During my appendicitis surgery, Kevin personally escorted me into the operating room.

As the anesthesia seeped into my veins and my consciousness began to fade, I overheard Kevin speaking with the doctor.

"Mr. Nores, are you sure about this? Two milliliters of concentrated sulfuric acid won’t just burn through Ms. Cortez’s throat—it could kill her! If you just want to get Valentina out of this nightmare, there are other ways! Why do you have to harm Ms. Cortez?"

"If she dies, she dies. I’ll send her body to Damian and take Tina far away from all of this!" He coontinued, "I promised Tina I’d save her from Damian’s grasp. Valeria is her twin sister—having her take Tina’s place is the safest plan."

As the anesthesia took full effect, it felt like my heart was already dissolving.

So all the love, all the warmth—it had all been a cruel joke.

Kevin, the man who once caught me when I was falling, had only done it to clear the path for Valentina.

If that’s what he wanted, I’d give him exactly that.

——

"And one more thing—Tina has a scar from giving birth two years ago. Make the same incision on Valeria and age it properly. Damian can’t suspect a thing."

The doctor’s hand trembled at Kevin’s words. A few drops of concentrated sulfuric acid dripped out of its container. He sucked in a sharp breath.

“Mr. Nores, do you really have to go this far? Ms. Cortez was your childhood friend!”

“Three years ago, Valentina set her sights on Damian—Ms. Cortez’s boyfriend at the time. You planned Ms. Cortez's assault so Valenitna could get what she wated. It forced Ms. Cortez to broke her engagement. And now, you’re—”

Before the doctor could finish, Kevin cut him off.

“Just do your job! Don’t forget, you were the one who personally performed Valeria’s hysterectomy back then. What’s wrong? Growing a conscience now?”

Snatching the beaker from the doctor’s hand, Kevin pried my mouth open and poured the diluted acid down my throat.

The liquid scorched everything in its path—burning my mouth, searing down my esophagus and clawing into my stomach like fire.

Pain exploded inside me. My body convulsed violently, tears blurring my vision as I gagged and choked, my instincts desperately trying to expel the poison.

Kevin held me tighter, his voice rising in alarm. “What’s happening? Didn’t you give her anesthesia? Why is she in so much pain?!”

The doctor’s face tightened, hesitation flickering in his eyes. “It’s a physiological reaction. I can’t stop it.”

Perhaps I looked too miserable, because the doctor tried once more to talk Kevin out of it.

“The acid has already corroded her stomach. If we operate on her now, there’s a high risk of infection. Mr. Nores, are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”

Kevin’s grip on me tightened. His jaw clenched as he snapped, “Enough! Just do your job and prep for surgery!”

The doctor let out a heavy sigh before turning away to get everything ready.

A single tear landed on my face. Kevin’s voice wavered. “Ria, I’m sorry… but this is what you owe Tina.”

“She was kidnapped when she was only two. She suffered for years and we barely managed to get her back. I won’t let her go through hell again.”

“And you… you spent all these years living the life she should have had.”

He gently wiped the blood and bile from my lips, his touch unexpectedly tender.

“This was my decision alone. Tina knows nothing about it. If you need someone to hate, hate me.”

My stomach churned violently, the acid burning through me like fire. But I felt nothing—just a deep, hollow cold.

The nightmare that haunted me for three years… was never an accident. It was all part of Kevin’s plan.

He destroyed me once to help Valentina steal Damian. Now, it happened again. Kevin was sacrificing my whole being just to save Valentina from Damian’s grasp.

Since the very beginning, I was nothing more than a disposable tool to him. The love I thought was real, the salvation I believed in—it had all been nothing but lies and betrayal.

Kevin leaned in close, pressing a kiss against my lips. “Sleep now. It’ll all be over soon.”

The familiar scent of pine surrounded me, thick and nauseating. I wanted to push him away, but the anesthesia had taken full effect. My body felt like lead. My mind slipped into darkness.

A cold scalpel traced across my skin. Blood-stained water was carried out, basin after basin. Somewhere deep inside me, the last frozen pieces of my heart began to crack, splintering apart.

When I finally opened my eyes, Kevin’s face was the first thing I saw—too close, his bloodshot eyes filled with what looked like anguish.

“Ria! You’re awake!” His voice shook with emotion, his eyes glistening with tears. “If anything had happened to you, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself!”

He suddenly slapped himself, hard. “This is all my fault! I made too many enemies in business and you got caught in the crossfire. Someone bribed the doctor to hurt you… You…”

I lowered my eyes, watching his theatrical performance in silence.

Kevin’s face twisted in grief. “They forced you to swallow sulfuric acid… They cut you open… But thank God… thank God you’re still here…”

His sobs were ragged as he buried his face against my neck, his tears seeping into my hospital gown. Every word he spoke was thick with concern—yet every single one was actually laced with love meant for someone else.

I never thought Kevin—the man who never cared to hide his true feelings—could put on such an elaborate act. He did it all for Valentina.

A sudden, searing pain tore through me, making my body shudder uncontrollably.

“Ria! What’s wrong? Don’t do this to me!”

Kevin jerked upright, panic flashed across his face. He didn’t even stop to put on his fallen shoes before bolting out the door to call the doctor.

The phone on the bedside table buzzed incessantly.

With trembling hands, I reached out to it. Turned out, it was Kevin’s phone. The home wallpaper was still a picture of us.

Unlocking it was effortless. The passcode was my birthday... or more likely, Valentina’s.

Unread TalkUs voice messages popped up the screen—one after another, all from her.

[Kev, Damian hit me again. It hurts so much… When are you coming to save me?]

[I wish I were my sister. She always had you and everyone else to protect her. But me? I was kidnapped as a child and when I finally came home, I ended up in another nightmare…]

[If I could trade places with her, I can’t even imagine how happy I’d be.]

[…Oh no! Wrong number!]

Valentina quickly retracted all the messages.

I hesitated before tapping Switch Account.

A TalkUs profile appeared on the screen—[Only Love Tina.]

At the top of the chat list was Valentina, pinned. Right below it, a group chat called [One Big Happy Family.]

There wasn’t a single mention of the word love in their private messages, yet love was woven into every interaction.

Money transfers on Valentine’s Day. Good morning and good night messages. Daily updates, shared like secrets between lovers.

The group chat had 99+ unread messages.

Inside were my parents, Kevin and Valentina.

Our birthday was in ten days and they were busy planning her celebration.

Ever since Valentina came back, my birthday had quietly stopped being mine.

Mom and Dad told me, "Tina went missing on her birthday. If we celebrate too much, it might bring up painful memories for her."

Every year, without fail, Kevin would suddenly have an urgent situation on my birthday, leaving me alone.

So, for the past few years, I celebrated by myself.

A round of small cake. A single candle to lit. That was it.

I told myself the ritual didn’t matter—that love was what truly counted. But now, I saw the truth. All things that they did was never about protecting Valentina’s feelings.

They just wanted me out of the picture—so they could go all out for her birthday, where I wouldn’t see.

Valentina’s message popped up again:

[Kev, I want to take another photoshoot together. when can we do it? This time, let’s do something different—photos my sister hasn’t taken before, okay?]

I switched back to the original account and locked the screen.

The wallpaper stared back at me—a radiant smile, happiness frozen in time. Beneath the sheer fabric of her dress, a glimpse of red nail polish peeked through.

Valentina’s favorite color.

A quiet, bitter laugh escaped my lips.

I picked up my own phone and sent a message to a number I could recite in my sleep—a number that now felt like it belonged to a stranger.

[In ten days, they’ll send me to you. Book me a one-way ticket out of the country, then erase every trace of me here. I don’t want anyone to find me.]

The reply from Kevin came almost instantly. No questions. No hesitation. Just one word:

[Got it.]

Same as always.

Footsteps rushed toward the door. I slipped the phone back into place without missing a beat. Closing my eyes, I let the tears fall, soaking into the pillow.

The doctor came in, ran a brief examination, then administered a painkiller. His voice was calm but firm.

“She’s in a weak condition. She needs rest.”

As soon as the doctor left, Kevin sat beside me, eyes red and filled with anguish, watching me like I was the most fragile thing in the world.

After a long pause, he talked as if he'd taken a difficult decision.

“For your safety, I have no choice but to let Tina take your place. I’ll talk to her with Mom and Dad—we’ll convince her.”

His fingers traced my cheek, gentle and reverent, as if he were touching something fragile and irreplaceable.

“Ria, I just want you to live. Live with Tina’s identity while you recover. It won’t be for long—I promise I’ll bring you back.”

His words were full of concern, yet each one struck my already shattered heart like a blade of ice.

I nodded silently.

What he wanted was now the same path I had chosen for myself. Different intentions. Same outcome. Going along with it was the best choice.

Kevin hesitated, caught off guard—he had expected resistance. After all, Damian was my ex.

Long ago I had blocked all of Damian's contact right in front of Kevin. I wanted to prove my devotion to him.

A flicker of unease crossed his face, but it vanished just as quickly. He let out a breath, then pulled me into his arms, feigning reluctance.

“We haven’t even parted yet and I already miss you. Baby, I don’t want to spend a single second away from you. Promise me… take care of yourself and in six months, be my most beautiful bride. Okay?”

Kevin's eyes brimmed with expectation. Beneath the surface, however, lay something far more telling—certainty.

He was convinced I would be ecstatic, that I’d be so blinded by his proposal I would stop to question anything.

For three years, I had waited for this moment, imagined countless ways he might ask me to marry him. But not once had I pictured it happening in a hospital.

Not once had I imagined I’d be covered in wounds when it happened.

This wasn’t a promise of happiness—it was a burial. A descent straight into hell. But I didn’t bother shattering the illusion.

In ten days, Kevin would no longer exist in my world. A wedding in six months? That was nothing more than a fantasy.

Expressionless, I nodded. "That’s amazing!"

With his goal achieved, he pulled me into his arms again. But his words, meant to be comforting, rang hollow.

"I was worried you’d refuse because of your condition… Ria, don’t worry. No matter what happens, no matter how much you change, I will never abandon you."

I leaned against his shoulder, exhausted, my eyes shutting as I stayed silent.

Let him paint his perfect future—I knew better.

After a while, he must have realized I wasn’t responding. Only then did it seem to occur to him that my body had reached its limit.

He gently laid me down and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"Don’t worry about a thing. Just rest. I’ll take care of everything." Then, he quietly left.

***

Five days later, at my insistence, I was discharged.