Cassian’s eyes were filled with disappointment.

“Both daughters of the Vale family, and you still can’t learn the discipline and manners your sister has?”

He let out a slow, exhausted breath.

“Forget it. I won’t hold today’s behavior against you. Go change into an evening gown, we’re attending a business gala tonight.”

“I’m not going,” I said instantly. “Take Demi. She fits your checklist better than I ever will.”

Cassian’s brows drew together.

“Aria, have some sense of responsibility. You are the fiancée I’ve chosen.”

That line hit me like a needle, sharp, sudden, humiliating.

Of course.

He wasn’t marrying me because he wanted me.

He was marrying me because the contract said so, because the Vercetti family never breaks an agreement.

Love had nothing to do with it.

If he could choose freely, he would’ve picked Demi long ago.

Fine.

This lifetime, I’ll give him exactly what he wants.

Demi stepped in with perfect softness.

“Sis might not be very used to such formal events… Maybe I can accompany her. If she doesn’t understand the etiquette, I can remind her.”

My eyes lit up.

“Perfect. Come on. I’ll help you pick a dress.”

The moment we entered my room, Demi dropped the act, shaking my hand off.

“Why did you give the Don to me?”

I smiled slightly.

“Because you two love going to church to repent.”

Her expression froze, then turned icy.

“Don’t push your luck. Once the Don finds out the bride is me, he’ll be relieved, ecstatic, actually. You, with your lack of manners, don’t deserve him.”

“Then why didn’t you tell him just now?” I asked calmly. “Not confident? Afraid he’ll reject you once he knows?”

“You shut up!” she snapped like a startled cat. “He’ll be grateful! I just want to surprise him on the wedding day. So keep your mouth shut.”

“Relax. Whatever romantic games you two play, I’m not interested.”

This lifetime, I only care about being myself.

At the gala.

Lights, elegance, champagne.

When the opening dance began, Cassian walked toward us.

His eyes swept over my flamboyant black backless dress… then tightened in a frown.

A beat later, he extended his hand...not to me, but to Demi, glowing innocently in her soft white gown.

Whispers rippled across the hall.

“Isn’t Aria the fiancée? Why is the Don inviting the sister?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He prefers the second daughter.”

“Well, of course. The younger one is graceful, educated. The elder… gorgeous, but wild. Not fit to be a Don’s wife.”

Cassian didn’t react to any of it.

“You don’t know how to dance formal waltzes anyway,” he said to me, voice bland, almost bored.

“This time, you can learn from Demi.”

And with that, he took her hand and led her to the center of the ballroom.

Classical music swelled.

They moved together, elegant, poised, harmonious, a picture-perfect couple stepped straight out of an old European oil painting.

I lasted a whole minute before my eyes glazed over.

They looked like two palace mannequins locked in a century-old waltz.

Do they even know FB, IG, TikTok exists?

I slipped out onto the terrace.

Snow fell thick and silent in front of me.

Alone, I moved body catching an invisible bassline only I could hear, dancing wild, hot, alive.

This rhythm… this freedom… belonged to no one but me.

To the life I was about to reclaim.

But the moment didn’t last.

A familiar shadow approached behind me.

It was Demi.

Her cheeks were still flushed from dancing, but her eyes…gleamed with the smug satisfaction of a victor.

“Are you hiding out here because your feelings got hurt, sis?”

She didn’t bother to mask the gloating in her voice.

“Let’s be honest, any man, choosing between you and me, would always pick the one who’s more graceful and better-mannered. Me.”

She paused, lowering her voice, each word dipped in venom.

“But really, I do pity you. Back then, your mother couldn’t win against mine. And now, you can’t win against me either. I guess failure just… runs in your DNA.”

My fist tightened so hard the veins stood out.

Demi Vale, you dare insult my mother?

But before I could speak, something unexpected happened.

Demi suddenly staggered backward, then let out a sharp, terrified scream as she completely lost her balance and fell straight down the stairs.

A wave of chaos erupted below, shouts, gasps, the sudden swell of panic.

Cassian rushed out from the crowd instantly, catching Demi’s collapsed body in his arms.

He looked up at me, standing on the landing, rage burning in his eyes like open flame.

His voice was carved out of ice.

“Did you push her? Apologize.”

…Cassian, are you from another century?

No checking the cameras.

No asking what happened.

Just accuse me on instinct?

“It wasn’t me,” I said evenly. “And I won’t apologize.”

“You’re hopeless.”

He turned to his bodyguards without hesitation.

“Teach her a lesson. Throw her into the outdoor ornamental pool. Before the gala ends, don't let her coming out until I say so.”

“I’m your fiancée,” I shouted, “or is it Demi Vale?”

Cassian seized my wrist with a force that made my eyes sting.

There was no pity in him—only cold, precise authority.

“Exactly because my fiancée is you,” he said, enunciating each word,

“I will put others before you.”

In that moment, I understood, more clearly than ever, that the choice I made in this life was absolutely right.

Pretty faces, perfect bodies, none of it mattered when the hearts underneath were fundamentally incompatible.

The bodyguards stepped forward, grabbing me before I could brace myself.

No amount of struggling helped.

A harsh splash and icy water swallowed me whole.

The cold stabbed into my bones.

I surfaced choking, desperate, reaching for the edge, only to be shoved back under by the guards stationed there.

I clawed upward again and again they forced me beneath the surface.

“Cassian! You bastard! Let me up!”

My strength drained with every thrash.

The cold numbed my muscles, my fingers, my breath.

My voice cracked, then broke entirely.

My lips began turning blue; wet strands of red hair clung to my face, freezing stiff.

One of the guards hesitated, pulling out a phone.

Through the slosh of water in my ears, I heard Cassian’s voice, hard as forged steel:

“Continue. Otherwise, she’ll never learn her lesson.”

…Learn her lesson?

Of course.

He never wanted me.

He wanted a fiancée who obeyed.

Who stayed quiet.

Who stayed small.

Who never crossed a line.

A despair sharper than the cold closed over me and dragged me deeper than the water ever could.

My limbs finally gave out.

Darkness rushed in.

I slipped beneath the surface, and lost consciousness completely.

Half-conscious, I felt myself being lifted into Cassian’s arms.

“Put me down.” My voice was weak, but unwavering.

Cassian’s tone allowed no argument. “Don’t be difficult.”

He didn’t give me a chance to resist, and he simply shoved me into the car.

Warm air blasted through the heater, slowly chasing the cold from my body.

Cassian took a dry towel, briskly wiping my hair and soaked clothes, then drove off.

When we got out again, I realized he’d brought me to an apartment downtown.

I had no strength left to fight him. I let him change my clothes, clean my wounds, apply medicine.

I never imagined that in this lifetime, Cassian and I would share even a single hour of peace.

Watching me, dazed and barely awake, he gently covered my hand with his.

And then, the doorbell rang.

Cassian stood and went to open the door.

Outside stood Demi, her face pale, wrapped in layers of gauze.

“Don…” The moment she saw him, her eyes filled with tears, her voice trembling in just the right way.

“My sister suffered so much… I was really worried. Even though she pushed me down the stairs, we’re sisters after all… I couldn’t rest until I brought her home.”

I braced myself against the wall and walked toward the door, step by step.

My gaze on her was cold as ice.

“Demi, if you put on this disgusting act in front of me again, I swear I’ll put the engagement back on myself.”

Demi shut up instantly, fear flashing across her eyes.

Cassian’s face darkened, anger sharp and unrestrained.

“Why are you so vindictive? Demi is generous, she doesn’t blame you, and she even came to take you home. Is this how you treat your sister?”

Demi stepped closer, lightly tugging Cassian’s sleeve, her voice soft and fragile:

“It’s alright… as long as she’s willing to go back with me.”

Cassian nodded. “You should go with her. The wedding is tomorrow. I’ll come get you.”

“No.” The word ripped from me, instinctive. “She’ll kill me.”

Cassian stared at me in disbelief, unable to understand why I would “think the worst” of my own family.

He reached for my wrist. I instinctively pulled back—

Cassian staggered, losing his balance, bumping into the entryway cabinet.

The thermos on top toppled over, shattering with a loud crack—

scalding water exploding in every direction!

In the split second that followed, Cassian moved on pure instinct,

lunging toward Demi, shielding her with his body, taking the brunt of the boiling water across his back.

His bodyguard charged forward and kicked me hard into the corner.

My vision blurred. A high-pitched ringing swallowed everything.

Demi burst into frantic sobs and shrieks.

“Aria Vale! You’re wicked, always have been! A red‑haired witch! A demon! Look what you did to Cassian!”

“Someone shoot her already!”

Cassian gasped through the pain. “Enough! Let her go! The wedding tomorrow… goes on as planned.”

I staggered toward the door.

Demi rushed after me.

SMACK!

A vicious slap across my face.

“Stay away from Cassian! Forever! If you appear again, I’ll claim your life in the name of the Vercetti family’s future lady.”

“From now on, I will take care of him. And you, disappear immediately! “

I stepped out into the snow.

Looking up, I saw Cassian and Demi silhouetted together in the apartment window.

That was the clearest moment of my life, utter despair, and utter freedom.

At dawn, my phone lit up.

A message I’d been waiting for finally appeared:

My visa was approved.

The fifty million had arrived.

I grabbed the suitcase I’d packed long ago, pulled on a hat, lowered the brim, then put on a mask.

When I opened the door, the whole family was busy sending Demi off; no one noticed me.

I dragged my suitcase down the stairs, across the courtyard, and out the gate.

A taxi pulled up. I got in.

Just as the engine started, Cassian’s Rolls-Royce turned the corner, slowly stopping at the house.

He stepped out, holding a bouquet of red roses.

Tall, elegant, coldly handsome...

Once, that single sight kept me in love with him for so many years.

Now, I watched the scene with a heart as still as water.

Layers of veils covered Demi’s face entirely.

Cassian approached, taking the bride’s hand...his eyes full of tenderness, contentment, devotion.

Cassian, Cassian.

A disciplined heir like you was always meant for a gentle, obedient, well‑bred lady.

If you lifted the veil today and found out the bride had been switched...

you’d probably be even happier.

The driver asked, “Miss, where to?”

I smiled.

He walks toward his family's honor.

I ride toward my city of freedom.

In the end, we take our separate roads.

(paywall)