Silas, my parents... they're dead."

He looked at the report, a flicker of what looked like relief in his eyes, before he sighed and pulled me into his arms.

His embrace, once my safe harbor, now felt like a cold, iron cage.

"I know you're hurting, Zara." He patted my back gently, his voice so soft he sounded like a completely different person from the monster I'd just overheard.

"Don't be afraid. You have me now."

"I'll marry you, take care of you for the rest of our lives, and make sure you're never alone again."

'A lifetime?'

I buried my face in his shoulder and laughed without a sound, tears streaming down my face and soaking his shirt.

He thought I was crying from grief and patted me soothingly.

"There, there, don't cry. What's done is done."

"You're already so frail. What will you do if you cry yourself sick?"

I could never have imagined it. My sole obsession for more than twenty years had been to find my biological parents, and the five times my hopes had been raised and then shattered—it had all been his doing.

And this time, he'd simply made them "die" in front of me, extinguishing any last flicker of hope.

He did all of this just because he was afraid I'd be accepted back by the Sterling Family, afraid I'd take away some of the affection they showered on Nina Sterling.

I pulled myself from his embrace and stood up, swaying unsteadily.

"Silas Vaughn, I'm tired. I want to rest."

He looked at my pale face and swollen, red-rimmed eyes, then nodded.

"All right. I'll help you upstairs. I've already had Mrs. Miller make you some calming soup."

He was always like this—meticulously attentive in the smallest daily matters, supporting me in everything I did, including my passion for restoring ancient paintings, a profession looked down upon by high society.

That was why I had been so convinced that we were in love.

But I never imagined that all his kindness was just a way to trap me at his side, to make me a tool he could use to protect Nina Sterling.

I let him support me as we walked up the stairs, one step at a time.

He settled me into bed and tucked the covers in, his voice gentle.

"Get some sleep. Don't think about anything. Everything will be better tomorrow."

I closed my eyes and felt the soft press of his lips on my forehead.

The door clicked softly shut, and the room fell into a dead silence.

My eyes snapped open, and silent tears streamed down my face.

'Silas Vaughn, there will be no tomorrow.'

'Our world came to an end the moment you orchestrated that death.'

: Less Important Than a Nightmare

The next day, I woke up in a wave of sharp pain.

The immense grief and emotional shock had triggered acute stomach spasms. The pain was so intense I curled into a ball, my pajamas soaked through with cold sweat.

I struggled to reach for the phone on the nightstand, but I didn't even have the strength to lift my arm.

Just as my consciousness began to fade, the bedroom door opened. Silas Vaughn walked in carrying breakfast. When he saw the state I was in, his expression changed, and he immediately rushed over.

"Zara! What's wrong with you?"

He quickly called the family doctor. After a flurry of activity, I finally started to feel a bit better, lying weakly in bed with an IV drip.

Silas sat by the bed, dabbing my chapped lips with a water-soaked cotton swab, his eyes filled with worry and self-reproach.

"This is all my fault. I should have realized you weren't feeling well sooner."

Looking at his concerned expression, I found it all incredibly ironic.

'If it weren't for him, would I be in this state?'

Just then, his phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, and his previously grave expression instantly softened. He walked out to the balcony to take the call.

Even through the glass door, Nina Sterling's cloyingly sweet voice came through clearly.

"Silas, I had a nightmare last night. My chest feels so tight now. Can you come over and keep me company?"

I saw Silas's body tense up immediately, his tone filled with unconcealed anxiety:

"A nightmare? Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Wait for me, I'm coming over right now."

After hanging up, he walked back into the room, grabbed the suit jacket draped over the back of a chair, and said to me as he put it on:

"Zara, something's come up at the office. I have to go."

"You get some rest. Call me anytime if you need anything."

I watched him, my hand with the IV clenching so hard that blood backed up into the tube, sending a sharp sting through the needle site.

"I..." I had just started to speak when I realized how hoarse my voice was.

He was already at the door, his steps not faltering in the slightest. He just glanced back and offered a distracted platitude.

"Be good."

The door closed.

The only sound left in the room was the drip of fluid from the IV tube.

'His Nina Sterling has one little nightmare, and he acts like it's a major crisis, rushing over immediately.'

'And me? His fiancée who just lost both parents and is sick in bed? In his eyes, I'm less important than her dream.'

In the afternoon, I pulled out the IV needle, changed my clothes, and prepared to go to my small ancient-painting restoration studio for a while.

My beloved scrolls were there; they could help me forget the pain, at least for a little while.

Just as I got downstairs, I saw a pink sports car parked at the entrance. Nina Sterling got out, followed by a few of her socialite friends.

When she saw me, her face feigned surprise and concern:

"Zara, you look so pale!"

"Silas said you were sick, so I came especially to see you."

One of the socialites behind her, a woman with short hair, sneered.

"Nina, you're just too kind. What's there to see? She's just an orphan who jinxed her own parents to death."

Another chimed in, "Exactly!"

"If she hadn't shamelessly latched onto President Vaughn, he would have been with you long ago."

"What a shameless woman."

Those words were like daggers, each one sharper than the last, stabbing deep into my heart.

In the past, I would have endured all of this for Silas Vaughn's sake.

But now that I knew the truth, every word they said felt like it was mocking my stupidity.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms.

"Shut up." My voice was ice-cold, devoid of any warmth.

: Apologize to Her

Nina Sterling immediately came up to play the peacemaker, grabbing my hand with an innocent look on her face.

"Zara, please don't be angry. They don't mean any harm, they're just a bit blunt."

As she spoke, she turned to the others and feigned annoyance.

"How could you say that about Zara? Apologize to her right now!"

The short-haired socialite rolled her eyes, her tone even more caustic.

"Apologize to her? Is she even worthy? She's a good-for-nothing who can't even find her own parents."

"Does she really see herself as the future lady of the Vaughn family?"

"Say that again!" I was completely enraged. I raised my hand to slap her.

Just then, Nina Sterling caught sight of Silas Vaughn's car pulling up out of the corner of her eye. A cunning glint flashed in her eyes as she suddenly lunged forward, putting herself in front of the other woman.

SLAP—!

The crisp sound of a slap rang out. The blow had landed squarely on Nina Sterling's face.

I was stunned.

Silas Vaughn's car had just stopped. The first thing he saw as he stepped out was this very scene.

"Zara Lowell, what are you doing?!"

He roared and rushed over in a few long strides, pulling Nina Sterling protectively into his arms before shoving me away forcefully.

I staggered from the shove, crashing into the shoe cabinet behind me. A sharp pain shot through my lower back.

But he didn't even spare me a glance. His eyes filled with concern as he cupped Nina Sterling's face and asked softly,

"Does it hurt? Let me see."

Tears welled up in Nina Sterling's eyes. She shook her head, looking utterly wronged.

"Silas, I'm fine. Don't blame Zara. She was just very upset."

Her magnanimous act only made me look more malicious.

Silas Vaughn's expression grew incredibly dark.

He steadied Nina Sterling and looked at me coldly. "Apologize to Nina."

I froze on the spot. The pain in my lower back mingled with the ache twisting in my heart, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

"I didn't hit her. She threw herself in front of my hand."

I tried to explain, but my voice trembled with the injustice of it all.

"Besides, they were the ones who started it! They were cursing me and my parents!"

Silas Vaughn's expression didn't soften in the slightest. If anything, it grew even colder and more severe.

"What could they have possibly said that warranted you hitting someone?"

"Nina came to see you out of the goodness of her heart, and this is how you treat her?"

'He didn't believe me at all.'

'Or rather, to him, Nina's feelings always came first. The truth was completely irrelevant.'

I looked at Nina Sterling's tear-stained face, nestled in his arms, and suddenly found the whole situation utterly ridiculous.

'Yes, this is how he's always been, isn't it?'

'Otherwise, he wouldn't have orchestrated my parents' "deaths" just to keep Nina from being sad.'

I took a deep breath, swallowing the coppery taste of blood rising in my throat, and forced a bitter smile.

"Fine. I'll apologize."

I dragged my exhausted body forward, one step at a time, until I was standing before them.

I looked at Nina Sterling, and I didn't miss the flash of triumph in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." I kept my head down, forcing those two words through gritted teeth.

"I shouldn't have… hit you."

Nina Sterling immediately put on a shocked and flattered expression, shrinking further into Silas Vaughn's arms.

"Silas, I told you I don't blame Zara."

Silas Vaughn gently patted her back, his way of accepting my apology.

"Nina's had a scare. I'm going to take her home."

"You stay here and think about what you've done. All these years... I've really spoiled you rotten."

A jolt went through me, and my eyes instantly began to sting.

'So a decade of my unwavering love and trust was nothing more to him than a bad temper he had spoiled me into having.'

He swept away with Nina Sterling and her friends in tow. From beginning to end, he never looked back at me once, much less asked if I'd hurt my back when I fell.