Chapter 1

To cure Julian Sterling, the son of Seattle's wealthiest tycoon, of a rare dual personality disorder, Seraphina Vance had spent an entire year locked away in a research institute. As a world-class psychiatrist, she had finally achieved a breakthrough result.

Yet, the moment she returned with her research, she was met with a public provocation from her rival, Clarissa Thorne.

"Don't waste your breath. I’ve already cured Julian," Clarissa sneered. "Through deep hypnosis, I’ve completely rewritten his core memories and wiped the primary personality from existence. Now, the only person he desires is me."

Seraphina didn't believe a word of it. But in the three years since her return, Julian had used every conceivable cruelty to make her life a living hell.

He had handed her water mixed with his father’s ashes when she was parched with thirst; he had injected her with tremors-inducing drugs the night before a critical surgery; he had locked her alone in a morgue filled with corpses on a freezing night; he had personally shredded the albums that held every memory of their past.

Over those three years—more than a thousand days and nights—Seraphina’s once passionate and devoted heart had slowly withered into despair under this relentless torment.

Still, a sliver of hope remained. Knowing it was Julian’s birthday, she baked a cake herself and brought it to his villa.

Seraphina waited at the door for a full half-hour before Julian finally opened it.

The moment he saw it was her, his first instinct was to slam the door, but she managed to force her way inside.

"Julian, I know you don't want to see me, but it's your birthday. I made this cake..."

Before she could finish, Julian cut her off with a derisive laugh. His eyes were cold, filled with mockery.

"Seraphina Vance, you really do go to desperate lengths, don't you?"

He took the cake and threw it into the trash without a second thought. "The cakes you make are just as cheap as you are."

Every word was like an icicle piercing her heart. Seraphina’s face turned deathly pale, and she struggled even to remain standing.

The scorn on Julian’s face deepened, but it melted instantly when he saw Clarissa walking out barefoot. The frost in his eyes turned into a tender warmth.

"Clara, it’s freezing. Why are you out here without shoes?"

Though his tone was scolding, he couldn't hide the worry in his voice.

"I had a nightmare," Clarissa said, clinging to his arm and acting spoiled. "I just woke up and I'm scared. Go get my slippers for me, please?"

Julian pinched her nose dotingly. They had only taken a few steps when the crystal chandelier above began to sway. Then, it plummeted directly toward them.

Julian’s reflex was instantaneous. He pulled Clarissa into his arms, shielding her fiercely and covering her eyes so she wouldn't be frightened.

But Seraphina, standing directly beneath the center of the chandelier, was struck. She collapsed, blood streaming from her head as she hit the floor.

Shards of glass sliced into her skin, leaving her battered and broken in an instant.

She lay in a pool of blood, the agonizing pain spreading through her entire body. She instinctively looked up at Julian.

She saw him tenderly holding Clarissa’s finger, which had a tiny scratch, and placing it in his mouth. He then gently wiped a stray drop of blood from the girl's leg.

"Clara, does it hurt? I promise I’ll never let you get hurt again."

The two of them shared a passionate kiss, completely ignoring Seraphina as she shivered in agony on the floor. Her heart felt as though it had been carved out by a dull blade, leaving only a bloody, mangled mess.

Tears blurred her vision. Her body was broken, and every movement brought a pain that made it hard to breathe, yet it was not a fraction of the agony in her heart.

Once, she was the one he held in the palm of his hand.

Years ago, Seraphina had found him in a narrow alley, beaten half-to-death by his enemies.

During those countless nights of helplessness, they had huddled together in a tiny, leaking attic, supporting each other through the darkness. Two broken hearts had slowly grown together, falling deeply in love.

During their hardest year, Seraphina had juggled her studies with multiple part-time jobs just to fund his startup.

When Julian asked why she was so good to him, Seraphina simply smiled. "You’re brilliant. I believe in you. I know you’ll rise again."

Back then, Julian had kissed her hand with solemn gravity. "Sera, I promise you. I will marry you one day. I’ll give you the life you deserve."

He had kept that promise. He built an empire from nothing.

But on the day he intended to propose, trauma-induced stress forced his personality to split. A gentle, kind primary self was overshadowed by a dark, paranoid, and cruel sub-personality.

Seraphina knew his condition couldn't wait. She abandoned her promising career at home and moved abroad to join a specialized institute for personality disorders.

Now, a year later, she had achieved a breakthrough that could reduce his suffering and potentially merge his personalities back into one whole being.

She had rushed back to share the news, only to find he was getting engaged to someone else.

Over the past few years, she had tried to remind him of their past—she had argued, cried, and pleaded—but Julian refused to believe a word. To him, she was nothing but a social climber who would do anything for money.

"You stayed by my side during my lean years just for my wealth, didn't you?" he would say, coldly cutting her off.

In the end, Julian didn't call a doctor. He didn't even call a car to take her home. He simply ordered his men to throw her out of the villa.

Arthur, the butler, looked at Seraphina with a conflicted expression and sighed.

"Miss Vance, please don't make this difficult. Mr. Sterling already has a fiancée."

Seraphina didn't say a word. She just looked up at the two silhouettes entwined on the second-floor balcony. Her heart throbbed with a pain so sharp it stole her breath.

She didn't leave immediately, and since Arthur wouldn't let her back in, she endured the agony, watching the lights in the villa flicker and eventually go out.

It was the height of winter. The howling wind carried fine snow that bit into her skin like a blade.

Her face grew numb, and the wounds on her body began to lose sensation from the cold.

The only thing she could still feel was her shattered, desperate heart.

After an unknown amount of time, Julian finally came downstairs. Looking at the unconscious Seraphina, he ordered his bodyguards to wake her with a bucket of ice water.

The shock of the cold brought her back. When she opened her eyes, she met Julian’s gaze—eyes that were freezing and devoid of emotion.

Facing her, his look held only coldness and undisguised disgust.

"I’ll give you ten seconds to vanish from my sight. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to have you thrown out like trash."

As Julian began the countdown, Seraphina forced herself up. With the last of her strength, she crawled to his side and grabbed the hem of his trousers, her tears mixing with the water on her face.

"Julian, do you really not remember me? You promised you would marry me. Have you forgotten everything? Everything we went through..."

"I haven't forgotten!" Julian cut her off sharply, his voice turning even more frigid. "I haven't forgotten how you abandoned me to go abroad, or how you secretly transferred my assets while I was deathly ill. I will never forget that."

Julian looked down at her with disdain, accusing her of betraying his company's secrets to competitors and embezzling his fortune during the past year.

Finally, he knelt down and, one by one, pried her fingers off his clothes. His voice was calm yet utterly cruel.

"Seraphina Vance, stop acting. I won't be kept in the dark by you anymore. And I will never be with you."

Every word was a fatal blow. He was completely lost in the web of lies woven by Clarissa, refusing to give her even a moment to explain.

Seraphina wept, struggling to find her voice, but he gave her no chance. He signaled the butler to throw her and all her belongings out.

The villa’s heavy doors slammed shut in her face.

The road down the mountain was long, and no taxis were available. She walked for a long time.

She walked until the blood soaked through her shoes and socks, hardening into thick scabs that made every step a nightmare of pain.

In her blurring consciousness, she remembered another snowy day just like this one. Julian had carried her through the mountains for hours when she was delirious with fever to find a hospital. When she woke up, he had smiled and comforted her. "Sera, as long as you're okay, nothing else matters."