Maybe she still hadn't been able to forget.

So she wanted to tear down this building. Tear down every memory tied to me.

But none of that mattered anymore.

An artificial heart only lasts seven years.

Whether Serena forgives me or not. However the world sees me. My life entered its countdown the moment I made that choice seven years ago.

Life is too short—no time left for sighing.

Before death comes, there's only one way to live: fight with everything I have.

I tidied up the room and waited for the evening's regulars.

But that night, it wasn't regulars who showed up.

It was a pack of vicious punks.

The rickety door caved in with one kick. They shoved me around while trashing the place.

The lackey up front bowed and scraped to the man standing off to the side.

I recognized him—Ethan Pruitt. Serena's fiancé. The one she'd thrown obscene amounts of money at to chase down.

Ethan was handsome, but his temper ran hot.

The moment our eyes met, he backhanded me across the face.

His nails raked my cheek. He grabbed my chin and sneered. "So this is Serena's first love? Doesn't look like much. How'd you manage to stay in her head all these years?"

The lackey forced an awkward laugh, still groveling. "How could he compare to you, brother-in-law? He's just a shameless streetwalker—not even fit to carry your shoes. If he hadn't pulled tricks to show up in front of Serena today, I'd never have let him dirty your eyes!"

Ethan's gaze turned even more contemptuous. He covered his mouth in exaggerated disgust and handed over the video camera.

"Since he's Serena's first love, we should take extra good care of him." He gestured at my empty room. "Business looks dead. I brought some friends to liven things up. Serve them well—I'll send more customers later."

At his signal, a group of men with brutal faces closed in.

I shook my head, panic clawing up my throat. "No—you've got it wrong, I'm not—"

Before I could finish, a hand grabbed my hair and hurled me sideways.

My body slammed into the wardrobe.

A loud crash—and that long-sealed photo tumbled into view.

I lunged to cover it.

The next second, a custom leather shoe came down without hesitation.

Glass shards bit into my palm. Blood seeped out, staining the photo beneath.

Fighting through the bone-deep pain, I lifted my head.

Serena stood there. Face cold. Indifferent.

Her gaze swept past me and landed on Ethan. "What are you doing?"

He wasn't afraid at all. Smiling, he hooked her arm. "Nothing. Just helping you vent. That bastard treated you like trash back then—I'm not letting him off easy."

Something flickered across that frozen face. A trace of a smile.

Serena reached up and ruffled Ethan's hair, chuckling softly. "Leave these things to the people under you. Why dirty your own eyes over him?"

That careful tenderness—it was like looking through time at who I used to be.

Back then, I stood by Serena's side with that same look of happiness. Dreaming of the sweetness our future would hold.

But now, the heart beating in her chest is my heart.

And the way she looks at me holds nothing but ice.

Serena's words did nothing to cool Ethan's rage.

To vent his fury—and the jealousy gnawing at him—he grabbed my hair and dragged me from inside the house all the way out. My calves scraped over broken glass, leaving a winding trail of blood behind me. Disgusted, he grabbed a basin of cold water and dumped it over my head.

"Back then, you made Serena kneel here while people mocked her." His voice dripped with venom. "Today, you get to feel what that was like."

I knew he wanted to humiliate me. I knew none of them wanted me to have it easy. I knew how much Serena hated me.

Chatter swelled around us. Everyone was laughing—laughing at me for not knowing my place, for bringing this on myself, for being loose and fickle, for being cheap. Even one of Serena's underlings couldn't help but chime in. "Serena was so good to you back then. If you hadn't left, you'd be the one living the high life now..."

If I hadn't left—if I hadn't done what I did—Serena wouldn't have lived to see today at all.

I clenched my teeth, refusing to let the tears fall. But my body still trembled from the cold.

Harbor City's winters don't kill people. But that surgery had left my body wrecked. A simple cold, a bit of wind-chill—either could take me out at any time.

I curled up on the ground, rubbing my arms over and over. But I couldn't fight off the bone-piercing wind. Or Serena's icy stare.

Seven years. I'd survived alone in this mud pit for seven years. The artificial heart's beat was growing weaker. My life was nearing its end.

I lifted my head one last time to look at her. And suddenly, I understood how she must have felt seven years ago. At the edge of death, at the final moment of a lifetime—I was just like she had been. Humble. Helpless. Begging for the person I loved to turn around and look at me. Just once.

But she didn't. Seven years ago, I never turned back. Seven years later, neither did she.

As darkness swallowed me, the only voice I heard was a stranger's.

"Serena, what the hell are you doing!" Third Master's roar cut through the noise. "Alex gave you his heart to save your life! If you can't be grateful, fine—but do you really need to kill him twice to be satisfied?!"