Caspian took me back home and treated me like something fragile.

He became extremely sensitive, almost paranoid, to the point that every corner of the house was planted with bodyguards and surveillance cameras.

As for him, he barely left my side. It was as if I would disappear again the moment he looked away.

"Sweet barbecue ribs, your favorite. I made them myself, Seraphine."

At the dining table, his eyes were full of anticipation as he placed a piece on my plate. He had never stepped into the kitchen for me before.

Back then, when I ran through the rain to deliver a contract for him and ended up with a fever, all I got in return was the takeout he'd ordered. He had changed so much after I left.

But why was it that when I gave him everything, he never cared?

"It's delicious. Thank you," I said, setting my cutlery down and giving him a soft smile.

Caspian stared at me for a long moment. The lights in his eyes dimmed a little. "Seraphine, do you still… blame me?"

I shook my head and told the truth. "No."

I didn't blame him because I neither loved nor hated him. How could I blame him when he felt no different from a stranger?

"Then, why are you…"

He trailed off, unable to finish the question.

Maybe he wanted to ask why I was so calm, why I wasn't like before, when even the tiniest thing he did for me could move me to tears. Now, I was as polite as a guest in his home.

Just then, the person who had pushed us to this point walked in.

Thalia Lloyd was Caspian's so-called best buddy, the very thorn that had wedged itself between us two years ago. She still looked as delicate and charming as ever, but when her gaze fell on me, I caught the flicker of poorly concealed jealousy.

"Oh, you're back."

She lounged on the couch, holding the cushion that had been mine, her eyes brimming with provocation. "These past two years have been so hard on Caspian. It was heartless of you to just bolt like that, Seraphine."

Caspian was peeling fruit for me. When he heard that, the knife in his hand stilled for a second, but he said nothing. He was watching me, studying my reaction.

I could guess what he wanted to see. He wanted anger, jealousy—for me to cause a scene. He wanted me to care enough to clash with Thalia like I did two years ago.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel triggered anymore. I only glanced at her as if I were looking at yet another stranger.

"It was pretty heartless of me," I said, going along with her. My tone was mild, as if we were just chatting about the weather. "Good thing you two have such a tight bond. Thanks for looking out for him all this time."

Thalia froze. Her provocation fell flat.

Caspian's expression darkened. He set the sliced apple down on the table with a heavy thud. "What do you mean by that, Seraphine? You don't mind?"

I turned to look at him. His eyes held suppressed anger, which only confused me.

I was being generous and sensible and wasn't even making a fuss. Wasn't that exactly what men claimed they wanted?

"Why would I mind?" I asked softly. "She's your best buddy. Looking out for you is only natural. Anyway, I just got back, and I'm a little tired. I'll head upstairs to rest."

I stood and left, my steps steady and unhurried. Behind me came Caspian's suppressed growl, followed by the sharp crash of glasses shattering.

Caspian began to grow restless. He couldn't stand the way nothing fazed me.

So, he changed tactics. To trigger me, he started to indulge Thalia on purpose, letting her cross lines just to provoke me.

That night, she stayed in his study until late. I brought him a glass of milk, and when I pushed the door open, I saw her sitting on his lap, wearing his shirt.

Caspian noticed me, but he didn't push Thalia away. Instead, he looked straight at me, like he was challenging me.

I stood at the doorway and watched the scene. Yet my heart remained unmoved.

Had this been two years ago, I would've cried, made a scene, and shouted at him without holding back. Now, all I could think about was how uncomfortable their position looked and how the milk was getting cold.

"Sorry to interrupt," I said as I walked in and set the glass on the desk. I even closed the half-open window for them. "It gets windy at night, so don't catch a cold. Carry on."

I turned and left, closing the door behind me.

The moment the door shut, Caspian's furious roar exploded from inside. "Get the hell out of my face right now!"

Right after that came Thalia's tearful sobs.

That night, Caspian stormed into my room. He reeked of alcohol as he grabbed me and shoved me down onto the bed. "Seraphine, are you even human anymore?"

His eyes were red as he stared at me. "After everything I did, you don't feel anything? Do you just not love me anymore?"

I looked at him as he unraveled in front of me and gently wiped away the tear at the corner of his eye. My voice was as soft as always.

"Don't do this, Caspian. I just think that if you like her, I can step aside. I'll do anything as long as you're happy."

"No, I'm not! I'm not happy at all!" he cried out, burying his face in the crook of my neck and wailing like a helpless child. "I want you to love me… Hit me, hate me, yell at me—do anything to me, but don't treat me like you're a robot…"

I let Caspian cry against me until my sleepwear was soaked through. I quietly counted down the days. There was just a little over a month left…

Once I endured another month, the task would end. I would take the money I'd earned and walk away. Caspian's pain was his own doing, and it had nothing to do with me.

I thought the days would just keep passing like this, caught between my own numbness and his slow descent into madness, until Thalia came looking for me.

"You disgust me, Seraphine."

In the garden, she stared at me with venom in her eyes. "You don't love him, so why are you still clinging to him? Look at what he's become now! You've driven him to this state!"

I trimmed the flower branches and replied flatly, "That was his choice."

Thalia let out a cold laugh. "Just you wait. Soon, you'll lose your privilege to stay by his side."

I didn't understand what she meant, so I didn't take it seriously. Still, I hadn't anticipated her methods to be so ruthless.

One day, Caspian said he wanted tiramisu from an old bakery in the northern part of the city. It was something I used to love two years ago. Eventually, I drove out alone.

Halfway along a remote coastal road, the car suddenly broke down. I got out to check. I was still trying to figure out the problem when a handkerchief with a sharp smell was pressed over my mouth and nose.

Right before I lost consciousness, I thought of how painfully cliché it was.

When I came to again, I was tied to a rusted steel pillar in an abandoned factory. Around me were four rough-looking men, their eyes roaming over me while they held cameras. They obviously had malicious intentions.

Above the factory floor hung a broken public-address speaker. From it came Thalia's voice, sharp and pleased. "You awake, Seraphine? Scared yet?"

I stated calmly, "This is illegal, Thalia."

Her maniacal laughter crackled through the speaker. "You think I'm the one who set this up? No! Caspian tacitly approved this!"

My heartbeat stayed steady. It didn't waver in the slightest.

"His original plan," Thalia continued, "was to have you kidnapped just to scare you a little. Once you broke down enough to cry and beg for help, he'd appear like a hero and save you."

She sneered. "He thought that once you went through something like life and death, you'd start depending on him again—that it'd trigger some so-called suspension bridge effect and make you fall back in love with him.

"Honestly, he's quite pathetic and laughable. Don't you think?"

So, that was it. To force a reaction from me after my life was supposedly in danger, Caspian had cast himself in some cheap hero-rescue script.

"But…" Thalia said slowly, her tone turning malicious.

"I don't intend to let the script play out so smoothly. Instead, I'm going to ruin you here. These men will break you, play with you, and record everything.

"And when Caspian arrives, what he'll see will no longer be his precious, untouchable woman. It'll be a filthy, ruined woman he won't look in the eye anymore! Let's see how that plays out for you!"

The men received the signal and began closing in on me. One of them pulled out a syringe filled with a cloudy, murky liquid. "Relax, lady. This is good stuff right here. It'll only make you more… passionate later."

I struggled with all my might, but they held me down, leaving me no room to move. The needle pierced the side of my neck, and a cold fluid was pushed straight into my bloodstream.

A premonition rose in my chest.

"System," I called out in my mind, my voice still steady. "Run a body scan."

The system's response came back in panic. "Seraphine, this is bad. It's a high-concentration hallucinogen mixed with aphrodisiac compounds!"

It was just as I had expected.

A wave of nausea soon hit me.

"You promised me when you sent me here," I said coldly to the system, "that there would be no danger to my life. So what, am I just supposed to sit here and take whatever happens next?"

The men had already started stripping away my clothes. The feel of their coarse hands grazing against my skin made me gag in disgust.

My vision began to blur, and my thoughts scattered, slipping away like sand through my fingers. In its place came a strange, oppressive heat that clouded my senses.

The system answered in a trembling voice, "Yes, I did promise your safety. But I didn't expect this supporting character to go so far…"

"Then how the hell am I considered safe now?" I asked.

The system sounded increasingly guilty and even started negotiating with me. "Well… Technically, you haven't completed the three-month requirement…"

So, for the sake of the requirement, was I supposed to endure this situation and live with this trauma for the rest of my life?

"You failed to uphold your safety guarantee. This is a critical breach," I said, forcing myself to stay lucid. "System… Initiate Emergency Disengagement."

By then, their hands were already reaching for my skirt. Their lecherous, ugly faces were only inches away.

"Now!" I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument.

After a brief pause, the system responded in a panicked rush, "I'm so sorry, Seraphine! Emergency Disengagement initiating immediately!"

Not even the system could bear to watch such an inhumane scene.

A flash cut across my vision, and I was pulled back into a dark space. The discomfort in my body vanished instantly.

In front of me, a massive screen hung like a cinema display, projecting everything that was happening on the other side.

After my consciousness was extracted, my body still retained a few faint signs of life. The men, thinking they still had control of the situation, continued and even recorded everything on their devices.

Not long after, the system that sustained my body fully disengaged, and my heartbeat ceased. Then, my body went limp, like a puppet with its strings cut.

The men finally noticed that something was wrong. One of them reached out shakily to check if I was breathing. A second later, panic exploded across the factory.

"Shit! S-she's dead!"

"S-she is?"

At the same moment, the factory doors were violently kicked open. "Seraphine!"