After Rebirth, I Gave My Control-Freak Fiancé to My Stepsister : New 🔝

CineDash

Transcript

00:00:00My billionaire fiancé, Damien, did not love me. He loved control.

00:00:05In my last life, I tried to become his perfect wife, obedient, quiet, and easy to manage.

00:00:10I gave him everything, but he still chose my scheming stepsister every time.

00:00:15In the end, a car crash killed the woman he had spent years trying to cage,

00:00:19but death sent me back to the start, right before our wedding.

00:00:22This time, I will not beg for love.

00:00:24I am giving my controlling billionaire fiancé to my treacherous stepsister,

00:00:27packing my bags, and leaving New York forever.

00:00:30Their perfect world is going to burn, and I will walk away free.

00:00:36Manhattan's most exclusive VIP mic club was a blur of neon lights.

00:00:40I sat in the center of a private booth,

00:00:45and with perfect intention.

00:00:48Up by the second floor rallying, a paparazzi lens was pointed straight at us.

00:00:53Good. Those photos would be on Damien Blackhood's desk before morning.

00:00:57That was the whole point.

00:01:00Damien needed a wife who was spotless, graceful, and obedient.

00:01:03So I was going to rip his perfect wife fantasy apart with my own hands.

00:01:06If the scandal was ugly enough, he would call off the engagement himself.

00:01:09Then the air around me turned ice cold.

00:01:19In that split second, I could almost hear chains pulling tight from another life.

00:01:23In my past life, I loved him to the point of madness.

00:01:26I told myself his control was love.

00:01:29Then the Blackwood family code was placed in front of me.

00:01:31No nightclubs.

00:01:32No being alone with any man.

00:01:34No leaving New York without permission.

00:01:36He froze my passport and cut off every account I had.

00:01:39Then he clasped a diamond bracelet around my wrist and called it an engagement gift.

00:01:44It was not a gift.

00:01:45It was a GPS tracker.

00:01:47He sanded me down, piece by piece, until I became something quiet and hollow.

00:01:52The perfect Mrs. Blackwood.

00:01:55Then a car crash ended my suffocating life.

00:01:59I had been reborn on the night before our wedding.

00:02:01This time, I did not want Damien.

00:02:03I wanted to be Scarlet Vale again.

00:02:05So the first thing I did was find my father.

00:02:08I want to call off the engagement.

00:02:09What the hell is wrong with you?

00:02:11Marrying to the Blackwood family is the greatest opportunity of your life.

00:02:14If he is so perfect, let Clara marry him.

00:02:16She is the dignified, obedient one.

00:02:18The ideal Blackwood wife, right?

00:02:22You are really willing to give it up?

00:02:24I did not wait for the rest.

00:02:26I booked an international flight and moved my passport somewhere Damien could not reach.

00:02:31And called my best friend, Mia.

00:02:32Come drink with me.

00:02:33Which brought me here, to this moment.

00:02:37Who gave you the nerve to come to a place like this?

00:02:40I go where I want.

00:02:41What does that have to do with you?

00:02:58My blood ran cold.

00:03:00That bracelet.

00:03:01The same one that had locked away my freedom in my last life.

00:03:05Don't touch me.

00:03:09GPS tracking, heart rate monitor, entry and exit logs, synced in real time.

00:03:14Every step you take, I will see it.

00:03:16I want a public apology statement by tomorrow morning.

00:03:20You put diamonds on a cage and think that makes it something else?

00:03:25I held his gaze and said it clearly, one word at a time.

00:03:28I am not marrying you, Damien.

00:03:30We are done.

00:03:34The car went silent.

00:03:35Damien's eyes snapped mine.

00:03:37Done?

00:03:38Done what?

00:03:39What the hell is that supposed to mean?

00:03:41For a second, I almost told him the truth.

00:03:44That the bride had already been changed.

00:03:46That Clara was the one his family would get.

00:03:49Then I stopped myself.

00:03:50I wanted him dreading every day until the wedding.

00:03:52Convinced he was still stuck with me.

00:03:56Forget it.

00:03:57I was just mad.

00:04:02I'm taking you home.

00:04:03Sit properly.

00:04:05I kicked off my heels, pressed my bare feet into his expensive floor mat, and rolled the window down.

00:04:11When are you going to learn to behave like a Blackwood wife?

00:04:15Maybe in my next life.

00:04:16The rose stopped at the Vale Estate gates.

00:04:19I want that apology on my desk by nine tomorrow.

00:04:21And don't waste your time trying to take off the bracelet.

00:04:24I pushed the door open.

00:04:25I looked down at the disgusting thing locked around my wrist.

00:04:28Then you'd better watch closely.

00:04:31I slammed the door and walked inside without looking back.

00:04:34Richard, Monica, and Clara were all waiting in the living room.

00:04:37My father, his ex-mistress turned trophy wife, and the bastard daughter they'd spent years polishing

00:04:42into exactly the kind of obedient, presentable girl Damien wanted.

00:04:47You reek of alcohol, and you wore a Blackwood engagement bracelet to a night cup.

00:04:51Have you completely lost your mind?

00:04:54Don't be too hard on her, Richard.

00:04:56Though honestly, I'm not sure a family like the Blackwoods can afford that kind of reputation.

00:05:01Scarlet, Dad said he already spoke with the Blackwoods.

00:05:04Are you really sure you want me to take your place?

00:05:07A hundred percent sure.

00:05:09You've always loved picking up what I throw away.

00:05:11This time I'm handing it to you myself.

00:05:14No need to sneak around for it.

00:05:17Watch your mouth.

00:05:18Clara is steadier, smarter, and a far better fit for the Blackwood family than you ever were.

00:05:23Perfect.

00:05:24Just don't come crying to me when the whole thing blows up in your faces.

00:05:29I only hope you won't regret this.

00:05:31I would hate to see you lose everything because of one bad mood.

00:05:38Scarlet Veil never regrets a damn thing.

00:05:44A servant came hammering on my door first thing in the morning.

00:05:47Damien was downstairs.

00:05:48He stood in the living room like last night had never happened.

00:05:51First thing he checked was my wrist.

00:05:54The bracelet.

00:05:55Green light blinking.

00:05:57Then he looked up.

00:05:58The statement.

00:05:59I didn't write one.

00:06:00Blackwood's PR team buried those photos.

00:06:02I need that statement.

00:06:03Your rules do not apply to me anymore.

00:06:05I am not signing anything.

00:06:06When are you going to learn to do or told?

00:06:08Not in this lifetime.

00:06:09Right on Cuse, Clara appeared in a white dress, eyes faintly red, holding a printed statement.

00:06:14Damien, please don't be angry with Scarlet.

00:06:16She was upset last night.

00:06:18I wrote the statement for her.

00:06:19Will this work?

00:06:20Damien scanned it.

00:06:21When he looked back at me, the disgust was undisguised.

00:06:25Look at Clara.

00:06:26She knows when to be graceful, when to step back, when to put the family first.

00:06:31All you do is create problems.

00:06:35Scarlet just needs more time.

00:06:36The Blackwood Charity Gala is tonight.

00:06:39I can go with her and help her get through it.

00:06:42Help me with what?

00:06:43How to smile on cue?

00:06:46How to play the innocent girl in white while hiding the snake underneath?

00:06:50Enough.

00:06:51Add her name and release it.

00:06:52I did not sign it.

00:06:53You went to a nightclub as the future Mrs. Blackwood.

00:06:55It stopped being your personal guest the second you dragged my family name into it.

00:06:59If you refuse to do the right thing, I will do it for you.

00:07:02Then take Clara.

00:07:03She is always so good at doing the right thing.

00:07:04You are my fiancé.

00:07:06You will be at that gala tonight.

00:07:07Fine.

00:07:08This life, I was going to give him exactly what he wanted.

00:07:10Clara linked her arm through mine, going upstairs.

00:07:13Warm smiles, nails digging into my skin.

00:07:15The second the door closed, I shook her off.

00:07:17Nobody is watching.

00:07:18Drop the act.

00:07:19Damien will be mine.

00:07:20On the wedding day, he will be grateful someone made the switch.

00:07:22A disaster like you has no business near the Blackwood name.

00:07:24Then why didn't you tell him just now?

00:07:25Scared that once he knows, he still won't want you?

00:07:27I won't just keep your mouth shut, Scarlet.

00:07:28I don't care about the you or your control freak fiancun.

00:07:31Happy wedding!

00:07:34The Blackwood Family Charity Gala was packed with Manhattan's most powerful people, old

00:07:39money, new money, and the kind of influence that could buy both.

00:07:42I showed up deliberately in a floor-long thread backless gown, bold, unapologetic, and everything

00:07:48a Blackwood wife was not supposed to be.

00:07:50Clara wore white couture, pristine as a lily.

00:07:54When the waltz began and every eye in the room drifted toward Damis, Manhattan's most

00:07:58coveted heir stepped forward and reached right past me, his actual fiancée, to offer his

00:08:04hand to Clara.

00:08:05The socialite crowd broke into sharp, delighted whispers.

00:08:08Did you see that?

00:08:09He chose the stepsister?

00:08:11Honestly, I get it.

00:08:12Scarlet is a walking scandal.

00:08:14Clara is everything a Blackwood wife should be.

00:08:16Damien led Clara onto the floor without looking back, then threw me a cold parting shot.

00:08:21You do not know how to dance at this level.

00:08:24Stay where you are and watch Clara.

00:08:26Maybe you will finally learn something.

00:08:29I watched them turn beneath the chandeliers and felt nothing but revulsion.

00:08:34I slipped upstairs to the terrace for air, desperate to breathe something that did not

00:08:38feel like a trap.

00:08:39Of course, Clara followed.

00:08:41Her heels clicked up the stairs like she had been attached to my shadow all night.

00:08:45She wore the face of someone who had already won, and when she spoke, her voice was low

00:08:49and vicious.

00:08:49Poor Scarlet.

00:08:51Your mother could not beat mine, and now you cannot beat me either.

00:08:55Losing must run in your blood.

00:08:57She should have said anything else.

00:08:59Anything but that.

00:09:00She had insulted my dead mother.

00:09:02My eyes went cold.

00:09:03Without a word, I drew back and slapped her heart across the face.

00:09:06The crack cut through the night air.

00:09:08Clara's head snapped to the side, and her cheek flushed red almost instantly.

00:09:12She screamed.

00:09:13You crazy bitch!

00:09:15You actually hit me?!

00:09:16I closed the distance and grabbed her by the neck.

00:09:19Hit you?

00:09:20I can do a lot worse than hit you.

00:09:22I trained in MMA, Clara.

00:09:24Taking apart a fake, fragile little thing like you would barely count as exercise.

00:09:29I whipped one leg up in a queen sidekick.

00:09:35The courtyard below erupted into screaming chaos.

00:09:38I straightened my dress, picked up my wrap, and turned to leave.

00:09:41But I had not made it three steps before Damien's hand clamped around my wrist like a vice.

00:09:46His eyes were bloodshot with rage, and his voice was cold enough to freeze the air between us.

00:09:50Clara fell from the terrace.

00:09:52Was it you?

00:09:53I met his eyes without flinching.

00:09:55Yes.

00:09:56She had it coming.

00:09:58You are beyond saving.

00:10:00Since she refuses to apologize, she needs to learn a lesson.

00:10:02Throw her into the estate fountain.

00:10:04No one lets her out until I say so.

00:10:05The bodyguards grabbed me before I could fight them off.

00:10:08No matter how hard I struggled, they dragged me across the courtyard and threw me straight into the fountain.

00:10:13The water was freezing cold, but it was liquid water, not ice.

00:10:17The spring night air cut like a blade, and the cold sank straight into my bones.

00:10:21Every time I clawed for the marble rim of the fountain,

00:10:24the guard standing along the edge pushed me back under without a word.

00:10:28The struggle drained me fast.

00:10:30Then something worse hit me.

00:10:31A sharp, familiar cramp twisted low in my abdomen.

00:10:34My period had come early.

00:10:36Blood seeped into the cold water around me,

00:10:38spreading in slow, dark ribbons beneath the surface.

00:10:41I was trembling, barely conscious, when I heard one of the guards call Damien.

00:10:45Sir, Miss Val just got her period.

00:10:46There is blood in the water.

00:10:47Should we keep going?

00:10:48There was a brief silence on the other end.

00:10:49Keep going.

00:10:50She will never learn if she does not suffer the consequences.

00:10:52In that moment, my blood ran colder than the fountain ever could.

00:10:55The despair of two lifetimes crashed down over me,

00:10:58all at once, and the world went black.

00:11:04When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital room that smelled sharply of antiseptic.

00:11:08Damien was sitting at my bedside.

00:11:10When he saw me wake up, he released my hand with an expression of careful indifference.

00:11:14I spoke with your father.

00:11:15He will not give you any more trouble.

00:11:17But do not ever go after Clara.

00:11:20Clara is my father's precious little affair daughter.

00:11:23She is not my problem, and I am not promising you a damn thing.

00:11:31Mr. Blackwood, Clara is getting very upset in the next room.

00:11:34She has been crying and asking for you.

00:11:37I will go check on her.

00:11:39She was hurt because of you.

00:11:41As your fiancée, it is only proper that I go.

00:11:47Go on, then.

00:11:48Run to your real fiancée.

00:11:49On the day I was discharged, Damien forced me back into the car and drove me to the veil estate.

00:11:54But when I pushed open my bedroom door, my blood went cold.

00:11:57Clara was sitting at my vanity, dangling a sapphire necklace from her fingertips.

00:12:01My mother's sapphire necklace.

00:12:03The only thing she had left me.

00:12:05I crossed the room in three steps.

00:12:07My voice stripped down to nothing.

00:12:09Put it down and get out.

00:12:12Yours?

00:12:13Scarlet, everything in this house is going to be mine.

00:12:25Daddy, I only wanted to look at Scarlet's necklace, and she shoved me into the floor.

00:12:38What the hell are you smiling at?

00:12:40I looked straight at Clara.

00:12:41You love putting on a show?

00:12:42Fine, I will give you the conformance of your life.

00:12:45I grabbed a metal pen from the vanity and drove it straight at the Clara's palm.

00:12:48Clean through.

00:12:49Pinned to the hardwood.

00:12:50Ah!

00:12:51You fucking psycho, you're old, sir!

00:12:53Get out!

00:12:53Get this animal out of my house!

00:12:55You are no longer welcome in the veil family!

00:12:57The servants dragged me to the door and threw my luggage into the mud.

00:13:00I bent down, pulled my mother's sapphire necklace out of the dirt, and held it tight.

00:13:05It was raining.

00:13:05I stood sosed under an ornery until a black roll's pulled up.

00:13:08Damien got out without a word, put me in the car, and drove me to his house.

00:13:12He came back with a first aid kit and started treating the mark my father had left on my face.

00:13:16Then the doorbell rang.

00:13:18Clara, banded hand, fragile expression.

00:13:20She walked straight into Damien's arms like she belonged there.

00:13:23Damien, I had to come.

00:13:24I was worried what she did to me.

00:13:25She is still fat.

00:13:25Damien's face darkened.

00:13:26Apologize to her.

00:13:27Right now, Scarlet.

00:13:29Not a chance in hell.

00:13:30We started arguing by the entryway.

00:13:31Damien reached for my arm, and I shoved him off.

00:13:34In the struggle, his elbow knocked into the glass kettle sitting on the side cabinet.

00:13:37The kettle reacted to the floor and shattered.

00:13:39Scalding water exploded across the marble.

00:13:40He threw himself around Clara and covered her completely.

00:13:43I was on the other side.

00:13:44The boiling water splashed across my legs and arms.

00:13:46My skin turned red almost at once, then started to blister and peel.

00:13:49Damien checked Clara first.

00:13:51She was fine.

00:13:52Then he glanced at me on the floor, bent down, and picked Clara up.

00:13:54Leave her.

00:13:55A little pain might teach her to think before she goes after you again.

00:13:58He left me alone on the floor, with scalding water still spreading around me.

00:14:04I sat on that floor, holding myself together through the pain, and called 911 myself.

00:14:09I got out of the hospital just in time for Clara's birthday party.

00:14:12Richard used the occasion to make a grand announcement.

00:14:14The majority of the Vale family's trust assets and shares would be transferred to Clara.

00:14:17In front of every guest in the room, took out a velvet box, and clasped a diamond necklace

00:14:22worth a small fortune around Clara's neck.

00:14:24Clara's socialite friends swept over with their glasses, making sure to spill red wine across

00:14:28my dress.

00:14:29Look at the ex-fiancé, you clean up like somebody's charity project.

00:14:37The bottle shattered.

00:14:39Blood and liquor ran together.

00:14:41The room erupted in screams.

00:14:43Damien was on me in seconds, crushing my wrist in his grip, his eyes loaded with contempt.

00:14:48Scarlet, what the hell is wrong with you?

00:14:50Apologize to them.

00:14:52Now.

00:14:53In your dreams!

00:14:54Damien laughed, but there was no humor in it.

00:14:56It was the laugh of a man who had run out of patience completely.

00:14:59He knew exactly what I feared most.

00:15:01Since you refuse to listen, you can sit in the dark and think about what you have done.

00:15:05Locker in the wine cellar.

00:15:06Nobody opens that door without my permission.

00:15:08They dragged me into the estates' basement wine cellar.

00:15:10Stone walls.

00:15:11No windows.

00:15:12No light.

00:15:13The heavy iron door slammed shut, and total darkness swallowed me whole.

00:15:17Three days and three nights.

00:15:19No water.

00:15:20No food.

00:15:21The fear nearly broke me.

00:15:23On the fourth day, the door finally opened, but it was not Damien.

00:15:27It was Clara, pushing in a piece of equipment I did not recognize.

00:15:31She was smiling like something out of hell.

00:15:33Damien said you needed to learn a real lesson, so I brought something to make sure it sticks.

00:15:37Two men in black dragged me to a metal chair and strapped me down.

00:15:40They pressed electrode pads to my temples.

00:15:43Clara hit the switch.

00:15:44The current ripped through me.

00:15:46The pain had no words.

00:15:48It only had sound, and the sound was mine.

00:15:51Then there was nothing at all.

00:15:55I woke up in the main house, in a proper bed.

00:15:58Damien was sitting beside me, frowning.

00:16:00I told you to stay in there and think.

00:16:02Three days.

00:16:03How are you this week?

00:16:04I opened my eyes and looked at him.

00:16:06Your precious Clara brought men into that cellar with an electric shock chair and used it on me.

00:16:10Do you believe me?

00:16:13Impossible. Clara's gentle. She would never do something like that.

00:16:16Scarlet, there is a limit to how far you can take a lie.

00:16:19He would never believe me.

00:16:20Fine. I would collect that debt on my own.

00:16:23That night, I hired a team and made the arrangements myself.

00:16:27That night, Clara had been bound, suspended in the open air through the entire night.

00:16:32Damien kicked my door in, the vein in his temple visible from across the room.

00:16:35You left Clara hanging off a rooftop all night.

00:16:37If it were not for the safety net at the base of the building, she would be dead.

00:16:41I sat by the window, trimming my nails without looking up.

00:16:43Damien slammed his hand on the table hard enough to rattle it.

00:16:45The wedding is in a few days.

00:16:47You are staying in this house until then.

00:16:49You are not going anywhere. Do you understand me?

00:16:51The night before the wedding, a still-shaking Clara was brought back to the Vale estate.

00:16:55Richard took one look at me and started screaming.

00:16:57Stay away from the wedding tomorrow.

00:16:58Don't you dare show your face and humiliate this family.

00:17:00I picked up the luggage I had already packed and smiled at him.

00:17:05Trust me.

00:17:07That suffocating circus is the last place I would ever want to be.

00:17:11You could not pay me to go.

00:17:16Wedding morning.

00:17:18When I came downstairs, Damien was already in the house.

00:17:21At Clara's insistence, the ceremony had been planned as an elaborate, old-fashioned church wedding.

00:17:27Damien couldn't see who was underneath it.

00:17:29He assumed his lessons had finally worked, that the sharp edges had been worn down,

00:17:34and the woman walking toward him had learned to obey.

00:17:37He stepped forward and took the bride's hand gently.

00:17:40Don't be nervous, Scarlet. I'm right here.

00:17:42I will teach you everything you need to know to become the perfect Mrs. Blackwood.

00:17:47Go on, Damien.

00:17:48Marry your dream wife.

00:17:50Consider it my wedding gift to you both.

00:17:52Once the procession left for St. Hart Cathedral, the Vale estate went completely quiet

00:17:59and flagged a cab to JFK.

00:18:02Inside the car, I pulled a small remote from my coat pocket

00:18:05and looked back at the house one last time.

00:18:08My mother had designed it.

00:18:10Now it sheltered the woman who had replaced her

00:18:12and the daughter who had spent years making my life hell.

00:18:15I was done with it.

00:18:20Miss, was that your house?

00:18:24Yes.

00:18:25I blew it up.

00:18:29St. Hart Cathedral.

00:18:31The vaulted ceiling soared overhead,

00:18:32and the pipework and filled the nave and grand with something.

00:18:35Every name that mattered in Hatton had shown up.

00:18:36At the end of the aisle, Damien stood in a perfectly tailored suit,

00:18:39precise, untouchable, watching the bride walk toward him.

00:18:41Today's bride was the long, usual lace veil fell all the way down,

00:18:44hiding her face completely.

00:18:45Damien assumed all those cold lessons had finally worked.

00:18:48He assumed I had finally been worn smooth,

00:18:50and that the woman walking towards him had learned how to submit.

00:18:52The priest began the vows.

00:18:53Damien lowered his voice, speaking only to the bride in front of him.

00:18:55After today, I will personally teach you how to be a proper Mrs. Blackwood.

00:18:59He took the bride's hand and guided her toward the altar.

00:19:01As camera flashes stirred across the room,

00:19:03then came the moment everyone had been waiting for.

00:19:05The groom lifted the veil.

00:19:07Damien reached up with calm, certain fingers,

00:19:09caught the edge of the lace and swept it back.

00:19:10For one breath, the cathedral seemed to freeze.

00:19:13The face in front of him was not the one burned into his memory.

00:19:16It was not the proud, defiant face he had spent years trying to control.

00:19:19It was Clara, flushed with excitement,

00:19:21her eyes bright with smug satisfaction.

00:19:23The cathedral went silent for one stunned second,

00:19:26before the whole room broke into chaos.

00:19:28Why is the younger veil daughter wearing the wedding dress?

00:19:30The half-smile on Damien's face frozen, then vanished completely.

00:19:34His pupils tightened like someone had struck him.

00:19:37In one violent motion, he flung the veil away as if it had burned his hand.

00:19:41Clara had no warning.

00:19:42The force sent her stumbling back and crashing to the floor,

00:19:46her headpiece crooked,

00:19:47and her white gown tangled around her legs in front of the entire congregation.

00:19:51Damien's voice tore through the cathedral.

00:19:54Where is Scarlet?

00:19:55Tell me where she is!

00:19:59The most prestigious society wedding in New York

00:20:01had just turned into the city's biggest scandal.

00:20:05Damien, just finish the ceremony.

00:20:08Richard told us a few days ago that the bride was being changed to Clara.

00:20:11We thought Clara was more suitable, more composed.

00:20:15The arrangement benefits both families' trusts and shareholding,

00:20:18so we agreed to it privately.

00:20:19She had assumed he would be relieved.

00:20:20His reaction told her she had never understood her son at all.

00:20:23Damien's personal istant pushed past security and sprinted into the hall.

00:20:27His face drained of color.

00:20:28Sir, it is bad.

00:20:29The veil estate exploded half an hour ago.

00:20:31The entire mansion is gone.

00:20:32There is nothing left but rubble.

00:20:34That sentence snapped the last thread of Damien's composure.

00:20:37If I had not come to the wedding, I had to be at the estate.

00:20:40That reckless, insane woman.

00:20:42Did she burn herself alive in there?

00:20:43It was enormous and bottomless, the kind of fear that only came when loss had already reached

00:20:48for your throat.

00:20:48He shoved his mother aside, ignored every voice calling after him, and ran.

00:20:53The black rolls tore through red lights one after another before screeching to a stop in

00:20:57front of what remained of the veil estate.

00:20:58Damien stumbled out of the car and stood before the scorched ruins, feeling as if something had

00:21:03been carved straight out of his chest.

00:21:05He screamed my name into the rubble until his voice broke.

00:21:08Then he shoved past the emergency crew and tore into the debris with his bare hands.

00:21:13The entire structure could have caved in at any second, but he did not stop.

00:21:17Get off me!

00:21:18She might still be in there!

00:21:20Let me through!

00:21:23His designer suit was shredded where the debris had caught it, but he did not notice.

00:21:27Reebarm sliced his palms open.

00:21:29Smoldering cinders burned blisters straight into his skin.

00:21:31Blood dripped into the sut, but he did not flinch once.

00:21:34There was only one thought left in him.

00:21:37He had to find her.

00:21:38His voice had gone raw.

00:21:40Scarlet, answer me!

00:21:41Come out here!

00:21:43I will never make you write another apology.

00:21:45I will never lock you down again.

00:21:48Whatever you want, I will give it to you.

00:21:50Just answer me.

00:21:52In the area where my bedroom had been, he finally dug out a small jewelry box, warped

00:21:56and half-melted, with the blackwood crest barely recognizable on the surface.

00:22:00His hands shook as he pried it open.

00:22:01Inside lay a diamond necklace fused into a molten shape.

00:22:04He closed his fist around it.

00:22:05The scorched, twisted metal cut into his palm, but he held on anyway.

00:22:09Guilt hit him like drowning, cold and total, with no way back to the surface.

00:22:13For the first time, he understood what his control had done to the woman he to love.

00:22:17I had always been bright, defiant, but he had spent years trying to grind that fire out

00:22:21of me.

00:22:21His certainty, his rules, and his need to own every part of my life had driven me to this.

00:22:25Then his assistant came sprinting across the debris field, holding a tablet and barely

00:22:29able to breathe.

00:22:30Sir, we found something.

00:22:32You need to see this.

00:22:33It was security footage from a discreet camera at a side exit near the estate.

00:22:36The timestamp was ten minutes before the explosion.

00:22:39A slender figure in a plain coat, pulling a small carry-on, walked out of the Vale estate

00:22:43at an easy pace.

00:22:44She flacked a cab on the street.

00:22:46Just before getting in, she looked back at the house, raised her hand, and pressed something.

00:22:50Behind her, the fireball rose.

00:22:51The image was grainy, but Damien Profford knew that face had burned into him for years.

00:22:55It was me, alive and untouched, walking out of the house by my own choice.

00:23:02Relief and a deeper, darker panic hit him at the same time, nearly knocking him off

00:23:06his feet.

00:23:06She was alive.

00:23:08That was everything.

00:23:09But she had done this with clear eyes and steady hands.

00:23:10She had blown up the house she had grown up in, set up a wedding day decoy, and walked

00:23:14away without looking back.

00:23:15This was not a tantrum, and it was not a cry for attention.

00:23:18She truly did not want him.

00:23:19She hated him enough to erase her old life in one morning, and she had meant every word

00:23:23she said.

00:23:24Damien pulled himself up from the wreckage.

00:23:26His eyes shot through with red, and his voice scraped raw.

00:23:28But there was something in it now beyond rage.

00:23:31Something dangerously close to desperation.

00:23:33Listen to me.

00:23:33Use every private aviation resource and every security network the Blackwood family has.

00:23:38I want every private terminal and border crossing in this country locked down.

00:23:41He locked eyes with his assistant.

00:23:42Track that cab.

00:23:43Pull passenger manifels and facial recognition data from every transatlantic departure.

00:23:47Search every route, every airport name she could have used.

00:23:49I want her found, and I want her found now!

00:23:51After giving the orders, he drove straight to the Four Seasons where Richard's family

00:23:55had taken a suite.

00:23:56Inside, Richard, Monica, and a shaken, pale-faced Clara were still trying to recover from the

00:24:00morning's disasters.

00:24:02Damien kicked the door open and walked in like something feral.

00:24:04Hands raised to a scrambled...

00:24:06Please, let me explain.

00:24:07Scarlet refused the marriage herself.

00:24:08She voluntarily handed the contract over to Clara.

00:24:10We had no choice.

00:24:11Clara is gracious.

00:24:12She is well-behaved.

00:24:13She is far more appropriate for you than that wreckage.

00:24:15She handed it over.

00:24:16Damien laughed.

00:24:17Low and terrible.

00:24:18Was the look you gave something already dead?

00:24:21Do you have any idea what you have done?

00:24:22Do you think I am some piece of property your family can pass around whenever it suits you?

00:24:26He overturned the marble coffee table.

00:24:28Shards scattered across the carpet.

00:24:31There is one woman who carries the name Damien Blackoard's wife.

00:24:35That woman is Scarlet and it has always been Scarlet.

00:24:38Now tell me where she is.

00:24:43Clara had been terrified from the moment Damien walked in.

00:24:46But watching him fall apart like this over the woman who had run away

00:24:50made her envy curdle into something vicious.

00:24:53It became stronger than fear.

00:24:55She threw herself forward and grabbed the leg of his trousers.

00:24:59Looking up at him with tears streaming down her face.

00:25:03Damien, what does she have that I do not?

00:25:05I love you more than she ever did.

00:25:08I will follow every rule in that family code.

00:25:11I will be the perfect Mrs. Blackwood.

00:25:16Just look at me please.

00:25:18Look at me for once.

00:25:20Damien looked down at her.

00:25:21There was nothing in his eyes.

00:25:23Not anger.

00:25:23Not pity.

00:25:24Just naked, undisguised disgust.

00:25:26He stepped back, then kicked her away from him.

00:25:28Clara crashed into the corner of the sofa and gasped from the impact.

00:25:31Do not ever compare yourself to her.

00:25:34You do not even get to come close to a single hair on her head.

00:25:38The only reason you and your entire family ever mattered to me was because of Scarlet.

00:25:43Without her you are nothing.

00:25:45I would waste a second looking at her.

00:25:46He did not stay to hear Richard and Monica beg.

00:25:49Clara!

00:25:50No, sir!

00:25:53He walked out.

00:25:54Back at Blackwood Tower, in the top floor office.

00:25:58He moved through the dark like something trapped in a cage.

00:26:02Pacing because he could not stop and could not think.

00:26:06Hours later, his assistant came in looking worse than before, holding a file with both hands.

00:26:11Sir, we found new records.

00:26:13Miss Vale filed an expedited single entry exit visa through a private channel one week before the nightclub incident.

00:26:20One week before the nightclub?

00:26:22His feet stopped moving.

00:26:25The realization hit him like ice water.

00:26:28The nightclub, the dancer, the paparazzi, and even the bracelet had all been part of the same plan.

00:26:35Every time she pushed him, provoked him, and refused him.

00:26:39It had never been recklessness.

00:26:42It had never been a tantrum or some desperate game for attention.

00:26:45She had planned everything carefully, putting every piece in place long before he had ever thought she was capable of

00:26:51it.

00:26:52She had not stumbled into freedom by accident.

00:26:55She had built her escape step by step, and she had never once intended to come back.

00:27:03Damien braced himself against his desk, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.

00:27:08He stared at the date on the file as if it were the last thing left in the world.

00:27:13His stomach twisted violently, and regret hit him so hard it felt almost physical.

00:27:19He suddenly remembered how different I had been during those days.

00:27:22I had screamed the same thing at him again and again.

00:27:25I told him I was not marrying him.

00:27:27I told him we were done.

00:27:29Back then, he had thought it was just a spoiled heiress throwing a tantrum.

00:27:32He thought all he had to do was snap a tracking bracelet around my wrist,

00:27:36lock me up for a few days,

00:27:38force me to sign a public statement,

00:27:40and I would stay trapped inside that beautiful cage.

00:27:44But the truth was that I had already decided I did not want him anymore.

00:27:49Was it the insane family code that had driven me away?

00:27:53Was it the way he kept taking Clara's side and blaming me every single time?

00:27:59Was it the night he threw me into that freezing fountain while I was bleeding?

00:28:04Or was it the simple fact that he had never once believed me?

00:28:08The question spread through Damien's mind like poison,

00:28:11but none of it changed the only thing he cared about now.

00:28:15No matter what it took,

00:28:17even if he had to use every dirty trick the Blackwood family had,

00:28:22he had to get me back.

00:28:23Even if I hated him,

00:28:25even if I resented him,

00:28:26even if I made him suffer for the rest of his life,

00:28:29he was going to keep me by his side forever.

00:28:34Keep searching.

00:28:35Don't stop until you find it.

00:28:36He told him to use every connection the Blackwood family had,

00:28:40from finance circles to private security networks.

00:28:43He did not care what it cost.

00:28:45He did not care who they had to pressure.

00:28:48They were going to find me.

00:28:52The entire month that followed turned into a manhunt.

00:28:55I had vanished without a trace.

00:28:57There was no record of me on any private jet manifest,

00:29:00no ferry log,

00:29:01and no clean departure route anyone could find.

00:29:04Anxiety burned through Damien's nerves every second of every day.

00:29:07Since he could not take that rage out on me,

00:29:09he poured all of it onto the already broken Vail family.

00:29:15Blackwood Group launched a full-scale commercial attack on the Vail businesses.

00:29:19Their methods were merciless,

00:29:21and they left no room for survival.

00:29:23The Vail company had already been falling apart.

00:29:26Within two weeks,

00:29:27its assets were liquidated,

00:29:29its stock price collapsed,

00:29:31and bankruptcy was waiting at the door.

00:29:38Richard was completely losing his mind.

00:29:41He went to Blackwood Tower several times,

00:29:44begging for a meeting,

00:29:45but he could not even get past the elevator on the ground floor.

00:29:49After the bankruptcy,

00:29:50Clara became the easiest target for Damien's despair.

00:29:56She could not accept it.

00:29:59She kept trying to use the media to get Damien's attention.

00:30:02She even stood outside Blackwood Tower in the pouring rain,

00:30:06waiting there like someone with nowhere else to go.

00:30:08Finally,

00:30:09she threw herself in front of Damien's stretch limousine,

00:30:11and refused to move.

00:30:13Move.

00:30:14Clara pressed her face against the rain streak window,

00:30:17crying so hard she could barely speak.

00:30:20She begged Damien to stop destroying the Vail family.

00:30:23She said she was sorry.

00:30:24I promised I would find that bitch Scarlet and bring her back.

00:30:29All I wanted was for him to look at me.

00:30:32The window rolled down only a crick,

00:30:33revealed Damien's cold, hollow face and the stubble along his jaw.

00:30:37He did not even give her a proper look.

00:30:42Get her out of my way.

00:30:47The guards got out and dragged Clara away like she was nothing,

00:30:51ignoring her screams.

00:30:54The limousine drove off,

00:30:56leaving Clara sitting in the mud,

00:30:58sobbing in the rain.

00:31:00Damien closed his eyes and let the alcohol and sleepless nights swallow him whole.

00:31:05He had started relying on heavy doses of sleeping pills

00:31:08just to get a few hours of rest.

00:31:10But every time he fell asleep,

00:31:12the same nightmares came back.

00:31:14He saw me in the fountain,

00:31:16bleeding and pale.

00:31:17He heard me screaming in the wine cellar while the current tore through me.

00:31:23He saw the explosion and the fire swallowing the Vail estate.

00:31:27Every time,

00:31:28he woke up drenched in cold sweat,

00:31:30his heart pounding with terror and regret.

00:31:33He became darker and more violent with each passing day.

00:31:37Everyone in Blackwood's upper management

00:31:39walked on eggshells around him.

00:31:41One week later,

00:31:42Damien's mother forced him to attend a top-teal private charity gala in Manhattan.

00:31:47No one had expected that after Scarlet Vale left,

00:31:49she would take the soul of Manhattan's most powerful air with her.

00:31:52Damien stood in a corner with a glass of whiskey,

00:31:54staring blankly at the dance floor.

00:31:56Then for one second,

00:31:56he thought he saw a familiar figure in a bright red dress,

00:31:58laughing with that proud, dazzling profile he could not forget.

00:32:02He called my name.

00:32:04His heart almost stopped.

00:32:06He lost every trace of composure,

00:32:08pushed through the crowd of politicians and billionaires,

00:32:11and grabbed the woman's wrist.

00:32:15What the hell are you doing?

00:32:16Let go of me!

00:32:17It was not me.

00:32:18The light in Damien's eyes went out instantly,

00:32:20replaced by despair and humiliation.

00:32:21He released her as if all the strength had left his body.

00:32:23The wealthy guests around him stared with confusion and thinly hidden mockery.

00:32:27Sir, please.

00:32:28You need to be careful.

00:32:29This is not appropriate.

00:32:31It does not meet Blackwood family standards.

00:32:33Damien repeated the word with a bitter laugh.

00:32:36Standards.

00:32:37To hell with the standards.

00:32:38I do not care about any of it anymore.

00:32:41I only want Scarlet.

00:32:43Then he pulled his fist back

00:32:44and slammed it into the decorative stone pillar beside him.

00:32:47His knuckles split open immediately,

00:32:50and blood ran down the column.

00:32:52But he did not feel the physical pain.

00:32:55All he felt was the hollow space in his chest

00:32:57where something vital used to be.

00:33:02Another week passed.

00:33:04The thick curtains were drawn shut.

00:33:07The ash trays were overflowing with cigar beets.

00:33:10The air smelled of tobacco and bitter coffee.

00:33:14Inside the top floor office of Blackwood Tower,

00:33:16the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like the silence before a storm.

00:33:20Damien had been sitting there for five days without real sleep.

00:33:23Every hour felt like torture.

00:33:25His desk was covered with reports from private investigators,

00:33:27and they all said the same thing.

00:33:32They could not find me.

00:33:34Just as he was about to lose the last of his sanity,

00:33:37his assistant walked in carefully with a black coffee.

00:33:42He swallowed hard before speaking.

00:33:45Sir, we have new information.

00:33:48We cross-checked blurry facial matches

00:33:50from every non-standard exit channel over the past three months.

00:33:52We found someone who looks a lot like Miss Vail.

00:33:56Damien's head snapped up.

00:33:57His blood-sharp eyes locked onto the assistant like a starving wolf.

00:34:01The assistant quickly continued.

00:34:03She appeared in the transit area of Heathrow Airport.

00:34:08The timing matches.

00:34:10It was three days after the mansion exploded.

00:34:15Damien grabbed the classified file from his assistant,

00:34:18his fingers shaking so badly from desperation and excitement

00:34:21that he could barely hold it steady.

00:34:23He stared at the enlarged surveillance photo.

00:34:26The image was blurry,

00:34:28but it showed someone in a coat

00:34:30walking towards a quieter boarding gate

00:34:32with a small suitcase.

00:34:34The figure was familiar enough to burn through his bones.

00:34:37He knew it was a new lead on me.

00:34:39Hope lit up the near-extinction madness in his eyes

00:34:42like the last lifeline thrown to a drowning man.

00:34:45Where was the connecting flight going?

00:34:47We are still working on it.

00:34:49Heathrow transit records are complicated,

00:34:51and she seems to have avoided the major national flights

00:34:53that required stricter identity checks.

00:34:55She chose smaller, cheaper airlines

00:34:57that attracted less attention.

00:34:59It will take time.

00:35:00We do not have time.

00:35:03Get the jet ready.

00:35:04We are leaving for Heathrow right now.

00:35:06Yes, sir.

00:35:07Sir, the Federal Reserve board meeting is this afternoon.

00:35:10Cancel it.

00:35:11Cancel everything.

00:35:12Nothing matters more than finding her.

00:35:13Three hours later,

00:35:15the Blackwood family's private jet

00:35:16tore through the clouds above Manhattan

00:35:18and landed at Heathrow's airport in London.

00:35:21The plane had not even fully stopped

00:35:22before Damien was already opening the door.

00:35:24He could not wait for the stairs

00:35:26to lower all the way and jump down.

00:35:28His tie was crooked,

00:35:29his shirt collar was torn open,

00:35:30and deep circles shadowed his eyes.

00:35:32Messy stubble covered his jaw.

00:35:33He looked nothing like the perfectly dressed,

00:35:35untouchable CEO he used to be.

00:35:37Damien repeated the city name under his breath

00:35:39as he ran through the crowded airport,

00:35:40his sharp eyes scanning every woman he passed.

00:35:43Finally, he saw the boarding gate,

00:35:45just as it was about to close.

00:35:49Damien's eyes locked onto the end of the boarding line.

00:35:52The slender figure in a cream linen dress,

00:35:54wide-brimed hat and sunglasses

00:35:56was the woman he had been hunting for an entire month.

00:35:59Scarlet?

00:36:00He ran toward her,

00:36:02not caring that travelers around him were staring in shock.

00:36:05He grabbed my wrist and held on like his life depended on it.

00:36:08My body went stiff.

00:36:12Let go of me, Mr. Blackwood.

00:36:15Grabbing a woman in public like this

00:36:16is not very appropriate, is it?

00:36:18I thought your precious family code

00:36:20cared about appearances.

00:36:21The cold sarcasm in my voice

00:36:23hit Damien like ice water,

00:36:24but he did not care anymore.

00:36:27Scarlet, come back with me.

00:36:29Please.

00:36:30I know I was wrong.

00:36:31I screwed up.

00:36:32I will fix it.

00:36:33Just come home with me.

00:36:35I laughed and pried his fingers off me,

00:36:38one by one.

00:36:41Come back to what?

00:36:42That cage with 3,000 stupid rules?

00:36:45Am I supposed to go back and play Mrs. Blackwood again?

00:36:47His face turned paler.

00:36:49I looked at him with open disgust.

00:36:52Did you forget your perfect bride is Clara now?

00:36:55Your sweet, sensible little bride is waiting for you.

00:36:58Chasing your ex-fiancé through an airport

00:37:00is a bad look, Damien.

00:37:01The man who had once been Manhattan's coldest

00:37:03and most untouchable heir

00:37:05fell to his knees in that foreign airport,

00:37:06surrounded by cameras and strangers,

00:37:08looking smaller than dirt.

00:37:10Damien looked up at me,

00:37:11and tears finally broke through.

00:37:13The wedding did not count.

00:37:14I never wanted her.

00:37:15I do not care about the family code anymore.

00:37:18If you come back with me,

00:37:19you can do whatever you want.

00:37:20I will agree to anything.

00:37:22Just do not leave me like this.

00:37:24I took a step back,

00:37:25as if avoiding something filthy.

00:37:27Your apology came too late,

00:37:29and honestly, I do not need it.

00:37:32Then I turned around,

00:37:33handed my boarding pass to the gate agent,

00:37:35and walked straight into the jet bridge

00:37:37with my back straight.

00:37:38Damien tried to follow,

00:37:40but airport security and his assistant held him back.

00:37:43Scarlett!

00:37:45He screamed my name toward the closing door,

00:37:47sounding like a man being torn apart.

00:37:53Three months later, in Monaco,

00:37:55inside the Monte Carlo Casino,

00:37:57money and desire blurred together

00:37:58under the glittering lights.

00:37:59The sound of poker chips never stopped.

00:38:01At a crowded Bacarmo table,

00:38:03every man nearby had his eyes fixed

00:38:05on the woman sitting across from the dealer.

00:38:09That woman was me.

00:38:11I wore a black silk slip dress

00:38:13with thin straps and a high clip

00:38:15that revealed my pale ankles and silver heels.

00:38:18The next round of cards came out.

00:38:20I barely glanced at my hand

00:38:22before tapping my fingers lightly on the table.

00:38:26Raise.

00:38:27Player wins.

00:38:29Then he pushed a mountain of chips toward me.

00:38:31The crowd around us broke into amazed whispers.

00:38:34They said the socialite from New York

00:38:36had won seven hands in a row.

00:38:38They said my psychological game was terrifying.

00:38:41I took a sip of champagne

00:38:43and almost laughed at the irony.

00:38:45This was not luck.

00:38:46It was probability, statistics, and psychology.

00:38:49All the things Damien had once forced me to learn

00:38:51so I could become the perfect high society wife.

00:38:54I never thought those lessons would become my best weapon

00:38:57for burning through money in a place like this.

00:38:59Just as I was about to place another bet,

00:39:01a drunk local heir named Charles

00:39:03shoved through the crowd.

00:39:04His face was red from losing too much money

00:39:06and he reeked of alcohol.

00:39:08Come play with me tonight.

00:39:11I will split my winnings with you.

00:39:13Before his hand could touch me,

00:39:14I stepped back and lifted my right foot

00:39:16in its seven centimeter heel.

00:39:18Then I kicked him hard and precisely between the legs,

00:39:21using every bit of strength I had built

00:39:23through years of training.

00:39:25I was about to leave with my chip card

00:39:26when the crowd suddenly parted.

00:39:28A young mixtape man walked toward me

00:39:30with his hands in his pockets.

00:39:31He wore a black suit with the top three buttons undone,

00:39:33looking relaxed and arrogant in a way

00:39:35came naturally to men who had never been told no.

00:39:37A limited edition watch gleamed on his wrist.

00:39:39It was Nathaniel.

00:39:43Nathaniel had an unlit cigar between his lips.

00:39:45He used the polished tip of his shoe to nudge Charles,

00:39:47who was still curled up on the floor groaning.

00:39:49His expression was pure contempt.

00:39:50You put your hands on someone I am interested in,

00:39:53in my casino.

00:39:54That is not flirting, Charles.

00:39:56That is a death wish.

00:39:59If I ever see you near her again,

00:40:01what she broke tonight will be the least of your problems.

00:40:04Charles scrambled away with the help of his friends,

00:40:07too scared to look back.

00:40:08Then Nathaniel turned to me.

00:40:10His deep, flourishous eyes landed on mine,

00:40:12and he did not bother hiding his interest.

00:40:14He stepped forward naturally,

00:40:15slid one arm around my waist

00:40:17and pulled me closer with a confidence

00:40:18that was almost insulting.

00:40:19His hold was intimate, possessive,

00:40:21and far too practiced.

00:40:23My body tensed, and I tried to pull away,

00:40:25but his arm stayed relaxed

00:40:26while still leaving no room to escape.

00:40:28He lowered his head close to my ear,

00:40:30his warm breath brushing my skin.

00:40:32I have been watching the little wildcat

00:40:34from New York for a while now.

00:40:35Those claws are impressive.

00:40:37Then he lifted his head

00:40:38and announced it to the whole casino

00:40:40with the kenless arrogance of a spoiled playboy.

00:40:42Damien Blackwood was blind enough not to want her.

00:40:45Lucky me, because I do.

00:40:48The Monaco socialists watching from nearby

00:40:50immediately started buzzing with gossip.

00:40:52Everyone knew Nathaniel had impossibly high standards,

00:40:55and now he was publicly chasing

00:40:57a runaway bride from New York.

00:40:59I looked up at him,

00:41:01met his burning gaze,

00:41:02and smiled.

00:41:05I appreciate the offer,

00:41:07but do I look like I need a man

00:41:09to get whatever I want?

00:41:10Nathaniel did not get angry.

00:41:12Instead, he pulled me a little closer,

00:41:14and the admiration in his eyes almost overflowed.

00:41:17That mouth of yours is dangerous.

00:41:20I like dangerous.

00:41:24I stayed in Monaco for a while,

00:41:26and Nathaniel kept his word.

00:41:27He pursued me loudly, aggressively,

00:41:29and with absolutely no shame.

00:41:31The next morning,

00:41:31a limited-edition bright yellow Lamborghini

00:41:33was parked outside my apartment building.

00:41:35The keys were delivered with a card

00:41:36written in messy handwriting.

00:41:37It was just a way to get around.

00:41:39If you crash it, I will pay for it.

00:41:41A few days later,

00:41:42he rented a massive luxury yacht

00:41:43and threw an extravagant party on the water,

00:41:45insisting that I be the center of it.

00:41:52Have fun anywhere you want.

00:41:54Use my name if anyone gets in your way.

00:41:57He took me skydiving, deep-sea diving,

00:41:59and even snuck us onto an F1 track

00:42:01to race cars in the middle of the night.

00:42:02He did every crazy, dangerous, reckless thing with me,

00:42:05and none of it had anything to do

00:42:06with family codes, rules, or proper behavior.

00:42:09What got to me most was that he never asked me

00:42:11to be gentle, quiet, or obedient.

00:42:13He never wanted me to behave.

00:42:14Whenever I pushed a race car up to 200 miles per hour,

00:42:17showing every wild edge I had,

00:42:18he sat in the passenger seat,

00:42:19whistling and cheering

00:42:20like he had never seen anything better.

00:42:22After we landed on the soft sand

00:42:23from a 10,000-meter skydive,

00:42:25Nathaniel pulled off his goggles.

00:42:27His hair was a mess,

00:42:27and he was smoking a cigarette

00:42:29while looking at my flushed face

00:42:30with a chalky smile.

00:42:31This is how you are supposed to live, Scarlett.

00:42:32Wild, loud, and impossible to leash.

00:42:35It suits you a hell of a lot better

00:42:36than playing some polished fake heiress in New York.

00:42:38Looking at this loud, arrogant man,

00:42:39I felt something inside me start to loosen.

00:42:41A frozen part of my heart,

00:42:43locked away by Damien for two lifetimes,

00:42:45began to thaw just a little

00:42:46When I was with Nathaniel,

00:42:47I did not have to pretend.

00:42:48I did not have to be careful.

00:42:49I could let every sharp edge show.

00:42:51One night, we were playing a huge game

00:42:53of Texas Hold Us at a private club,

00:42:54and I had lost several hands in a row.

00:42:56I was hesitating over whether to call the bet

00:42:58when Nathaniel lazily pushed

00:42:59more than half of his kips towards me.

00:43:00Call it.

00:43:01Do not get scared now.

00:43:02If you lose, it is on me.

00:43:04If you win, it's your fun money.

00:43:06On the way home that night,

00:43:07with the wind blowing through the car,

00:43:09he was quiet for once.

00:43:11Then, he said something I did not expect.

00:43:15You know, we met a long time ago.

00:43:21I turned my head in surprise

00:43:23and looked at his handsome profile.

00:43:28Nathaniel kept his eyes on the road

00:43:30and let out a bitter laugh.

00:43:31Years ago,

00:43:33at a horse track in New York.

00:43:36You were 18.

00:43:38Richard, Monica, and Clara

00:43:39there to embarrass you

00:43:41in front of half the social crowders.

00:43:43Do you remember what you did?

00:43:46You jumped your horse over the highest obstacle

00:43:48and beat the guy

00:43:49who had been looking down on you all day.

00:43:51You were sitting on that horse,

00:43:53laughing like you owned the whole world,

00:43:54loud, arrogant,

00:43:55impossible to ignore.

00:43:57I remember thinking,

00:43:58damn, that girl is something else.

00:44:02I was stunned.

00:44:04I had almost forgotten

00:44:05that miserable day

00:44:06when Richard had tried

00:44:07so hard to humiliate me.

00:44:10Too bad your eyes

00:44:11were only on that fake gentleman,

00:44:13Damien Blackwood.

00:44:15I was wild back then too,

00:44:17but I knew one thing.

00:44:18You cannot force someone to want you.

00:44:21So I did not step in

00:44:22just to get rejected.

00:44:26His words landed like a stone

00:44:28dropped into the dead still lake

00:44:29of my heart.

00:44:31So there had been someone

00:44:32watching the real Scarlet Vals all along,

00:44:35even when I had not known it.

00:44:37What truly changed the way I saw him

00:44:38happened during a dirt bike accident.

00:44:40We were racing on a mountain road

00:44:41in southern Europe.

00:44:42On the way down,

00:44:43the pavement was wet

00:44:44and I was going too fast.

00:44:45My tire lost traction on a sharp turn

00:44:47and both my bike and I

00:44:48flew toward a steep drop

00:44:49hundreds of feet below.

00:44:51In that split second,

00:44:53Nathaniel was right behind me.

00:44:54He did not hesitate.

00:44:55He hit the gas and shot toward me,

00:44:56using his heavier bike to slam into mine

00:44:58and change the direction of my fall.

00:44:59But because of the force and the rebound,

00:45:01he and his bike went tumbling down the steep slope

00:45:03and found him among the rocks.

00:45:04His right leg was pinned under the heavy bike.

00:45:06Blood covered his forehead

00:45:07and his face was white from pain.

00:45:09Do not cry.

00:45:10I am too damn tough to die like this.

00:45:12Even then,

00:45:13he forced an ugly cocky smile,

00:45:14like he was still trying to make me feel better.

00:45:18In the private hospital in Monaco,

00:45:20Nathaniel had thick bandages

00:45:21wrapped around his head

00:45:22and a cased on his right arm,

00:45:23but he still acted like the same

00:45:25wild,

00:45:25carenless trouble mare.

00:45:26He lay in the hospital bed,

00:45:28looking at me as I sat beside him

00:45:29with slightly red eyes.

00:45:31For once,

00:45:31he put away all his cocky,

00:45:33unserious attitude.

00:45:34His deep,

00:45:35flurchous eyes

00:45:36locked onto mine

00:45:37with a seriousness

00:45:38I had never seen from him before.

00:45:40I know you've been hurt.

00:45:42I know Black Hill broke you

00:45:44with his rules and chains.

00:45:48I am not asking you

00:45:49to get over it from me.

00:45:50Take all the time you need.

00:45:52I can wait.

00:45:54I can wait.

00:45:56When you are ready

00:45:56to want someone again,

00:45:59I want you to think of me first.

00:46:00His honesty,

00:46:01the way he had risked his life

00:46:02to save me

00:46:03and the way he accepted

00:46:04every wild part of me

00:46:05without trying to change it

00:46:06all hit me at once.

00:46:07It felt like hot sunlight

00:46:08breaking through the frozen walls

00:46:09around my heart.

00:46:10For this time,

00:46:10I did not answer with something sharp.

00:46:12I only lowered my eyes

00:46:13and felt some of those

00:46:13cold, hard chains inside me

00:46:15begin to crack.

00:46:15But the peace

00:46:16did not last long.

00:46:17A few days later,

00:46:19the nightmare found me again.

00:46:21Late one night,

00:46:22after I had been out

00:46:23dancing with Mia,

00:46:24I was walking back

00:46:25to my apartment

00:46:25when the air around me

00:46:26turned cold

00:46:27in a way I knew too well.

00:46:28A thin, worn-out figure

00:46:30stood under the shadow

00:46:30of a streetlight.

00:46:31His eyes red

00:46:32with endless obsession.

00:46:33Damien Blackwood.

00:46:34He looked terrifying.

00:46:35His suit was wrinkled,

00:46:36his eyes were bloodshot,

00:46:37and violent desperation

00:46:38seemed to radiate

00:46:39from his entire body,

00:46:39like he was one step away

00:46:41from losing his mind.

00:46:41He stepped forward

00:46:42and grabbed my arm,

00:46:43squeezing so hard

00:46:44it felt like he was

00:46:45trying to break it.

00:46:46His voice was rough,

00:46:47like sandpaper

00:46:48dragged over concrete.

00:46:50Scarlet,

00:46:50are you done playing games?

00:46:52Come back with me.

00:46:53Now.

00:46:56Let go of me,

00:46:57Mr. Blackwood.

00:46:58Do we even know each other?

00:47:10Just as Damien was about

00:47:11to force me into his car,

00:47:12a hand with long,

00:47:14defined fingers

00:47:14and a limited-edition watch

00:47:15cut through the air

00:47:16faster than anyone expected.

00:47:18It caught Damien's wrist

00:47:19with a sharp smack

00:47:20and held tight.

00:47:24A Blackwood CEO

00:47:25should know better

00:47:26than to put his hands

00:47:27on my woman in public.

00:47:30Even a three-year-old

00:47:31knows you cannot

00:47:31force someone to want you.

00:47:33He twisted Damien's wrist

00:47:35with sudden,

00:47:35explosive strength,

00:47:37forcing him to let go of me.

00:47:39At the same time,

00:47:41he slid his arm

00:47:42around my waist

00:47:43and pulled me behind him,

00:47:44natural and protective.

00:47:46Damien's eyes

00:47:47shot to Nathaniel's hand

00:47:48on my waist

00:47:49like poison daggers.

00:47:50The jealousy and rage

00:47:51burned through

00:47:52the last thread of sanity

00:47:53the New York air had left.

00:47:55Damien's veins

00:47:56stood out on his forehead

00:47:57and he spat Nathaniel's name

00:47:58through his teeth.

00:48:00Take your hands off her.

00:48:01You are a spoiled piece of trash

00:48:03who changes women

00:48:04more often than cars.

00:48:06Do not touch her

00:48:07with your filthy hands.

00:48:09If you do not let go,

00:48:10I will destroy

00:48:11your entire family

00:48:13in Europe.

00:48:17I am a mess, sure.

00:48:20I sleep around

00:48:21and I have never

00:48:22pretended to be a saint.

00:48:23Then his tones

00:48:24changed completely

00:48:25and every word

00:48:26came out cold

00:48:27and poisoned.

00:48:28But I have never

00:48:29been sick enough

00:48:30to make a woman

00:48:31write a 10,000 word

00:48:32tumblet apology.

00:48:33I have never locked her

00:48:34in a dark wine cellar

00:48:35for three days

00:48:36without food

00:48:37but water.

00:48:37I have never thrown her

00:48:39into a freezing fountain

00:48:40at a gala.

00:48:41Watched her bleed

00:48:42in the water

00:48:43and then told my guards

00:48:44to keep going

00:48:45because she needed

00:48:46to learn a lesson.

00:48:54So tell me Blackwood

00:48:56what the hell

00:48:57kind of man

00:48:58do you think you are?

00:49:03Every word out

00:49:03of Nathaniel's mouth

00:49:04cut open the guilt

00:49:05Damien had been

00:49:06trying not to face.

00:49:07Right there

00:49:08on a foreign street

00:49:09Nathaniel stripped away

00:49:10every pathetic excuse

00:49:11Damien had ever made

00:49:12about love,

00:49:13discipline and protection

00:49:14leaving him with

00:49:15nothing to hide behind.

00:49:16The color drained

00:49:17from Damien's face.

00:49:18His lips trembled

00:49:19and he tried to argue back

00:49:20but his throat

00:49:21was so dry

00:49:21that not a single word

00:49:23came out.

00:49:23Two months of guilt

00:49:24and regret

00:49:25crashed over him

00:49:26all at once.

00:49:27His vision went dark

00:49:28and he could barely stand.

00:49:30Then he snapped.

00:49:31Shut up.

00:49:33His voice was hawsy

00:49:35and shaking.

00:49:39Shut your mouth!

00:49:41The last thread

00:49:41holding him to get broke.

00:49:43He pulled his fist back

00:49:44and charged forward

00:49:45trying to tear me away

00:49:47from Nathaniel.

00:49:48Nathaniel had run

00:49:49out of patience.

00:49:50His eyes went cold

00:49:51and he lunged forward

00:49:53throwing a punch

00:49:54straight at Damien.

00:49:55Two powerful men

00:49:56who were used to

00:49:57commanding boardrooms

00:49:57and making entire markets move

00:49:59started brawling

00:50:00on the streets of Monaco

00:50:01like common street thugs.

00:50:02The heavy sound

00:50:03of fists hitting flesh

00:50:04and the raw grails of age

00:50:05made casino guests

00:50:06scream and scattered.

00:50:07In the chaos

00:50:08Damien used that reckless

00:50:10almost suicidal force

00:50:11to break through the guards

00:50:12and reach me again.

00:50:14Come with me.

00:50:15I am not losing you again.

00:50:17He grabbed my shoulders

00:50:18with his bloody hands

00:50:19his eyes obsessive

00:50:20and unhinged.

00:50:21Damien forced me

00:50:22into the black armored car

00:50:24waiting on the street

00:50:25and ordered his men

00:50:26to clear up hay.

00:50:27Clear the way.

00:50:27Now!

00:50:30Drive to the private airport.

00:50:32Now we are leaving

00:50:33for New York.

00:50:36By the time Nathaniel

00:50:37ran back into the street

00:50:38with blood on his face

00:50:39all he could see

00:50:40were the taillights

00:50:41disappearing toward the coast.

00:50:46Find Blackwood's

00:50:47private flight path

00:50:48across the Atlantic

00:50:49get my people ready.

00:50:51I am going to New York

00:50:52and I am tearing

00:50:53his tower down

00:50:54if I have to.

00:50:56Twelve hours later

00:50:57the Gulf Ray

00:50:57landed a heavily guarded

00:50:58private estate

00:50:59outside New York City

00:51:00completely isolated

00:51:01from the outside world.

00:51:02It was Damien's

00:51:03most hidden asset

00:51:04a beautiful golden cage

00:51:05built with the best

00:51:06security systems

00:51:07money could buy.

00:51:08I was locked inside

00:51:09the luxurious living room

00:51:10but I stayed

00:51:11completely silent.

00:51:12I did not cry.

00:51:13I did not scream.

00:51:15I did not make a scene.

00:51:16I only looked at Damien

00:51:17with a coldness

00:51:18that made it clear

00:51:19he was already dead to me.

00:51:22Damien's heart cracked

00:51:23piece by piece

00:51:23under that look.

00:51:24He desperately wanted

00:51:26to make things right.

00:51:28Then he suddenly remembered

00:51:29that I had once mentioned

00:51:31liking a certain

00:51:32French dessert.

00:51:33He had never been

00:51:33in a kitchen in his life

00:51:35but he took off his jacket

00:51:36and walked into the kitchen anyway

00:51:38clumsily cutting ingredients

00:51:39with his ruined hands.

00:51:40Hot oil splashed up

00:51:41and burned blisters

00:51:42across the backs of his hands

00:51:43but he did not seem to notice.

00:51:45An hour later

00:51:45he came out

00:51:46carrying a plate of dessert

00:51:47that looked terrible

00:51:47and slightly burnt.

00:51:49He walked up to me

00:51:49with a tired

00:51:50worn out face

00:51:51that carried a pathetic

00:51:52kind of hope.

00:51:53His whole body was shaking.

00:51:54His eyes were red

00:51:55and he could barely stand

00:51:56as it held the plate out to me.

00:51:58He used to say

00:51:58you liked this.

00:51:59I made it myself.

00:52:00Please Scarlet

00:52:01just try one bite.

00:52:03I leaned against the couch

00:52:04completely different

00:52:05and did not even bother

00:52:06to look at him.

00:52:07I treated him

00:52:07like he was invisible.

00:52:08Damien's heart sank deeper

00:52:09into that frozen silence

00:52:10until there was nothing

00:52:11left but despair.

00:52:13All his pride fell away

00:52:14as he dropped to his knees

00:52:15in front of me

00:52:15and looked up like a beggar.

00:52:16I know that now.

00:52:17I do want the family code anymore.

00:52:18I will never lock you down.

00:52:19Just do not look at me

00:52:20like I'm already dead.

00:52:21It's driving me insane.

00:52:22Why you can't forgive me?

00:52:26I finally turned my head

00:52:28and looked at his broken face.

00:52:31Beneath my calm surface

00:52:32was the frozen cold

00:52:33of two lifetimes.

00:52:35You really want to know why?

00:52:37Fine, Damien.

00:52:38I will tell you.

00:52:39I looked at him without blinking

00:52:41because at the charity gala

00:52:44you let your guards

00:52:45throw me into a freezing fountain.

00:52:47You knew I was bleeding

00:52:49and when they asked

00:52:50if they should stop

00:52:51you told them to keep going.

00:52:53His face went white

00:52:55because in the pouring rain

00:52:57you brought me back

00:52:58to your mansion

00:52:59but the second Clara

00:53:00put on her innocent little act

00:53:02you protected her

00:53:03from the boiling water

00:53:04and left me on the floor

00:53:06while my skin peeled off.

00:53:07His breathing turned unsteady

00:53:09because you locked me

00:53:10in that dark wine cellar

00:53:12and gave Clara

00:53:12the perfect chance

00:53:13to torture me

00:53:14with an electroshock chair.

00:53:16When I told you the truth

00:53:17with injuries all over my body

00:53:19you called me a liar.

00:53:21His face went pale.

00:53:24Every time you had to choose

00:53:25between me and Clara

00:53:26you chose her.

00:53:29You chose your family's reputation.

00:53:31You chose control

00:53:32and now you are kneeling here

00:53:34asking me to believe you loved me?

00:53:37Every word struck Damien

00:53:39like a judgment.

00:53:40Damien's face was completely pale.

00:53:41His body shook so hard

00:53:43he could barely stay upright.

00:53:44He tried to argue

00:53:45to say I had misunderstood

00:53:46but in front of those brutal facts

00:53:48he realized words meant nothing.

00:53:50Regret tore through him.

00:53:51He tried to stand

00:53:52but accidentally knocked over the bag

00:53:54tucked between the couch hips.

00:53:55Everything inside spilled onto the floor.

00:53:58As he scrambled to pick it up

00:53:59his fingers touched a medical file

00:54:01hidden deep inside.

00:54:06Damien opened the medical report

00:54:08from the private hospital in Monaco

00:54:10before he could think better of it.

00:54:12Large area deep second degree burns

00:54:14with severe PSTD

00:54:15caused prolonged

00:54:16psychological compulsion

00:54:17and pressure.

00:54:18Burns.

00:54:19Boiling water.

00:54:22He stared at the date

00:54:23on the report.

00:54:24It was the same day

00:54:25he had knocked over the hot water

00:54:27and carried Clara away

00:54:28from the mansion.

00:54:29That was how badly

00:54:30I had been hurt.

00:54:31It had not only been my body

00:54:32my mind had been damaged too.

00:54:35And what had he been doing then

00:54:36the man who claimed to love me?

00:54:38He had been holding Clara

00:54:39the person at the center

00:54:41of all of it

00:54:41asking if she was okay.

00:54:43Meanwhile

00:54:43he had left me in boiling water

00:54:45to suffer.

00:54:45Damien completely lost control.

00:54:47He punched the wall so hard

00:54:48that the crack of his knuckles

00:54:49breaking was audible.

00:54:50Blood splattered across the wall

00:54:52but the physical pain

00:54:53was nothing compared

00:54:53to the feeling of his heart

00:54:54being crushed piece by piece.

00:54:56He crawled back to my feet

00:54:57like a dying dog

00:54:58and grabbed the hem of my dress

00:54:59with his broken

00:55:00bleeding hand.

00:55:01His voice was wrecked

00:55:03as he apologized

00:55:03over and over again.

00:55:05I did not know it was that bad.

00:55:07Scarlett I swear

00:55:08I did not know.

00:55:10kill me if you want

00:55:11take a knife

00:55:12and do it right now.

00:55:14Just give me one chance.

00:55:15Please.

00:55:16Just one chance.

00:55:19I looked down at him

00:55:21my long lashes

00:55:22casting cold shadows

00:55:23over my eyes.

00:55:25There was no emotion

00:55:26in them at all.

00:55:27I heard your apology Damien.

00:55:29I just do not forgive you.

00:55:35At that moment

00:55:36the roar of Moletter cycle engines

00:55:38screaming security alarms

00:55:39exploded outside the villa.

00:55:41Through the chaos of guards

00:55:42yelling and fighting

00:55:43the thick bulletproof front door

00:55:45of the living room

00:55:46was slammed open

00:55:46from the outside.

00:55:47Nathaniel burst in

00:55:48covered in injuries

00:55:49his eyes wild with rage

00:55:51carrying the kind of fury

00:55:52that looked ready to kill.

00:55:55Nathaniel strode in

00:55:56over the shattered glass

00:55:58his black leather jacket

00:55:59stained with the blood

00:56:00of Damien's guards.

00:56:02The usual lazy charm

00:56:03in his eyes was gone

00:56:04replaced by something

00:56:06savage and deadly.

00:56:09He pulled me behind him

00:56:11in one swift motion.

00:56:14His right fist trembled

00:56:16from the force

00:56:17he was barely holding back.

00:56:21Damien Blackwood

00:56:22you really had the nerve

00:56:24to take her

00:56:24right under my nose.

00:56:26You think because

00:56:27your family runs New York

00:56:29I cannot touch you.

00:56:31Damien was still on the floor

00:56:32his broken hand

00:56:33hung at his side

00:56:34blood dripping

00:56:34from his fingertips

00:56:35onto the expensive

00:56:36wool carpet.

00:56:37Slowly he stood.

00:56:38His proud

00:56:39untouchable spine

00:56:39looked bent now

00:56:40but the moment

00:56:41he saw Nathaniel

00:56:42jealousy and violence

00:56:43flared back to life

00:56:44in his hollow eyes.

00:56:45Let her go.

00:56:47Nathaniel this is New York.

00:56:52This is my territory

00:56:54when the council

00:56:55I'm assailed

00:56:55you are not

00:56:57taking her anywhere.

00:56:59Nathaniel looked

00:57:00as if he had just

00:57:00heard the funniest

00:57:01thing in the world.

00:57:06He stepped forward

00:57:07and grabbed Damien

00:57:08by the collar

00:57:09lifting him

00:57:10with brutal force.

00:57:11Your territory

00:57:12look outside.

00:57:14Beyond the windows

00:57:16countless armored vehicles

00:57:17flashed with warning

00:57:18lights surrounding

00:57:19the private estate

00:57:20Nathaniel's men

00:57:21had already formed

00:57:22a standoff

00:57:22with Blackwood's guards.

00:57:24I am not just

00:57:25taking her out of here

00:57:26today.

00:57:29I am going to

00:57:30go and collect

00:57:31and I select

00:57:32the life you should

00:57:32have lost in Monaco

00:57:33right here in New York.

00:57:39Damien did not

00:57:40fight back.

00:57:41He let Nathaniel

00:57:42hold him by the collar

00:57:43but his eyes

00:57:43stayed locked on my face

00:57:44over Nathaniel's shoulder.

00:57:46There was no trace

00:57:47of his old arrogance

00:57:48left in that look.

00:57:49Only a plea

00:57:50so desperate

00:57:51it had sunk

00:57:51into his bones.

00:57:53Scarlet

00:57:53do not go

00:57:54I am begging you.

00:57:58Stay

00:57:59even if all you want

00:58:00is to kill me.

00:58:01I looked at him

00:58:02without emotion

00:58:03as if I were looking

00:58:04at something

00:58:04already dead.

00:58:06Damien

00:58:07the moment you

00:58:08threw yourself

00:58:08in front of Clara

00:58:09we became enemies

00:58:11in both lifetimes.

00:58:12Do not make me

00:58:13hate you more

00:58:14than I already do.

00:58:15Then I turned

00:58:16and took Nathaniel's

00:58:17blooded hand myself.

00:58:19Nathaniel

00:58:19let's go.

00:58:21Nathaniel froze

00:58:22for half a second

00:58:23then clasped

00:58:23my hand tightly

00:58:24locking his fingers

00:58:26with mine.

00:58:26With a look of disgust

00:58:27he shoved Damien away

00:58:29as if pushing aside trash.

00:58:30Damien staggered back

00:58:32and crashed into

00:58:32the luxury wine cabinet

00:58:33behind him.

00:58:35Countless bottles

00:58:35shattered across the floor

00:58:37and dark red wine

00:58:38spread over the wreckage

00:58:39like blood.

00:58:42He sat collapsed

00:58:43in the ruin

00:58:43able to do nothing

00:58:44but watch

00:58:45as Nathaniel shielded me

00:58:46and led me out

00:58:47of that beautiful golden cage

00:58:49without looking back.

00:58:51Nathaniel shielded me

00:58:52and led me out

00:58:53without looking back.

00:58:58The door slammed shut

00:59:00behind us.

00:59:01Behind it

00:59:02came Damien's

00:59:03broken

00:59:03desperate growl.

00:59:12The suffocating gloom

00:59:14of New York

00:59:15was left behind

00:59:16on the other side

00:59:17of the Atlantic.

00:59:19Nathaniel did not

00:59:19take me back to Modico

00:59:20in its glittering

00:59:21noisy world

00:59:22of money and pleasure.

00:59:23Instead he put me

00:59:24on his private jet

00:59:25and flew me straight

00:59:26to an extremely private

00:59:27estate in the south

00:59:28of France.

00:59:29The estate sat deep

00:59:30in the quiet

00:59:31Provenche countryside

00:59:32far away from the world.

00:59:36When I opened

00:59:37the windows

00:59:38I could see

00:59:39endless fields

00:59:40of lavender.

00:59:41The air smelled clean

00:59:42full of grass

00:59:43sunlight

00:59:44and peace.

00:59:46There was no

00:59:46Richard Will

00:59:47calculating what I was worth.

00:59:48There was no

00:59:49Damien Blackfield

00:59:50haunting me

00:59:51with his obsession.

00:59:52There was only a silence

00:59:53gentle enough

00:59:53to make breathing

00:59:54feel easy again.

00:59:56Cancel all meetings.

00:59:58Nathaniel threw away

00:59:59every bit of his

01:00:00southern European

01:00:00playboy image

01:00:01and became

01:00:02surprisingly patient.

01:00:04He cancelled

01:00:05business mootings

01:00:06turned down parties

01:00:07and simply sat with me

01:00:08during breakfast

01:00:09in the flower filled garden.

01:00:10At sunset

01:00:11he would lie

01:00:12half on the grass

01:00:13beneath the grapefines

01:00:14with a book in his hand.

01:00:16Every now and then

01:00:17he would look up

01:00:18and flash me

01:00:19that lazy

01:00:19troublemaking smile.

01:00:21He never mentioned

01:00:22New York.

01:00:22He never mentioned

01:00:23Damien Blackwood.

01:00:24He never mentioned

01:00:25any part of the past

01:00:26that hurt me.

01:00:27With that strange

01:00:29reckless tenderness

01:00:30only he had

01:00:31he slowly chased

01:00:32the shadows

01:00:32of my last life

01:00:33from between my brows.

01:00:38The skin burned

01:00:39by deep

01:00:39second degree scald

01:00:40still arced at night

01:00:42and the PTSD

01:00:43left by my past life

01:00:45often dragged me

01:00:46awake from nightmares.

01:00:47Every time I sat up

01:00:48covered in cold sweat

01:00:49I saw a faint light

01:00:50glowing outside

01:00:51on the terrace.

01:00:52Nathaniel was always there

01:00:53guarding my bedroom

01:00:54from the soap

01:00:54outside the glass doors.

01:00:55He held an old guitar

01:00:56in his arms

01:00:57his long fingers

01:00:58moving over the strings.

01:00:59The melodies

01:01:00were never perfect

01:01:00but somehow

01:01:01they were gentle enough

01:01:02to calm my heart.

01:01:05Nightmare again

01:01:06wildcat?

01:01:07Do not be scared.

01:01:09I am right here.

01:01:10Not even God

01:01:10gets past me tonight.

01:01:16Paint whatever you want.

01:01:17Turn my face

01:01:18into a pig

01:01:19if it makes you happy.

01:01:23During the years

01:01:24Damien controlled me.

01:01:26Painting had been

01:01:27dismissed

01:01:27as a useless distraction

01:01:28but here

01:01:30it was freedom.

01:01:31It belonged

01:01:32to Scarletta Vale.

01:01:35Under Nathaniel's

01:01:36shameless indulgements

01:01:37and steady companionship

01:01:39I smiled more and more.

01:01:40It was the kind of joy

01:01:41that came from

01:01:42being accepted

01:01:43without conditions

01:01:43and encouraged

01:01:44to release

01:01:45every part of myself.

01:01:46One day

01:01:47he secretly arranged

01:01:48a 10,000 meter skydive.

01:01:49The helipter climbed

01:01:50higher and higher

01:01:51with a violent roar.

01:01:52Beneath us

01:01:52were the jewel blue

01:01:53Mediterranean

01:01:54and the distant line

01:01:55of the Alps.

01:01:55Wind poured in

01:01:56through the open cabin door

01:01:58whipping my hair

01:01:58into chaos.

01:01:59The instructor

01:02:00checked our gear

01:02:00one final time.

01:02:01I looked at the shrinking

01:02:02world outside the door

01:02:03took a deep breath

01:02:04and felt the brightest

01:02:05rush of anticipation

01:02:06I had known

01:02:07since my rebirth.

01:02:08Nathiel Hulma

01:02:09hailed my tightly

01:02:09his palm burning

01:02:10hot at against mine.

01:02:12He leaned close

01:02:13to my ear

01:02:13and shouted over the engine.

01:02:14He grinned

01:02:15wild and dazzling.

01:02:16Just as the green light

01:02:17came on

01:02:18and the instructor

01:02:18signaled that we were

01:02:19ready to jump

01:02:20he suddenly gestured

01:02:21for him to wait.

01:02:22He turned to me

01:02:22and stared straight

01:02:23into my eyes

01:02:24deep and burning.

01:02:25Above the deafening engine

01:02:26his voice somehow

01:02:27reached me clearly.

01:02:28Scarlet

01:02:29before we jump

01:02:30Scarlet Vale

01:02:31I know you are hurt

01:02:33I know that bastard

01:02:34in New York

01:02:34broke something in you

01:02:35I am not going to

01:02:36feed you pretty lies

01:02:37I am asking you straight

01:02:39give me a chance.

01:02:44Let me take care of you

01:02:47everything Damien Blackwood

01:02:48did to you

01:02:48I will spend the rest

01:02:49of my life

01:02:51helping you heal

01:02:52from it.

01:02:54If the sky falls

01:02:55I will hold it up

01:02:56for you.

01:02:57If you want to walk

01:02:58through the world

01:02:59like you own it

01:02:59I will clear the road

01:03:00If you want the stars

01:03:02I will build you

01:03:02a damn ladder

01:03:04I have never been

01:03:05this serious

01:03:05about anyone Scarlet

01:03:08I choose you

01:03:09His conflation

01:03:10was direct

01:03:10arrogant

01:03:11and rough around

01:03:12the edges

01:03:12just like him

01:03:13but it burned

01:03:14through me

01:03:14like sunlight

01:03:15melting the deepest

01:03:16ice inside my heart

01:03:17There was no prophet

01:03:18binding us together

01:03:18No

01:03:19rules

01:03:20No cage

01:03:21Only the purest

01:03:22kind of desire

01:03:23to love someone

01:03:23as they were

01:03:24I looked into

01:03:25those flirtious eyes

01:03:26now filled with

01:03:27love and nervousness

01:03:28and the string

01:03:29that had been

01:03:30pulled in my heart

01:03:31for two lives

01:03:31finally snapped loose

01:03:33The heavy chains

01:03:35were scattered

01:03:35by the wind

01:03:3610,000 meters

01:03:37above the earth

01:03:38Yes

01:03:39I will give you

01:03:41that chance

01:03:41Alright loveards

01:03:43time to jump

01:03:55The wind thundered

01:03:56past my ears

01:03:57as I opened

01:03:58my arms to freedom

01:03:59This time

01:04:00my guardian

01:04:00was falling beside me

01:04:05The sun

01:04:06in southern France

01:04:07was warm

01:04:07and gentle

01:04:08but the top floor

01:04:10of Blackwood Tower

01:04:11in New York

01:04:11The heavy curtains

01:04:12were drawn tight

01:04:13shutting out

01:04:13every trace

01:04:14of daylight

01:04:14Damien Sack

01:04:15collapsed

01:04:15in his oversized

01:04:16leather chair

01:04:17surrounded by

01:04:17empty vodka bottles

01:04:18He had grown

01:04:19painfully thin

01:04:20His face was

01:04:21hangered

01:04:21His eyes sunken

01:04:22and the hair

01:04:23he had once

01:04:23kept perfectly styled

01:04:24for the sake

01:04:25of the family code

01:04:25now hung in a mess

01:04:26His phone screen

01:04:27was still lit

01:04:27On it was a blurry

01:04:28Pemperazzi photo

01:04:29taken in southern France

01:04:30Sunlight poured over

01:04:31an outdoor cafe

01:04:32I was wearing

01:04:33a bright yellow dress

01:04:34laughing with

01:04:34Nathaniel a spoonful

01:04:35of ice cream

01:04:36Nathaniel was looking

01:04:36at me with open affection

01:04:37gently tapping my nose

01:04:39with his finger

01:04:39The photo was

01:04:40beautiful enough

01:04:41to hurt

01:04:41Scarlet

01:04:42I only found out

01:04:43recently that

01:04:43Clara used an

01:04:44electroshock chair

01:04:45on you in the

01:04:45Weinfeller

01:04:46I have locked her away

01:04:48I will make her

01:04:49pay back every bit

01:04:50of pain she caused

01:04:51you

01:04:54Scarlet

01:04:55Scarlet

01:04:57Scarlet

01:04:59tears mixed

01:05:00with blood

01:05:01at the corner

01:05:01of his mouth

01:05:02he whispered

01:05:03my name

01:05:04like a prayer

01:05:05and a punishment

01:05:07I was smiling

01:05:08bright

01:05:09and unrhynd

01:05:10but that happiness

01:05:11no longer

01:05:12belonged to him

01:05:13that place

01:05:14beside me

01:05:15should have been

01:05:15his

01:05:16he was the one

01:05:17who had pushed

01:05:18me away

01:05:18with those

01:05:18damned rules

01:05:29he wrote

01:05:30like a madman

01:05:31sometimes his

01:05:32handwriting was

01:05:33messy

01:05:33sometimes it was

01:05:35painfully neat

01:05:36before long

01:05:37the white paper

01:05:38was covered in

01:05:39tear marks

01:05:39and bloody

01:05:40fingerprints

01:05:41from his broken

01:05:41hand

01:05:42he wrote about

01:05:43how stupid

01:05:44he had been

01:05:45to believe

01:05:45the Vale

01:05:45family's act

01:05:46he wrote about

01:05:47forcing me to

01:05:48write apologies

01:05:49locking me

01:05:49in the wine cellar

01:05:50I bled

01:05:51and bound me

01:05:51standing right

01:05:52and spilled about

01:05:52then hot water

01:05:53to protect Clara

01:05:54while leaving me

01:05:55with second degree

01:05:55burns

01:05:56and PTSD

01:05:58Scarlet

01:05:58I only found out

01:05:59recently that Clara

01:06:00used an electroshock chair

01:06:01on you in the wine feller

01:06:02I have locked her away

01:06:04I will make her pay back

01:06:06every bit of pain

01:06:07she caused you

01:06:15the letter was sent

01:06:16by international courier

01:06:17to southern France

01:06:18and eventually reached

01:06:20my hands

01:06:20I did not read

01:06:22a single line

01:06:23I threw it straight

01:06:24into the roaring fireplace

01:06:25the pages curled

01:06:27in the flailed

01:06:28in the flames

01:06:29and turned to ash

01:06:36no answer ever came

01:06:40after the letter

01:06:41after the letter was sent

01:06:42no reply came back

01:06:43Damien's last bit of hope

01:06:45died completely

01:06:46ignoring the furious objections

01:06:48of his private doctor

01:06:49he tore the IV from his hand

01:06:51and booked the nearest flight

01:06:52to the south of France

01:06:53through the Blackwood family's

01:06:55underground channels in Europe

01:06:56he eventually located

01:06:58the quiet estate

01:06:58surrounded by lavender fields

01:07:00but he did not dare go near it

01:07:02he was afraid of disturbing me

01:07:04even more than that

01:07:05he was afraid of seeing

01:07:06the disgust in my eyes

01:07:08so he stayed outside

01:07:09the thorny fence

01:07:09like a ghost

01:07:10watching from far away

01:07:11day and night

01:07:12he saw Nathaniel's Lamborghini

01:07:13come and go

01:07:14he saw us walking

01:07:15hand in hand

01:07:15along the country road

01:07:16at sunset

01:07:17at night

01:07:17he saw Nathaniel's shadow

01:07:18on the second floor balcony

01:07:19as he gently held me

01:07:20in his arms

01:07:21every scene was a dull knife

01:07:22slowly cutting through

01:07:24his body and soul

01:07:25one day

01:07:25a violent storm

01:07:26broke over southern France

01:07:27lightning split the night sky

01:07:29Damien stood outside

01:07:30the fence without moving

01:07:31letting the cold rain

01:07:32soak him through

01:07:33he was running a fever

01:07:34of 104 degrees

01:07:35his body burning

01:07:36under the creasing rain

01:07:37but he stood there

01:07:38like a statue

01:07:39and refused to leave

01:07:42in his sick

01:07:43desperate mind

01:07:44he imagined that

01:07:45maybe the rain

01:07:46was heavy enough

01:07:47to soften my heart

01:07:49maybe I would come out

01:07:50with an umbrella

01:07:51and look at him

01:07:52just once

01:07:53only when his body

01:07:54finally gave out

01:07:55did he collapse

01:07:56into the muddy water

01:07:58before he lost

01:07:59consciousness completely

01:08:01he thought he saw

01:08:02the curtain move

01:08:03in a second floor window

01:08:12Scarlet

01:08:14let me see her

01:08:17keep dreaming

01:08:18Blackwood

01:08:19she does not

01:08:20want to see you

01:08:21she would feel dirty

01:08:23wasting even

01:08:23one second

01:08:24on you

01:08:29she told me

01:08:30to give you

01:08:30four words

01:08:32no forgiveness

01:08:34no pity

01:08:36no return

01:08:42keep whatever dignity

01:08:43the Blackwood

01:08:44family still has

01:08:45every word

01:08:46struck Damien

01:08:47like an ice

01:08:48hook through

01:08:48the heart

01:08:48shattering

01:08:49the last bit

01:08:50of hope

01:08:50left in him

01:08:50he understood

01:08:52I was not even

01:08:53willing to waste

01:08:54hatred on him

01:08:55anymore

01:08:55between us

01:08:56everything had

01:08:56ended in the second

01:08:57of the car crash

01:08:58in my last life

01:08:59and in the moment

01:08:59he ordered the guards

01:09:00to keep me in the

01:09:01fountain in this life

01:09:02after his fever broke

01:09:04he was put on a plane

01:09:05back to New York

01:09:06by Nathaniel's private guards

01:09:09he left like a puppet

01:09:10with its soul

01:09:11pulled out

01:09:18Damien's forced departure

01:09:19did not stop

01:09:20the next storm

01:09:20from arriving

01:09:21after recovering

01:09:23in southern France

01:09:23I was no longer

01:09:24the weak woman

01:09:25from my past life

01:09:26who could only

01:09:27endure pain

01:09:27with Nathaniel's

01:09:28financial power

01:09:29and international

01:09:30underground network

01:09:31behind me

01:09:31I personally planned

01:09:32the final reckoning

01:09:33against the Vale family

01:09:34using hackers

01:09:35I gathered hard evidence

01:09:36of Richard's years

01:09:37of tax evasion

01:09:38money laundering

01:09:39embezzlement

01:09:40of my mother's

01:09:40trust assets

01:09:41and massive

01:09:42commercial brubbering

01:09:43then I anonymously

01:09:43submit everything

01:09:44to the highest

01:09:45federal prosecutors

01:09:46in New York

01:09:49the evidence

01:09:50was overwhelming

01:09:51Richard was arrested

01:09:52by federal agents

01:09:53during a Vale group

01:09:54board meeting

01:09:55right in front of the cameras

01:09:56and the entire press

01:09:57the Vale family trust

01:09:59and company

01:09:59collapsed overnight

01:10:00their assets

01:10:02were seized

01:10:02and liquidated

01:10:03and bankruptcy

01:10:04followed almost immediately

01:10:05in the visiting room

01:10:06of New York's

01:10:07first federal prison

01:10:08I sat behind

01:10:09thick bulletproof glass

01:10:10and looked coldly

01:10:11at Richard

01:10:11he had gone

01:10:12white haired overnight

01:10:13he looked old

01:10:14broken

01:10:15and frantic

01:10:15Scarlet I am your father

01:10:17my blood runs

01:10:18in your veins

01:10:19you sent your own father

01:10:20to hell with your own hands

01:10:21you'll pay for this

01:10:22pay for it

01:10:23Richard did you think

01:10:24about payback

01:10:24when you brought

01:10:25Monica into my mother's house

01:10:26did you think

01:10:27about it when you let

01:10:28tried to sell me

01:10:28into the Blackwood family

01:10:29like a piece of property

01:10:33this is your payback

01:10:35spend the rest of your life

01:10:37repenting in there

01:10:43Monica could not survive

01:10:45the shock of the Vale family

01:10:46collapsing overnight

01:10:47her mind broke completely

01:10:49and she was forced

01:10:51into the cheapest

01:10:52psychiatric hospital

01:10:53in New York

01:10:53every day

01:10:55she wandered

01:10:56with tangled hair

01:10:57muttering nonsense

01:10:58to herself

01:11:04Damien please save

01:11:05my mother

01:11:05please save

01:11:07the Vale family

01:11:07I know I was wrong

01:11:09I will bring Scarlet

01:11:10back if you want

01:11:10I will beg that bitch

01:11:11to come back

01:11:12just look at me once

01:11:13the iron gate

01:11:14slowly opened

01:11:16Damien came out

01:11:17with a cane

01:11:19he looked down

01:11:19at the woman

01:11:20kneeling at his feet

01:11:21like she was filth

01:11:22on the road

01:11:22there was no emotion

01:11:24in his eyes

01:11:25only disgust

01:11:26love

01:11:28Clara I know exactly

01:11:30how you and Monica

01:11:30schemed your way

01:11:31through Manhattan society

01:11:32and bullied Scarlet

01:11:33for years

01:11:34I did not touch you

01:11:35before because

01:11:36you were not worth

01:11:37dirtying my hands

01:11:39also

01:11:40I was saving you

01:11:41for Scarlet

01:11:44now that she has

01:11:45made her move

01:11:46I am satisfied

01:11:47get this disgusting

01:11:48woman out of my sight

01:11:54after that

01:11:54a filthy ragged woman

01:11:56appeared on the

01:11:57underground streets

01:11:57of Manhattan

01:11:58she smelled rotten

01:11:59laughed at strangers

01:12:00and screamed at shadows

01:12:01Damien had his men

01:12:03watch her from a distance

01:12:04he did not allow her

01:12:05to die

01:12:05he made sure

01:12:06she stayed alive

01:12:07long enough

01:12:07to suffer every humiliation

01:12:08the bottom of society

01:12:09had to offer

01:12:10it was exactly

01:12:11what I had wanted

01:12:12for her

01:12:12she would live

01:12:13like a rat in the gutter

01:12:14slowly and painful

01:12:17after hearing

01:12:18how everything ended

01:12:19I stood before

01:12:20the floor to clear

01:12:20windows of the estate

01:12:21in southern France

01:12:22and watched the sun

01:12:23sink below the horizon

01:12:24for the first time

01:12:25my heart felt

01:12:26strangely calm

01:12:27the nightmare

01:12:27and karma

01:12:28that had followed me

01:12:29through two lifetimes

01:12:29had finally come

01:12:30to an end

01:12:31bad people

01:12:32got what they deserved

01:12:33from now on baby

01:12:34let me be the only one

01:12:35who gets to spoil you

01:12:36over the next half year

01:12:37Nathaniel and I

01:12:38grew closer and closer

01:12:39we traveled

01:12:40from country to country

01:12:41enjoying our freedom

01:12:42and love

01:12:43anywhere in the world

01:12:44we wanted

01:12:44we both thought

01:12:45the blood and storms

01:12:46were finally behind us

01:13:04but no one expected

01:13:06Clara

01:13:06who had long gone mad

01:13:07and been forgotten

01:13:08in the trash filled

01:13:09corners of New York

01:13:10to be planning

01:13:11one last act

01:13:12of revenge

01:13:27Nathaniel reacted instantly

01:13:28with a low growl

01:13:29he shoved open

01:13:30the car door

01:13:30and threw himself

01:13:31into the fight

01:13:31doing everything

01:13:32he could to protect me

01:13:33but there were too many

01:13:33of them

01:13:34and they had come prepared

01:13:35Nathaniel was soon

01:13:35cut across the arm

01:13:36while shielding me

01:13:37then forced to the ground

01:13:38under several guns

01:13:39his face was covered

01:13:40in blood

01:13:41and his eyes

01:13:41were wild with rage

01:13:42do not touch her

01:13:43let her go

01:13:51a burst of crazed applause

01:13:53rang out

01:13:53Clara slowly stepped out

01:13:54from behind one of the vants

01:13:55she wore a filthy

01:13:56torn dress

01:13:56stained with grime

01:13:57her hair was a tangled mess

01:13:58and her eyes were cloudy

01:13:59and insane

01:14:00in her hand

01:14:00she gripped a loaded glock

01:14:01her ruined face twisted

01:14:02like something out of a nightmare

01:14:03as she laughed at me

01:14:04Charlotte you bitch

01:14:05I have requested

01:14:06a nice man payball

01:14:07beyond drink it

01:14:07a hundred times

01:14:08a thousand's over

01:14:09you and the man you love

01:14:10are both going to hell today

01:14:11at that deadly moment

01:14:12just as one of the thugs

01:14:13was about to pull the trigger

01:14:14the roar of an engine

01:14:15ripped through the sea wind

01:14:16a black armored SUV

01:14:17came crashing in from behind

01:14:18ramping the van

01:14:19blocking the road

01:14:20and screeched to a stop

01:14:21in the middle of the chaos

01:14:22a thin figure with a slight limp

01:14:23stepped out

01:14:24carrying an automatic rifle

01:14:25and surrounded by cold

01:14:27murderous and tate

01:14:28Damien

01:14:28he had been following

01:14:29my movements

01:14:30from a distance all along

01:14:31when he found out

01:14:32Clara had disappeared

01:14:33under strange circumstances

01:14:34he sensed something was wrong

01:14:35and tracked the rye brute here

01:14:37for the sea

01:14:42let her go Clara

01:14:44get that filthy gun

01:14:45away from her head

01:14:52Damien you came too

01:14:54good perfect

01:14:55the head of the Blackwood family

01:14:56and Nathaniel's family

01:14:57are both here

01:14:58I can send all of you

01:15:00to hell together

01:15:00what do you want

01:15:02I will give you

01:15:03every Blackwood trust

01:15:05every share

01:15:05every asset I have

01:15:08take my life if you want

01:15:10just let Scarlet go

01:15:12that's it

01:15:13I do not want anything anymore

01:15:15I want her to suffer

01:15:18I want you

01:15:19the high and mighty

01:15:20king of Manhattan

01:15:20to watch with your own eyes

01:15:22while I tear her apart

01:15:25watching both men suffer

01:15:26because of me

01:15:27tore my heart open

01:15:28and tears blurred my vision

01:15:29stop

01:15:30Nathaniel Damien

01:15:31just go

01:15:31do not worry about me

01:15:32you want her alive

01:15:33fine

01:15:34Damien king of Manhattan

01:15:35get on your knees

01:15:36kneel and beg me

01:15:37Damien looked at my

01:15:38deathly pale face

01:15:39and did not hesitate

01:15:39for even a second

01:15:40he threw away the rifle

01:15:41in his hand

01:15:42and dropped to his knees

01:15:42on rough gravel covered road

01:15:43the heavy sound of his bones

01:15:45hitting the ground

01:15:45tore through the sea wind

01:15:46this was a man

01:15:47who had been pathologically

01:15:48proud in both lifetimes

01:15:49a man who had never

01:15:50lowered his head to anyone

01:15:51for my life

01:15:51he threw away

01:15:52every last bit of dignity

01:15:59look at you

01:16:00you finally know

01:16:02what it feels like

01:16:03beat him

01:16:04beat him until he cannot move

01:16:09the thugs rushed forward

01:16:10iron rods and fists

01:16:11fell on Damien like rain

01:16:13he curled tightly around himself

01:16:14blood pouring from his mouth

01:16:16but he stubbornly kept

01:16:17his body angled toward me

01:16:18blocking the sand and gravel

01:16:19that flew in my direction

01:16:36in that split second

01:16:37no one saw where Damien

01:16:39found the strength

01:16:39like a black panther

01:16:40burning through its last breath

01:16:42he threw himself up

01:16:42from the ground

01:16:43and slammed me

01:16:44with that ounce of life

01:16:44he had left

01:16:45he knocked me hard

01:16:46onto the road

01:16:46and covered completely

01:16:47with his broad bloodied back

01:16:48leaving no gap

01:16:49between me and the bullet

01:16:50the sound that followed

01:16:51tore into his back

01:16:52exploding only a few millimeters

01:16:53from his heart

01:16:54blood sprayed across the air

01:16:56and instantly stained

01:16:58my white dress

01:16:59a shocking red

01:17:05for a moment

01:17:06the whole world seemed to stop

01:17:07Damien's heavy body

01:17:08pressed down over mine

01:17:09with impossible effort

01:17:10he slowly raised his head

01:17:12his deathly plale face

01:17:13was covered in blood

01:17:14when he saw that I was safe

01:17:15Claire Crenn with him

01:17:16without a capture of his mouth

01:17:17lifted into a relieved smile

01:17:19and that smile was a kind of

01:17:20longing and regret

01:17:20I had never seen from him

01:17:21in either lifetime

01:17:22he struggled to raise

01:17:23his bleeding hand

01:17:24as if he wanted to touch

01:17:25my face one last time

01:17:26but his fingers shook

01:17:28violently in the air

01:17:29never quite reaching me

01:17:30before falling wheatly

01:17:31into the mud

01:17:32he looked at me

01:17:33as the light in his eyes

01:17:34began to scatter

01:17:36Scarlet

01:17:36I am sorry

01:17:41this time

01:17:42I finally protected you

01:17:45live well with Nathaniel

01:17:48goodbye

01:17:49goodbye

01:18:08but I only held the blood-covered man-in-arms tears streaming down my face

01:18:12did I hate him

01:18:12did I resent him

01:18:14the moment that bullet tore through his body

01:18:15the chains from my past life

01:18:17and the hatred from this life

01:18:18were shattered with it

01:18:19with his own life

01:18:20he completed a redemption

01:18:21that had come two life teams too late

01:18:25above the southeast asian island

01:18:27the roar of a rescue helicopter

01:18:29tore through the humid air

01:18:30a team of top international medics

01:18:32carefully lifted Damien

01:18:33covered in blood

01:18:34and deep in shock

01:18:34onto a stretcher

01:18:35his face had turned asin

01:18:36almost like a corpse

01:18:37his breathing and heartbeat

01:18:38were so weak

01:18:39the machines could barely detect them

01:18:40I stood beside the helicopter

01:18:42his warm blood still on my face

01:18:44and clothes

01:18:44my fate's ventral snow

01:18:46wrapped in bandages

01:18:47and looking grim

01:18:47forced self through the pain

01:18:48of his fractures

01:18:49and pulled me hard

01:18:49into his arms

01:18:50using his broad chest

01:18:51to hold me up

01:18:52his eyes were complicated

01:18:53as he watched Damien

01:18:53he'd always despised

01:18:54he'd really been willing

01:18:55to trade his life for my freedom

01:18:56the helicopter rushed

01:18:58toward the nearest

01:18:58international medical center

01:19:00the doors of the operating room

01:19:02stayed shut

01:19:03and the red light above them

01:19:05burned for 12 full hours

01:19:08Nathania and I

01:19:08waited in the hallway

01:19:09as time stretched

01:19:11until it felt like a century

01:19:15the surgery succeeded

01:19:16the bullet is out

01:19:17but he's not out of danger

01:19:19recovery will be long

01:19:21the damage

01:19:21it's severe

01:19:22irreversible

01:19:34Damien remained unconscious

01:19:36in the sterile ICU

01:19:37for more than half a month

01:19:38during that time

01:19:40with no one in control

01:19:41of Blackwood Group

01:19:42rival financial powers

01:19:43in New York

01:19:43began tearing into it

01:19:44the stock price plunged

01:19:45and the company started

01:19:46from the inside

01:19:46through Nathaniel's

01:19:47underground channels

01:19:48Iannoy passed Damien's

01:19:49confidential medical trial

01:19:50to a relatively loyal elder

01:19:51inside the Blackwood family

01:19:52that elder stepped in

01:19:54and barely stabilized

01:19:55the chaos in New York

01:19:56half a month later

01:19:57Damien finally opened his eyes

01:19:58to the beeping

01:19:59of medical machines

01:20:00his vision slowly focused

01:20:02until he's standing

01:20:02outside the satiral glass

01:20:04our eyes met

01:20:04and the air in the room

01:20:05seemed to freeze

01:20:06my gaze was complicated

01:20:08there was concern in it

01:20:09there was release

01:20:10there was no love left

01:20:11there was no hatred

01:20:12left either

01:20:12Damien wore an oxygen mask

01:20:14his dry lips parted

01:20:15as if he wanted to say my name

01:20:16but only a weak

01:20:17poor breath came out

01:20:18he saw the calm

01:20:19in my eyes

01:20:20he also saw Nathaniel

01:20:21behind me

01:20:22covered in casts

01:20:22and bandages

01:20:23still gripping my shoulder

01:20:24in a posture

01:20:24of absolute protection

01:20:26Damien understood

01:20:27the last faint

01:20:28impossible hope

01:20:28in his soul

01:20:29went out like a candle

01:20:30in the wind

01:20:30two silent lines of tears

01:20:32slid from the corners

01:20:33of his eyes

01:20:33into his hair

01:20:34he had used his life

01:20:35to save me

01:20:36whatever remained

01:20:37between us

01:20:37had died

01:20:38with that redemption

01:20:41three months later

01:20:42at Geneva International Airport

01:20:44in Switzerland

01:20:44morning fog

01:20:45covered up the runway

01:20:46bound for one of Switzerland's

01:20:47top private rehabilitation

01:20:48plants waited in silence

01:20:50Damien could barely sit

01:20:51in a wheelchair now

01:20:51he looked older and thinner

01:20:52than any disability

01:20:53in his left leg

01:20:54for the rest of his life

01:20:55he would have to rely

01:20:55on a cane and a wheelchair

01:20:56to move

01:20:57his body had been drained

01:20:58almost beyond repair

01:20:59he never tried to contact me again

01:21:01he even refused visits

01:21:03from the core members

01:21:04of the Blackwood family

01:21:05before boarding

01:21:06he calmly signed

01:21:07every equity transfer document

01:21:08and full management

01:21:09authorization agreement

01:21:11handing away

01:21:11the business empire

01:21:12he had once treated

01:21:13as his life

01:21:14he sold all of his

01:21:15Manhattan properties

01:21:16poured every dollar

01:21:17into a newly established

01:21:18global wildlife

01:21:19and freedom photography trust

01:21:21it was an anonymous gift

01:21:22that would benefit me forever

01:21:23without requiring my signature

01:21:25the medical plane's

01:21:26engines roared

01:21:27Damien leaned beside the window

01:21:28and looked out

01:21:28at the endless

01:21:29freezing white cloud sea

01:21:30above the Alps

01:21:31his eyes held nothing

01:21:32but quiet acceptance

01:21:32and deathly stillness

01:21:34he had finally removed himself

01:21:35from my world

01:21:35Scarlett I love you

01:21:37not because I want

01:21:38to lock you in a house

01:21:39like some pretty bird

01:21:40and not because

01:21:40what you're following

01:21:41own any damn family rules

01:21:42I love you exactly like this

01:21:44wild, proud, bright

01:21:45and impossible to tame

01:21:47let me be the man

01:21:48who protects you

01:21:48for the rest of your life

01:21:50marry me

01:21:56yes

01:21:57I will marry you

01:21:58the last light of sunset

01:22:00wrapped around us in gold

01:22:01as he pulled me into his arms

01:22:03the chains for my past life

01:22:04were finally broken

01:22:05in this life

01:22:06I finally had the wide open sky

01:22:08I deserved

01:22:09you

01:22:09me

01:22:09you

01:22:10you

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