Two hours after I disappeared, my good friend Marco finally arrived with his men.

After taking Gaia to the family's private clinic, Frost never left her bedside. He seemed so worried about her that he'd completely forgotten to send his men to rescue me.

By the time he remembered, I had been tortured beyond recognition and dumped in an abandoned mine shaft in the mountains, left to die.

And now, my spirit trailed behind Marco, watching him frantically call Frost.

"Frost, I've searched the entire pier area. There's no sign of Veronica. Do you think she could have—"

Frost's voice came back, colder than a tomb. "What could have happened to her? She was probably released ages ago and is now sulking in a corner somewhere."

Marco hesitated. "Frost, Veronica isn't like that. If she were safe, she wouldn't waste the family's resources like this."

"You should probably come down here, just in case."

After all, as the matriarch of the Salvatore family, if something happened to me, it would be a huge blow to their reputation.

Frost, suppressing his irritation, answered coolly, "What for? I told you, she's fine. Those guys were just trying to scare her. It's not like they did anything to Gaia, right?"

"Alright, pull your men out for now. She'll get tired of it in a few days when she realizes no one's paying attention and come running back."

Marco tried to say more, but Frost had already hung up.

A chill ran down my spine. Ten years of marriage. You'd think he'd have some affection for a dog after that long. But he didn't care. In fact, searching for me seemed like a burden.

For the first time, I was glad I was dead, free from this cold-hearted bastard. I wanted to leave, but somehow my spirit drifted after Marco, finding its way to Frost.

He was sitting by Gaia's bed, gazing at her so intently that he didn't even notice Marco walk in.

Gaia was curled up in his arms, sobbing as if her heart would break.

"Frost, I was so scared. When that gun was at my head, all I could think was how much I regretted being so stubborn back then. I almost lost you forever."

Frost gently stroked her hair, a smile so tender, it was one I had never been shown. "Hush now, Gaia," he cooed. "I told you, no matter what happens, I'll protect you with everything I have."

The raw emotion between them was like a thousand needles in my heart. He had probably forgotten that his wife was missing, her fate unknown. He had always been cold to me, and I'd just assumed it was his nature. I never imagined he simply reserved his warmth for someone else.

We had known each other since we were kids; our families were old friends. I'd always hidden my feelings for him, thinking we could never be together. A few years ago, he had insisted on marrying Gaia, but his father, the old Don, had fiercely objected. Furious, Gaia left the country.

That night, at a charity auction, I was representing my art gallery. I didn't expect to run into a blackout-drunk Frost. He cornered me in an empty hallway, pressing me against the wall and kissing me without a word. His kiss was like an assault, biting at my lips, one hand already roughly making its way up my evening gown.

I knew I shouldn't give in, but my love for him ran too deep. Even knowing he saw me as someone else, I was hopelessly lost, letting him take me to a hotel. All night, as we made love, he cried out Gaia's name in my ear.

The next morning when he sobered up, he was livid. He grabbed me by the neck, calling me a cheap slut for scheming my way into his bed. But he was the one who had forced me.

In the end, for the sake of the family's reputation, he agreed to marry me. But at our engagement party, someone drugged my drink, and I was set up in a room with my equally drunk cousin, Tony.