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!"

Everything happened too fast.

"Kelsey!" I shouted, instinctively reaching toward her.

Heavy footsteps thundered from downstairs.

Dimitri. He appeared below almost instantly, his expression changing the moment he saw Kelsey hanging there crying.

"KELSEY!"

The second she saw him, Kelsey suddenly loosened her grip.

"No!"

Her body fell. A sickening crash echoed through the mansion. Blood spread slowly across the white marble floor beneath her motionless body.

My entire body froze.

Dimitri rushed forward like a madman and dropped to his knees beside her.

"Kelsey! Kelsey, wake up!"

His hands shook while lifting her into his arms. Blood stained his expensive black shirt immediately.

Then his eyes lifted toward me.

"Annika!" he roared. "Wasn't destroying my fucking family enough for you?!"

I started shaking instantly.

"It wasn't me..." My voice cracked apart. "She did it herself, Dimitri, I swear she jumped on purpose—"

"Shut up!"

The entire hall fell silent.

Dimitri stood slowly while holding Kelsey tightly against his chest. His eyes were so red they looked terrifying.

"If anything happens to her," he said in a deadly quiet voice, "I'll bury you alive beside her."

Tears blurred my vision immediately.

"Dimitri, please listen to me..."

But he wasn't listening anymore. He looked at me like I was filth. Like loving me had been the greatest mistake of his life.

Then suddenly, another voice echoed from the mansion entrance.

"Oh my God!"

Everyone turned.

Vivienne Romanov, Dimitri's sister, stood near the doorway beside several guards, still wearing a long black coat from her flight. A luxury suitcase rested beside her.

She had just returned from Spain.

For one second, shock crossed her face as she stared at the blood surrounding Kelsey.

Then her eyes slowly lifted toward me.

And instantly filled with disgust.

"Brother! What happened?"

Dimitri's jaw clenched violently.

"Annika pushed her."

Vivienne froze. Then she looked at me again like she wanted me dead.

"I knew it," she said shakily. "I knew she was dangerous. She's a murderer, just like her parents!"

"Vivienne, that's not true—"

"I just came back from Spain!" she cried emotionally while pointing at me. "And the first thing I see is your wife pushing Kelsey over the railing!"

"I didn't push her!" I screamed desperately. "She let go herself!"

But Vivienne immediately moved beside Dimitri protectively.

"Brother, don't listen to her," she whispered urgently. "People like Annika never change. First our parents... now Kelsey too?"

Those words hit Dimitri like gasoline thrown onto fire. His entire expression darkened instantly.

I saw it happen. The final piece of trust inside him died right there. Dimitri looked at me with absolute hatred.

Then he turned away coldly while tightening his hold around Kelsey's unconscious body.

"Get the car ready," he ordered sharply. "Call the best surgeons now."

The guards immediately rushed into motion.

As Dimitri walked past me carrying Kelsey in his arms, Vivienne stopped beside me for half a second. Only half a second. Long enough to lean close and whisper coldly into my ear:

"You should've died seven years ago instead of my parents."

Then she walked away beside her brother.

The mansion exploded into chaos instantly.

The moment the cars arrived outside the mansion, Dimitri climbed into the backseat with Kelsey still against his chest.

I caught one last glimpse of him lowering his head desperately against her hair.

"Kelsey... stay awake. Don't scare me like this. Open your eyes."

My chest twisted painfully.

That used to be me. I used to be the one he panicked over.

Now I was just the person he blamed.

The guards shoved me into another car, and we sped toward the private hospital owned by the Romanov Empire.

The entire ride felt suffocating. Nobody spoke to me. Nobody cared that my hands were shaking so badly I could barely breathe.

....

When we arrived at the hospital, Kelsey was rushed straight into the emergency room while Dimitri followed beside the stretcher like he was terrified she would disappear if he let go.

Meanwhile, the guards forced me onto my knees outside the operating room.

Pain shot through my legs immediately.

At the end of the hallway, Dimitri stood motionless in his black suit, and Vivienne stood beside him the entire time. One arm wrapped around her older brother while softly comforting him.

"It's okay, Dimitri," she whispered gently. "Kelsey will survive. Evil people like Annika don't get to win forever."

My fingers curled tightly against the floor.

Vivienne glanced toward me and smiled coldly.

"Honestly," she sighed dramatically, "I'm not even surprised anymore."

Dimitri stayed silent. Then the emergency room light finally turned off and the doors opened. A doctor stepped outside while removing his mask.

"Mr. Romanov," he said seriously, "Ms. Velasquez lost too much blood from the fall. We stabilized her condition for now, but she urgently needs a blood transfusion."

Dimitri stepped forward immediately.

"Then do it," he snapped sharply. "Why are you wasting time talking?"

The doctor looked nervous beneath Dimitri's stare.

"Her blood type is rare. Type B negative. The hospital supply isn't enough right no—”

"Annika has the same blood type."

My entire body froze.

Vivienne let out a quiet laugh beneath her breath. "Perfect," she said coldly. "At least she can finally be useful for something."

My fingers trembled violently against the floor.

Dimitri walked toward me slowly.

"Take her for testing," he ordered. "If she's compatible, use her blood."

"Dimitri… You really believe I pushed her?"

"You were the only one there."

"Because she came to my room!" I cried softly. "She provoked me and climbed the railing herself! Why won't you believe me even once?"

His eyes turned colder instantly. The guards dragged me up from the floor and pulled me toward the testing room.

I tried resisting weakly.

"I don't feel well..." I whispered desperately. "I already lost so much blood yesterday from the ice chamber..."

Vivienne rolled her eyes immediately. "Here she goes again," she scoffed. "Always pretending to be pitiful."

But Dimitri cut me off before I could speak further.

"Stop pretending."

Those two words crushed whatever remained inside my chest.

The doctor checked the test results several minutes later.

"She's compatible."

Dimitri answered instantly. "Take whatever Kelsey needs."

I stared at him numbly. This was the same man who once treated me like fragile glass.

When I was sixteen and got caught in heavy rain after school, Dimitri carried me all the way home because I had a fever and couldn't walk properly.

When I burned my hand trying to cook for him at nineteen, he panicked so badly he threw away every knife in the kitchen because he couldn't stand seeing me hurt.

When I had an allergic reaction at twenty, he stayed awake beside my hospital bed the entire night changing cold towels on my forehead while his eyes turned red from exhaustion.

Back then, if I felt even a little pain, he looked more hurt than I did. He used to hold me tightly and whisper against my hair:

"Anni... I wish I could take your pain instead."

But now? Now he couldn't even see me bleeding anymore.

"Kelsey... don't be scared," he murmured while holding her unconscious hand. "I'm here now. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

I closed my eyes slowly. Because once upon a time… He used to say those words to me too.

….

After the blood transfusion, I was wheeled back into my hospital room.

The anesthesia slowly wore off, and pain spread through my body little by little until even breathing hurt. My arm throbbed badly where they kept taking blood, and my whole body felt weak and cold.

I bit my lip hard to stop myself from making any sound.

Crying wouldn't change anything anyway.

Two nurses stood beside me while changing the medicine on my arm.

"Mr. Romanov really loves his wife," one whispered softly. "He stayed outside her operating room the entire time. He looked so worried."

The other nurse sighed dreamily.

"I know. He's handsome, rich, powerful... and still that devoted. Ms. Velasquez is seriously lucky. If a man from the Pentagon X Syndicate loved me that much, I'd die happy."

Something inside my chest twisted painfully.

I stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before speaking weakly.

"...I'm his wife."

The room instantly fell silent.

Both nurses froze.

Their faces turned pale with embarrassment as they finally looked at me properly.

"O-Oh... sorry, ma'am."

Then they quickly left the room.

The silence afterward felt unbearable. Only the sound of the IV drip remained.

Drip.

Drip.

I slowly turned my face away and tears slipped quietly into my hair.

Funny.

Even strangers thought Kelsey was Dimitri's wife now. Maybe everybody already forgot I existed.

After a while, I tried sitting up because I needed the bathroom. My body still felt numb and weak, but I didn't want to call the nurses again.

I carefully pushed the blanket aside and stood up.

The second my feet touched the floor, my legs gave out completely.

I crashed hard against the edge of the bed, and pain exploded through my body so suddenly that my vision turned black for a second.

A broken gasp escaped my throat.

The door outside opened slightly. Through blurry eyes, I saw Dimitri standing there.

He froze.

For one second, he actually stepped forward instinctively. His hand even lifted slightly toward me.

My heart stopped.

But then his expression hardened again.

He slowly lowered his hand and stepped back.

Like he regretted caring.

I watched him turn around and walk away.

Outside the room, I heard his assistant speak carefully.

"Mr. Romanov... if you're worried about her, why don't you just go inside?”

Dimitri answered coldly and immediately.

"She deserves this."

The assistant hesitated before speaking again.

"But sir... none of this was really Miss Annika's fault. Her parents already died paying for what happened. You've punished her for seven years already."

Silence.

Long silence.

Then Dimitri finally spoke again, quieter this time.

"If I forgive her, then who'll forgive me for losing my family?"

My breathing shook violently.

By the time their footsteps disappeared, I was already crying silently on the floor.

...

The next few days passed quietly.

Nobody visited me. I slept most of the time because staying awake hurt too much. Honestly, I’m glad Vivienne didn’t come to my room either. It makes me sad what happened between us. We used to be so close. Our age gap is only four years, and we treated each other like real sisters. But ever since that accident, Vivienne has hated me so much. So when Kelsey came, Vivienne doted on her and even kept asking her brother to marry Kelsey as soon as possible.

One night, my phone suddenly vibrated beside me and woke me up. I reached for it weakly.

Unknown Number.

A message appeared.

【Your blood saved me really well~ From now on, everything that belonged to you will slowly become mine too. Including Dimitri.】

Below the message was a picture.

The moment I saw it, my entire body went cold.

Around Kelsey's neck hung a silver locket necklace.

My necklace.

Inside the small heart-shaped locket were tiny pictures of my parents. That was the last thing they ever gave me before they died.

My hands started shaking violently.

No.

No, no...

I ripped the IV needle out of my hand so fast blood splattered onto the bedsheets. I didn't even stop to clean it.

I stumbled out of the room and ran down the hallway as fast as my weak body could manage.

Every step hurt.

But I didn't care.

When I reached Kelsey's private ward, I shoved the door open hard.

Kelsey sat comfortably against the bed pillows while eating fruit casually.

The moment she saw me, she smiled slowly.

"Oh?" she said sweetly. "Look who came visiting. You really care about me that much?"

My eyes locked onto the necklace around her neck immediately. My voice shook badly.

"Give it back."

Kelsey touched the locket gently and blinked innocently.

"This?" she asked softly. "But Dimitri gave it to me himself."

Pain hit my chest so hard I almost couldn't breathe.

"No..." I whispered.

She smiled wider. "He said it suited me better. Then he told me it reminded him of the old you. The version before everything got ruined."

I felt sick.

Actually sick.

I stepped closer instinctively and reached toward the necklace, but stopped halfway because I was scared of damaging it.

That necklace still carried my parents' pictures inside. It was all I had left.

I lowered my hand slowly and swallowed my pride completely.

"Please..." My voice cracked. "Kelsey, please give it back to me. That necklace is all I have from my parents now."

She watched me quietly.

I forced myself to continue.

"You can take anything else. Money, jewelry, my room, my position... anything I still have left. I'll give it to you willingly. Just please don't take that too."

Kelsey tilted her head thoughtfully for a moment.

Then she laughed softly. "But I don't want those things." She slowly touched the necklace again while staring directly into my eyes. "The only thing I still don't have is your place beside Dimitri."

My chest tightened painfully.

"So why don't you give me that too? Give me the title of Mrs. Romanov. Divorce him and disappear properly."

I closed my eyes.

For a few seconds, I couldn't even speak.

Maybe this was how losing everything felt.

Empty.

Cold.

Hopeless.

When I finally opened my eyes again, they were full of tears.

"F-fine," I whispered hoarsely. "I'll do it."

Kelsey looked surprised for a second.

I kept staring at the necklace.

"As long as you return that necklace to me," I said weakly, "I'll give you the position of Mrs. Romanov myself. You can have Dimitri too."

The moment the words left my mouth, the ward door suddenly opened behind me.

Dimitri stood at the doorway of Kelsey's hospital room, his face terrifyingly dark. His eyes landed on me first. Then on the silver locket in Kelsey's hands.

His jaw tightened instantly. "So in your eyes, being Mrs. Romanov means less than some necklace?"

My throat tightened painfully. I looked at him for a long moment before answering weakly.

"That isn't just a necklace," I whispered. "It's the last thing my parents left me. Their pictures are inside it. Once it's gone... I really won't have anything left anymore."

The moment I mentioned my parents, Dimitri's entire expression changed. Hatred flooded his eyes immediately.

"Parents?" he repeated with a sharp laugh. "You still dare talk about them in front of me?"

Before I could react, he suddenly snatched the locket from Kelsey's hands.

I froze.

Dimitri stared at the necklace coldly while gripping it tightly in his palm.

"You know what?" he said quietly. "Maybe I've been too soft on you lately. I should've destroyed every single thing connected to your parents years ago."

Fear shot through my chest instantly.

"Dimitri... don't."

But he already turned toward the hospital window.

"No!" I screamed.

He raised his hand, destroyed the chain and threw the necklace.

Everything inside me broke apart at that moment. I rushed toward him without thinking. I just wanted to catch it. Just this one thing.

The second I collided into Dimitri, the necklace flew through the air toward the open window.

Then suddenly...

My body lost balance too.

"ANNIKA!"