On New Year's Eve, Facebook blew up.

The reason was that Bennett Miles, the golden boy of Crestmoor’s elite, posted an update. In the photo, a shy young woman hid her face as she leaned against his shoulder while he grinned. His eyes were full of affection and mischief.

His caption read, "What do I do? Looks like I'm officially taken."

Friends in his circle flooded the comment section with congratulations. The real frenzy began when Bennett announced that the first 10,000 followers to like, share, and comment on the post would each receive a gold bar.

The internet went wild with envy and curiosity. Everyone scrambled to find out more about the woman in the picture. Then, someone claiming to have inside information started a livestream.

"Stop guessing. Her name is Kara Sierra. You know Sierra Hall at Crestmoor College? That building was named after her!

"Two years ago, she had kidney failure. Bennett personally donated one of his own kidneys to save her!"

"If Bennett hadn’t pulled the whole damsel-in-distress act by soaking in the lake for three hours in the dead of winter, Kara still wouldn’t have agreed to make it official. He was so happy that he started handing out money left and right!"

Netizens all agreed that Kara was one lucky woman to be adored so completely by Crestmoor’s golden boy, and to have him so devoted to her.

At tonight's gala, Bennett had stayed in the artificial lake for three whole hours just to prove a point. Finally, Kara caved and agreed to make their relationship public. Overjoyed, Bennett had picked her up and spun her in circles. He even teared up.

"Kara finally agreed to make it official! I’m the luckiest guy alive!"

Crestmoor’s most rebellious heir was grinning like a lovesick kid.

This was until Bennett’s friends dragged him off to get changed, while Kara went to find him some cold medicine.

That’s when she stumbled upon an old phone.

It was filled with videos. All of them were self-recorded messages from Bennett. The first one was from eight years ago.

In the video, a younger Bennett stared into the camera. He seemed grief-stricken, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was trying to hide his pain, but it bled through every word.

"Natalie, I found the girl. The one who stole your heart. Why? You’re dead, and you weren’t even allowed to rest in peace. Why does she get to live with your heart beating inside her? She’s still out there, happy and alive. I hate her. She’s a thief. I swear, I’ll make her life a living hell."

The second, third, and fourth videos were all the same. Bennett spilled his love for Natalie Johnson while drowning in hatred for Kara.

The sheer depth of his hatred, his grief, and his obsession felt like it was seeping through the screen.

Sierra sat frozen, unable to reconcile the Bennett she knew with the man in these videos. Her hands trembled as she continued watching.

In the 14th video, he said, "Natalie, everyone thinks I’m in love with Kara. You’re not jealous, are you? I just wanted to keep a part of you with me. Don’t worry. I’ll never love her. I just want to watch her fall for me like a fool. It’s hilarious."

In the 15th video, he said, "Natalie, I slept with her. I was thinking of you the entire time. I thought of your face and your name, and I felt your heart beating along with mine. It was perfect."

The screen went dark.

Kara lifted her hand to her cheek only to find it wet with tears.

She was an orphan, and she had grown up in a foster home. Born with a congenital heart defect, she had spent her entire life being cast aside and pitied.

Things only changed after she met Bennett.

Bennett had stood in freezing temperatures to buy her favorite crab croquettes even when it left his ears frostbitten.

He had flown halfway across the world through a raging storm just because he was worried she’d be scared of the thunder at night.

He had even shielded her with his own body during an earthquake, taking a terrible wound.

She had fallen for him over his genuine display of affection.

Kara thought she had met her soulmate, but it turned out that the girl who had donated her heart to her when she had a heart attack was the one Bennett truly loved.

It explained why he always liked to feel her heartbeat.

She thought it was just a kink he liked, but it turned out that Bennett was actually thinking of another woman.

Kara wiped away her tears and shakily stood up. She wanted to find Bennett and confront him.

She made her way up the spiral staircase. Just as she was about to enter the bedroom, she heard his friends talking inside.

"Bennett, you're not really going through with this, are you? Don't forget our original goal. Kara took Natalie’s heart, and she should pay the price! Just playing with her feelings would be too easy for her."

"Didn't Natalie freeze her eggs back then? I think Kara should be the one to carry a child for you and Natalie, so she can atone for her sins!"

"That's a good idea. That way, Bennett can still have an heir with Natalie. Then, once the kid’s born, he can toss Kara aside."

Kara froze, her blood turning cold as she listened to their laughter and taunts.

She shivered and felt the chill go deep into her bones.

Yet deep inside, there was still a flicker of hope. She waited for Bennett’s response. After a while, his voice could be heard.

“Be careful. Don’t let Kara hear about this. I’m just enjoying the feeling of Natalie’s heart beating for me. As for surrogacy, that’s a good idea. It’s what she owes Natalie!”

The others burst into laughter.

Kara felt as though she had fallen into a pit. Through the door crack, she saw Bennett’s face flickering in and out of view. It was as if she had never known him at all.

Her sharp nails dug into her palms, but she couldn’t even feel the pain.

Kara left the villa. She felt lost and broken.

It was raining outside.

The rain soaked her dress, and her hair clung to her forehead and face. She walked aimlessly, like a wandering soul, until the sudden sound of her phone ringing startled her. It was Bennett calling.

She hung up again and again, and when she hung up for the 108th time, she received a message from the orphanage director, Marilyn Carter.

“Kara, remember that overseas businessman I told you about? He’s sent someone to inquire again. He said that if you agree, he’ll immediately transfer a mansion worth over 100 million to you, and the wedding gift is still up for discussion. Will you agree? Let me know what you think.”

The rainwater made her phone screen wet, and Kara’s frozen fingers tightly gripped the phone. She returned Marilyn's call.

“Marilyn, I agree to the marriage proposal you mentioned."

“Alright then! I’ll have him contact you.”

Kara lowered her eyes, concealing the emotions in them, and forced a smile. “Okay. Once I finish up things here, I’ll go overseas with him.”

She ended the call with a bitter smile.

Bennett, the powerful man in Crestmoor, controlled everything in the country. As long as she stayed here, she would never escape his grasp.

So, she decided to marry abroad.

From now on, they would be apart and never meet again.

After making the decision, Kara felt all her strength leave her, and she collapsed heavily onto the ground. She splashed water everywhere.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a hospital.

"Kara, you're finally awake! Do you know how scared I was?" Bennett exclaimed, pulling her into his arms as if he were trying to merge her into his very being. He only released her when she was nearly suffocating. His eyes were red with worry.

"What happened? Why didn't you answer my calls? If it wasn't for our phones being linked for location tracking, I wouldn't even know what happened to you!"

Bennett, usually rebellious, showed unusually deep concern.

So now he was worried?

What would his reaction be if he found out she was marrying someone else?

Kara wearily withdrew her hand and smiled faintly, though her face was a bit pale. "You called me? I didn’t notice. I went out to buy medicine since there wasn’t any at home. I might have put my phone on silent."

"You two really are something!

"On New Year's Eve, when you went missing, Bennett almost called the police. He gathered our friends and drove around Crestmoor all night looking for you. If they hadn’t found you, he probably would have done something drastic!

"Knowing about your heart condition, he even booked an entire floor in the hospital and summoned the top cardiologist with a helicopter to treat you. You had a fever for three days, and he didn’t sleep for those three days. He stayed by your side the entire time!"

If this had been in the past, Kara would've been touched and would've cupped Bennett’s face, urging him to get some rest.

But now, Kara merely asked listlessly, "It was just a little rain. Was it really necessary to call in a cardiologist?"

"Ahem–"

Several of Bennett's friends exchanged glances and then quickly left to give them space.

Bennett called the doctor, and after a thorough check-up on Kara’s condition and confirming there were no issues, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

After the doctor left, Bennett hastily took out two capsules from a medicine bottle. "Kara, take these heart supplements. They’ll help protect your heart. You haven’t taken them for the last few days since you were unconscious. You can't skip them now."

The two capsules lay silently in Bennett's palm. What was once sweet now felt like poison.

Kara’s eyes reddened. "I don’t want to take them now."

"You have to. I know your condition better than anyone. You’ve been out in the rain, had a fever, and if your emotions get too stirred up, your heart won’t be able to take it! You have to take them. I’ll feed them to you."

Before she could say anything else, Bennett decisively placed the capsules in his mouth, then cupped her head with his hands and kissed her forcefully.

He was domineering, pushing her to swallow the capsules, and only then did he release her. "Babe, you’re the best."

Kara struggled to suppress the lump in her throat.

Was that 'babe' meant for her or was it meant for Natalie?

It turned out that many things had been apparent even eight years ago.

Bennett had fallen in love with her at first sight. From that moment on, he had been by her side, following her like a shadow. Every morning, after breakfast, he would make sure she took two capsules for her heart.

He insisted on supervising her to sleep before 10 o'clock every night, warning her not to stay up late or it might cause heart issues.

To take care of her, Bennett even got a nutritionist certification, fearing the high-fat and high-salt meals at the cafeteria would add extra stress to her heart.

It turned out that all of that wasn’t for her. It was because of the heart that was beating inside her.

"Kara, why is your face so pale? Is your heart bothering you? I see your heart rate is rising! What kind of incompetent doctors have you been seeing? I’m going to get them!"

The heart monitor emitted a series of beeps, and Bennett’s expression changed. He rushed out like a gust of wind.

Kara looked down and saw the heart monitor on her finger. She endured the aching feeling in her heart as she removed the device, tossing it away like she was discarding the past and all the love that had once filled her.

Three days later, Kara was discharged.

Bennett organized a gathering to help her shake off the bad energy, and just like after their public announcement, he couldn’t wait to introduce Kara to the people in his social circle.

Kara didn’t want to go, but she couldn’t resist Bennett’s pleading.

Anyway, she was about to leave soon. She wanted to see what Bennett could come up with next.

"Oh, are you Bennett's future wife? You're truly beautiful. No wonder Bennett is keeping such a close eye on you. We’re playing truth or dare. Care to join?"

As soon as Kara arrived, a woman with long, wavy hair pulled her inside.

Kara instinctively turned to look at Bennett, who furrowed his brows slightly.

"Kara’s heart is weak. Take it easy–"

"We know, Bennett. This is the first time we’ve seen you so concerned about someone besides my sister. Too bad my sister passed away when she was only fifteen. She was hit by an overloaded truck, and there wasn’t even a complete body left."

The woman, Vanessa Johnson, pretended to wipe away a tear, not caring that the entire room had gone quiet. She pulled Kara into a booth.

However, Kara couldn’t stop hearing Vanessa’s words echo in her ears.

She didn’t even know what the game was anymore until Vanessa nudged her shoulder. Kara clearly heard her ask, "Bennett, you lost this round! Let’s have a truth question. Is your true love here with us today?"