I had been locked in a bitter feud with Kianna for six long years.

She was the reason my mother fell from a building, leaving her paralyzed.

In return, I exposed her family’s secrets, shattering their reputation and plunging them into bankruptcy.

Everyone believed we were destined to spend our entire lives destroying each other.

When we met again, Kianna had already made a dazzling comeback. She faced the press with the ease of someone who had rehearsed every answer.

"Back then, didn't our classmates all joke that at eighteen we'd fall in love, at twenty-five we'd get married, and before twenty-eight we'd have kids? Kianna, which step are you at now?"

"Almost engaged," she replied smoothly.

"You're ahead of us all!"

I absently twisted the ring on my finger. In truth, I had already completed all three of those milestones.

——

At that moment, a man walked in through the door. He was Kianna's fiancé.

He was young, bright, and polite. He nodded to everyone in turn before taking his seat beside her.

She didn't spare him a glance. Instead, her eyes locked on me.

And I could feel the probing stares from everyone around us.

After all, our past had been a public spectacle. Everyone knew how vicious things had gotten between us.

I picked up my lighter and walked out.

The two men next to me thought I was about to storm the stage and beat up her fiancé.

They instinctively grabbed my arm.

I raised an eyebrow at them.

"Ah—haha, Diego, where are you going?"

"Restroom," I replied flatly.

"Oh, right, of course."

They sat back down, laughing nervously.

Just before I left, I caught their hushed whispers.

"Two years apart, and Diego's temper has calmed a lot."

"Seriously. Just now, I thought he'd rip that pretty boy's face apart."

"Two years, and he still hasn't let go. The moment he saw Kianna with another man, he had to run out to cool off."

"Well, since nothing happened, let the security team stand down."

Only after stepping outside did I notice the two rows of bodyguards lined up at the door.

When they saw me, their expressions tensed.

The one in the lead touched his earpiece, then gestured for his men to fall back.

I sat down on the lawn and called my daughter.

Over the phone, she chattered about the new story she had learned today.

Meanwhile, Kianna's interview moved outdoors.

No matter how many people surrounded us, our eyes always seemed to find each other.

"Miss Crawford, after being ruined back then, do you have anything you'd like to say to the person responsible?" a reporter asked.

She gave a soft laugh and looked straight into the camera.

"I saw him today. His eyes are still as beautiful as ever. If I get the chance, I'll dig them out myself—and string them into a bracelet for my fiancé."

The crowd gasped at her venom.

But for us, after six years of hating each other, such words were nothing new.

"Did you ever retaliate back then?" another reporter pressed.

"I crippled his mother—does that count?" She tilted her head and smiled.

I swirled the wine in my glass, listening to my daughter's bedtime story on the phone, gently coaxing her to sleep.

My calm indifference clearly irritated Kianna.

Or perhaps between the two of us, no excuse was ever needed—we simply wanted each other destroyed.

She came over and sat beside me, pressing one finger against my phone screen.

Catching a glimpse of what I was watching, she let out a mocking laugh.

"The Great Compassion Mantra would suit you better."

Then she turned to introduce me.

"Carlos, this is our college class monitor, Diego."

Carlos smiled warmly and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Diego Reynolds. I'm Carlos Smith, Kianna's fiancé."

Everyone around us waited for me to snap, to put on the familiar show of rage.

Instead, I only replied lightly, "Hello."

Kianna narrowed her eyes at me, as if she wanted to strip me bare with her gaze.

Kianna gave a scornful laugh, as if amused that I was still putting on a show.

While she continued her interview, Carlos suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Diego, I heard Sonia's ex-boyfriend of six years is here tonight. Do you know who he is?"

I couldn't be bothered to guess the truth hidden in his words. I pulled my hand back and carefully wiped it with a handkerchief.

"Sorry. I have a cleanliness issue."

Carlos ducked his head, embarrassed.

Across from me, Natalia sneered.

"Still pretending, Diego? You've been a fraud since college. Two years later and you're still the same fake."

"Natalia, don't say that," Carlos protested. "Mr. Reynolds doesn't seem like that kind of person."

"You're fooled because you've only met him once. I've known him for six years. If it weren't for him, my sister would never have gone bankrupt!" she seethed.

"What do you mean?" Carlos frowned.

"Big brother, you still don't get it? He's my sister's scumbag first love."

Natalia spat her gum in my direction, eyes full of provocation.

I flicked my lighter up to block it, then stood and slammed it against her face.

"Diego! What the hell are you doing? You think I'm the same as you? I'm the Crawford family's second daughter! Who the hell do you think you are, daring to touch me? Believe it or not, my sister will chop your fingers off!"

"Your Crawford family?" I scoffed. "I don't give a damn. I ruined her once—I could ruin her a second time."

The sudden clash disrupted the entire interview.

Kianna came rushing back.

I glanced at the white lighter in my hand, now smeared with gum. My stomach turned. It's my damn obsession with cleanliness again.

I held the lighter out. "One hundred thousand."

Natalia snorted. "You've got some nerve asking my sister for that pocket change. It's on purpose, right? From the looks of it, you've been doing pretty poorly these two years. But your talent for seducing women seems to be thriving."

I raised the lighter again, ready to throw it at her, but Kianna caught my wrist, looking at me sharply.

"What did you just say?"

"One hundred thousand." I frowned.

"No—the sentence before that."

I thought for a moment, then repeated evenly. "I ruined you once. I can ruin you a second time."

For the first time that evening, Kianna laughed—truly laughed.

"You know, I actually prefer you when you drop the act."

I yanked my hand free, but she deliberately leaned closer, her cheek brushing against my palm.

"If this slap lands," she whispered, "I'll make sure your mother loses what little movement she has left."

I hadn't intended to hit her. But the moment those words left her mouth, my hand came down hard across her face.

"Are you insane?!" Natalia shrieked, lunging at me. She clawed at my neck; I yanked her hair in return.

The transparent glass stool beside us shattered against her, blood streaking down her forehead.

I snatched up a shard and slashed at Kianna's arm.

She barely flinched. Two of her bodyguards grabbed me with overwhelming force and shoved me straight into the pool.

She stood above me, elegant even in fury.

"Two years of caring for your crippled mother must have been exhausting. Why not let me arrange a little ‘accident' for you? That way, you'll never have to suffer again."

Her smile deepened. "And your eyes—they're so beautiful. I'll dig them out and use them for my engagement to Carlos. Wouldn't that be lovely?"

I wasn't the type to talk. My gaze locked on her chest. Without hesitation, I drove the shard forward in a vicious thrust.

I wanted to see her bravado crack—to watch her tremble, beg, break.

But that moment never came.

Because Carlos stepped in front of her.

Blood bloomed across his white shirt like ink in water.

"Are you insane?!" Kianna's voice rang with fury. "If you want to vent your madness, come at me. Why him? Do you even realize—he was born with a condition? He can't stop the bleeding!"

My grip twisted tighter, forcing him down. "Now you understand."

"Diego! Don't drag an innocent family into this!" Kianna shrieked.

"Oh? Then my mother deserved to be paralyzed, is that it?" I spat sarcastically.

Without a shred of mercy, I shoved Carlos into the pool. Blood from the knife smeared across Kianna's dress.

The sudden chaos left everyone frozen, too afraid to intervene.

She called me a lunatic, but behind her fury, those eyes... trembled with something else.

"Crazy?" I sneered. "Isn't this exactly what you've been pushing me toward?"

From the moment I stepped into this gathering, she had been provoking me.

I had fought against Kianna for so long that I could barely remember what it felt like when we once loved each other.

On the day she proposed to me, I sold her company's confidential documents.

On the day I agreed to marry her, she hired someone to pull the oxygen tube from my mother's mouth.

When I was in a car accident and sent abroad for treatment, hooked up to countless tubes, she came. She lifted my oxygen mask herself, bit down on the corner of my lips, and whispered:

“Diego, if you die... in the next life, marry me. Let’s stop tormenting each other, okay?”

My body almost collapsed from lack of oxygen, but her eyes searched mine, full of pleading.

I shook my head. "There is no next life for us."

At the hospital, she rolled up her sleeve.

"We're the same blood type. Take mine. If it's not enough, take it all."

When she finally staggered out of the blood-draw room, she was barely standing. She grabbed my shoulder, as if to force her sincerity into me.

"Diego, did you see? I know how to love now."

"Sis, you gave too much blood. You're not thinking clearly. Let me help you." Natalia reached out, but Kianna shoved her aside.

"Get lost! I'm not delirious."

She turned to me again, eyes blazing. "Did you see? I know how to love! I can pick anyone at random and love them with all I have! Don't you get it yet?"

...

Red and blue police lights flashed against our faces.

I pushed her toward Natalia, brushing at my shoulder where she'd touched me. My damn obsession with cleanliness was acting up again.

"The police are here. Go give your statement. His medical bills—I'll cover them."

Her voice softened, almost pleading. "Diego, I'll beg this once—let's let each other go."

I didn't answer.

Actually, I had already let her go, two years ago.

At the station, they separated us into two interrogation rooms.

After finishing my statement, I sat silently, listening to the muffled voices from the next room.

"Sis, you can fool others, but not me. This is just another trick, isn't it? You know he'll never marry you, so you chose to marry Carlos instead—just to disgust him."

"What about Carlos then? Oh right, Carlos is so obedient. Even if you made him the side piece, he'd still agree."

"I'm serious. But until he accepts me, I won't cut ties with Carlos. He's young. If I suddenly pushed him away, he wouldn't be able to take it."

"Sis... do you think Diego might overhear?"

Silence stretched for a long while before Kianna finally answered.

"If he heard us, he'd storm in and slap us both across the face. The fact that he hasn't come means he didn't hear a thing."

I lowered my head, lips curving in amusement, and made a call.

"Come pick me up."

Ten minutes later, a police officer opened the door.

"Diego, your family is here to take you home."

"Thank you." I nodded.

"Just sign here and you're free to go."

On my way out, I passed by their room.

"Family?" Natalia scoffed. "Isn't his only family a paralyzed mother? What, she miraculously cured now?"

"Probably a friend," she replied.

Natalia couldn't resist. She laughed, pushed open the door, and called out sweetly, "Officer, who came to pick up Diego just now?"