The ropes had long since left angry marks on my wrists, the chill of the balcony wind biting through my thin nightgown like tiny knives. My body trembled—not from cold, but from the weight of fear pressing into my chest. The towering skyline stretched endlessly below, a dizzying drop from the 65th floor.

I’d never feared pain. Never flinched at loneliness. But standing this close to the edge, strapped to a chair with my nine-month-pregnant belly exposed to the elements, my terror was absolute.

Heights.

They’d always been my undoing.

Now they were his weapon.

Lucien’s voice crackled from the phone speaker on the ground beside me, cold and sharp, thick with cruelty.

“She really thinks I’m going to feed her just because she skipped meals for a few days?” His tone dripped with contempt. “She’s not going to die sitting out there. It’s just the balcony, for god’s sake.”

I didn’t need to open my eyes to know he was talking about me. I knew his voice—knew every cruel edge it had taken on lately.

My lungs stung with every breath. My baby kicked, restless, and I could only hope the child didn’t feel what I felt. Despair. Exhaustion.

“She’s terrified of heights, sir,” came the butler’s nervous voice from somewhere in the background. “It’s been a whole day. Shouldn’t we let her back in?”

But Lucien only scoffed. “Scared of heights? She’s faking it. Just like she faked that innocent act after trying to kill Vanessa.”

Vanessa.

Of course.

She was always the center of everything now. The sweet girl from Lucien’s past who came back like a storm—beautiful, manipulative, and impossibly fragile in his eyes. He never asked for my side of the story. Not after that day in the mountains.

I’d received a text from him, asking me to meet at one of those high-elevation tourist spots. I didn’t question it. Despite my fear of heights, I went. I still had hope. Hope that he was trying to fix what was broken between us.

But it wasn’t Lucien who waited there.

It was Vanessa.

She greeted me with a sneer masked behind a saccharine smile. “You don’t belong in his life,” she whispered like venom.

And then—she screamed.

I never laid a hand on her. But she fell, disappearing over the edge of the cliff. Later, I found out she’d survived, cushioned by a tree branch just beneath the ledge. It had all been staged—her fall, her injuries, even the timing. She’d orchestrated it perfectly.

By the time I made it home, my fate was sealed. Vanessa had whispered her lies into Lucien’s ears, and he believed every one of them.

No questions. No defense.

Just punishment.

Strapping me to a chair and leaving me outside, on the edge of my worst nightmare.

Another crackle from the phone brought me back.

Vanessa’s voice—soft, pitiful, false. “Lucien… maybe she didn’t mean to do it. She’s been out there so long. She’s suffering.”

Even when she had everything, she still wanted to look like the saint.

Lucien’s voice shifted, gentler now. “She deserves everything she’s getting. You risked your life for me once, even though you hated heights. I owe you everything, Vanessa. I’ll protect you with my life.”

There was a pause. Then, she asked, “What about Mara?”

Me.

“She doesn’t matter,” he said without hesitation. “If she ever lays a hand on you again—even if she’s carrying my child—I’ll make her pay for it.”

The line went dead.

I didn’t scream. I couldn’t. The pain in my throat was raw from earlier cries that had gone unanswered. My body had reached a state beyond exhaustion.

But something in my heart cracked open.

He didn’t know the truth.

It was me who had saved him once, not her. Me who had stood by him when everyone else disappeared. And now he was willing to kill me for a lie.

He had chosen his past.

And I was just the disposable present.

But this wasn't the end. Not for me.

The tight bindings around my wrists were finally undone. My arms dropped lifelessly to my sides, numb and burning from the prolonged strain. As soon as the ropes released their cruel grip, my knees gave out and I crumpled onto the icy marble floor, unable to hold myself up.

It wasn’t kindness that freed me—just the butler’s conscience or maybe his pity that finally won out after endless pleading. Still, the damage was done. My strength was gone, my voice hoarse from sobs that had long since gone dry. I curled inward, instinctively cradling my swollen belly with what little energy I had left. My baby was alive. That was all that mattered.

Even as my body begged for rest, my thoughts refused to go quiet. They dragged me backward—to when everything was simpler. When I still believed Lucien’s love was real.

Back in college, Lucien was untouchable. He belonged to someone else—Vanessa. The campus adored her: effortlessly elegant, brimming with confidence, the kind of beauty that drew admiration wherever she went. I had nothing compared to her. I was the quiet shadow. The invisible admirer watching from the distance, never daring to hope.

Then came the day that changed everything.

I had overheard Lucien and his group planning to go paragliding. Dangerous, thrilling—typical of someone like him. I told myself I just wanted to see him from afar. But then, disaster struck.

His parachute failed.

I still remember how my breath seized as he plummeted from the sky, his body a blur against the rocks below. Chaos erupted around me—friends screaming, some frozen, others in disbelief.

But I didn’t freeze.

Terrified of heights or not, my legs moved. I climbed down the craggy cliffside, my fingers raw, my body trembling. I pushed through the panic, the vertigo, until I found him. Barely breathing. Unconscious.

“Stay with me,” I had whispered shakily, my hands gripping his arm. “You’re going to be okay.”

With nothing but sheer willpower, I pulled him upward, dragging him inch by inch. My skin tore. My muscles screamed. And somehow—I saved him.

When we were finally out of danger, my body gave in. I collapsed next to him and slipped into blackness.

By the time I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed, bandaged and sore. Relief hit first—Lucien was alive. That was all I cared about.

But then I heard his voice.

Soft. Grateful. “I knew you’d come for me.”

I turned my head and saw him lying beside Vanessa, her fingers laced with his. And I understood. She had stolen my moment—my truth. She had taken credit for saving him.

And he believed her.

I could have spoken then. Could’ve told him it was me. But who would he believe? The nameless girl in the next bed… or the woman he loved?

So I swallowed the truth and buried it deep.

Years passed. Vanessa left him. Somehow, life brought Lucien back into mine. Without her in the picture, he noticed me. We grew close. We laughed together. Talked late into the night. I dared to believe—just for a second—that maybe he had started to love me.

But I was never the one.

It had always been Vanessa.

A broken sob slipped past my lips as I curled tighter on the floor, fingernails digging into my palms. I had been so foolish. So blindly in love.

And now I was here—being punished for something I never did.

I must have drifted into an exhausted sleep, because the next thing I heard was the sound of something clattering beside me. A plate had landed roughly on the floor, food scattering across the marble. Some of it rolled beneath the furniture.

Lucien stood over me, his expression unreadable—hardened by fury or apathy, I didn’t know which.

“I told you to eat,” he said sharply. “You think starving yourself will fix anything?”

I opened my mouth, but before a single word could leave, the butler cautiously stepped forward.

“Sir… she’s pregnant. She’s not well. We should call someone. A doctor, maybe—”

“Shut up,” Lucien snapped, his voice turning to ice. “You open your mouth for her again, and you’ll be looking for a new job.”

The butler shrank back, eyes lowered in submission.

Lucien’s attention shifted back to me, his eyes cold and brimming with disdain. “Eat it. Off the floor. Or don’t. I don’t care if you starve.”

His words hit me like a slap, but I didn’t flinch. I had no strength left for anger.

My hands curled into fists. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to throw the plate back and tell him he wasn’t a god. But instead, I forced myself to speak, my voice nothing but air.

“Let’s just get a divorce.”

“Divorce, you say?”

Lucien let out a cold, mirthless chuckle that sliced through the thick tension like a dagger. His eyes sparkled—not with humor, but with malice thinly veiled as amusement.

“You think you can just walk away from me?” he said, stepping closer. The shadow he cast loomed over my crumpled body. “No, Mara. You don’t get to make that choice.”

I swallowed the fear crawling up my throat, forcing myself to sit upright even though my limbs shook beneath me. Deep down, I had known he wouldn’t agree to a divorce. But hearing the words from his mouth, seeing the way he loomed like a predator—sent a fresh wave of dread through my veins.

“Get up,” he barked, voice sharp with irritation. “You still owe Vanessa an apology.”

Apologize? My entire body went still. The audacity of it struck me like a blow. He wanted me to apologize—to her?

I barely found the strength to whisper, “I didn’t do anything… She threw herself. It was a setup.”

Lucien’s eyes turned to slits. “Are you accusing Vanessa of lying?”

My body trembled, but I couldn’t be silent anymore. “Yes,” I said, louder now. “She’s been deceiving you since the beginning.”

He glared, his face hardening as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“She wasn’t the one who saved your life,” I went on, my voice cracking under the weight of years I had kept this truth buried. “That cliff accident? That day when your parachute failed—I was the one who climbed down after you. Not Vanessa.”

Lucien’s expression twisted in disbelief. “What kind of story is that?”

“It’s not a story—it’s the truth!” I cried out, voice hoarse from desperation. “You were unconscious when I got to you. I held onto you, pulled you up with everything I had. I passed out from fear right after… and while I was unconscious, she claimed the credit.”

There was a flicker—just a flicker—of confusion in his eyes. But it vanished behind a cruel scoff.

“You’re delusional,” he said. “Vanessa doesn’t lie.”

“She left you, Lucien!” I shouted, every word laced with disbelief. “She walked out of your life for someone else, and now you act like she’s a saint?”

His reaction was immediate. His face darkened, jaw tight with fury.

“You ungrateful bitch.”

The venom in his tone froze my blood. Before I could react, he lunged forward and gripped my arm hard enough to bruise. I cried out in pain as he yanked me to my feet, my legs buckling beneath me.

“You think you can say things like that about Vanessa and get away with it?” he seethed, dragging me across the floor. “She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved. You were just… convenient.”

Each word stabbed deeper than the last.

My breath caught. I looked into his eyes and saw no trace of the man I once loved.

He wasn’t finished.

“Looks like being cooped up in the penthouse hasn’t taught you anything,” he muttered. “Let’s see if this changes your attitude.”

“No,” I gasped, trying to twist out of his hold. “Please, I’m begging you—”

But he was deaf to my pleas.

He dragged me through the corridors, down the stairs. The staff stood aside, heads bowed, eyes averted. No one dared to intervene. Not the bodyguards, not the butler—no one.

I pleaded again as he shoved me into the backseat of the car. “Please… don’t do this,” I whispered, tears pouring down my cheeks.

Lucien didn’t speak. His face remained expressionless, staring blankly out the window as the car sped away.

When we finally arrived, my stomach turned.

It was that place—his amusement park. The one he used to take me to, back when we were happy… or when I still thought we were.

He dragged me across the grounds toward the bungee tower. The towering platform loomed ahead, a cruel monument to the nightmare he was about to unleash.

“No. No, please…” My knees buckled. I tried to resist. “I can’t—Lucien, please. Don’t make me do this.”

He didn’t flinch. His grip was iron.

The butler hesitated behind him, speaking up timidly. “Sir… she’s terrified of heights. Maybe this—”

“Exactly,” Lucien said with a smirk. “That’s the point.”

Then he addressed the staff coldly. “Tie her up. Don’t stop the jumps unless I give the order. If anyone disobeys, everyone here pays.”

The butler hesitated—just for a heartbeat—but did as he was told. I fought back with everything I had, tears streaming, sobs wracking my chest, but resistance was useless.

They strapped me in.

Tightly.

Every part of me trembled, every nerve screamed. I choked on my sobs as I looked down from the edge. My greatest fear stared back at me from the void below.

“Please,” I begged. “I’m telling the truth… don’t do this.”

Lucien walked toward me with slow, calculated steps. His expression was blank, voice eerily calm.

“Admit you tried to kill Vanessa. That’s all it takes.”

I shook my head desperately, tears blinding me. “I can’t admit what I didn’t do.”

Lucien exhaled heavily.

And then… without hesitation, he shoved me.

The world vanished.

I fell.

The air tore past me in a furious roar. My screams shattered against the sky. There was no floor beneath me, no control, no escape—just the sickening plummet of a woman betrayed, broken, and thrown to the wind like nothing.

And as I descended, one truth rang louder than anything else:

He never loved me.

Not once.