Third Person's POV

Aldrich's voice then turned dangerous as he tightened his grip, making Eileen gasp out loud.

"I was wrong, I was wrong! I know I was wrong!" she whimpered.

"If you know you're wrong, then make it up to me properly," he ordered, his tone filled with dominance.

As he indulged himself once again, Starlet couldn't take it anymore. She threw her phone aside and ran to the sink, retching violently.

Even when there was nothing left in her stomach, the nausea didn’t stop. Pain twisted through her gut, but she barely noticed it. Staring at her reflection—her pale face, the raw redness of her eyes—her hands clenched into fists.

Then, without hesitation, she swung her fist into the mirror.

The glass shattered and fragments scattered across the sink. She glared at the fractured reflection and said with a low and furious voice, "Aldrich, how dare you do this to me? You love Eileen's soft, delicate body so much, don’t you? Fine. I’ll give you my blessing. I’ll set you free. I hope you two are locked together forever, for eternity, never—ever—separating."

For the next few days, Starlet locked herself away, refusing to step outside. She spent hours burning every last comic she had drawn for Aldrich over the years, reducing them to ashes.

Once everything was taken care of, she finally remembered she needed to buy a few things for her trip abroad. Just as she was about to start the car, the passenger door suddenly opened, and Eileen slid into the seat.

"Starlet, long time no see," Eileen said, a smug smile playing on her lips. "Your scar looks worse than ever. Poor Aldrich... I can’t imagine how much mental strength he needed just to put up with your hideous face all these years."

Starlet’s expression turned ice-cold. "Get the hell out of my car."

But Eileen, unfazed, simply chuckled. "Your car? You mean the one Aldrich bought for you?" She let out a dramatic sigh. "Aldrich is too softhearted. After all those years of you warming his bed for free, he still felt the need to give you a little parting gift."

Her tone then turned mocking as she continued, "You saw the video, didn’t you? How was it? That side of Aldrich—bet you’ve never seen it before."

"You see, this is the real him," she added. "As they say, a man only shows his true passion with the woman he truly loves because he wants to give her everything. Tell me, has he ever been that passionate with you?"

Cocking her head to Starlet, she continued mocking, "You think he stayed with you out of love? No, Starlet, he stayed out of pity. Actually—no, that’s not right either. He stayed because he was disgusted by you. You’re ugly enough to haunt a man’s nightmares. Do you really think he could ever love you?"

"Did you even know?" Eileen leaned in, voice dripping with amusement. "Aldrich only got close to you to help me get revenge. You were nothing more than a plaything to spice up our relationship, a toy for our little games."

She smirked. "And you actually thought he loved you just because he agreed to marry you? Please. He only went along with the engagement because I didn’t want it. But if I wanted to, I could replace you in an instant—with just a snap of my fingers."

Hearing the truth laid out so cruelly, Starlet felt her chest tighten as if someone had driven a blade straight through her heart.

She had already suspected it. She thought she had prepared herself. She told herself she had become numb.

But it still hurt.

Ten years of love and devotion were only wasted.

Ten years ago, she thought she had found her light. She gave everything she had, her whole heart, without holding back.

But in the end, it had all been a joke.

Did Aldrich ever love her?

She believed he did, at least for a time. Otherwise, with his pride, he never would have told his friends he was going to marry her. He never would have set a wedding date.

But in the end, his love was never strong enough. Not enough to resist temptation. Not enough to fight against old ties.

Her eyes burned, but she swallowed back the tears. She refused to let them fall.

Turning to face the woman who had haunted her nightmares for half her life, she met Eileen’s smug gaze with an eerily calm expression.

"So what?" she asked. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Third Person's POV

"Starlet, this is your last chance. Get out of here and stay away from Aldrich. If you don't, the consequences will be more than you can handle," Eileen warned.

"Consequences? You mean like this?" Starlet asked, and before Eileen could react, she suddenly started the car and slammed her foot on the gas. The engine roared as the car shot forward and Eileen's terrified screams filled the air.

"Starlet! You lunatic! What the hell are you doing? Stop the car! Stop it now!" Eileen shrieked in fear.

"What's wrong? Aren't you the one who loves making threats? Loves talking about consequences? Fine, then! Let’s see how you like being dragged down with me. If we die, we die together!"

A crazed grin spread across Starlet’s face as she said that, her bloodshot eyes locked on the road ahead like a demon straight out of hell. The sight alone drained all the color from Eileen’s face.

Scenes of the past flashed through Eileen’s mind. She didn’t want to die. She couldn’t die. She had just returned to the country, and had just begun her plan to become Aldrich's wife—how could she die now?

"Starlet! Stop the car! I said STOP!"

However, Eileen's panicked screams only fell on deaf ears. At that moment, pure fear took over. Without thinking, she lunged for the steering wheel.

The sudden struggle caught Starlet off guard. She knew Eileen had nearly died in a street racing accident years ago—that was exactly why she wanted to teach her a lesson, to make her feel a fraction of the fear she once inflicted on others. It was just supposed to be a warning, a small taste of retribution.

But she hadn’t expected Eileen to fight back.

The car swerved wildly, and Starlet could feel the control slipping away. If this continued, they would both die for real.

Eileen's life didn’t matter to her. But her own? She still had a future. A life to live.

Soon, her eyes caught sight of the guardrail up ahead. Gritting her teeth, she yanked the wheel hard to the side.

Then a deafening crash filled their worlds and everything went dark.

Starlet didn’t know how long she had been unconscious. But a jumble of voices pulled her back to reality, their words filtering through the haze.

"Both patients have sustained severe injuries to their hands. They need immediate surgery, or they risk permanent damage. But most of our surgeons are already in the operating room. Only one is available right now. So, who do you want to be treated first, Mr. Young?"

Her mind cleared instantly upon hearing it.

Her hands couldn't be damaged! She was a comic artist. If she lost her hands, her entire future would be destroyed.

Panic surged through her. She forced herself to speak in a hoarse and weak voice.

"Aldrich… I-I still need to draw. My hands… I can’t afford to lose them."

Just then, the warmth of a hand holding hers suddenly disappeared.

Starlet opened her eyes just in time to catch the flicker of hesitation in Aldrich’s expression.

But then, his hands moved—away from her and onto Eileen’s shoulder.

"Save Eileen first," he said.

The pain hit Starlet all at once. So sharp, so overwhelming that she couldn't tell if it was coming from her injured hands or her shattered heart.

She looked at him, at the man who had once promised her forever. And in that moment, any remaining hope she had crumbled into dust.

'Of course. Something broken is never worth keeping. Not an object. Not a person,' she thought.

As such, Starlet drifted in and out of consciousness.

The anesthesia left her unable to open her eyes, but she could still hear everything around her.

"Aldrich, you really made a mess of things this time. How are you planning to clean it up?"

"Yeah," another voice chimed in. "Starlet’s a comic artist. Her hands mean everything to her. But you chose to save Eileen first. When she finds out the truth… she’s going to hate you for the rest of her life."

Third Person's POV

“She’ll never know the truth. I had no choice at the time—she woke up too soon. If I had chosen to save her first, my whole act of pretending to have amnesia would’ve fallen apart. She would’ve hated me even more. But luckily, she’s okay,” Aldrich answered.

“Okay? The doctors said if she had been in surgery even a minute later, she would’ve lost her hand,” rebutted the other.

Starlet’s heart clenched after hearing it, while a sweat-soaked hand holding hers.

A few moments later, she felt a soft kiss land on her forehead, followed by a firm, determined voice.

“I know I owe her. But I’ve already planned everything out. In a few days, the doctors will announce that my memory has returned. Everything will go back to the way it was. I’ll make it up to her. I’ll love her the way I should have. I’ll give her everything she deserves," Aldrich explained.

“After we get married, I’ll take her to see the most beautiful northern lights. I’ll go anywhere she wants to go. We once made a wish under a shooting star that we'd stay together forever. She won’t leave me. She never will," he added, assured.

Starlet wasn’t sure if he was trying to reassure himself or remind her of their past.

But that wish… she had no desire to fulfill it anymore.

If someone stayed, it meant they loved their partner. But if they left, it meant they no longer did.

That applied to everyone, especially if one played with someone’s heart.

From then on, Aldrich never left Starlet's side while she was unconscious.

Every half an hour, he had the doctors check on her condition. Every so often, he gently wiped her dry lips with warm water.

He played the role of a devoted, attentive boyfriend flawlessly—until the moment she woke up.

The second she opened her eyes, he quickly turned and left the room.

Starlet watched his retreating figure, a cold smirk flickering across her lips.

A few minutes later, the doctor came in to check on her.

“These past few days… who’s been taking care of me?” she asked suddenly.

The doctor hesitated for a moment, avoiding her gaze before stammering, “I—I’m not sure… probably a nurse.”

“Is that so?”

She let out a soft, humorless laugh and picked up her phone, checking the time.

She had been unconscious for days.

And in three more, she would be gone forever.

Just then, her phone rang.

It was the nursing home.

“Miss Bennett… your sister… she passed away yesterday at around eleven in the morning.”

Her already shattered heart felt like it was being crushed under an unbearable weight.

Tears slipped silently from the corners of her eyes, soaking her pale face.

“Dr. Erickson… was she in pain?” she sobbingly asked.

“No, don’t worry. She was peaceful. She just kept calling your name, asking for you. I tried calling you so many times, but I couldn’t reach you… so I told her you were on your way,” Travis replied.

'This is all that bitch's fault! If she hadn’t crashed my car, I wouldn’t have missed my sister’s final moments. If I had never gotten involved with Aldrich, none of this would’ve happened,' she grittingly thought, guilt, regret, and grief consuming her.

After hanging up, she collapsed onto the hospital bed and buried her face in her hands as a muffled, anguished sob escaped her lips.

Biting down hard on her own arm, she forced herself to swallow the pain, the sorrow, the hatred.

This hospital was full of Aldrich’s people. She couldn’t let them find out about her sister’s death. Otherwise, her plan to switch death with her sister would be in vain.

The next morning, she checked herself out of the hospital and went straight to the nursing home.

When she arrived, her sister was lying in the morgue, peaceful and still, as if she were simply asleep.

Starlet’s legs gave out beneath her. She dropped to her knees and sobbed like a lost child.