By the time Yuliana reached the scene, Alyssa's car was already submerged in the ocean. Alyssa was slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious.

Without a second thought, Charlie plunged into the water, fighting the battering waves to reach her.

He swam with everything he had, shouting over the roar of the waves, "Alyssa! Alyssa, don't be afraid! I'm coming for you!"

"It's my fault… It's all my fault," he choked out. "I shouldn't have made you angry. I shouldn't have let you drive off alone. If you hadn't been so upset with me, you wouldn't have been speeding. This never would have happened…"

He trailed off. The mere thought of it seemed to cause him unbearable pain. He took the full weight of the blame upon himself, consumed by remorse.

Yuliana stood on the shore, a memory surfacing of the time she nearly died from an alcohol allergy last year. Back then, Charlie had stayed away, claiming he was buried in overtime. He never once visited her during her entire hospital stay.

The contrast between love and its absence was glaringly obvious.

The saltwater was piercingly cold at this time of year. Charlie's face had turned deathly pale from the cold, yet he pushed forward with a terrifying determination.

When he was still some distance from Alyssa's car, his face suddenly contorted. Yuliana recognized that look—he hadn't warmed up before diving in, and his calf was cramping.

"Can any of you swim? Someone, help him!"

But none of Charlie's friends gathered there knew how to swim. They could only stand there, uselessly watching the tide.

Charlie's strength was flagging. He struggled to stay afloat, nearly dragged under by the waves several times, choking down mouthfuls of saltwater. His lips had turned purple, and his face grew more ghastly by the second, yet he refused to turn back.

"Charlie, come back!" his friends on the shore shouted. "Otherwise, you'll lose your life too!"

But Charlie didn't listen. He fought the current as if he had already decided that if he couldn't save Alyssa, he'd rather go down with her.

Finally, he reached the car. Seeing Alyssa motionless inside, he shouted her name at the top of his lungs, "Alyssa! Alyssa, wake up! Look at me!"

But Alyssa had completely lost consciousness and remained unresponsive. In a desperate frenzy, he slammed his bare fists against the window—once, twice, over and over until his hands were shredded and bloody. Blood stained the frothing water around him, yet the glass refused to yield.

As the water rose past Alyssa's chin, Charlie delivered one final, bone-shattering blow. The glass finally gave way, the shards slicing deep gashes into his hand.

He hoisted Alyssa onto his back. No matter how many waves slammed against his face, he wouldn't let the woman on his back suffer even a scratch.

After they finally made it ashore, Charlie had barely set Alyssa down before he passed out.

Fortunately, the ambulance arrived just in time to rush them both to the hospital.

Charlie's friends watched the ambulance fade into the distance, letting out a collective sigh.

"Charlie is usually cold and distant with everyone. How did he end up so hung up on Alyssa? He's reckless when it comes to her. Once, just to keep her from drinking, he drank himself into the ICU, nearly losing his life."

"Yeah, he'd give her his heart if he could," another added. "Remember that high school hiking trip when they ran into a mudslide? He pushed Alyssa to safety and got trapped in a cave himself. The rescue team spent three days and nights saving him. Any later, and he would've been a goner."

"Everything Charlie has ever risked his life for has been for Alyssa. I thought he still had feelings for her, so I was trying to get them back together."

They kept reminiscing about the epic love story of Charlie and Alyssa, completely forgetting that Yuliana was standing right there.

Their words left Yuliana's mind blank. At that moment, she finally understood why everyone had looked at her in shock when she stood up at Charlie's wedding. Looking back, she must have seemed like a complete joke to them.

His heart had already belonged to someone else. No matter how hard she tried, she was never going to move the needle even a fraction of an inch.

She had been wrong from the very beginning, and this total defeat was entirely her own doing.

…

When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor was already wheeling both of them out. The group crowded around him anxiously.

"The lady is out of danger. But the gentleman… The bones in his hand are shattered. He may lose the use of that hand permanently."

The doctor couldn't help but add with a sigh of admiration, "In all my years, this is the first time I've seen a man so willing to sacrifice himself for the one he loves."

Yuliana stood at the back of the crowd. Watching the agony etched on Charlie's face, she lowered her eyes and let out a cold, hollow laugh.

It wasn't until the morning of the third day that Charlie finally drifted back to consciousness.

Even before he opened his eyes, he was mumbling Alyssa's name in a daze. Probably caught in a nightmare, he suddenly jolted awake, his forehead slick with sweat.

"Alyssa… How is she?"

His mind was so consumed with thoughts of Alyssa that he failed to notice the dark circles under Yuliana's eyes—evidence of two sleepless nights spent watching over him.

Yuliana nodded, her voice hoarse. "The doctor said she's out of danger. She just needs a few months to recover."

Her voice faltered. "But your hand…"

At her words, the crushing weight on Charlie's chest finally lifted.

He dismissed her concern, saying, "My hand doesn't matter. As long as she's safe, I'd pay any price."

Still, he was too worried to rest. Despite his weakened state, he tried to force himself out of bed to see her.

However, the moment his feet touched the floor, his body went weak, and he collapsed.

Yuliana couldn't hold him back. It was the nurse who came to administer the IV who helped lift Charlie back onto the bed.

Anxiety was etched into his every feature. He was desperate to know how Alyssa was doing.

After racking his brain, he finally came up with an excuse.

"Yuliana, Ethan called Alyssa's distant cousin. He should be at the hospital by now. Could you go find him and give him my regards? And… check on her while you're at it."

What a "convenient" errand.

Yuliana didn't argue. She simply nodded and did as he asked.

After a brief stop at the supermarket for a fruit basket, Yuliana made her way toward Alyssa's hospital room.

She was just about to knock when she heard Alyssa's voice drifting from inside, coy and flirtatious.

Then came a man's voice, "I never expected Charlie's friend to call me. If he ever finds out about us, our whole plan goes up in smoke."

"What are you worried about?" Alyssa replied. "I use a separate phone when I'm with him. I even saved your number as 'Cousin.' He'll never suspect a thing."

"That's my clever girl," the man chuckled.

Yuliana's heart jolted violently, yet she stayed where she was and kept listening.

The man continued, "We were supposed to get married this year. I never thought you'd get into an accident. Looks like the wedding will have to be postponed."

"What's the rush? Once I've squeezed more money out of Charlie, we can book an even bigger ballroom for the wedding," Alyssa said dismissively.

Yuliana's hands curled into tight fists as she heard that.

Alyssa was in a relationship—about to get married, even. To her, Charlie was nothing more than a human ATM to fund her wedding.

Just then, a doctor came in to change the IV, pushing the door open and startling the two inside.

Alyssa looked up and went pale the moment she saw Yuliana standing there.

"What are you doing here?"

Yuliana walked in and set the fruit basket on the table. "Someone asked me to check in on you. But seeing how well you're recovering, I'm sure he has nothing to worry about."

With that, she turned and walked out without looking back.

Terrified that Yuliana would blow her cover, Alyssa ignored her injuries and scrambled after her, finally catching up with her at the stairwell.

"Are you going to run back and tell Charlie? Do you really think he'd believe a word you say?" Alyssa demanded.

Despite her defiance, the guilt was plain on Alyssa's face. Her words sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than anyone else.

Yuliana turned to face Alyssa, her voice cutting like ice. "Why are you lying to Charlie? You're about to get married, yet you refuse to let him go. Is it really just for his money?"

Alyssa arched a brow and sneered. "The money is part of it, sure. But what I really enjoy is watching him lose his mind over me. I love having him wrapped around my finger, basking in the way he worships me."

"Charlie was willing to die for you. And you're just trampling all over his heart?" Yuliana shot back.

Seeing Yuliana's righteous fury, Alyssa scoffed. "That's his choice. I'm young and beautiful, and I hold all the cards. Even the high-and-mighty Charlie Zimmer is nothing more than a dog begging at my feet."

With each word she spoke, her arrogance grew, leaving Yuliana at a loss for words.

Yet her silence only emboldened Alyssa. She looked Yuliana up and down with disdain, as if watching a pathetic clown in a cheap comedy.

She let out a mocking scoff. "Besides, you should be thanking me. I let you play Mrs. Zimmer for three free years. You're nothing but a thief living someone else's life."

She leaned closer and whispered, "I'll tell you another secret. I didn't actually go abroad on our wedding day. I hooked up with two seniors a few days earlier and accidentally got pregnant. I was at the clinic getting an abortion.

"If Charlie hadn't been trying so hard to spite me, do you think he would have looked at you twice?"

The rage Yuliana had suppressed for years finally hit its breaking point.

She instinctively raised her hand, but before she could even touch Alyssa, a twisted, unreadable smile flashed across Alyssa's face. Suddenly, as if struck by a massive force, Alyssa threw herself backward and tumbled down the stairs.

Before Yuliana could even register what had happened, a violent shove sent her crashing to the floor.

Charlie rushed down the stairs, his face stricken as he gathered a bruised Alyssa into his arms. He looked up at Yuliana—who stood frozen in shock—with eyes blazing with fury.

"Alyssa is in a fragile state! How could you lay a hand on her?" he roared.

Tears streamed down Alyssa's face as she clung to Charlie's hand, her voice a fragile whimper. "It's my fault. I'm just your ex. I shouldn't have shown my face in front of your wife. She had every right to push me."

Charlie's expression darkened with every word. Yuliana knew that no explanation would ever reach him.

Yet to him, her silence was an admission of guilt.

He looked away in disappointment, lifted Alyssa into his arms, and walked off without sparing Yuliana another glance.

After that day, Charlie never showed up again.

Yuliana finally received notification that her visa application had been approved.

There had never been much in the house that belonged to her—just a few sets of clothes to pack.

Looking around the villa where she had spent the last three years, she felt no nostalgia, only the relief of finally being free. She was finally escaping the cage that had trapped her for three long years.

With only a week left before her departure, Charlie never came home. Alyssa, however, filled the void with a daily barrage of provocative texts.

On the first day, she sent a photo of Charlie asleep with his head on her lap, a faint smile on his lips as if he were having a sweet dream.

As Yuliana stared at the photo, she threw every gift she had given Charlie over the years into the trash.

On the third day, Alyssa sent more photos. This time, Charlie was down on one knee, sliding a ring onto Alyssa's finger.

Yuliana slid off her own wedding ring, which Charlie had bought for her after their marriage because everything in their marriage had originally been meant for Alyssa. Even the inner engraving of the ring bore Alyssa's name.

She dropped the ring into the kitchen sink, watching without blinking as the rushing water carried it down the drain.

On the fifth day, Alyssa sent a video of Charlie at a high-end auction, winning a breathtakingly expensive necklace for her, leaving the entire crowd stunned.

Unfazed, Yuliana packed up every gift he had given her during their marriage and donated them all.

It took her just seven days to erase every trace of her three-year existence in that house. Perhaps it was because this villa had never truly been her "home".

When the housekeeper, Mila Dixon, saw Yuliana carrying out the last of her things, she grew worried and approached Yuliana to ask what was going on.

Yuliana offered a faint smile. "Nothing major. We're just getting a divorce."

Mila was shocked. "Does Mr. Zimmer agree to this?"

Yuliana had no answer. Charlie hadn't even looked at the divorce papers yet, but she could tell that once he finally did, he would likely feel relieved—or even pleased.

Their marriage had been nothing more than a mistake born of youthful impulse. Without her standing in the way, his relationship with Alyssa would only grow closer.

After all, Alyssa was the only one he ever saw and the only one who had ever existed in his heart.

On the final day, Yuliana deleted the contact information for Charlie, Alyssa, and everyone connected to them, bidding a permanent farewell to her past.

On the day she left, delicate, light snow sifted down from the sky.

Yuliana carried the box filled with love letters she had written to Charlie over the years but never dared to send, along with diaries filled with his name, out into the courtyard.

She burned her love for Charlie into ash, and in the rising smoke, her younger self drifted away.

As snowflakes drifted down onto her shoulders, she wondered how long it would take for the snow to cover the charred remnants of her past.

Lost in thought, she didn't hear the footsteps approaching from behind.

"What are you doing out here?" Charlie's voice rang out behind her.

Yuliana turned and saw him standing there, a suitcase in hand.

She stepped slightly closer to the burning letters, keeping her expression natural as she said, "Nothing. Just burning some trash."

The sight of the pink envelopes made Charlie's thoughts flash back to Bella's speech at the wedding.

The irritation he had been harboring all week ebbed away, replaced by a dull, unidentifiable ache in his chest. Yet, he didn't realize what that strange feeling meant.

"I'm buried in work, so I won't be back for a few days," he said. "When I get a chance, let's sit down and have a proper talk."

Talk? There was nothing left between them to discuss other than divorce.

Yuliana shook her head. "No need. I told you everything you wanted to know a month ago."

A month ago? Had she said something back then?

Charlie opened his mouth to ask, but his phone buzzed. As he heard the voice on the other end, his expression softened, and a hint of a smile touched his lips.

Meanwhile, the fire consumed the last scrap of paper, leaving nothing but cooling ash.

By the time he hung up, the question had already slipped his mind.

Yuliana walked him to his car.

A sudden gust of wind scattered the ashes, whisking them away across the yard. Charlie noticed how thinly she was dressed and urged her to go inside before she caught a cold.

The engine hummed to life. Through the car window, Charlie saw Yuliana's lips move. He didn't hear her, but he assumed it was the usual "drive safe" or "take care" and didn't give it another thought.

Only when his taillights disappeared from view did Yuliana pull her shawl tight. She returned to her room, grabbed her suitcase, and walked out the door for the last time.

The snow fell harder now, a white shroud trying to bury the wreckage of her youth.

As her plane lifted off, Yuliana took one last look at the city that had held 20 years of her life. Softly, she repeated the words he hadn't stayed to hear, "Goodbye for good, Charlie."