The seventh anniversary of my marriage to Dimitri Romanov became another public execution disguised as entertainment.

The underground hall beneath the Pentagon X Syndicate mansion looked more like a private theater than a torture chamber tonight. Above the chamber, a glowing livestream countdown burned across the screen.

ROMANOV PUNISHMENT NIGHT VII

More than 5 million viewers were already connected before the stream officially started.

“Romanov’s wife is still alive?”

“She deserves worse.”

“Raise the temperature lower.”

“How much to make her beg?”

I couldn’t stop shaking.

“Dimitri...” My lips barely moved from the cold. “Please... I can’t do this anymore.”

Outside the glass chamber, Dimitri sat calmly on a leather sofa with one leg crossed over the other. A crystal whiskey glass rested lazily between his fingers while several mafia executives stood behind him like silent shadows.

CEO of the Romanov Empire.

King of the underworld.

And my husband.

He glanced toward one of the screens displaying the donation rankings before finally looking at me.

“You can’t even survive one hour?” Dimitri asked coldly. “My parents spent their final moments trapped under freezing water screaming for help. Did anyone save them?”

Pain wrapped around my chest so tightly I thought my ribs might crack.

“I already said I’m sorry...” My voice broke apart. “M-my parents died too, Dimitri. They paid for it with their lives...”

“Paid?” Dimitri stood slowly.

The underground hall fell silent immediately. He walked toward the chamber until his reflection appeared beside mine in the glass.

“You think their deaths paid for mine? My mother was pregnant.” His fingers tapped lightly against the glass. “Do you know what the rescue team said after they pulled their bodies from the river?” His eyes darkened. “They said my father was still holding her hand underwater.”

I lowered my head immediately.

“I know...” I whispered weakly. “I know, and I’m sorry...”

Sorry.

That word had become my entire existence.

Seven years of marriage. Seven years of punishment. Seven years of surviving the hatred of the man who once loved me enough to burn down the world for a single tear.

Dimitri stared at me for a long moment before glancing toward the livestream monitor beside him.

A new donation alert suddenly exploded across the screen.

[$50,000 DONATION RECEIVED]

Punishment Request:

ADD MORE ICE.

The viewers immediately spammed the comments.

“Do It.”

“Make Her Cry.”

“Romanov better not go soft again.”

The guards pressed several buttons. A loud mechanical sound echoed through the underground hall before another avalanche of ice crashed into the chamber around me.

I gasped sharply as unbearable pain spread through my bones. My legs nearly gave out beneath me.

The livestream numbers climbed even higher.

Another punishment unlocked almost immediately.

[$300,000 DONATION RECEIVED]

Punishment Request:

INTRODUCE THE SNAKES

My entire body froze.

"No..." I whispered instantly.

Dimitri didn't even blink. “Drop the snake.”

One of the guards wheeled over a large black container beside the chamber. The moment I heard hissing inside it, my face was drained of color.

"No no no! Dimitri please." My voice broke violently. "You know I'm scared of snakes!" I cried. "Please don't do this! Please..."

When we were younger, I once fainted after finding a tiny garden snake near our school greenhouse. Dimitri carried me all the way home that day while laughing softly and promising he'd never let anything scare me again.

But now? He was the one creating the nightmare himself.

The guard opened the container. Several black snakes dropped directly into the freezing water around me.

I screamed immediately. My body slammed violently against the glass walls as I tried climbing away from them, but there was nowhere to go.

The snakes twisted through the freezing water around my legs. I started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Dimitri please! Please get them away from me!"

The viewers loved it. The livestream donations exploded even faster now. While Dimitri simply stood there watching me calmly while sipping his whiskey.

My entire body shook violently.

"P-please..." I cried hysterically. "I'll do anything... Dimitri please..."

But his face remained emotionless. Then suddenly, the heavy underground doors opened.

“Dimitri?”

A soft female voice echoed through the hall.

“You promised me dinner tonight.”

My entire body stiffened.

Kelsey Velasquez stepped into the room wearing a white coat over a silk dress, her heels clicking softly against the black marble floor. My best friend.

I stared at her through blurred vision. She really did look like the old version of me. The version before fear hollowed me out from the inside. Before sleepless nights. Before crying became harder than breathing.

The second Dimitri saw her, his entire expression softened.

“Baby,” he said quietly while walking toward her. “Give me a minute.”

Kelsey wrapped her arms around his arm naturally, “Why are you wasting time on her again?” she asked with a pout. “It’s our anniversary dinner too.”

The viewers flooded the comments instantly.

“OUR anniversary is crazy.”

“She stole the husband and the anniversary.”

“Romanov looks happier with Kelsey.”

Dimitri said nothing because she was right. After a moment, he sighed softly and brushed her hair behind her ear.

“Alright,” he murmured. “We’ll go upstairs soon.”

But as Kelsey walked past the freezing chamber, she suddenly stumbled against the metal livestream control panel beside it.

The system beeped loudly.

WARNING:

TEMPERATURE DECREASE ACTIVATED.

My eyes widened. More ice dropped automatically into the water while the temperature plunged lower. Pain exploded through my body so violently that my legs gave out beneath me completely.

The freezing water swallowed me whole.

I barely managed to pull myself back up coughing violently.

“D-dimitri—!”

Kelsey gasped dramatically and covered her mouth.

“Oh my God! I didn’t mean to touch it.” Then she looked at Dimitri with innocent eyes. “Shouldn’t we stop it?” she asked softly. “What if she dies?”

“She won’t die,” Dimitri answered flatly.

Then his gaze suddenly landed on Kelsey’s hand. A tiny scratch marked her finger from the edge of the control panel. His expression changed instantly.

“You’re bleeding.”

Kelsey laughed softly. “It’s nothing.”

But Dimitri still lifted her hand carefully before pressing a slow kiss against the tiny red mark.

“Does it hurt?”

Kelsey smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Maybe a little. You should make me feel better.”

Then she kissed him right in front of me. The livestream comments exploded so fast the screens nearly blurred white.

Dimitri kissed her deeper without hesitation while I stood trapped inside that frozen prison shaking so hard I could barely breathe.

After the kiss, Dimitri lifted her effortlessly into his arms. Before leaving, he glanced coldly toward the guards beside the chamber.

“Watch her carefully,” he ordered. “Don’t let her die.”

Then his eyes met mine through the freezing glass.

“The only useful thing about her,” he said calmly, “is that she’s still alive enough to suffer.”

I watched Dimitri carry Kelsey out of the underground hall, and something inside my chest finally broke apart completely.

Seven years ago, today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

I still remembered the way Dimitri used to hold me close like I was the most precious thing in his world. He would kiss my forehead gently and whisper against my skin, "Anni... you're finally my wife now. Do you know how long I've waited for this?"

Back then, his eyes were always warm when he looked at me. Now those same eyes only held hatred.

I let out a shaky laugh that sounded more broken than amused. Maybe I should've seen it coming.

Dimitri and I had grown up together since kindergarten. Everyone in the mafia world knew about us. The future heir of the Romanov Empire and the daughter of his father's closest allies.

Childhood sweethearts.

Always together.

Even the Pentagon X Syndicate members used to joke that Dimitri Romanov worshipped the ground I walked on. And maybe he really did back then.

One winter night during college, I casually mentioned wanting mango cake from a bakery on the west side of the city. It was snowing so heavily that flights were canceled and roads were freezing over.

But Dimitri still drove two hours through the storm just to buy it for me.

When I had terrible period cramps, this feared mafia boss stayed awake the entire night rubbing my stomach carefully while whispering, "Does it still hurt? Tell me where it hurts, baby."

The day he proposed to me was even crazier.

The future ruler of the Romanov Empire knelt in front of me in the middle of a ballroom full of powerful mafia families just to put my heels back on after they slipped off my feet.

Then he smiled up at me and said softly, "My princess shouldn't ever have to bend down herself. I'll spoil you for the rest of your life."

At the time, I really believed him.

God... how did we become this?

Everything changed on our wedding day.

That cursed day.

Everything changed on our wedding day.

A snowstorm covered the city that night. My parents were driving across the bridge after a pre-wedding celebration while Dimitri's younger sister, Vivienne Romanov, drove their parents home from the airport.

The bridge had a dangerous uphill curve where neither side could see clearly until reaching the top.

My parents were speeding. Vivienne was too. The moment both cars reached the peak, everything happened too fast. Tires lost control on the ice.Then both vehicles broke through the bridge rails and plunged straight into the freezing river below.

Vivienne survived but Dimitri's parents didn't. By the time rescue teams pulled them from the water, both of them were already dead inside the submerged car.

My parents survived the crash but they were arrested almost immediately for reckless driving and vehicular homicide.

The wedding hall became a funeral overnight.

And the man who once loved me the most became the man who hated me more than anyone else in the world.

Dimitri lost both parents that night. He then personally sent my parents to prison, but prison wasn't enough. Pentagon X controlled too much of the city. Everyone knew what happened to prisoners who offended the Romanov family.

During my final prison visit, I barely recognized my parents.

They were covered in bruises and cuts. So thin I could see their bones through their skin.

My mother couldn't even stand properly anymore.

The guards told me they had attempted suicide together by slitting their wrists.

They survived just long enough to see me one last time.

My father held my hand weakly while crying. "Annika..." he whispered painfully. "Y-your mother and I deserve this. We... We destroyed Dimitri's family. We should apologize to them ourselves in hell."

My mother touched my face gently with trembling fingers. "But you didn't do anything wrong, sweetheart," she sobbed. "You loved him honestly, none of this was your fault."

I broke down crying beside them. "Please don't leave me too..."

My father looked at me with red eyes. "Dimitri hates you because he loved you too deeply before," he said quietly. "Promise us something. Stay alive for seven years no matter what he does to you."

My breathing shook. "What if I can't anymore?" I asked weakly.

My mother started crying harder. "Then after seven years..." her voice cracked completely, "go and leave him."

That was the last time I saw them alive.

After they died, I became the one paying for their sins.

For seven years.

Dimitri tortured me in ways that changed constantly, almost like he enjoyed inventing new punishments.

During winter, he forced me to kneel outside the Romanov mansion while snow buried my knees.

During summer, he locked me inside overheated rooms for hours without water. If he found out I was allergic to something, he'd force me to eat it anyway while coldly watching my body react.

And every wedding anniversary, he locked me inside that transparent freezing room filled with ice water because his family died trapped in freezing water beneath that bridge. He always watched from outside the glass while I suffered.

Like tonight.

Then Kelsey appeared nine months ago.

Dimitri chose her on purpose. He turned my best friend into my replacement. Everything he once gave me belonged to Kelsey now. His affection, his softness, his protection. Meanwhile, all his cruelty stayed with me.

I should've gotten used to it already.

But every time I saw him kiss her... every time I heard him call her "Kelsey" in that soft voice he used to reserve only for me... every time I watched him spoil her the way he once spoiled me...

It still felt like someone was stabbing directly into my heart. I lowered my head slowly and reached inside my locker necklace and opened it.

In the photo, my mother and father smiled brightly beside me like we were still a normal family.

"Mom... Dad..." I whispered softly while shaking from the cold. "Just seven more days, okay? I'll hold on a little longer."

My voice broke.

"Seven more days... and I'll set myself free.”

I woke up the next day like my body had been put back together without asking permission.

The guest room was quiet, too clean, too soft for someone like me. My wounds were already bandaged, and wrapped neatly.

I sat up slowly and my fingers went straight to my necklace.

My eyes drifted to the calendar on the wall and stopped.

A circle.

Today.

My birthday.

I almost laughed, but nothing came out right. I didn't even remember the last time I cared about it. Still, something inside me whispered, maybe this was my chance. Maybe just this once, things could be different.

Dimitri’s birthday had always been the one I used to celebrate for him, but today was mine.

Right?

So I got up.

My body still hurt when I moved, my hands burned and stiff from yesterday, but I went into the kitchen anyway. I didn't really know why I was doing it at first. Maybe I just wanted to feel like I still had control over something, even something small.

I started baking.

The first cake burned.

I stared at it for a long time before throwing it away and starting again.

Second one burned too.

My hands shook when I cleaned the pan. Blisters formed along my fingers, and I just wrapped them up and kept going.

By the time the sun started going down, I finally got it right. A chocolate cake, simple but careful. Not perfect, but it looked like something made with effort.

I stood there staring at it for a moment.

Like maybe if I looked long enough, it would mean something.

Then I went to my drawer and pulled out an old photo album. It had pictures of us from years ago, back when things still felt like they had a future. I picked a few and placed them inside carefully, my fingers shaking the whole time.

After that, I sent him a message.

“Dimitri, I’ll be at our usual place. I need to talk to you.”

My thumb hovered over the screen for a second.

Then I hit send.

I left the mansion and went to the restaurant we used to go to. The same one we used before everything fell apart.

I arrived early.

I placed the cake on the table and the photo album beside it. My hands didn't know where to rest after that, so I just held them together tightly.

Thirty minutes passed.

Then forty.

Then an hour.

I kept telling myself he would come. He always came eventually. Even if he was late, even if he was cold, he still showed up.

Right?

But when the door finally opened, I already knew before I even looked up. Dimitri walked in. His eyes landed on the table.

"What is this?" Dimitri said flatly.

"It’s my birthday today. I just thought… maybe we could sit together for once."

He stared at me like I said something disgusting.

Then he walked closer and looked at the cake again.

"I stopped celebrating birthdays," Dimitri said coldly. "You forgot that?"

Before I could respond, he knocked the cake over.

It hit the floor with a heavy sound, cream splattering across my dress.

I didn't move.

"I know... But it's been years, Dimitri. I've already lost everything too. My parents are gone, I've suffered for seven years, so can't we just let it end?" My hands clenched under the table. "Can’t we just start over?"

His laugh was sharp, "Start over? After what your family did?" His hand shot out and grabbed my chin hard.

I winced but didn't pull away.

"You still don't understand, do you? I watched there as my parents drowned in freezing water. My sister, screaming, nearly died; it's a miracle she managed to escape. And my grandfather? He died of shock the moment he saw their bodies." His grip tightened further. "How could I ever forget that?"

Tears started slipping down my face before I even realized it. "I’m sorry," I whispered again, because that was all I ever had left.

"Dimitri!"

A bright voice cut through everything.

Kelsey stepped in wearing a white dress. She was holding something in her hands.

A glass case.

Inside it was a gun.

A customized mafia pistol, polished and engraved, expensive enough to belong in a syndicate vault.

"Happy birthday Annika, sorry I didn't prepare a gift for you," Kelsey said brightly as she walked toward Dimitri instead of me. "But Dimi, I got this for you. It’s a limited piece from my family’s weapons vault. I thought you’d like it," Kelsey said softly.

Dimitri froze for a second. His eyes stayed on the gun. Slowly, he took it from her hands. His fingers brushed over it like he was remembering something he had lost.

My throat went dry.

Because I remembered. When I was younger, I once gave him something like that too. A small piece from my family’s old stash. A gesture, a joke, a promise between us. He had smiled like I was his entire world back then. Now he was looking at her like that instead.

"I really like this, Kelsey.”

Then he pulled her into his arms. Kelsey glanced at me over his shoulder and smirked, just a little too satisfied.

My hands slowly moved to the photo album beside me. My fingers touched it without thinking.

This wasn't betrayal anymore. It was a replacement.

I couldn't keep watching them anymore. The way Dimitri held Kelsey like she mattered. The way he looked at her with warmth he hadn't shown me in years. It hurt too much.

So I left the restaurant quietly before either of them noticed. The drive back to the Romanov mansion felt endless. Neon lights blurred outside the car window while tears kept falling no matter how many times I wiped them away. I pressed my hand against my mouth and forced myself not to break down completely.

Why was I still crying? Wasn't I already used to this?

By the time I got home, my chest felt hollow. The mansion was quiet, filled with cold marble floors and armed guards who avoided looking directly at me. Nobody here treated me like the wife of the Pentagon X boss anymore.

I was just the woman Dimitri hated.

…

I went straight upstairs to the second floor and locked myself inside the guest room. The same room I had been sleeping in for years now. Not our bedroom.

I sat on the floor beside the bed and hugged my knees tightly. The birthday dress I wore was still stained with ruined cake cream.

How pathetic.

I laughed weakly at myself before lowering my head.

About an hour later, someone knocked on the door. I wiped my face quickly before opening it.

Kelsey stood there.

Smirking.

She leaned against the doorway casually and looked me up and down.

"Wow! You look awful, birthday girl."

I stayed quiet.

Kelsey walked into the room without permission, her heels clicking against the floor.

"Dimitri's with me right now," she continued proudly. "Did you know that? He left your birthday dinner just to stay beside me."

I lowered my eyes.

"I know."

She laughed lightly. "You know what's funny? He barely even looked at you tonight."

Still, I said nothing. I was too tired to fight anymore.

Kelsey's expression slowly darkened.

"What?" she snapped. "You're not even angry?"

I looked at her for a long moment before forcing a small bitter smile.

"He chose you. Congratulations."

For a second, she just stared at me. Then her face twisted in irritation. "Now you're acting like you don't care?" she said coldly. "You're pretending you're not affected by this?"

I looked away. Because what else was left for me to say?

Kelsey suddenly laughed again, but this time it sounded sharp.

"Fine," she muttered. "Let's see how long that attitude lasts!" Then she turned and walked toward the hallway railing outside the room.

"What are you doing?"

She ignored me.

The second floor overlooked the massive entrance hall below. The drop was high enough to kill someone if they landed wrong. Kelsey placed both hands on the wooden railing and looked down dramatically.

Something felt wrong instantly. My chest tightened.

"Kelsey...!"

Before I could move, she suddenly climbed halfway over the railing.

My eyes widened.

"What are you doing?!" I rushed forward instinctively.

Then she looked at me.

The next second, she deliberately let herself fall over the edge while grabbing the railing with only one hand.

"DIMITRI!" she screamed hysterically. "ANNIKA PUSHED ME! HELP ME! PLEASE! I'M GONNA FALL!"