My ankle was shattered, the pain sharp and relentless, and a stubborn respiratory infection clung to me like a shadow.

In the week I spent in the sterile embrace of the hospital, I had already undergone five surgeries, each one leaving me more hollow than the last.

Mathias came to see me once, just once.

He left me with nothing more than a cold, distant sentence. “Irene, please take care of yourself.”

And just like that, he disappeared from my life.

Every time I woke from the fog of anesthesia, the doctors mentioned how I cried, my tears spilling uncontrollably as if my heart couldn’t bear the weight of its own agony.

But now, there were no more tears left to shed.

I wondered, was this how it felt when the heart died, a long, torturous ache that made every breath a struggle?

Somehow, though, I survived it.

For a month, I lay in that sterile room, the hours crawling by.

When the day finally came for me to leave, I had hoped to find Mathias, to speak to him, to have the conversation we should have had all along.

But when I reached his room, the nurse told me he had already left, without a trace, seven days ago.

I sent him a message, hoping that somehow, he would make time to meet me one last time.

After ten years, I deserved to say goodbye properly.

Despite the pain gnawing at my leg, I hailed a taxi and forced myself into it.

When I arrived home, the weight of everything hit me. I began packing up my life, every corner of this place that had once been filled with warmth, now devoid of meaning.

I loaded the last of my things into the truck I had arranged, the one that would carry me away from everything that had once been ours.

And everything Mathias had given me, the gifts, the emerald necklace that shimmered with memories, I left behind without a second thought.

Mathias had always been sentimental.

This house, his old home, was the place where everything started. The place where, when we first came together, I moved in without hesitation.

Even now, despite his wealth and status, he never left. This house was his anchor.

I ran my fingers across the wallpaper, the one I had carefully chosen, and for a moment, it almost felt like a forgotten memory. But then, something caught my attention, a strange sensation, a twist in the air.

My fingers trembled as I peeled back the wallpaper, an uneasy feeling creeping up my spine. What I uncovered made my heart race with dread and disbelief.

Underneath the wallpaper, I found the wall covered with a painting, Mathias holding Nathalia in his arms, a picture of perfect devotion. The words written beside it were like daggers.

‘Nathalia, this is our first home. I will never leave.

Every night, I hold Irene in my arms, but the only person I think about is you.

Will you ever come back?

I have everything now, so why haven’t you returned?

Irene wants to marry me, but I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone other than you.

Nathalia, I really… I can’t hold on much longer…’

Each sentence felt like a flame searing through my chest, burning my heart alive as it fought to keep beating.

Now, it all made sense. No wonder Mathias had kept me from touching the renovations. This wall, this damn wall, had been filled with his longing for Nathalia.

How laughable. The wallpaper I’d so carefully chosen had only served to blind me to the truth.

Mathias wasn’t sentimental; he’d been holding onto her all along.

And? I had never been anything but a punchline in his story.

My nails dug deep into my palm, the sharp pain barely registering as I numbly stared at the words on the wall, reading them over and over like a cruel mantra, torturing myself until the last remnants of my heart’s attachment turned to smoke.

With a steadying breath, I placed the keys on the table, no longer hesitating. Without another glance, I turned to leave.

Then, my phone buzzed, and I finally received a reply from Mathias. [If you want to talk, come to the Belmont Haven Hotel.]

I went. I kept my promise.

But Mathias wasn’t there.

Instead, Nathalia stepped out of a hotel room, draped in an expensive designer suit, her every step radiating grace.

The jewelry she wore sparkled like the cruel glint in her eyes as she looked me over, her gaze dripping with provocation.

“Mathias doesn’t even want you anymore, and yet you’re still clinging to him. Don’t you find that pathetic?”

A sudden clarity hit me.

“That message… you sent it from Mathias’s phone, didn’t you?”

Nathalia let out a laugh, a sound of pure derision as if her silence had already answered my question.

Since that was the case, there was no point in wasting another breath on her. I turned to leave.

But before I could take another step, Nathalia’s voice drifted from behind me, laced with mockery.

“Irene, if you have any self-awareness, you’d tuck your tail and run. If you wait until Mathias throws you out himself, things won’t be so easy for you.”

Her words made me pause.

“And what if I don’t leave?”

I never went looking for trouble, but that didn’t mean I had no temper.

Nathalia let out a laugh, richer and more condescending this time.

“You’re not still dreaming of becoming Mrs. Mathias, are you?” she scoffed.

“How ridiculous. Back when he had nothing, you sold everything to help him get back on his feet.”

Her gaze turned to pity, dripping with false sympathy.

“I even heard you sold the house your dead parents left you… all for him.” She clicked her tongue. “So devoted, so hopelessly in love.”

“But tell me, what did all that loyalty get you? Nothing. Mathias still doesn’t love you. The moment I so much as beckoned, he tossed you aside like garbage. He wouldn’t spare you a second glance even if you sold yourself.”

The mention of my parents’ house sent a sharp pain through my chest, so sudden it nearly stole my breath away.

Out of gratitude for saving his life and the love I once thought was real, I abandoned everything my parents left me and stood by Mathias through his darkest days.

We had endured hardships, suffered injustice, and weathered storms. But never, not even at our lowest, had I felt regret as bone-deep as I did now.

I had foolishly believed that love, tempered by trials, would only grow stronger.

The truth was crueler. My love had been misplaced from the very start.

Yet Nathalia wasn’t finished.

“Oh, you still don’t know, do you?” She tilted her head, feigning pity. “Those online rumors calling you a shameless homewrecker? Mathias orchestrated all of it himself.”

My breath hitched.

“He wanted to protect me,” she continued smoothly. “He didn’t want me to suffer any backlash, so he threw you to the wolves instead. He let the entire internet rip you apart… just so I wouldn’t have to endure a scratch.”

Something inside me snapped.

So that was the truth.

If I had a mirror in front of me, I knew exactly what I would see: bloodshot eyes, raw betrayal, and a woman who had given everything… for a man who had never deserved it.

The sharp clack of Nathalia’s heels echoed through the room as she strode toward me, her gaze dripping with malice. She reached out, tilting my chin between her fingers, her touch deceptively gentle.

"Honestly, I don’t care whether you leave or not," she murmured, her lips curving into a slow, venomous smile.

"Because what I really want… is to ruin you completely."

Before her words could even settle in my mind, she suddenly tore at her own blouse, sending buttons scattering to the floor. With swift, practiced movements, she mussed up her hair, then seized my wrist and forced my hand to strike her again and again.

Then, as if on cue, she crumpled to the floor, her body trembling, tears spilling down her cheeks in violent torrents.

"Miss Hale," she sobbed, her voice breaking. "I know you hate me, but how could you force me to do something like this?" Her fingers clutched at her chest as she gasped out her next words.

"I’d rather die than agree to it!"

With a sudden, dramatic lunge, she grabbed a fruit knife from the coffee table, angling it toward her throat.

Instinct took over. I surged forward, reaching to stop her.

But before I could even touch the blade, a brutal force slammed into me, sending me crashing backward.

"Nathalia!"

The next moment, Mathias had her wrapped tightly in his arms, his voice thick with desperation.

Nathalia let the knife slip from her fingers, collapsing against him as she sobbed uncontrollably, her entire frame quivering like a fragile bird seeking shelter in his embrace.

"Mathias, you finally came."

"If you hadn’t, Miss Hale would have already sent me to President Liam’s bed!"

I had slammed into the corner of the table, pain searing through my already bruised lower back, leaving my vision swimming. The agony threatened to pull me under, but I bit down on the pain and forced out a hoarse, desperate rebuttal.

"I didn’t!"

"How could I possibly do something like that?"

"Mathias, after everything we’ve been through, do you really believe something this absurd?"

For a fleeting second, something in his expression wavered. His brows furrowed ever so slightly, hesitation creeping in.

But before that moment could solidify, Nathalia whimpered, tightening her grip on his sleeve, her fragile form quivering against him as though she might shatter at any second.

"Mathias, is it because Miss Hale thinks I stole you from her that she wants to destroy me?"

"But the only person I love is you."

"If another man dares to touch me, I’d rather die!"

Before the weight of her words could settle, she snatched the knife from the floor, its sharp edge glinting under the dim light as she aimed it at her own heart.

A sharp clang echoed through the room as Mathias knocked it from her grasp.

The blade clattered to the ground, forgotten, while Nathalia collapsed into a fit of sobs, her frail frame trembling violently.

My pulse pounded in my ears as Mathias turned to me, hesitation flickering in his eyes. I could see it, his faith in me hanging by a fragile thread, ready to snap at the slightest pull.

I opened my mouth, desperate to defend myself. But before I could utter a single word, the sound of a door swinging open shattered the tension.

A middle-aged man, pot-bellied and balding, stepped out in nothing but a bathrobe, rubbing his damp scalp with a towel. His voice rang out with casual familiarity.

"Nathalia, baby, I’m done with my bath. Why aren’t you coming in yet?" His gaze lifted, and the moment he spotted Mathias, his expression shifted from lazy amusement to frozen panic.

"President Mathias? What are you doing here?"

Something inside me twisted violently as I turned to Mathias, searching his face, praying for reason, for trust. But what I saw made my stomach drop.

The uncertainty in his gaze vanished, replaced by sheer disappointment laced with something far worse. Disgust.

His voice was like a blade slicing through me.

"Irene, I really misjudged you."

"I never thought you’d be this vicious… this shameless."

"I didn’t! I swear, I didn’t!"

Never had I wished more desperately for him to believe me.

"I’ve already decided to leave you. I won’t stand in the way of you and Nathalia anymore. Why would I even do something like this?"

The words seemed to ignite something within Mathias. His expression twisted sharply as though I had wounded him with my simple truth.

"Irene, do you have any idea what you're saying?" His voice was thick with disbelief, the anger barely contained beneath his words.

Before I could speak, Liam, who had been silent up to this point, broke his silence with irritation, sharpening his tone.

"President Rocco, my business might not rival yours, but integrity is everything to me. You promised me a woman for my enjoyment. Now, what is this circus? Do you really think you can play me for a fool?"

Mathias no longer even glanced my way, but his words were a dagger to the heart.

"I always keep my word."

And then, the chilling command left his lips.

"Since Liam wants a woman to entertain him, I’ll give him Irene."

Liam's eyes widened as if even he couldn’t fathom the cruel turn of events.

Even though the engagement banquet had never taken place, I had spent ten years by Mathias’s side, believing in us. And yet, he was willing to cast me aside so easily?

Nestled in Mathias’s embrace, Nathalia flashed me a look of triumph, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

She knew all too well the kind of man Liam was behind closed doors. His reputation for destroying young women had spread like wildfire through their circles, whispered from one ruin to the next.

A sharp pain slashed through my mind, a bolt of understanding hitting me hard. Now, I understood what Nathalia had meant when she vowed to utterly destroy me.

But at that moment, there was no time for self-pity or to dwell on the devastation.

Struggling to push myself off the floor, the searing agony from my lower back burned with such intensity that my body refused to straighten.

I could only crawl toward Mathias, dragging myself on the floor like a dog, utterly broken.

"Mathias, I swear, I’ll never stand in your way again."

"I’ll leave, far away. You’ll never have to see me again."

"Please, don’t do this to me."

But the more I begged, the more the rage in his eyes flared, as though he wanted to tear me apart with his bare hands.

"Good, very good! Irene, you truly are something else!"

With a snarl, he turned back to Liam, his voice dripping with venom.

"I already agreed to give her to you. What’s the problem? Isn’t Liam going to enjoy himself?"

Liam’s grin stretched wide as he stepped forward, eager to claim what he’d been promised. He reached out, hands eager to pull me toward the bed.

I fought with everything I had, but in that moment, the crushing weight of despair set in. The only person who could help me was Mathias, but he simply cradled Nathalia in his arms, turning away from me without a second glance.

"Mathias, I hate you!"