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.

I expect none of this. My parents were supposed to be vacationing abroad, but they returned early to pick me up from the hospital with Kevin.

On the way home, Kevin kept the mood light. "Mom and Dad were so worried when they heard about your injury. They dropped everything and booked the earliest flight back."

He grinned. "Mom even got you some chocolate."

At his words, my mother pulled a box of white chocolate from her bag and placed it in my hands. "Yes, sweetheart. You need to regain your strength. Chocolate will help."

A sharp ache spread through my chest, bitterness welling up inside me.

Valentina was the one who loved chocolate. I had been allergic to it since childhood—I couldn’t have so much as a bite.

Yet my own parents and the man who had shared my bed for years, didn’t know that.

Fingers tightening around the edge of the box, I feigned a stomachache and closed my eyes, pretending to rest.

Just five more days and this charade would finally be over.

As the car rolled into the driveway, an excited voice rang out before it even came to a full stop.

"Mom! Dad! Kev! You’re back!"

The moment the car slowed, my parents rushed out, pulling Valentina into their arms, their voices overflowing with warmth and concern.

Kevin stood nearby, smiling at the heartwarming reunion—so caught up in the moment that he completely forgot to help me out of the car.

"Did you miss me?" Valentina suddenly threw herself into Kevin’s arms, tugging at his sleeve and pouting playfully.

Kevin’s expression stiffened as he instinctively glanced at me.

Seeing no reaction on my face, he gently pushed Valentina away and quickly explained, "Don’t misunderstand. Tina lived abroad with Damian—this is just a common greeting over there."

My throat was too damaged to speak, so I simply curved my lips into a faint smile and shook my head, signaling that I didn’t mind.

Valentina, however, pouted and stomped her foot. "That’s not just a greeting! I don’t act this way with everyone."

Kevin's face paled instantly. His eyes darted toward me in panic. Before he could say anything, I pretended not to notice and walked straight into the house.

Behind me, I caught his low, urgent whisper, "Tina, don’t make trouble. Just five more days. Be good."

I gripped the staircase railing and made my way upstairs. Kevin called after me with a few half-hearted reminders, but he didn’t follow.

***

The past few days in the hospital had drained me—endless tests, IV drips and exhaustion pressing down like a weight. As soon as I lay down, sleep took over.

By the time I woke up, it was dinnertime.

I got out of bed and headed downstairs, only to pause at the staircase when I heard my parents' voices.

"Back then, I really thought Damian was someone Tina could depend on, but he's actually an abusive bastard! If only she had chosen Kevin instead, none of this would have happened—"

"Enough," my mother interjected sharply. "What matters now is fixing this mess. Kevin, you said you’d send Ria in Tina’s place. Are you sure this will work? What if she resists or exposes the plan?"

Kevin placed a portion of vegetables onto Valentina’s plate, his voice steady. "She won’t. She won’t even have the chance to speak."

Their eyes met—soft, lingering, full of unspoken understanding.

Then, Kevin added, his tone turning ice-cold. "I’ll remove any obstacles standing in Tina’s way."

A brief pause. Then, with quiet finality, he said, "No matter the cost."

My father slammed his palm against the table. "Good! That’s exactly why I trust you with Tina. I know she’s in good hands. As for Ria…"

At the mention of my name, he hesitated, as if searching for the right words. But before he could continue, my mother cut in, her voice laced with resentment.

"She owes this to Tina! If she hadn’t been such a coward back then, Tina would never have been kidnapped! Now that Tina is finally back, it’s time for Ria to make things right."

Valentina was taken when we were both just two years old—far too young to understand anything. But instead of blaming themselves for not watching their child, they put the guilt on me.

And now, to protect Valentina, they were willing to cast me aside without hesitation.

Valentina dabbed at her eyes, her voice soft and full of hesitation. "I don’t want to hurt my sister, but…"

Kevin gently ran his fingers through her hair. "This has nothing to do with you, Tina. All you need to do is be happy."

Valentina’s eyes sparkled with delight and the dining room filled with cheerful laughter.

I had been standing too long and my legs gave out slightly. My knee knocked against the railing, making a faint sound.

"Ria, you're awake?" Valentina turned toward me with an expression of pleasant surprise, motioning for me to come downstairs for dinner.

A flicker of awkwardness and guilt crossed my parents' faces.

Kevin, however, reacted the most strongly. He rushed up the stairs in just a few strides, carefully steadying me. "Ria, when did you wake up?"

Swallowing the overwhelming bitterness and anger rising inside me, I simply gestured that I had just woken up.

The tension in his shoulders eased immediately and he quickly explained, "You were sleeping so soundly—I couldn’t bear to wake you for dinner."

"You're not upset, are you?"

A wave of nausea rolled through me. These people are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Devils pretending to be angels. I said nothing, only waving my hand dismissively and turned back into my room.

Kevin followed me to the door, even thoughtfully closing it behind me.

Laughter and conversation resumed downstairs as if nothing had happened. But I no longer cared.

Ignoring the noise, I pulled out my phone and checked the message I had just received.

"Everything is ready. In five days, Valeria will no longer be in this world."

Summoning the last of my strength, I forced myself to start packing, gathering the few things that truly mattered to me.

After searching for a while, I realized—every treasured item in my locked gift box, carefully stored in the safe, was tied to Kevin.

Faded, yellowed origami cranes. A fountain pen from a competition I had won. A small athlete's medal. Each piece held whispers of childhood memories.

There, nestled among them, lay a massive pink diamond—the one Kevin had spent a hundred million on at an auction three years ago after my accident, just to make me smile.

The door suddenly swung open, yanking me from my thoughts.

Valentina stepped in, her pink princess dress swaying with each graceful step. But the innocent, wide-eyed act she put on for Kevin and my parents was gone.

Her gaze swept across my room, sharp and cold. "Tsk, same parents, same blood, yet such different lives. Why did you get to grow up in luxury while I was kidnapped and forced to suffer?"

She let out a soft, mocking laugh. "But don’t worry—this unfairness won’t last much longer. Valeria, you’re finally going to experience the pain I endured."

She sneered, her voice dripping with mockery, as if all her misfortunes could be traced back to me alone.

I ignored her and bent down to retrieve the pink diamond, only for her to snatch it away effortlessly.

"A fake diamond? And you actually treasure this?" She let out a scornful laugh before reaching into her collar and pulling out a delicate pink diamond necklace.

"The real one is with me. Kev practically begged me to take it. He said he wanted to give me only the best."

A violent tremor ran through me. I lunged forward, desperate to reclaim it, but Valentina shoved me aside with ease. My body hit the floor with a thud.

"Pathetic. Do you still think you have a chance with Kev?" She clicked her tongue in disdain. "You're nothing now. Just a cheap, discarded plaything."

Then, with deliberate cruelty, she lifted her heel and pressed it onto my fingers—grinding down, slow and merciless.

A raw, guttural scream tore from my throat.

I struggled to fight back, but before I could react, Valentina’s eyes narrowed and in a swift, calculated motion—she slapped herself.

Her sharp nails left two faint, red scratches on her pale cheek. Clutching her face, she let out a broken sob.

"Sister… did I do something wrong?"

I was still gasping from the pain when Kevin burst into the room, his expression thunderous. He rushed straight to Valentina, cradling her face with gentle hands, his voice thick with concern.

"Valeria, have you lost your mind? How dare you lay a hand on Tina?"

"She came up here out of kindness and this is how you treat her?"

At that moment, our parents appeared in the doorway, their eyes immediately drawn to Valentina’s tear-streaked face. Without a single question, they turned on me.

Their voices rose in a chorus of anger. Never once they stopped to wonder what had truly happened.

"Valeria, did all those books you read go to waste? Is this how you treat your sister?"

"You're just an ungrateful brat! Why wasn’t it you who got kidnapped back then?"

Valentina leaned into Kevin’s arms, trying to put on a brave front as she wiped her tears—only for them to fall even faster.

"Don’t blame my sister, please... I was the one being too careless..."

Before she could finish, Mom slapped me across the face. "Oh? This is what you call ‘carelessness’?"

She pulled out a tissue and wiped the blood off her nails, her lips curling in disgust. "Filthy girl."

My face burned, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my chest.

I lay on the ground, humiliated, blood dripping from the corner of my mouth. My glare shot straight at Kevin.

For a moment, his arms around Valentina tensed. His brows furrowed. "You hit Tina and now you're acting like the victim just because we called you out?"

"Apologize to Tina. Now."