After Rebirth I Gave My Control-Freak Fianc to My Stepsister

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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.

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

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

00:02:02This 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.

00:02:33Come drink with me.

00:02:34Which brought me here, to this moment.

00:02:38Who gave you the nerve to come to a place like this?

00:02:40I go where I want.

00:02:42What 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!

00:03:10GPS tracking.

00:03:11Heart rate monitor.

00:03:12Entry and exit logs.

00:03:13Sinked in real time.

00:03:15Every step you take, I will see it.

00:03:17I 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.

00:03:36Damien's eyes snapped mine.

00:03:38Done?

00:03:38Done what?

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

00:03:42For a second, I almost told him the truth.

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

00:03:47That 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, convinced he was still stuck with me.

00:03:56Forget it.

00:03:57I was just mad.

00:04:03I'm taking you home.

00:04:04Sit properly.

00:04:06I kicked off my heels, pressed my bare feet into his expensive floor mat, and rolled the window down.

00:04:12When are you going to learn to behave like a Blackwood wife?

00:04:15Maybe in my next life.

00:04:17The rose stopped at the Vale Estate gates.

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

00:04:22And don't waste your time trying to take off the bracelet.

00:04:24I pushed the door open.

00:04:26I looked down at the disgusting thing locked around my wrist.

00:04:29Then 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 into exactly the kind

00:04:44of obedient, presentable girl Damien wanted.

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

00:04:52Have you completely lost your mind?

00:04:55Don't be too hard on her, Richard.

00:04:57Though 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.

00:05:05Are 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.

00:05:12This time I'm handing it to you myself.

00:05:15No need to sneak around for it.

00:05:17Watch your mouth!

00:05:19Clara is steadier, smarter, and a far better fit for the Blackwood family than you ever were!

00:05:24Perfect.

00:05:25Just don't come crying to me when the whole thing blows up in your faces.

00:05:30I only hope you won't regret this.

00:05:32I would hate to see you lose everything because of one bad mood.

00:05:39Scarlet Vale never regrets a damn thing.

00:05:45A servant came hammering on my door first thing in the morning.

00:05:48Damien was downstairs.

00:05:49He stood in the living room like last night had never happened.

00:05:52First thing he checked was my wrist.

00:05:54The bracelet.

00:05:56Green light blinking.

00:05:57Then he looked up.

00:05:59The statement.

00:06:00I didn't write one.

00:06:01Blackwood's PR team buried those photos.

00:06:03I need that statement.

00:06:04Your rules do not apply to me anymore.

00:06:06I am not signing anything.

00:06:07When are you going to learn to do or told?

00:06:09Not in this lifetime.

00:06:11Right on cues, Clara appeared in a white dress, eyes faintly red, holding a printed statement.

00:06:15Damien, please don't be angry with Scarlet.

00:06:17She was upset last night.

00:06:19I wrote the statement for her.

00:06:20Will this work?

00:06:21Damien scanned it.

00:06:22When he looked back at me, the disgust was undisguised.

00:06:26Look at Clara.

00:06:27She knows when to be graceful, when to step back, when to put the family first.

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

00:06:36Scarlet just needs more time.

00:06:38The Blackwood Charity Gala is tonight.

00:06:40I can go with her and help her get through it.

00:06:43Help me with what?

00:06:44How to smile on cue?

00:06:47How to play the innocent girl in white while hiding the snake underneath?

00:06:51Enough.

00:06:52Add her name and release it.

00:06:53I did not sign it.

00:06:54You went to a nightclub as the future Mrs. Blackwood.

00:06:56It stopped being your personal guest the second you dragged my family name into it.

00:07:00If you refuse to do the right thing, I will do it for you.

00:07:03Then take Clara.

00:07:04She is always so good at doing the right thing.

00:07:05You are my fiancé.

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

00:07:08Fine.

00:07:09This life, I was going to give him exactly what he wanted.

00:07:11Clara linked her arm through mine, going upstairs.

00:07:14Warm smiles, nails digging into my skin.

00:07:16The second the door closed, I shook her off.

00:07:18Nobody is watching.

00:07:19Drop the act.

00:07:20Damien will be mine.

00:07:21On the wedding day, he will be grateful someone made the switch.

00:07:23A disaster like you has no business near the Blackwood name.

00:07:25Then why didn't you tell him just now?

00:07:26Scared that once he knows, he still won't want you?

00:07:28I won't just keep your mouth shut, Scarlet.

00:07:30I don't care about the you or your control freak fiancun.

00:07:32Happy wedding!

00:07:35The Blackwood Family Charity Gala was packed with Manhattan's most powerful people.

00:07:40Old money, new money, and the kind of influence that could buy both.

00:07:43I showed up deliberately in a floor-long thread backless gown, bold, unapologetic,

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

00:07:51Clara wore white couture, pristine as a lily.

00:07:55When the waltz began and every eye in the room drifted toward Damis, Manhattan's most coveted

00:08:00heir stepped forward and reached right past me, his actual fiancée, to offer his hand

00:08:05to Clara.

00:08:06The socialite crowd broke into sharp, delighted whispers.

00:08:09Did you see that?

00:08:11He chose the stepsister.

00:08:13Honestly, I get it.

00:08:14Scarlet is a walking scandal.

00:08:15Clara is everything a Blackwood wife should be.

00:08:18Damien led Clara onto the floor without looking back, then threw me a cold parting shot.

00:08:22You do not know how to dance at this level.

00:08:25Stay where you are and watch Clara.

00:08:27Maybe you will finally learn something.

00:08:30I watched them turn beneath the chandeliers and felt nothing but revulsion.

00:08:35I slipped upstairs to the terrace for air, desperate to breathe something that did not

00:08:40feel like a trap.

00:08:41Of course, Clara followed.

00:08:42Her heels clicked up the stairs like she had been attached to my shadow all night.

00:08:46She wore the face of someone who had already won, and when she spoke, her voice was low

00:08:50and vicious.

00:08:51Poor Scarlet.

00:08:52Your mother could not beat mine, and now you cannot beat me either.

00:08:57Losing must run in your blood.

00:08:59She should have said anything else, anything but that.

00:09:01She had insulted my dead mother.

00:09:03My eyes went cold.

00:09:05Without a word, I drew back and slapped her heart across the face.

00:09:08The crack cut through the night air.

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

00:09:13She screamed.

00:09:15You crazy bitch!

00:09:16You actually hit me?!

00:09:18I closed the distance and grabbed her by the neck.

00:09:21Hit you?

00:09:22I can do a lot worse than hit you.

00:09:24I trained in MMA, Clara.

00:09:26Taking apart a fake, fragile little thing like you would barely count as exercise.

00:09:30I whipped one leg up in a clean sidekick.

00:09:37The courtyard below erupted into screaming chaos.

00:09:40I straightened my dress, picked up my wrap, and turned to leave.

00:09:43But I had not made it three steps before Damien's hand clamped around my wrist like a vice.

00:09:47His eyes were bloodshot with rage, and his voice was cold enough to freeze the air between us.

00:09:51Clara fell from the terrace.

00:09:53Was it you?

00:09:54I met his eyes without flinching.

00:09:56Yes.

00:09:57She had it coming.

00:10:00You are beyond saving.

00:10:01Since she refuses to apologize, she needs to learn a lesson.

00:10:04Throw her into the estate fountain.

00:10:06No one lets her out until I say so.

00:10:07The bodyguards grabbed me before I could fight them off.

00:10:10No matter how hard I struggled,

00:10:12they dragged me across the courtyard and threw me straight into the fountain.

00:10:15The water was freezing cold, but it was liquid water, not ice.

00:10:19The spring night air cut like a blade, and the cold sank straight into my bones.

00:10:23Every time I clawed for the marble rim of the fountain,

00:10:26the guard standing along the edge pushed me back under without a word.

00:10:29The struggle drained me fast.

00:10:31Then something worse hit me.

00:10:33A sharp, familiar cramp twisted low in my abdomen.

00:10:36My period had come early.

00:10:38Blood seeped into the cold water around me,

00:10:40spreading in slow, dark ribbons beneath the surface.

00:10:43I was trembling, barely conscious.

00:10:45When I heard one of the guards call Damien...

00:10:46Sir, Miss Val just got her period.

00:10:48There is blood in the water.

00:10:49Should we keep going?

00:10:50There was a brief silence on the other end.

00:10:51Keep going.

00:10:52She will never learn if she does not suffer the consequences.

00:10:54In that moment, my blood ran colder than the fountain ever could.

00:10:57The despair of two lifetimes crashed down over me,

00:11:00all at once, and the world went black.

00:11:06When I opened my eyes again,

00:11:07I was in a hospital room that smelled sharply of antiseptic.

00:11:10Damien was sitting at my bedside.

00:11:12When he saw me wake up,

00:11:13he released my hand with an expression of careful indifference.

00:11:16I spoke with your father.

00:11:17He will not give you any more trouble.

00:11:18But do not ever go after Clara.

00:11:22Clara is my father's precious little affair daughter.

00:11:25She is not my problem,

00:11:26and I am not promising you a damn thing.

00:11:32Mr. Blackwood,

00:11:34Clara is getting very upset in the next room.

00:11:36She has been crying and asking for you.

00:11:39I will go check on her.

00:11:41She was hurt because of you.

00:11:43As your fiancée,

00:11:44it is only proper that I go.

00:11:49Go on, then.

00:11:50Run to your real fiancée.

00:11:51On the day I was discharged,

00:11:53Damien forced me back into the car

00:11:55and drove me to the Vale Estate.

00:11:56But when I pushed open my bedroom door,

00:11:58my blood went cold.

00:11:59Clara was sitting at my vanity,

00:12:01dangling a sapphire necklace from her fingertips.

00:12:03My mother's sapphire necklace.

00:12:05The only thing she had left me.

00:12:07I crossed the room in three steps.

00:12:09My voice stripped down to nothing.

00:12:11Put it down and get out.

00:12:14Yours?

00:12:16Scarlet,

00:12:16everything in this house is going to be mine.

00:12:27Daddy,

00:12:28I only wanted to look at Scarlet's necklace

00:12:30and she shoved me into the floor.

00:12:40What the hell are you smiling at?

00:12:42I looked straight at Clara.

00:12:43You love putting on a show?

00:12:44Fine,

00:12:45I will give you the performance of your life.

00:12:47I grabbed a metal pen from the vanity

00:12:49and drove it straight at the Clara's palm.

00:12:51Clean through,

00:12:52pinned to the hardwood.

00:12:53Ah!

00:12:53You fucking psycho, you old sir!

00:12:55Now!

00:12:55Get this animal out of my house!

00:12:57You are no longer welcome in the Vale family!

00:12:59The servants dragged me to the door

00:13:01and threw my luggage into the mud.

00:13:02I bent down,

00:13:04pulled my mother's sapphire necklace out of the dirt

00:13:06and held it tight.

00:13:07It was raining.

00:13:08I stood sosed under an ornery

00:13:09until a black rose pulled up.

00:13:10Damien got out without a word,

00:13:12put me in the car

00:13:13and drove me to his house.

00:13:14He came back with a first aid kit

00:13:16and started treating the mark

00:13:17my father had left on my face.

00:13:19Then the doorbell rang.

00:13:20Clara,

00:13:21banded hand,

00:13:22fragile expression.

00:13:22She walked straight into Damien's arms

00:13:24like she belonged there.

00:13:25Damien, I had to come.

00:13:26I was worried what she did to me.

00:13:27She is still...

00:13:27Damien's face darkened.

00:13:29Apologize to her.

00:13:30Right now, Scarlet.

00:13:31Not a chance in hell.

00:13:32We started arguing by the entryway.

00:13:34Damien reached for my arm

00:13:35and I shoved him off.

00:13:36In the struggle,

00:13:37his elbow knocked into the glass kettle

00:13:38sitting on the side cabinet.

00:13:40The kettle reacted to the floor

00:13:41and shattered.

00:13:41Scalding water exploded across the marble.

00:13:43He threw himself around Clara

00:13:44and covered her completely.

00:13:45I was on the other side.

00:13:47The boiling water splashed

00:13:48across my legs and arm.

00:13:49My skin turned red almost at once

00:13:50then started to blister and peel.

00:13:52Damien checked Clara first.

00:13:53She was fine.

00:13:54Then he glanced at me on the floor,

00:13:55bent down and picked Clara up.

00:13:57Leave her.

00:13:57A little pain might teach her to think

00:13:58before she goes after you again.

00:14:00He left me alone on the floor

00:14:02with scalding water

00:14:03still spreading around me.

00:14:06I sat on that floor,

00:14:08holding myself together through the pain

00:14:09and called 911 myself.

00:14:11I got out of the hospital

00:14:12just in time for Clara's birthday party.

00:14:14Richard used the occasion

00:14:15to make a grand announcement.

00:14:16The majority of the Vale family's

00:14:18trust assets and shares

00:14:19would be transferred to Clara

00:14:20in front of every guest in the room,

00:14:21took out a velvet box.

00:14:23and clasped a diamond necklace

00:14:24worth a small fortune

00:14:25around Clara's neck.

00:14:26Clara's socialite friends

00:14:28swept over with their glasses,

00:14:29making sure to spill red wine

00:14:30across my dress.

00:14:31Look at the ex-fiance.

00:14:33You clean up like somebody's

00:14:34charity project.

00:14:40The bottle shattered.

00:14:41Blood and liquor ran together.

00:14:43The room erupted in screams.

00:14:46Damien was on me in seconds,

00:14:47crushing my wrist in his grip,

00:14:49his eyes loaded with contempt.

00:14:51Scarlet, what the hell is wrong with you?

00:14:53Apologize to them.

00:14:54Now.

00:14:55In your dreams!

00:14:56Damien laughed,

00:14:57but there was no humor in it.

00:14:59It was the laugh of a man

00:15:00who had run out of patience completely.

00:15:02He knew exactly what I feared most.

00:15:04Since you refuse to listen,

00:15:05you can sit in the dark

00:15:06and think about what you have done.

00:15:07Locker in the wine cellar.

00:15:08Nobody opens that door

00:15:09without my permission.

00:15:10They dragged me into the estates'

00:15:12basement wine cellar.

00:15:13Stone walls.

00:15:14No windows.

00:15:15No light.

00:15:16The heavy iron door slammed shut

00:15:18and total darkness swallowed me whole.

00:15:20Three days and three nights.

00:15:22No water.

00:15:23No food.

00:15:24The fear nearly broke me.

00:15:25On the fourth day,

00:15:27the door finally opened,

00:15:28but it was not Damien.

00:15:29It was Clara,

00:15:31pushing in a piece of equipment

00:15:32I did not recognize.

00:15:33She was smiling like something out of hell.

00:15:35Damien said you needed to learn a real lesson,

00:15:37so I brought something to make sure it sticks.

00:15:39Two men in black dragged me to a metal chair

00:15:42and strapped me down.

00:15:43They pressed electrode pads to my temples.

00:15:46Clara hit the switch.

00:15:47The current ripped through me.

00:15:49The pain had no words.

00:15:51It only had sound.

00:15:52And the sound was mine.

00:15:54Then there was nothing at all.

00:15:58I woke up in the main house,

00:16:00in a proper bed.

00:16:01Damien was sitting beside me,

00:16:02frowning.

00:16:03I told you to stay in there and think.

00:16:05Three days.

00:16:05How are you this week?

00:16:06I opened my eyes and looked at him.

00:16:08Your precious Clara brought men into that cellar

00:16:11with an electric shock chair

00:16:12and used it on me.

00:16:13Do you believe me?

00:16:16Impossible.

00:16:17Clara's gentle.

00:16:17She would never do something like that.

00:16:19Scarlet, there is a limit

00:16:20to how far you can take a lie.

00:16:22He would never believe me.

00:16:23Fine.

00:16:24I would collect that debt on my own.

00:16:26That night,

00:16:27I hired a team

00:16:28and made the arrangements myself.

00:16:29That night,

00:16:30Clara had been bound,

00:16:32suspended in the open air

00:16:33through the entire night.

00:16:35Damien kicked my door in,

00:16:36the vein in his temple

00:16:37visible from across the street.

00:16:38You left Clara

00:16:39hanging off a rooftop all night.

00:16:40If it were not for the safety net

00:16:41at the base of the building,

00:16:43she would be dead.

00:16:44I sat by the window

00:16:44trimming my nails

00:16:45without looking up.

00:16:46Damien slammed his hand

00:16:47on the table

00:16:47hard enough to rattle it.

00:16:48The wedding is in a few days.

00:16:50You are staying in this house

00:16:51until then.

00:16:52You are not going anywhere.

00:16:53Do you understand me?

00:16:54The night before the wedding,

00:16:56a still-shaking Clara

00:16:56was brought back

00:16:57to the Vale estate.

00:16:58Richard took one look at me

00:16:59and started screaming.

00:17:00Stay away from the wedding tomorrow.

00:17:01Don't you dare show your face

00:17:02and humiliate this family.

00:17:03I picked up the luggage

00:17:05I had already packed

00:17:06and smiled at him.

00:17:08Trust me,

00:17:10that suffocating circus

00:17:11is the last place

00:17:12I would ever want to be.

00:17:14You could not pay me to go.

00:17:19Wedding morning.

00:17:21When I came downstairs,

00:17:22Damien was already in the house.

00:17:24At Clara's insistence,

00:17:26the ceremony had been planned

00:17:27as an elaborate,

00:17:28old-fashioned church wedding.

00:17:30Damien couldn't see

00:17:31who was underneath it.

00:17:32He assumed his lessons

00:17:34had finally worked,

00:17:35that the sharp edges

00:17:36had been worn down,

00:17:37and the woman walking toward him

00:17:39had learned to obey.

00:17:40He stepped forward

00:17:41and took the bride's hand gently.

00:17:43Don't be nervous, Scarlet.

00:17:44I'm right here.

00:17:45I will teach you

00:17:46everything you need to know

00:17:47to become the perfect

00:17:48Mrs. Blackwood.

00:17:50Go on, Damien.

00:17:52Marry your dream wife.

00:17:53Consider it my wedding gift

00:17:54to you both.

00:17:56Once the procession left

00:17:57for St. Hart Cathedral,

00:17:58the Vale estate

00:17:59went completely quiet

00:18:02and flagged a cab to JFK.

00:18:05Inside the car,

00:18:06I pulled a small remote

00:18:07from my coat pocket

00:18:08and looked back at the house

00:18:10one last time.

00:18:11My mother had designed it.

00:18:13Now it sheltered the woman

00:18:14who had replaced her

00:18:15and the daughter

00:18:16who had spent years

00:18:17making my life hell.

00:18:18I was done with it.

00:18:23Miss, was that your house?

00:18:27Yes.

00:18:28Miss, I blew it up.

00:18:33St. Hart Cathedral,

00:18:34the vaulted ceiling

00:18:35soared overhead

00:18:35and the pipework

00:18:36and filled the nave

00:18:37and grand with something.

00:18:38Every name that mattered

00:18:39in Hatton had shown up.

00:18:40At the end of the aisle,

00:18:41Damien stood in a perfectly

00:18:42tailored suit,

00:18:42precise, untouchable,

00:18:43watching the bride

00:18:44walk toward him.

00:18:45Today's bride was

00:18:45the long usual lace veil

00:18:46fell all the way down,

00:18:47hiding her face completely.

00:18:49Damien assumed

00:18:49all those cold lessons

00:18:50had finally worked.

00:18:51He assumed I had finally

00:18:52been worn smooth

00:18:53and that the woman

00:18:54walking towards him

00:18:54had learned how to submit.

00:18:55The priest began to bow.

00:18:56Damien lowered his voice,

00:18:58speaking only to the bride

00:18:58in front of him.

00:18:59After today,

00:18:59I will personally teach you

00:19:00how to be a proper

00:19:01Mrs. Blackwood.

00:19:02He took the bride's hand

00:19:03and guided her

00:19:04toward the altar

00:19:05as camera flashes

00:19:06stirred across the room.

00:19:07Then came the moment

00:19:08everyone had been waiting for.

00:19:09The groom lifted the veil.

00:19:10Damien reached up

00:19:11with calm certain fingers,

00:19:12caught the edge of the lace

00:19:13and swept it back.

00:19:14For one breath,

00:19:15the cathedral seemed to freeze.

00:19:16The face in front of him

00:19:18was not the one

00:19:18burned into his memory.

00:19:19It was not the proud,

00:19:20defiant face he had spent

00:19:21years trying to control.

00:19:23It was Clara,

00:19:24flushed with excitement,

00:19:25her eyes bright

00:19:26with smug satisfaction.

00:19:27The cathedral went silent

00:19:28for one stunned second

00:19:29before the whole room

00:19:30broke into chaos.

00:19:31Why is the younger

00:19:32veil daughter wearing

00:19:33the wedding dress?

00:19:34The half smile

00:19:34on Damien's face frozen,

00:19:36then vanished completely.

00:19:38His pupils tightened

00:19:39like someone had struck him.

00:19:40In one violent motion,

00:19:42he flung the veil away

00:19:43as if it had burnt his hand.

00:19:44Clara had no warning.

00:19:46The force sent her

00:19:47stumbling back

00:19:48and crashing to the floor,

00:19:49her headpiece crooked

00:19:50and her white gown

00:19:51tangled around her legs

00:19:53in front of the

00:19:54entire congregation.

00:19:55Damien's voice

00:19:56tore through the cathedral.

00:19:58Where is Scarlet?

00:19:59Tell me where she is!

00:20:02The most prestigious

00:20:04society wedding in New York

00:20:05had just turned into

00:20:06the city's biggest scandal.

00:20:08Damien, just finish

00:20:10the ceremony.

00:20:11Richard told us

00:20:12a few days ago

00:20:13that the bride

00:20:13was being changed

00:20:14to Clara.

00:20:15We thought Clara

00:20:16was more suitable,

00:20:17more composed.

00:20:18The arrangement benefits

00:20:19both families' trusts

00:20:20and shareholding,

00:20:21so we agreed to it privately.

00:20:23She had assumed

00:20:23he would be relieved.

00:20:24His reaction told her

00:20:25she had never understood

00:20:26her son at all.

00:20:27Damien's personal stint

00:20:28pushed past security

00:20:29and sprinted into the hall.

00:20:31His face drained of color.

00:20:32Sir, it is bad.

00:20:33The veil estate

00:20:33exploded half an hour ago.

00:20:35The entire mansion is gone.

00:20:36There is nothing left

00:20:37but rubble.

00:20:38That sentence snapped

00:20:39the last thread

00:20:39of Damien's composure.

00:20:41If I had not come

00:20:41to the wedding,

00:20:42I had to be at the estate.

00:20:44That reckless,

00:20:45insane woman.

00:20:46Did she burn herself

00:20:46alive in there?

00:20:47It was enormous

00:20:48and bottomless,

00:20:49the kind of fear

00:20:49that only came

00:20:50when loss had already

00:20:51reached for your throat.

00:20:52He shoved his mother aside,

00:20:54ignored every voice

00:20:55calling after him

00:20:56and ran.

00:20:56The black rolls

00:20:57tore through red lights

00:20:58one after another

00:20:59before screeching

00:21:00to a stop

00:21:00in front of what remained

00:21:01of the veil estate.

00:21:02Damien stumbled out

00:21:03of the car

00:21:04and stood before

00:21:04the scorched ruins,

00:21:06feeling as if something

00:21:07had been carved

00:21:08straight out of his chest.

00:21:09He screamed my name

00:21:10into the rubble

00:21:11until his voice broke.

00:21:12Then he shoved past

00:21:13the emergency crew

00:21:14and tore into the debris

00:21:16with his bare hands.

00:21:17The entire structure

00:21:18could have caved in

00:21:19at any second,

00:21:20but he did not stop.

00:21:21Get off me!

00:21:22She might still be in there!

00:21:24Let me through!

00:21:27His designer suit

00:21:28was shredded

00:21:28where the debris

00:21:29had caught it,

00:21:30but he did not notice.

00:21:31Reebarm sliced

00:21:31his palms open.

00:21:32Smoldering cinders

00:21:33burned blisters

00:21:34straight into his skin.

00:21:35Blood dripped

00:21:36into the sut,

00:21:36but he did not flinch once.

00:21:38There was only

00:21:38one thought left in him.

00:21:40He had to find her.

00:21:42His voice had gone raw.

00:21:44Scarlet, answer me!

00:21:45Come out here!

00:21:47I will never make you

00:21:48write another apology.

00:21:49I will never lock you

00:21:50down again.

00:21:52Whatever you want,

00:21:53I will give it to you.

00:21:54Just answer me.

00:21:56In the area

00:21:56where my bedroom had been,

00:21:58he finally dug out

00:21:59a small jewelry box,

00:22:00warped and half-melted,

00:22:01with the blackwood crest

00:22:02barely recognizable

00:22:03on the surface.

00:22:03His hands shook

00:22:04as he pried it open.

00:22:05Inside lay a diamond

00:22:06necklace fused

00:22:07into a molten shape.

00:22:08He closed his fist

00:22:09around it.

00:22:09The scorched,

00:22:10twisted metal

00:22:11cut into his palm,

00:22:12but he held on anyway.

00:22:13Guilt hit him

00:22:13like drowning,

00:22:14cold and total,

00:22:15with no way back

00:22:16to the surface.

00:22:17For the first time,

00:22:18he understood

00:22:18what his control

00:22:19had done to the woman

00:22:20he to love.

00:22:21I had always been

00:22:22bright, defiant,

00:22:23but he had spent years

00:22:23trying to grind

00:22:24that fire out of me.

00:22:25His certainty,

00:22:26his rules,

00:22:27and his need to own

00:22:27every part of my life

00:22:28had driven me to this.

00:22:30Then his assistant

00:22:30came sprinting across

00:22:31the debris field,

00:22:32holding a tablet

00:22:33and barely able to breathe.

00:22:34Sir, we found something.

00:22:36You need to see this.

00:22:37It was security footage

00:22:38from a discreet camera

00:22:39at a side exit

00:22:39near the estate.

00:22:40The timestamp

00:22:41was ten minutes

00:22:42before the explosion.

00:22:43A slender figure

00:22:44in a plain coat,

00:22:45pulling a small carry-on,

00:22:46walked out of the Vale estate

00:22:47at an easy pace.

00:22:48She flacked a cab

00:22:49on the street.

00:22:50Just before getting in,

00:22:51she looked back

00:22:51at the house,

00:22:52raised her hand,

00:22:53and pressed something.

00:22:54Behind her,

00:22:54the fireball rose.

00:22:55The image was grainy,

00:22:56but Damien Profford

00:22:57knew that face

00:22:58had burned into him

00:22:58for years.

00:22:59It was me,

00:23:00alive and untouched,

00:23:01walking out of the house

00:23:02by my own choice.

00:23:06A relief

00:23:07and a deeper,

00:23:07darker panic

00:23:08hit him at the same time,

00:23:09nearly knocking him

00:23:10off his feet.

00:23:10She was alive.

00:23:12That was everything.

00:23:13But she had done this

00:23:14with clear eyes

00:23:14and steady hands.

00:23:15She had blown up

00:23:15the house she had grown up in,

00:23:16set up a wedding day decoy,

00:23:18and walked away

00:23:18without looking back.

00:23:19This was not a tantrum,

00:23:20and it was not a cry

00:23:21for attention.

00:23:22She truly did not want him.

00:23:23She hated him enough

00:23:24to erase her old life

00:23:26in one morning,

00:23:26and she had meant

00:23:27every word she said.

00:23:28Damien pulled himself

00:23:29up from the wreckage,

00:23:30his eyes shot through

00:23:31with red,

00:23:31and his voice scraped raw.

00:23:32But there was something

00:23:33in it now beyond rage,

00:23:35something dangerously

00:23:36close to desperation.

00:23:37Listen to me.

00:23:38Use every private

00:23:39aviation resource

00:23:39and every security network

00:23:41the Blackwood family has.

00:23:42I want every private terminal

00:23:43and border crossing

00:23:44in this country locked down.

00:23:45He locked eyes

00:23:45with his assistant.

00:23:46Track that cab.

00:23:47Pull passenger manifels

00:23:48and facial recognition data

00:23:49from every transatlantic departure.

00:23:51Search every route,

00:23:52every airport name

00:23:53she could have used.

00:23:53I want her found,

00:23:54and I want her found now!

00:23:55After giving the orders,

00:23:57he drove straight

00:23:57to the Four Seasons

00:23:58where Richard's family

00:23:59had taken of a suite.

00:24:00Inside, Richard, Monica,

00:24:01and a shaken, pale-faced Clara

00:24:03were still trying to recover

00:24:04from the morning's disasters.

00:24:06Damien kicked the door open

00:24:07and walked in

00:24:08like something feral.

00:24:09Hands raised,

00:24:10were scrambled.

00:24:10Please, let me explain.

00:24:11Scarlet refused

00:24:12the marriage herself.

00:24:13She voluntarily handed

00:24:13the contract over to Clara.

00:24:15We had no choice.

00:24:15Clara is gracious,

00:24:16she is well-behaved,

00:24:17and she is far more appropriate

00:24:18for you than that reckless girl.

00:24:19She handed it over.

00:24:20Damien laughed,

00:24:22low and terrible.

00:24:23With the look,

00:24:23you gave something already dead.

00:24:25Do you have any idea

00:24:26what you have done?

00:24:27Do you think I am

00:24:27some piece of property

00:24:28your family can pass around

00:24:29whenever it suits you?

00:24:30He overturned

00:24:31the marble coffee table.

00:24:33Shards scattered

00:24:34across the carpet.

00:24:36There is one woman

00:24:37who carries the name

00:24:38Damien Blacker's wife.

00:24:39That woman is Scarlet,

00:24:41and has always been Scarlet.

00:24:43Now tell me where she is.

00:24:47Clara had been terrified

00:24:48from the moment

00:24:49Damien walked in.

00:24:51But watching him

00:24:52fall apart like this

00:24:53over the woman

00:24:53who had run away

00:24:54made her envy

00:24:56curdle into something vicious.

00:24:57It became stronger than fear.

00:24:59She threw herself forward

00:25:01and grabbed the leg

00:25:02of his trousers,

00:25:03looking up at him

00:25:04with tears streaming

00:25:05down her face.

00:25:07Damien,

00:25:08what does she have

00:25:09that I do not?

00:25:10I love you more

00:25:11than she ever did.

00:25:12I will follow every rule

00:25:14in that family code.

00:25:15I will be the perfect

00:25:17Mrs. Blackwood.

00:25:21Just look at me please.

00:25:23Look at me for once.

00:25:24Damien looked down

00:25:25at her.

00:25:26There was nothing

00:25:26in his eyes.

00:25:27Not anger,

00:25:28not pity.

00:25:29Just naked,

00:25:29undisguised disgust.

00:25:30He stepped back,

00:25:31then kicked her away

00:25:32from him.

00:25:33Clara crashed

00:25:33into the corner

00:25:34of the sofa

00:25:34and gasped

00:25:35from the impact.

00:25:35Do not ever

00:25:37compare yourself

00:25:38to her.

00:25:39You do not even

00:25:40get to come close

00:25:41to a single hair

00:25:42on her head.

00:25:43The only reason

00:25:44you and your entire

00:25:44family ever mattered

00:25:45to me was because

00:25:46of Scarlet.

00:25:48Without her,

00:25:49you are nothing.

00:25:49I would waste

00:25:50a second looking at her.

00:25:51He did not stay

00:25:52to hear Richard

00:25:52and Monica beg.

00:25:57He walked out.

00:25:59Back at Blackwood Tower,

00:26:01in the top floor office,

00:26:03he moved through

00:26:04the dark like something

00:26:05trapped in a cage,

00:26:06pacing because he

00:26:08could not stop

00:26:08and could not think.

00:26:10Hours later,

00:26:11his assistant came in

00:26:12looking worse than before,

00:26:13holding a file

00:26:14with both hands.

00:26:16Sir, we found new records.

00:26:18Miss Vale filed

00:26:18an expedited

00:26:19single entry exit visa

00:26:21through a private channel

00:26:22one week before

00:26:23the nightclub incident.

00:26:25One week before

00:26:26the nightclub?

00:26:27His feet stopped moving.

00:26:30The realization

00:26:31hit him like ice water.

00:26:32The nightclub,

00:26:34the dancer,

00:26:35the paparazzi,

00:26:36and even the bracelet

00:26:37had all been part

00:26:38of the same plan.

00:26:40Every time she pushed him,

00:26:41provoked him,

00:26:42and refused him.

00:26:44It had never been recklessness.

00:26:47It had never been a tantrum

00:26:48or some desperate game

00:26:49for attention.

00:26:50She had planned

00:26:51everything carefully,

00:26:53putting every piece in place

00:26:54long before he had ever

00:26:55thought she was capable of it.

00:26:57She had not stumbled

00:26:58into freedom

00:26:59by accident.

00:27:00She had built her escape

00:27:02step by step,

00:27:03and she had never once

00:27:04intended to come back.

00:27:08Damien braced himself

00:27:09against his desk,

00:27:11his knuckles

00:27:11turning white

00:27:12from the pressure.

00:27:13He stared at the date

00:27:14on the file

00:27:15as if it were the last thing

00:27:16left in the world.

00:27:18His stomach twisted violently,

00:27:20and regret hit him

00:27:21so hard

00:27:22it felt almost physical.

00:27:24He suddenly remembered

00:27:25how different I had been

00:27:26during those days.

00:27:27I had screamed

00:27:28the same thing

00:27:29at him again and again.

00:27:30I told him

00:27:31I was not marrying him.

00:27:32I told him we were done.

00:27:34Back then,

00:27:34he had thought

00:27:35it was just a spoiled heiress

00:27:36throwing a tantrum.

00:27:37He thought all he had to do

00:27:38was snap a tracking bracelet

00:27:40around my wrist,

00:27:41lock me up for a few days,

00:27:43force me to sign

00:27:44a public statement,

00:27:45and I would stay trapped

00:27:47inside that beautiful cage.

00:27:49But the truth was

00:27:50that I had already decided

00:27:52I did not want him anymore.

00:27:54Was it the insane family code

00:27:56that had driven me away?

00:27:58Was it the way he kept

00:27:59taking Clara's side

00:28:00and blaming me

00:28:01every single time?

00:28:04Was it the night

00:28:05he threw me

00:28:06into that freezing fountain

00:28:07while I was bleeding?

00:28:09Or was it the simple fact

00:28:11that he had never once

00:28:12believed me?

00:28:13The question spread

00:28:14through Damien's mind

00:28:15like poison,

00:28:16but none of it changed

00:28:18the only thing

00:28:19he cared about now.

00:28:20No matter what it took,

00:28:22even if he had to use

00:28:24every dirty trick

00:28:25the Blackwood family had,

00:28:26he had to get me back.

00:28:29Even if I hated him,

00:28:30even if I resented him,

00:28:31even if I made him suffer

00:28:32for the rest of his life,

00:28:34he was going to keep me

00:28:35by his side forever.

00:28:39Keep searching.

00:28:40Don't stop until you find it.

00:28:42He told him to use

00:28:43every connection

00:28:43the Blackwood family had,

00:28:45from finance circles

00:28:47to private security networks.

00:28:49He did not care

00:28:50what it cost.

00:28:50He did not care

00:28:51who they had to pressure.

00:28:52They were going to find me.

00:28:57The entire month

00:28:58that followed

00:28:59turned into a manhunt.

00:29:00I had vanished

00:29:01without a trace.

00:29:02There was no record of me

00:29:03on any private jet manifest,

00:29:05no ferry log,

00:29:06and no clean departure route

00:29:07anyone could find.

00:29:09Anxiety burned

00:29:10through Damien's nerves

00:29:11every second of every day.

00:29:13Since he could not

00:29:13take that rage out on me,

00:29:15he poured all of it

00:29:16onto the already

00:29:16broken Vale family.

00:29:20Blackwood Group

00:29:21launched a full-scale

00:29:22commercial attack

00:29:23on the Vale businesses.

00:29:24Their methods

00:29:25were merciless,

00:29:26and they left

00:29:27no room for survival.

00:29:28The Vale company

00:29:29had already been

00:29:30falling apart.

00:29:31Within two weeks,

00:29:33its assets were liquidated,

00:29:34its stock price collapsed,

00:29:36and bankruptcy

00:29:37was waiting at the door.

00:29:43Richard was completely

00:29:44losing his mind.

00:29:47He went to Blackwood Tower

00:29:48several times,

00:29:49begging for a meeting,

00:29:51but he could not even

00:29:52get past the elevator

00:29:53on the ground floor.

00:29:54After the bankruptcy,

00:29:55Clara became the easiest

00:29:57target for Damien's despair.

00:30:02She could not accept it.

00:30:04She kept trying to use

00:30:06the media to get

00:30:07Damien's attention.

00:30:08She even stood outside

00:30:09Blackwood Tower

00:30:10in the pouring rain,

00:30:11waiting there like someone

00:30:12with nowhere else to go.

00:30:13Finally,

00:30:14she threw herself

00:30:15in front of Damien's

00:30:16stretched limousine

00:30:17and refused to move.

00:30:18Move.

00:30:19Clara pressed her face

00:30:21against the rain-streaked window,

00:30:22crying so hard

00:30:23she could barely speak.

00:30:25She begged Damien

00:30:26to stop destroying

00:30:27the Vale family.

00:30:28She said she was sorry.

00:30:30I promised I would

00:30:31find that bitch Scarlet

00:30:32and bring her back.

00:30:34All I wanted

00:30:35was for him

00:30:36to look at me.

00:30:37The window rolled down

00:30:38only a crick,

00:30:39revealed Damien's

00:30:40cold, hollow face

00:30:41and the stubble

00:30:42along his jaw.

00:30:43He did not even

00:30:44give her a proper look.

00:30:47Get her out of my way.

00:30:53The guards got out

00:30:54and dragged Clara away

00:30:55like she was nothing,

00:30:57ignoring her screams.

00:31:00The limousine drove off,

00:31:02leaving Clara

00:31:03sitting in the mud,

00:31:04sobbing in the rain.

00:31:05Damien closed his eyes

00:31:07and let the alcohol

00:31:08and sleepless nights

00:31:09swallow him whole.

00:31:10He had started relying

00:31:12on heavy doses

00:31:12of sleeping pills

00:31:13just to get a few

00:31:14hours of rest.

00:31:16But every time

00:31:16he fell asleep,

00:31:17the same nightmares

00:31:19came back.

00:31:20He saw me in the fountain,

00:31:22bleeding and pale.

00:31:23He heard me screaming

00:31:24in the wine cellar

00:31:25while the current

00:31:25tore through me.

00:31:29He saw the explosion

00:31:31and the fire

00:31:31swallowing the Vale estate.

00:31:33Every time,

00:31:33he woke up drenched

00:31:35in cold sweat,

00:31:36his heart pounding

00:31:37with terror and regret.

00:31:39He became darker

00:31:40and more violent

00:31:41with each passing day.

00:31:43Everyone in Blackwood's

00:31:44upper management

00:31:45walked on eggshells

00:31:46around him.

00:31:47One week later,

00:31:48Damien's mother

00:31:49forced him to attend

00:31:50a top-teal private

00:31:51charity gala

00:31:52in Manhattan.

00:31:53No one had expected

00:31:54that after Scarlet Vale

00:31:55left,

00:31:55she would take the soul

00:31:56of Manhattan's

00:31:56most powerful air

00:31:57with her.

00:31:58Damien stood in a corner

00:31:59with a glass of whiskey,

00:32:00staring blankly

00:32:00at the dance floor.

00:32:01Then for one second,

00:32:02he thought he saw

00:32:03a familiar figure

00:32:03in a bright red dress,

00:32:04laughing with that proud,

00:32:05dazzling profile

00:32:06he could not forget.

00:32:08He called my name.

00:32:10His heart almost stopped.

00:32:12He lost every trace

00:32:13of composure,

00:32:14pushed through the crowd

00:32:15of politicians

00:32:16and billionaires

00:32:16and grabbed

00:32:17the woman's wrist.

00:32:21What the hell are you doing?

00:32:22Let go of me!

00:32:23It was not me.

00:32:23The light in Damien's eyes

00:32:25went out instantly,

00:32:25replaced by despair

00:32:26and humiliation.

00:32:27He released her

00:32:28as if all the strength

00:32:28had left his body.

00:32:29The wealthy guests

00:32:30around him stared

00:32:31with confusion

00:32:32and thinly hidden mockery.

00:32:33Sir, please.

00:32:34You need to be careful.

00:32:35This is not appropriate.

00:32:36It does not meet

00:32:37Blackwood family standards.

00:32:38Damien repeated the word

00:32:40with a bitter laugh.

00:32:42Standards?

00:32:42To hell with the standards.

00:32:44I do not care about

00:32:45any of it anymore.

00:32:47I only want scarlet.

00:32:48Then he pulled his fist back

00:32:50and slammed it

00:32:51into the decorative

00:32:52stone pillar beside him.

00:32:53His knuckles

00:32:54split open immediately

00:32:55and blood ran down

00:32:57the column.

00:32:58But he did not feel

00:32:59the physical pain.

00:33:00All he felt

00:33:01was the hollow space

00:33:03in his chest

00:33:03where something vital

00:33:04used to be.

00:33:08Another week passed.

00:33:10The thick curtains

00:33:12were drawn shut.

00:33:13The ashtrays

00:33:14were overflowing

00:33:15with cigar beads.

00:33:16The air smelled

00:33:17of tobacco

00:33:18and bitter coffee.

00:33:20Inside the top floor

00:33:20office of Blackwood Tower,

00:33:22the atmosphere

00:33:23was so heavy

00:33:23it felt like the silence

00:33:25before a storm.

00:33:26Damien had been sitting

00:33:26there for five days

00:33:28without real sleep.

00:33:29Every hour

00:33:29felt like torture.

00:33:30His desk was covered

00:33:32with reports

00:33:32from private investigators

00:33:33and they all said

00:33:34the same thing.

00:33:38They could not find me.

00:33:40Just as he was about

00:33:41to lose the last

00:33:42of his sanity,

00:33:43his assistant

00:33:44walked in carefully

00:33:45with a black coffee.

00:33:49He swallowed hard

00:33:50before speaking.

00:33:51Sir,

00:33:52we have new information.

00:33:54We cross-checked

00:33:55blurry facial matches

00:33:56from every non-standard

00:33:57exit channel

00:33:58over the past three months.

00:33:59We found someone

00:34:00who looks a lot

00:34:01like Miss Vale.

00:34:02Damien's head snapped up

00:34:03his blood-sharp eyes

00:34:05locked onto the assistant

00:34:06like a starving wolf.

00:34:07The assistant

00:34:08quickly continued.

00:34:09She appeared

00:34:10in the transit area

00:34:11of Heathrow Airport.

00:34:14The timing matches.

00:34:16It was three days

00:34:17after the mansion exploded.

00:34:21Damien grabbed

00:34:22the classified file

00:34:23from his assistant,

00:34:24his fingers shaking

00:34:25so badly

00:34:26from desperation

00:34:27and excitement

00:34:28that he could barely

00:34:28hold it steady.

00:34:29He stared at the

00:34:30enlarged surveillance photo.

00:34:32The image was blurry,

00:34:34but it showed

00:34:35someone in a coat

00:34:36walking towards

00:34:37a quieter boarding gate

00:34:38with a small suitcase.

00:34:40The figure was familiar

00:34:41enough to burn

00:34:42through his bones.

00:34:44He knew it was

00:34:44a new lead on me.

00:34:46Hope lit up

00:34:46the near-extinction

00:34:47madness in his eyes

00:34:48like the last lifeline

00:34:49thrown to a drowning man.

00:34:51Where was the connecting

00:34:53flight going?

00:34:54We are still working on it.

00:34:56Heathrow transit records

00:34:57are complicated,

00:34:57and she seems to have

00:34:58avoided the major

00:34:59national flights

00:35:00that required

00:35:00strepter identity checks.

00:35:02She chose smaller,

00:35:03cheaper airlines

00:35:03that attracted less attention.

00:35:05It will take time.

00:35:06We do not have time.

00:35:09Get the jet ready.

00:35:11We are leaving

00:35:11for Heathrow right now.

00:35:12Yes, sir.

00:35:13Sir, the Federal Reserve

00:35:14board meeting

00:35:15is this afternoon.

00:35:16Cancel it.

00:35:17Cancel everything.

00:35:18Nothing matters

00:35:19more than finding her.

00:35:20Three hours later,

00:35:21the Blackwood family's

00:35:22private jet

00:35:23tore through the clouds

00:35:24above Manhattan

00:35:25and landed at

00:35:25Heathrow's airport

00:35:26in London.

00:35:27The plane had not

00:35:28even fully stopped

00:35:29before Damien

00:35:29was already opening

00:35:30the door.

00:35:31He could not wait

00:35:32for the stairs

00:35:32to lower all the way

00:35:33and jump down.

00:35:34His tie was crooked,

00:35:35his shirt collar

00:35:36was torn open

00:35:36and deep circles

00:35:37shadowed his eyes.

00:35:38Messy stubble

00:35:39covered his jaw.

00:35:40He looked nothing

00:35:40like the perfectly dressed,

00:35:41untouchable CEO

00:35:42he used to be.

00:35:43Damien repeated

00:35:44the city name

00:35:45under his breath

00:35:45as he ran

00:35:46through the crowded airport,

00:35:47his sharp eyes

00:35:48scanning every woman

00:35:49he passed.

00:35:50Finally,

00:35:51he saw the boarding gate

00:35:52just as it was

00:35:52about to close.

00:35:56Damien's eyes

00:35:56locked onto the end

00:35:57of the boarding line.

00:35:58The slender figure

00:35:59in a cream linen dress,

00:36:01wide-brimed hat

00:36:02and sunglasses

00:36:02was the woman

00:36:03he had been hunting

00:36:04for an entire month.

00:36:06Scarlet?

00:36:07He ran toward her,

00:36:08not caring that travelers

00:36:09around him

00:36:10were staring in shock.

00:36:11He grabbed my wrist

00:36:12and held on

00:36:13like his life

00:36:13depended on it.

00:36:14My body went stiff.

00:36:19Let go of me,

00:36:20Mr. Blackwood.

00:36:21Grabbing a woman

00:36:22in public like this

00:36:23is not very appropriate,

00:36:24is it?

00:36:25I thought your precious

00:36:26family code

00:36:26cared about appearances.

00:36:28The cold sarcasm

00:36:29in my voice

00:36:30hit Damien like ice water,

00:36:31but he did not

00:36:32care anymore.

00:36:33Scarlet,

00:36:34come back with me.

00:36:35Please.

00:36:36I know I was wrong.

00:36:38I screwed up.

00:36:39I will fix it.

00:36:40Just come home with me.

00:36:42I laughed

00:36:43and pried his fingers

00:36:44off me,

00:36:44one by one.

00:36:47Come back to what?

00:36:49That cage

00:36:49with 3,000 stupid rules?

00:36:51Am I supposed to go back

00:36:53and play Mrs. Blackwood again?

00:36:54His face turned paler.

00:36:56I looked at him

00:36:57with open disgust.

00:36:58Did you forget

00:36:59your perfect bride

00:37:00is Clara now?

00:37:01Your sweet,

00:37:02sensible little bride

00:37:03is waiting for you.

00:37:05Chasing your ex-fiance

00:37:06through an airport

00:37:07is a bad look,

00:37:08Damien.

00:37:08The man who had once

00:37:09been Manhattan's coldest

00:37:10and most untouchable air

00:37:11fell to his knees

00:37:12in that foreign airport,

00:37:13surrounded by cameras

00:37:14and strangers,

00:37:15looking smaller than dirt.

00:37:17Damien looked up at me

00:37:18and tears finally broke through.

00:37:19The wedding did not count.

00:37:21I never wanted her.

00:37:22I do not care

00:37:23about the family code anymore.

00:37:24If you come back with me,

00:37:26you can do whatever you want.

00:37:27I will agree to anything.

00:37:29Just do not leave me like this.

00:37:30I took a step back

00:37:31as if avoiding something filthy.

00:37:34Your apology came too late

00:37:36and honestly,

00:37:37I do not need it.

00:37:39Then I turned around,

00:37:39handed my boarding pass

00:37:41to the gate agent

00:37:42and walked straight

00:37:43into the jet bridge

00:37:44with my back straight.

00:37:45Damien tried to follow,

00:37:46but airport security

00:37:48and his assistant

00:37:49held him back.

00:37:50Scarlett!

00:37:51He screamed my name

00:37:52toward the closing door,

00:37:54sounding like a man

00:37:55being torn apart.

00:38:00Three months later,

00:38:01in Monaco,

00:38:02inside the Monte Carlo Casino,

00:38:04money and desire

00:38:04blurred together

00:38:05under the glittering lights.

00:38:06The sound of poker chips

00:38:07never stopped.

00:38:08At a crowded Bacarmo table,

00:38:10every man nearby

00:38:11had his eyes fixed

00:38:11on the woman

00:38:12sitting across

00:38:13from the dealer.

00:38:15That woman was me.

00:38:18I wore a black silk slip dress

00:38:20with thin straps

00:38:21and a high clip

00:38:22that revealed

00:38:23my pale ankles

00:38:24and silver heels.

00:38:25The next round of cards

00:38:26came out.

00:38:27I barely glanced at my hand

00:38:29before tapping my fingers

00:38:30lightly on the table.

00:38:33Raise.

00:38:34Player wins.

00:38:36Then he pushed

00:38:37a mountain of chips

00:38:37toward me.

00:38:38The crowd around us

00:38:40broke into amazed whispers.

00:38:41They said the socialite

00:38:42from New York

00:38:43had won seven hands

00:38:44in a row.

00:38:45They said my psychological

00:38:46game was terrifying.

00:38:48I took a sip of champagne

00:38:50and almost laughed

00:38:51at the irony.

00:38:52This was not luck.

00:38:53It was probability,

00:38:54statistics,

00:38:55and psychology.

00:38:56All the things Damien

00:38:57had once forced me

00:38:58to learn so I could become

00:38:59the perfect high society wife.

00:39:01I never thought

00:39:02those lessons

00:39:02would become my best weapon

00:39:04for burning through money

00:39:04in a place like this.

00:39:06Just as I was about

00:39:07to place another bet,

00:39:08a drunk local heir

00:39:09named Charles

00:39:10shoved through the crowd.

00:39:11His face was red

00:39:12from losing too much money

00:39:13and he reeked of alcohol.

00:39:15Come play with me tonight.

00:39:18I will split my winnings with you.

00:39:20Before his hand

00:39:21could touch me,

00:39:21I stepped back

00:39:22and lifted my right foot

00:39:23in its seven centimeter heel.

00:39:25Then I kicked him hard

00:39:26and precisely between the legs,

00:39:28using every bit of strength

00:39:29I had built

00:39:30through years of training.

00:39:32I was about to leave

00:39:33with my chip card

00:39:34when the crowd

00:39:34suddenly parted.

00:39:35A young mixtape man

00:39:36walked toward me

00:39:37with his hands in his pockets.

00:39:38He wore a black suit

00:39:39with the top three buttons undone,

00:39:41looking relaxed and arrogant

00:39:42in a way that came naturally

00:39:43to men who had never been told no.

00:39:44A limited edition watch

00:39:45gleamed on his wrist.

00:39:46It was Nathaniel.

00:39:50Nathaniel had an unlit cigar

00:39:51between his lips.

00:39:52He used the polished tip

00:39:53of his shoe

00:39:53to nudge Charles,

00:39:54who was still curled up

00:39:55on the floor groaning.

00:39:56His expression was pure contempt.

00:39:57You put your hands

00:39:58on someone I am interested in

00:40:00in my casino.

00:40:01That is not flirting, Charles.

00:40:03That is a death wish.

00:40:06If I ever see you near her again,

00:40:09what she broke tonight

00:40:10will be the least

00:40:11of your problems.

00:40:12Charles scrambled away

00:40:13with the help of his friends,

00:40:14too scared to look back.

00:40:15Then Nathaniel turned to me.

00:40:17His deep,

00:40:18flourishes eyes

00:40:18landed on mine

00:40:19and he did not bother

00:40:20hiding his interest.

00:40:21He stepped forward naturally,

00:40:23slid one arm around my waist

00:40:24and pulled me closer

00:40:25with a confidence

00:40:25that was almost insulting.

00:40:26His hold was intimate,

00:40:28possessive,

00:40:29and far too practiced.

00:40:30My body tensed

00:40:31and I tried to pull away,

00:40:32but his arms stayed relaxed

00:40:33while still leaving

00:40:34no room to escape.

00:40:35He lowered his head

00:40:36close to my ear,

00:40:37his warm breath

00:40:38brushing my skin.

00:40:39I have been watching

00:40:40the little wild cat

00:40:41from New York

00:40:42for a while now.

00:40:43Those claws are impressive.

00:40:44Then he lifted his head

00:40:45and announced it

00:40:46to the whole casino

00:40:47with the kenless arrogance

00:40:48of a spoiled playboy.

00:40:49Damien Blackwood

00:40:50was blind enough

00:40:51not to want her.

00:40:52Lucky me,

00:40:53because I do.

00:40:55The Monaco socialists

00:40:56watching from nearby

00:40:57immediately started

00:40:58buzzing with gossip.

00:41:00Everyone knew Nathaniel

00:41:01had impossibly high standards,

00:41:03and now he was publicly

00:41:04chasing a runaway bride

00:41:05from New York.

00:41:06I looked up at him,

00:41:08met his burning gaze,

00:41:10and smiled.

00:41:12I appreciate the offer,

00:41:14but do I look like

00:41:15I need a man

00:41:16to get whatever I want?

00:41:18Nathaniel did not get angry.

00:41:19Instead,

00:41:20he pulled me a little closer,

00:41:21and the admiration

00:41:22in his eyes

00:41:23almost overflowed.

00:41:25That mouth of yours

00:41:26is dangerous.

00:41:27I like dangerous.

00:41:32I stayed in Monaco

00:41:33for a while,

00:41:34and Nathaniel kept his word.

00:41:35He pursued me

00:41:36loudly, aggressively,

00:41:37and with absolutely no shame.

00:41:38The next morning,

00:41:39a limited edition

00:41:39bright yellow Lamborghini

00:41:40was parked outside

00:41:41my apartment building.

00:41:42The keys were delivered

00:41:43with a card

00:41:43written in messy handwriting.

00:41:45It was just a way

00:41:45to get around.

00:41:46If you crash it,

00:41:47I will pay for it.

00:41:48A few days later,

00:41:49he rented a massive luxury yacht

00:41:50and threw an extravagant party

00:41:52on the water,

00:41:52insisting that I be

00:41:53the center of it.

00:42:00Have fun anywhere you want.

00:42:02Use my name

00:42:03if anyone gets in your way.

00:42:04He took me skydiving,

00:42:06deep-sea diving,

00:42:06and even snuck us

00:42:07onto an F1 track

00:42:08to race cars

00:42:09in the middle of the night.

00:42:10He did every crazy,

00:42:11dangerous,

00:42:12reckless thing with me,

00:42:13and none of it

00:42:13had anything to do

00:42:14with family codes,

00:42:15rules,

00:42:15or proper behavior.

00:42:16What got to me most

00:42:17was that he never asked me

00:42:18to be gentle,

00:42:19quiet,

00:42:19or obedient.

00:42:20He never wanted me

00:42:21to behave.

00:42:22Whenever I pushed a race car

00:42:23up to 200 miles per hour,

00:42:24showing every wild edge I had,

00:42:26he sat in the passenger seat

00:42:27whistling and cheering

00:42:28like he had never seen

00:42:29anything better.

00:42:29After we landed

00:42:30on the soft sand

00:42:31from a 10,000-meter skydive,

00:42:33Nathaniel pulled off

00:42:33his goggles.

00:42:34His hair was a mess,

00:42:35and he was smoking a cigarette

00:42:36while looking at my

00:42:37flushed face

00:42:37with a chalky smile.

00:42:38This is how you are

00:42:39supposed to live, Scarlett.

00:42:40Wild, loud,

00:42:41and impossible to leash.

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

00:42:43better than playing

00:42:44some polished fake heiress

00:42:45in New York.

00:42:45Looking at this loud,

00:42:46arrogant man,

00:42:47I felt something inside

00:42:48me start to loosen.

00:42:49A frozen part of my heart,

00:42:50locked away by Damien

00:42:51for two lifetimes,

00:42:52began to thaw just a little.

00:42:54When I was with Nathaniel,

00:42:55I did not have to pretend.

00:42:55I did not have to be careful.

00:42:57I could let every sharp edge show.

00:42:59One night,

00:42:59we were playing a huge game

00:43:00of Texas Hold Us

00:43:01at a private club,

00:43:02and I had lost several hands

00:43:03in a row.

00:43:03I was hesitating over

00:43:04whether to call the bet

00:43:05when Nathaniel lazily pushed

00:43:07more than half of his kips

00:43:08towards me.

00:43:08Call it.

00:43:09Do not get scared now.

00:43:10If you lose,

00:43:11it is on me.

00:43:11If you win,

00:43:13it's your fun money.

00:43:14On the way home that night,

00:43:15with the wind blowing

00:43:16through the car,

00:43:17he was quiet for once.

00:43:19Then,

00:43:19he said something

00:43:20I did not expect.

00:43:23You know,

00:43:23we met a long time ago.

00:43:29I turned my head in surprise

00:43:31and looked at his handsome profile.

00:43:36Nathaniel kept his eyes

00:43:37on the road

00:43:38and let out a bitter laugh.

00:43:40Years ago,

00:43:41at a horse track in New York,

00:43:43you were 18.

00:43:46Richard,

00:43:46Monica,

00:43:47and Clara there

00:43:47to embarrass you

00:43:49in front of half

00:43:50the social crowd.

00:43:51Do you remember what you did?

00:43:54You jumped your horse

00:43:55over the highest obstacle

00:43:56and beat the guy

00:43:57who had been looking down

00:43:57on you all day.

00:43:59You were sitting on that horse,

00:44:00laughing like a horse

00:44:01like you owned

00:44:01the whole world,

00:44:02loud, arrogant,

00:44:03impossible to ignore.

00:44:05I remember thinking,

00:44:06damn,

00:44:07that girl is something else.

00:44:10I was stunned.

00:44:12I had almost forgotten

00:44:13that miserable day

00:44:14when Richard had tried

00:44:15so hard to humiliate me.

00:44:18Too bad your eyes

00:44:19were only on that

00:44:20fake gentleman,

00:44:21Damien Blackwood.

00:44:22I was wild back then too,

00:44:24but I knew one thing.

00:44:26You cannot force someone

00:44:27to want you.

00:44:29So I did not step in

00:44:30just to get rejected.

00:44:34His words landed

00:44:35like a stone

00:44:36dropped into the dead

00:44:36still lake of my heart.

00:44:39So there had been

00:44:40someone watching

00:44:40the real Scarlet Vals

00:44:41all along,

00:44:43even when I had not

00:44:44known it.

00:44:45What truly changed

00:44:45the way I saw him

00:44:46happened during

00:44:47a dirt bike accident.

00:44:48We were racing

00:44:49on a mountain road

00:44:49in southern Europe.

00:44:50On the way down,

00:44:51the pavement was wet

00:44:52and I was going too fast.

00:44:53My tire lost traction

00:44:54on a sharp turn

00:44:55and both my bike

00:44:55and I flew toward

00:44:56a steep drop

00:44:57hundreds of feet below.

00:44:59In that split second,

00:45:00Nathaniel was right behind me.

00:45:02He did not hesitate.

00:45:03He hit the gas

00:45:03and shot toward me

00:45:04using his heavier bike

00:45:05to slam into mine

00:45:06and change the direction

00:45:07of my fall.

00:45:07But because of the force

00:45:08and the rebound,

00:45:09he and his bike

00:45:10went tumbling down

00:45:10the steep slope instead.

00:45:11When I scrambled down the hill

00:45:11and found him among the rocks,

00:45:12his right leg was pinned

00:45:13under the heavy bike.

00:45:14Blood covered his forehead

00:45:15and his face was white from pain.

00:45:17Do not cry.

00:45:18I am too damn tough

00:45:19to die like this.

00:45:20Even then,

00:45:21he forced an ugly cocky smile

00:45:22like he was still trying

00:45:23to make me feel better.

00:45:26In the private hospital

00:45:27in Monaco,

00:45:28Nathaniel had thick bandages

00:45:29wrapped around his head

00:45:30and a cased on his right arm,

00:45:31but he still acted

00:45:32like the same wild,

00:45:33carenless trouble mare.

00:45:34He lay in the hospital bed,

00:45:36looking at me

00:45:36as I sat beside him

00:45:37with slightly red eyes.

00:45:39For once,

00:45:39he put away

00:45:40all his cocky,

00:45:41unserious attitude.

00:45:42His deep,

00:45:43flurchous eyes

00:45:44locked onto mine

00:45:45with a seriousness

00:45:46I had never seen

00:45:47from him before.

00:45:48I know you've been hurt.

00:45:50I know Black Hill

00:45:51broke you

00:45:52with his rules and chains.

00:45:56I am not asking you

00:45:57to get over it for me.

00:45:58Take all the time you need.

00:46:00I can wait.

00:46:02I can wait.

00:46:04When you are ready

00:46:05to want someone again,

00:46:07I want you to think

00:46:08of me first.

00:46:09His honesty,

00:46:09the way he had risked

00:46:10his life to save me

00:46:11and the way he accepted

00:46:12every wild part of me

00:46:13without trying to change it

00:46:14all hit me at once.

00:46:15It felt like hot sunlight

00:46:16breaking through

00:46:16the frozen walls

00:46:17around my heart.

00:46:18For this time,

00:46:18I did not answer

00:46:19with something sharp.

00:46:20I only lowered my eyes

00:46:21and felt some of those

00:46:22cold hard chains inside me

00:46:23begin to crack.

00:46:24But the peace

00:46:24did not last long.

00:46:26A few days later,

00:46:27the nightmare found me again.

00:46:29Late one night,

00:46:30after I had been out

00:46:31dancing with Mia,

00:46:32I was walking back

00:46:33to my apartment

00:46:33when the air around me

00:46:35turned cold

00:46:35in a way I knew too well.

00:46:37A thin,

00:46:37worn out figure

00:46:38stood under the shadow

00:46:39of a streetlight.

00:46:39His eyes red

00:46:40with endless obsession.

00:46:41Damien Blackwood.

00:46:42He looked terrifying.

00:46:43His suit was wrinkled,

00:46:44his eyes were bloodshot

00:46:45and violent desperation

00:46:46seemed to radiate

00:46:47from his entire body,

00:46:48like he was one step

00:46:49away from losing his mind.

00:46:50He stepped forward

00:46:50and grabbed my arm,

00:46:52squeezing so hard

00:46:52it felt like he was

00:46:53trying to break it.

00:46:54His voice was rough,

00:46:55like sandpaper

00:46:56dragged over concrete.

00:46:58Scarlet,

00:46:58are you done playing games?

00:47:00Come back with me.

00:47:02Now.

00:47:05Let go of me,

00:47:06Mr. Blackwood.

00:47:07Do we even know each other?

00:47:18Just as Damien

00:47:19was about to force me

00:47:20into his car,

00:47:21a hand with long

00:47:22defined fingers

00:47:23and a limited edition watch

00:47:24cut through the air

00:47:25faster than anyone expected.

00:47:26It caught Damien's wrist

00:47:28with a sharp smack

00:47:28and held tight.

00:47:32A Blackwood CEO

00:47:33should know better

00:47:34than to put his hands

00:47:35on my woman in public.

00:47:38Even a three-year-old

00:47:39knows you cannot force

00:47:40someone to want you.

00:47:41He twisted Damien's wrist

00:47:43with sudden,

00:47:44explosive strength,

00:47:45forcing him to let go of me.

00:47:47At the same time,

00:47:49he slid his arm

00:47:50around my waist

00:47:51and pulled me behind him,

00:47:53natural and protective.

00:47:55Damien's eyes

00:47:55shot to Nathaniel's hand

00:47:57on my waist

00:47:57like poison daggers.

00:47:59The jealousy and rage

00:48:00burned through

00:48:01the last thread of sanity

00:48:02the New York air had left.

00:48:03Damien's veins

00:48:04stood out on his forehead

00:48:05and he spat Nathaniel's name

00:48:07through his teeth.

00:48:08Take your hands off her.

00:48:10You are a spoiled piece of trash

00:48:12who changes women

00:48:13more often than cars.

00:48:14Do not touch her

00:48:16with your filthy hands.

00:48:17If you do not let go,

00:48:19I will destroy

00:48:20your entire family

00:48:21in Europe.

00:48:26I am a mess, sure.

00:48:28I sleep around

00:48:29and I have never pretended

00:48:31to be a saint.

00:48:32Then his tones changed

00:48:33completely and every word

00:48:35came out cold and poisoned.

00:48:37But I have never been

00:48:38sick enough

00:48:38to make a woman

00:48:39write a 10,000 word

00:48:40Tumblick apology.

00:48:42I have never locked her

00:48:43in a dark wine cellar

00:48:44for three days

00:48:45without food but water.

00:48:46I have never thrown her

00:48:47into a freezing fountain

00:48:49at a gala,

00:48:50watched her bleed in the water,

00:48:52and then told my guards

00:48:53to keep going

00:48:54because she needed

00:48:54to learn a lesson.

00:49:02So tell me, Blackwood,

00:49:05what the hell

00:49:06kind of man

00:49:07do you think you are?

00:49:11Every word out of

00:49:12Nathaniel's mouth

00:49:13cut open the guilt

00:49:14Damien had been

00:49:14trying not to face.

00:49:16Right there on a

00:49:16foreign street,

00:49:17Nathaniel stripped away

00:49:19every pathetic excuse

00:49:20Damien had ever made

00:49:21about love,

00:49:21discipline,

00:49:22and protection,

00:49:23leaving him with

00:49:23nothing to hide behind.

00:49:25The color drained

00:49:25from Damien's face.

00:49:27His lips trembled

00:49:27and he tried to argue back

00:49:29but his throat was so dry

00:49:30that not a single word

00:49:31came out.

00:49:32Two months of guilt

00:49:33and regret

00:49:34crashed over him

00:49:35all at once.

00:49:35His vision went dark

00:49:36and he could barely stand.

00:49:38Then he snapped.

00:49:40Shut up.

00:49:42His voice was hazy

00:49:44and shaking.

00:49:47Shut your mouth!

00:49:49The last thread

00:49:50holding him to get broke.

00:49:52He pulled his fist back

00:49:53and charged forward,

00:49:54trying to tear me away

00:49:56from Nathaniel.

00:49:57Nathaniel had run

00:49:58out of patience.

00:49:59His eyes went cold

00:50:00and he lunged forward,

00:50:02throwing a punch

00:50:03straight at Damien.

00:50:04Two powerful men

00:50:05who were used to

00:50:05commanding boardrooms

00:50:06and making entire markets move,

00:50:08started brawling

00:50:09on the streets of Monaco

00:50:10like common street thugs.

00:50:11The heavy sound

00:50:12of fists hitting flesh

00:50:13and the raw grails of age

00:50:14made casino guests

00:50:15scream and scattered.

00:50:16In the chaos,

00:50:17Damien used that reckless,

00:50:19almost suicidal force

00:50:20to break through the guards

00:50:21and reach me again.

00:50:23Come with me.

00:50:24I am not losing you again.

00:50:26He grabbed my shoulders

00:50:27with his bloody hands,

00:50:28his eyes obsessive

00:50:29and unhinged.

00:50:30Damien forced me

00:50:31into the black armored car

00:50:33waiting on the street

00:50:34and ordered his men

00:50:35to clear up pay.

00:50:36Clear the way,

00:50:36now!

00:50:39Drive to the private airport.

00:50:40Now,

00:50:41we are leaving for New York.

00:50:45By the time Nathaniel

00:50:46ran back into the street

00:50:47with blood on his face,

00:50:48all he could see

00:50:49were the taillights

00:50:50disappearing toward the coast.

00:50:55Find Blackwood's

00:50:56private flight path

00:50:57across the Atlantic,

00:50:58get my people ready.

00:50:59I am going to New York

00:51:01and I am tearing

00:51:02his tower down

00:51:03if I have to.

00:51:05Twelve hours later,

00:51:06the Gulf Ray

00:51:06landed a heavily guarded

00:51:07private estate

00:51:08outside New York City,

00:51:09completely isolated

00:51:10from the outside world.

00:51:11It was Damien's

00:51:12most hidden asset,

00:51:13a beautiful golden cage

00:51:14built with the best

00:51:15security systems

00:51:16money could buy.

00:51:17I was locked inside

00:51:18the luxurious living room,

00:51:19but I stayed

00:51:20completely silent.

00:51:21I did not cry.

00:51:22I did not scream.

00:51:24I did not make a scene.

00:51:25I only looked at Damien

00:51:27with a coldness

00:51:27that made it clear

00:51:28he was already dead to me.

00:51:31Damien's heart cracked

00:51:32piece by piece

00:51:32under that look.

00:51:34He desperately wanted

00:51:35to make things right.

00:51:37Then he suddenly remembered

00:51:39that I had once mentioned

00:51:40liking a certain

00:51:41French dessert.

00:51:42He had never been

00:51:43in a kitchen in his life,

00:51:44but he took off his jacket

00:51:45and walked into the kitchen anyway,

00:51:47clumsily cutting ingredients

00:51:48with his ruined hands.

00:51:49Hot oil splashed up

00:51:50and burned blisters

00:51:51across the backs of his hands,

00:51:52but he did not seem to notice.

00:51:54An hour later,

00:51:54he came out carrying

00:51:55a plate of dessert

00:51:56that looked terrible

00:51:56and slightly burnt.

00:51:58He walked up to me

00:51:59with a tired,

00:51:59worn-out face

00:52:00that carried a pathetic

00:52:01kind of hope.

00:52:02His whole body was shaking.

00:52:03His eyes were red

00:52:04and he could barely stand

00:52:05as it helped it

00:52:06played out to him.

00:52:07You used to say

00:52:07you liked this.

00:52:08I made it myself.

00:52:09Please, Scarlet,

00:52:10just try one bite.

00:52:12I leaned against the couch,

00:52:13completely different,

00:52:14and did not even bother

00:52:15to look at him.

00:52:16I treated him

00:52:16like he was invisible.

00:52:17Damien's heart sank

00:52:18deeper into that

00:52:19frozen silence

00:52:20until there was nothing

00:52:20left but despair.

00:52:22All his pride fell away

00:52:23as he dropped to his knees

00:52:24in front of me

00:52:24and looked up like a beggar.

00:52:25I know that now.

00:52:26I do want the family code anymore.

00:52:27I will never lock you down again.

00:52:28Just do not look at me

00:52:29like I'm already dead.

00:52:30It's driving me insane.

00:52:31Why you can't forgive me?

00:52:36I finally turned my head

00:52:37and looked at his broken face.

00:52:40Beneath my calm surface

00:52:41was the frozen cold

00:52:43of two lifetimes.

00:52:44You really want to know why?

00:52:46Fine, Damien.

00:52:47I will tell you.

00:52:49I looked at him

00:52:50without blinking.

00:52:51Because at the charity gala,

00:52:53you let your guards

00:52:54throw me into

00:52:55a freezing fountain.

00:52:57You knew I was bleeding.

00:52:58And when they asked

00:53:00if they should stop,

00:53:01you told them to keep going.

00:53:03His face went white.

00:53:04Because in the pouring rain,

00:53:06you brought me back

00:53:07to your mansion.

00:53:08But the second Clara

00:53:09put on her innocent little act,

00:53:11you protected her

00:53:12from the boiling water.

00:53:14and left me on the floor

00:53:15while my skin peeled off.

00:53:17His breathing turned unsteady

00:53:19because you locked me

00:53:20in that dark wine cellar

00:53:21and gave Clara

00:53:22the perfect chance

00:53:23to torture me

00:53:24with an electroshock chair.

00:53:25When I told you the truth

00:53:27with injuries all over my body,

00:53:28you called me a liar.

00:53:31His face went pale.

00:53:33Every time you had to choose

00:53:34between me and Clara,

00:53:35you chose her.

00:53:38You chose your family's reputation.

00:53:41You chose control.

00:53:42And now you are kneeling here

00:53:44asking me to believe

00:53:44you loved me?

00:53:47Every word struck Damien

00:53:48like a judgment.

00:53:49Damien's face

00:53:50was completely pale.

00:53:51His body shook so hard

00:53:52he could barely stay upright.

00:53:53He tried to argue,

00:53:54to say I had misunderstood.

00:53:55But in front of those brutal facts,

00:53:57he realized words meant nothing.

00:53:59Regret tore through him.

00:54:00He tried to stand

00:54:02but accidentally

00:54:02knocked over the bag

00:54:03tucked between the couch hips.

00:54:05Everything inside

00:54:06spilled onto the floor.

00:54:07As he scrambled

00:54:08to pick it up,

00:54:09his fingers touched

00:54:10a medical file

00:54:11hidden deep inside.

00:54:16Damien opened

00:54:17the medical report

00:54:18from the private hospital

00:54:19in Monaco

00:54:19before he could think

00:54:20better of it.

00:54:21Large area deep

00:54:22second degree burns

00:54:23with severe PTSD

00:54:24caused prolonged

00:54:25psychological

00:54:27burns.

00:54:28Boiling water.

00:54:31He stared at the date

00:54:32on the report.

00:54:34It was the same day

00:54:35he had knocked over

00:54:36the hot water

00:54:36and carried Clara

00:54:37away from the mansion.

00:54:38That was how badly

00:54:39I had been hurt.

00:54:41It had not only been my body,

00:54:42my mind had been damaged too.

00:54:44And what had he been doing then,

00:54:46the man who claimed to love me?

00:54:47He had been holding Clara,

00:54:49the person at the center

00:54:50of all of it,

00:54:51asking if she was okay.

00:54:53Meanwhile,

00:54:53he had left me

00:54:54in boiling water

00:54:54to suffer.

00:54:55Damien completely

00:54:56lost control.

00:54:57He punched the wall

00:54:57so hard that the crack

00:54:58of his knuckles

00:54:59breaking was audible.

00:55:00Blood splattered

00:55:01across the wall,

00:55:01but the physical pain

00:55:02was nothing compared

00:55:03to the feeling

00:55:04of his heart

00:55:04being crushed

00:55:05piece by piece.

00:55:06He crawled back

00:55:06to my feet

00:55:07like a dying dog

00:55:08and grabbed the hem

00:55:09of my dress

00:55:09with his broken,

00:55:10bleeding hand.

00:55:11His voice was wrecked

00:55:12as he apologized

00:55:13over and over again.

00:55:15I did not know

00:55:16it was that bad.

00:55:17Scarlett,

00:55:18I swear,

00:55:18I did not know.

00:55:20Kill me if you want.

00:55:21Take a knife

00:55:22and do it right now.

00:55:23Just give me

00:55:24one chance.

00:55:25Please.

00:55:26Just one chance.

00:55:29I looked down

00:55:30at him,

00:55:31my long lashes

00:55:32casting cold shadows

00:55:33over my eyes.

00:55:34There was no emotion

00:55:36in them at all.

00:55:37I heard your apology,

00:55:38Damien.

00:55:39I just do not

00:55:40forgive you.

00:55:45At that moment,

00:55:46the roar of

00:55:47Moletter Cycle engines

00:55:48screaming security alarms

00:55:49exploded outside

00:55:50the villa,

00:55:51through the chaos

00:55:52of guards yelling

00:55:52and fighting,

00:55:53the thick bulletproof

00:55:54front door

00:55:55of the living room

00:55:55was slammed open

00:55:56from the outside.

00:55:57Nathaniel burst in

00:55:58covered in injuries,

00:55:59his eyes wild with rage,

00:56:01carrying the kind of fury

00:56:02that looked ready to kill.

00:56:05Nathaniel strode in

00:56:06over the shattered glass,

00:56:08his black leather jacket

00:56:09stained with the blood

00:56:10of Damien's guards.

00:56:11The usual lazy charm

00:56:13in his eyes was gone,

00:56:15replaced by something

00:56:16savage and deadly.

00:56:19He pulled me behind him

00:56:21in one swift motion.

00:56:24His right fist trembled

00:56:26from the force

00:56:26he was barely holding back.

00:56:31Damien Blackwood,

00:56:33you really had the nerve

00:56:34to take her right

00:56:35under my nose.

00:56:36You think because

00:56:37your family runs New York,

00:56:39I cannot touch you?

00:56:40Damien was still on the floor.

00:56:42His broken hand

00:56:43hung at his side,

00:56:44blood dripping from

00:56:44his fingertips

00:56:45onto the expensive

00:56:46wool carpet.

00:56:47Slowly he stood.

00:56:48His proud,

00:56:49untouchable spine

00:56:49looked bent now,

00:56:50but the moment

00:56:51he saw Nathaniel,

00:56:52jealousy and violence

00:56:53flared back to life

00:56:54in his hollow eyes.

00:56:55Let her go.

00:56:57Nathaniel,

00:56:57this is New York.

00:57:02This is my territory!

00:57:04When the council

00:57:05I'm assailed,

00:57:06you are not

00:57:07taking her anywhere!

00:57:09Nathaniel looked

00:57:10as if he had just

00:57:11heard the funniest

00:57:11thing in the world.

00:57:16He stepped forward

00:57:17and grabbed Damien

00:57:18by the collar,

00:57:19lifting him

00:57:20with brutal force.

00:57:21Your territory?

00:57:22Look outside.

00:57:25Beyond the windows,

00:57:26countless armored vehicles

00:57:27flashed with warning lights

00:57:28surrounding the private estate.

00:57:30Nathaniel's men

00:57:31had already formed

00:57:32a standoff

00:57:33with Blackwood's guards.

00:57:34I am not just

00:57:35taking her out of here today.

00:57:39I am going to go

00:57:40and collect.

00:57:41I select the life

00:57:42you should have lost

00:57:43in Monaco,

00:57:44right here in New York.

00:57:49Damien did not

00:57:50fight back.

00:57:51He let Nathaniel

00:57:52hold him by the collar,

00:57:53but his eyes stayed

00:57:54locked on my face

00:57:55over Nathaniel's shoulder.

00:57:56There was no trace

00:57:57of his old arrogance

00:57:58left in that look.

00:57:59Only a plea

00:58:00so desperate

00:58:01it had sunk

00:58:01into his bones.

00:58:03Scarlet,

00:58:03do not go.

00:58:04I am begging you.

00:58:08Stay,

00:58:09even if all you want

00:58:10is to kill me.

00:58:12I looked at him

00:58:12without emotion,

00:58:13as if I were looking

00:58:14at something already dead.

00:58:16Damien,

00:58:17the moment you threw

00:58:18yourself in front of Clara,

00:58:20we became enemies

00:58:21in both lifetimes.

00:58:22Do not make me hate you

00:58:24more than I already do.

00:58:25Then I turned

00:58:26and took Nathaniel's

00:58:27blooded hand myself.

00:58:29Nathaniel,

00:58:30let's go.

00:58:31Nathaniel froze

00:58:32for half a second,

00:58:33then clasped my hand tightly,

00:58:35locking his fingers

00:58:36with mine.

00:58:36With a look of disgust,

00:58:38he shoved Damien away

00:58:39as if pushing aside trash.

00:58:41Damien staggered back

00:58:42and crashed into

00:58:43the luxury wine cabinet

00:58:44behind him.

00:58:45Countless bottles

00:58:46shattered across the floor

00:58:47and dark red wine

00:58:48spread over the wreckage

00:58:49like blood.

00:58:52He sat collapsed

00:58:53in the ruin,

00:58:54able to do nothing

00:58:55but watch

00:58:55as Nathaniel shielded me

00:58:57and led me out

00:58:57of that beautiful

00:58:58golden cage

00:58:59without looking back.

00:59:01Nathaniel shielded me

00:59:03and led me out

00:59:03without looking back.

00:59:08The door slammed shut

00:59:10behind us.

00:59:11Behind it

00:59:12came Damien's

00:59:13broken,

00:59:14desperate growl.

00:59:23The suffocating gloom

00:59:25of New York

00:59:25was left behind

00:59:27on the other side

00:59:28of the Atlantic.

00:59:29Nathaniel did not

00:59:30take me back to Modico

00:59:31in its glittering,

00:59:32noisy world

00:59:32of money and pleasure.

00:59:34Instead,

00:59:35he put me on his private jet

00:59:36and flew me straight

00:59:37to an extremely private estate

00:59:38in the south of France.

00:59:40The estate sat deep

00:59:41in the quiet

00:59:42Provence countryside,

00:59:42far away from the world.

00:59:47When I opened the windows,

00:59:48I could see

00:59:49endless fields

00:59:50of lavender.

00:59:51The air smelled clean,

00:59:53full of grass,

00:59:54sunlight,

00:59:55and peace.

00:59:56There was no Richard Will

00:59:57calculating what I was worth.

00:59:59There was no Damien Blackfield

01:00:01haunting me

01:00:01with his obsession.

01:00:02There was only a silence

01:00:03gentle enough

01:00:04to make breathing

01:00:05feel easy again.

01:00:06Cancel all meetings.

01:00:08Nathaniel threw away

01:00:09every bit of his

01:00:10Southern European

01:00:11playboy image

01:00:12and became

01:00:12surprisingly patient.

01:00:14He canceled

01:00:15business mootings,

01:00:17turned down parties,

01:00:18and simply sat with me

01:00:19during breakfast

01:00:20in the flower-filled garden.

01:00:21At sunset,

01:00:22he would lie

01:00:23half on the grass

01:00:24beneath the grapefines

01:00:25with a book in his hand.

01:00:26Every now and then,

01:00:28he would look up

01:00:28and flash me

01:00:29that lazy,

01:00:30troublemaking smile.

01:00:31He never mentioned

01:00:32New York.

01:00:33He never mentioned

01:00:34Damien Blackwood.

01:00:35He never mentioned

01:00:36any part of the past

01:00:37that hurt me.

01:00:38With that strange,

01:00:39reckless tenderness

01:00:40only he had,

01:00:41he slowly chased

01:00:43the shadows

01:00:43of my last life

01:00:44from between my brows.

01:00:48The skin burned

01:00:49by deep second-degree scalds

01:00:51still arced at night,

01:00:53and the PTSD

01:00:54left by my past life

01:00:55often dragged me awake

01:00:57from nightmares.

01:00:58Every time I sat up

01:00:59covered in cold sweat,

01:01:00I saw a faint light

01:01:01glowing outside

01:01:01on the terrace.

01:01:02Nathaniel was always there,

01:01:04guarding my bedroom

01:01:04from the soap

01:01:05outside the glass doors.

01:01:06He held an old guitar

01:01:07in his arms,

01:01:08his long fingers

01:01:09moving over the strings.

01:01:10The melodies were never perfect,

01:01:11but somehow they were

01:01:12gentle enough

01:01:13to calm my heart.

01:01:16Nightmare again,

01:01:17wildcat?

01:01:18Do not be scared.

01:01:19I am right here.

01:01:21Not even God

01:01:21gets past me tonight.

01:01:26Paint whatever you want.

01:01:28Turn my face into a pig

01:01:30if it makes you happy.

01:01:34During the years,

01:01:35Damien controlled me.

01:01:37Painting had been dismissed

01:01:38as a useless distraction.

01:01:40But here,

01:01:41it was freedom.

01:01:42It belonged to

01:01:43Scarletta Vale.

01:01:46Under Nathaniel's

01:01:47shameless indulgements

01:01:48and steady companionship,

01:01:50I smiled more and more.

01:01:51It was the kind of joy

01:01:52that came from being

01:01:53accepted without conditions

01:01:54and encouraged to release

01:01:56every part of myself.

01:01:57One day,

01:01:58he secretly arranged

01:01:58a 10,000 meter skydive.

01:02:00The helipter climbed higher

01:02:01and higher with a violent roar.

01:02:03Beneath us were

01:02:03the jewel blue Mediterranean

01:02:04and the distant line

01:02:06of the Alps.

01:02:06Wind poured in

01:02:07through the open cabin door,

01:02:09whipping my hair into chaos.

01:02:10The instructor checked

01:02:11our gear one final time.

01:02:12I looked at the shrinking world

01:02:14outside the door,

01:02:15took a deep breath,

01:02:15and felt the brightest

01:02:16rush of anticipation

01:02:17I had known since my rebirth.

01:02:19Nathiel him hailed my tightly,

01:02:20his palm burning hot

01:02:22at against mine.

01:02:23He leaned close to my ear

01:02:24and shouted over the engine.

01:02:25He grinned,

01:02:26wild and dazzling.

01:02:27Just as the green light

01:02:28came on and the instructor

01:02:29signaled that we were ready

01:02:30to jump,

01:02:31he suddenly gestured

01:02:32for him to wait.

01:02:32He turned to me

01:02:33and stared straight

01:02:34into my eyes,

01:02:35deep and burning.

01:02:36Above the deafening engine,

01:02:37his voice somehow

01:02:38reached me clearly.

01:02:39Scarlet,

01:02:40before we jump,

01:02:41Scarlet Vale,

01:02:42I know you are hurt.

01:02:44I know that bastard

01:02:45in New York

01:02:45broke something in you.

01:02:46I am not gonna feed you

01:02:48pretty lies.

01:02:48I am asking you straight.

01:02:50Give me a chance.

01:02:55Let me take care of you.

01:02:58Everything Damien Blackwood

01:02:59did to you,

01:02:59I will spend the rest

01:03:00of my life helping you

01:03:03heal from it.

01:03:05If the sky falls,

01:03:07I will hold it up for you.

01:03:08If you wanna walk

01:03:09through the world

01:03:10like you own it,

01:03:10I will clear the road.

01:03:12If you want the stars,

01:03:13I will build you

01:03:13a damn ladder.

01:03:15I have never been this serious

01:03:16about anyone, Scarlet.

01:03:19I choose you.

01:03:20His confession was direct,

01:03:22arrogant and rough

01:03:23around the edges

01:03:23just like him,

01:03:24but it burned through me

01:03:25like sunlight,

01:03:26melting the deepest ice

01:03:27inside my heart.

01:03:28There was no prophet

01:03:29binding us together.

01:03:30No rules,

01:03:31no cage,

01:03:32only the purest

01:03:33kind of desire

01:03:34to love someone

01:03:34as they were.

01:03:35I looked into

01:03:36those flirtuous eyes,

01:03:37now filled with love

01:03:39and nervousness,

01:03:40and the string

01:03:40that had been pulled

01:03:41in my heart

01:03:42for two lives

01:03:43finally snapped loose.

01:03:45The heavy chains

01:03:46were scattered

01:03:47by the wind

01:03:4710,000 meters

01:03:48above the earth.

01:03:50Yes!

01:03:51I will give you

01:03:52that chance!

01:03:53Alright, loveards,

01:03:54time to jump!

01:04:06The wind thundered

01:04:07past my ears

01:04:08as I opened

01:04:09my arms to freedom.

01:04:10This time,

01:04:11my guardian

01:04:11was falling beside me.

01:04:16The sun in southern France

01:04:18was warm and gentle.

01:04:20But the top floor

01:04:21of Blackwood Tower

01:04:22in New York,

01:04:23the heavy curtains

01:04:23were drawn tight,

01:04:24shutting out every trace

01:04:25of daylight.

01:04:26Damien Sack collapsed

01:04:27in his oversized leather chair,

01:04:28surrounded by empty vodka bottles.

01:04:30He had grown painfully thin,

01:04:32his face was hankered,

01:04:33his eyes sunken,

01:04:34and the hair he had once

01:04:35kept perfectly styled

01:04:36for the sake of the family code

01:04:37now hung in a mess.

01:04:37His phone screen was still lit.

01:04:39On it was a blurry

01:04:40pamperazzi photo

01:04:40taken in southern France.

01:04:42Sunlight poured over

01:04:43an outdoor cafe.

01:04:44I was wearing

01:04:44a bright yellow dress,

01:04:45laughing with Nathaniel

01:04:46a spoonful of ice cream.

01:04:47Nathaniel was looking at me

01:04:48with open affection,

01:04:49gently tapping my nose

01:04:50with his finger.

01:04:51The photo was beautiful

01:04:52enough to hurt.

01:04:53Scarlet,

01:04:53I only found out recently

01:04:54that Clara used

01:04:55an electroshock chair

01:04:56on you in the wine feller.

01:04:58I have locked her away.

01:04:59I will make her pay back

01:05:01every bit of pain

01:05:02she caused you.

01:05:05Scarlet.

01:05:07Scarlet.

01:05:08Scarlet.

01:05:11Tears mixed with blood

01:05:12at the corner of his mouth.

01:05:14He whispered my name

01:05:15like a prayer

01:05:16and a punishment.

01:05:19I was smiling,

01:05:20bright and unrhynd,

01:05:22but that happiness

01:05:23no longer belonged to him.

01:05:25That place beside me

01:05:26should have been his.

01:05:28He was the one

01:05:29who had pushed me away

01:05:29with those damned rules.

01:05:41He wrote like a madman.

01:05:43Sometimes his handwriting

01:05:44was messy.

01:05:45Sometimes it was painfully neat.

01:05:48Before long,

01:05:49the white paper

01:05:49was covered in tear marks

01:05:51and bloody fingerprints

01:05:52from his broken hand.

01:05:53He wrote about how stupid

01:05:55he had been

01:05:56to believe

01:05:57the Vale family's act.

01:05:58He wrote about

01:05:59forcing me to write apologies,

01:06:01locking me in the wine cellar,

01:06:02I bled and bound me

01:06:03standing out

01:06:03and spilled about

01:06:04than hot water

01:06:05to protect Clara

01:06:05while leaving me

01:06:06with second degree burns

01:06:07and PTSD.

01:06:09Scarlet,

01:06:10I only found out recently

01:06:11that Clara used

01:06:12an electroshock chair

01:06:13on you in the wine feller.

01:06:14I have locked her away.

01:06:16I will make her pay back

01:06:17every bit of pain

01:06:18she caused you.

01:06:26The letter was sent

01:06:28by international courier

01:06:29to southern France

01:06:30and eventually reached my hands.

01:06:32I did not read a single line.

01:06:35I threw it straight

01:06:36into the roaring fireplace.

01:06:38The pages curled

01:06:39in the flailed

01:06:40in the flames

01:06:40and turned to ash.

01:06:48No answer ever came.

01:06:52After the letter was sent,

01:06:54no reply came back.

01:06:55Damien's last bit of hope

01:06:57died completely.

01:06:58Ignoring the furious objections

01:07:00of his private doctor,

01:07:01he tore the IV from his hand

01:07:03and booked the nearest flight

01:07:04to the south of France.

01:07:05Through the Blackwood family's

01:07:07underground channels in Europe,

01:07:08he eventually located

01:07:09the quiet estate

01:07:10surrounded by lavender fields.

01:07:12But he did not dare go near it.

01:07:14He was afraid of disturbing me.

01:07:16Even more than that,

01:07:17he was afraid of seeing

01:07:18the disgust in my eyes.

01:07:19So he stayed outside

01:07:20the thorny fence

01:07:21like a ghost,

01:07:22watching from far away

01:07:23day and night.

01:07:24He saw Nathania's Lamborghini

01:07:25come and go.

01:07:26He saw us walking

01:07:26hand in hand

01:07:27along the country road

01:07:28at sunset.

01:07:29At night,

01:07:29he saw Nathania's shadow

01:07:30on the second floor balcony

01:07:31as he gently held me

01:07:32in his arms.

01:07:33Every scene was a dull knife,

01:07:35slowly cutting through

01:07:35his body and soul.

01:07:37One day,

01:07:37a violent storm

01:07:38broke over southern France.

01:07:39Lightning split the night sky.

01:07:41Damien stood outside

01:07:42the fence without moving,

01:07:43letting the cold rain

01:07:44soak him through.

01:07:45He was running a fever

01:07:46of 104 degrees,

01:07:47his body burning

01:07:48under the creasing rain,

01:07:49but he stood there

01:07:50like a statue

01:07:50and refused to leave.

01:07:54In his sick,

01:07:55desperate mind,

01:07:56he imagined that

01:07:57maybe the rain

01:07:58was heavy enough

01:07:59to soften my heart.

01:08:01Maybe I would come out

01:08:02with an umbrella

01:08:03and look at him

01:08:04just once.

01:08:05Only when his body

01:08:06finally gave out

01:08:07did he collapse

01:08:08into the muddy water.

01:08:10Before he lost

01:08:11consciousness completely,

01:08:13he thought he saw

01:08:14the curtain move

01:08:15in a second floor window.

01:08:24Scarlet,

01:08:26let me see her.

01:08:29Keep dreaming, Blackwood.

01:08:31She does not want

01:08:32to see you.

01:08:33She would feel dirty

01:08:35wasting even one second

01:08:36on you.

01:08:41She told me to give you

01:08:42four words.

01:08:44No forgiveness.

01:08:46No pity.

01:08:48No return.

01:08:54Keep whatever dignity

01:08:55the Blackwood family

01:08:56still has.

01:08:57Every word struck Damien

01:08:59like an ice hook

01:09:00through the heart,

01:09:01shattering the last bit

01:09:02of hope left in him.

01:09:03He understood.

01:09:04I was not even willing

01:09:06to waste hatred

01:09:06on him anymore.

01:09:08Between us,

01:09:08everything had ended

01:09:09in the second of the car crash

01:09:10in my last life

01:09:11and in the moment

01:09:12he ordered the guards

01:09:12to keep me in the fountain

01:09:13in this life.

01:09:15After his fever broke,

01:09:16he was put on a plane

01:09:17back to New York

01:09:18by Nathaniel's private guards.

01:09:21He left like a puppet

01:09:22with its soul pulled out.

01:09:30Damien's forced departure

01:09:31did not stop

01:09:32the next storm

01:09:33from arriving.

01:09:34After recovering

01:09:35in southern France,

01:09:36I was no longer

01:09:37the weak woman

01:09:37from my past life

01:09:38who could only endure pain.

01:09:40With Nathaniel's

01:09:41financial power

01:09:41and international

01:09:42underground network

01:09:43behind me,

01:09:44I personally planned

01:09:45the final reckoning

01:09:45against the Vale family.

01:09:47Using hackers,

01:09:48I gathered hard evidence

01:09:49of Richard's years

01:09:49of tax evasion,

01:09:50money laundering,

01:09:51embezzlement

01:09:52of my mother's

01:09:52trust assets

01:09:53and massive

01:09:54commercial brubbering.

01:09:55Then I anonymously

01:09:56submit everything

01:09:56to the highest

01:09:57federal prosecutors

01:09:58in New York.

01:10:01The evidence

01:10:02was overwhelming.

01:10:03Richard was arrested

01:10:04by federal agents

01:10:06during a Vale group

01:10:06board meeting

01:10:07right in front

01:10:08of the cameras

01:10:08and the entire press.

01:10:10The Vale family trust

01:10:11and company

01:10:12collapsed overnight.

01:10:13Their assets

01:10:14were seized

01:10:14and liquidated

01:10:15and bankruptcy

01:10:16followed almost immediately.

01:10:18In the visiting room

01:10:19of New York's

01:10:19first federal prison,

01:10:21I sat behind

01:10:21thick bulletproof glass

01:10:22and looked coldly

01:10:23at Richard.

01:10:24He had gone

01:10:24white-haired overnight.

01:10:26He looked old,

01:10:27broken,

01:10:27and frantic.

01:10:28Scarlet,

01:10:29I am your father.

01:10:30My blood runs

01:10:30in your veins.

01:10:31You sent your own

01:10:32father to hell

01:10:33with your own hands.

01:10:34You'll pay for this.

01:10:35Pay for it?

01:10:35Richard,

01:10:36did you think

01:10:36about payback

01:10:37when you brought

01:10:37Monica into

01:10:38my mother's house?

01:10:39Did you think

01:10:39about it when you

01:10:40tried to sell me

01:10:41into the Blackwood family

01:10:42like a piece of property?

01:10:46This is your payback.

01:10:48Spend the rest

01:10:49of your life

01:10:49repenting in there.

01:10:56Monica could not

01:10:57survive the shock

01:10:58of the Vail family

01:10:59collapsing overnight.

01:11:00Her mind broke

01:11:01completely

01:11:02and she was forced

01:11:03into the cheapest

01:11:04psychiatric hospital

01:11:05in New York.

01:11:06Every day,

01:11:07she wandered

01:11:08with tangled hair,

01:11:10muttering nonsense

01:11:10to herself.

01:11:17Damien,

01:11:17please save

01:11:18my mother.

01:11:18Please save

01:11:19the Vail family.

01:11:20I know I was wrong.

01:11:21I will bring Scarlet

01:11:22back if you want.

01:11:23I will beg that bitch

01:11:24to come back.

01:11:24Just look at me once.

01:11:26The iron gate

01:11:27slowly opened.

01:11:29Damien came out

01:11:30with a cane.

01:11:31He looked down

01:11:32at the woman

01:11:33kneeling at his feet

01:11:34like she was

01:11:34filth on the road.

01:11:36There was no emotion

01:11:37in his eyes,

01:11:38only disgust.

01:11:39Love?

01:11:41Clara,

01:11:42I know exactly

01:11:42how you and Monica

01:11:43schemed your way

01:11:44through Manhattan society

01:11:45and bullied Scarlet

01:11:46for years.

01:11:47I did not touch you

01:11:48before because

01:11:49you were not worth

01:11:50dirtying my hands.

01:11:52Also,

01:11:52I was saving you

01:11:54for Scarlet.

01:11:57Now that she has

01:11:58made her move,

01:11:58I am satisfied.

01:12:00Get this disgusting

01:12:01woman out of my sight.

01:12:06After that,

01:12:07a filthy,

01:12:08ragged woman

01:12:08appeared on the

01:12:09underground streets

01:12:10of Manhattan.

01:12:11She smelled rotten,

01:12:12laughed at strangers,

01:12:13and screamed at shadows.

01:12:14Damien had his men

01:12:15watch her from a distance.

01:12:17He did not allow her

01:12:17to die.

01:12:18He made sure

01:12:19she stayed alive

01:12:19long enough to suffer

01:12:20every humiliation

01:12:21the bottom of society

01:12:22had to offer.

01:12:23It was exactly

01:12:24what I had wanted for her.

01:12:25She would live

01:12:25like a rat in the gutter,

01:12:27slowly and painful.

01:12:30After hearing how

01:12:31everything ended,

01:12:32I stood before

01:12:32the floor-to-clear

01:12:33windows of the estate

01:12:34in southern France

01:12:35and watched the sun

01:12:36sink below the horizon.

01:12:37For the first time,

01:12:38my heart felt

01:12:38strangely calm.

01:12:40The nightmare

01:12:40and karma

01:12:41that had followed me

01:12:41through two lifetimes

01:12:42had finally come to an end.

01:12:44Bad people

01:12:44got what they deserved.

01:12:46From now on, baby,

01:12:47let me be the only one

01:12:48who gets to spoil you.

01:12:49Over the next half year,

01:12:50Nathaniel and I

01:12:51grew closer and closer.

01:12:52We traveled

01:12:53from country to country,

01:12:54enjoying our freedom

01:12:55and love anywhere

01:12:56in the world we wanted.

01:12:57We both thought

01:12:58the blood and storms

01:12:59were finally behind us.

01:13:17But no one expected Clara,

01:13:19who had long gone mad

01:13:20and been forgotten

01:13:21in the trash-filled corners

01:13:22of New York,

01:13:23to be planning

01:13:24one last act of revenge.

01:13:40Nethanthiel reacted instantly.

01:13:41With a low growl,

01:13:42he shoved open the car door

01:13:43and threw himself

01:13:44into the fight,

01:13:44doing everything he could

01:13:45to protect me.

01:13:46But there were too many of them

01:13:47and they had come prepared.

01:13:48Nathaniel was soon

01:13:48cut across the arm

01:13:49while shielding me,

01:13:50then forced to the ground

01:13:51under several guns.

01:13:52His face was covered in blood

01:13:54and his eyes were wild

01:13:55with rage.

01:13:55Do not touch her!

01:13:57Let her go!

01:14:04A burst of crazed applause

01:14:06rang out.

01:14:06Clara slowly stepped out

01:14:07from behind one of the vants.

01:14:08She wore a filthy,

01:14:09torn dress stained with grime.

01:14:10Her hair was a tangled mess

01:14:11and her eyes were cloudy

01:14:12and insane.

01:14:13In her hand,

01:14:13she gripped a loaded glock.

01:14:14Her ruined face twisted

01:14:15like something out of a nightmare

01:14:16as she laughed at me.

01:14:17Barlet, you bitch.

01:14:18I have requested a nice man

01:14:19payball beyond

01:14:20drink it a hundred times

01:14:21the thousands over.

01:14:22You and the man you love

01:14:23are both going to hell today!

01:14:24At that deadly moment,

01:14:25just as one of the thugs

01:14:26was about to pull the trigger,

01:14:27the roar of an engine

01:14:28ripped through the sea wind.

01:14:29A black armored SUV

01:14:30came crashing in from behind,

01:14:31ramping the van,

01:14:32blocking the road

01:14:33and screeched to a stop

01:14:34in the middle of the chaos.

01:14:35A thin figure with a slight limp

01:14:36stepped out,

01:14:37carrying an automatic rifle

01:14:39and surrounded by cold,

01:14:40murderous and tate.

01:14:41Damien.

01:14:41He had been following

01:14:42my movements

01:14:43from a distance all along.

01:14:44When he found out

01:14:45Clara had disappeared

01:14:46under strange circumstances,

01:14:47he sensed something was wrong

01:14:48and tracked the drive route

01:14:49here for the sea.

01:14:55Let her go, Clara.

01:14:57Get that filthy gun

01:14:58away from her head.

01:15:05Damien, you came too?

01:15:07Good.

01:15:07Perfect.

01:15:08The head of the Blackwood family

01:15:10and Nathaniel's family

01:15:11are both here.

01:15:12I can send all of you

01:15:13to hell together.

01:15:14What do you want?

01:15:16I will give you

01:15:17every Blackwood trust,

01:15:18every share,

01:15:19every asset I have.

01:15:21Take my life if you want.

01:15:23Just let Scarlet go.

01:15:26I do not want anything in me.

01:15:29I want her to suffer.

01:15:31I want you,

01:15:32the high and mighty

01:15:33king of Manhattan,

01:15:34to watch with your own eyes

01:15:35while I tear her apart.

01:15:38Watching both men suffer

01:15:39because of me

01:15:40tore my heart open

01:15:41and tears blurred my vision.

01:15:43Stop!

01:15:44Nathaniel, Damien,

01:15:44just go!

01:15:45Do not worry about me!

01:15:46You want her alive?

01:15:47Fine!

01:15:47Damien, king of Manhattan,

01:15:48get on your knees!

01:15:49Kneel and beg me!

01:15:50Damien looked at my

01:15:51deathly pale face

01:15:52and did not hesitate

01:15:53for even a second.

01:15:54He threw away the rifle

01:15:55in his hand

01:15:55and dropped to his knees

01:15:56on rough gravel-covered road.

01:15:57The heavy sound of his bones

01:15:58hitting the ground

01:15:59tore through the sea wind.

01:16:00This was a man

01:16:00who had been pathologically proud

01:16:02in both lifetimes,

01:16:02a man who had never

01:16:03lowered his head to anyone.

01:16:04For my life,

01:16:05he threw away

01:16:05every last bit of dignity.

01:16:13Look at you!

01:16:14You finally know

01:16:16what it feels like!

01:16:17Beat him!

01:16:18Beat him until

01:16:19he cannot move!

01:16:22The thugs rushed forward.

01:16:24Iron rods and fists

01:16:25fell on Damien like rain.

01:16:26He curled tightly

01:16:27around himself,

01:16:28blood pouring from his mouth,

01:16:29but he stubbornly

01:16:30kept his body angled toward me,

01:16:32blocking the sand and gravel

01:16:33that flew in my direction.

01:16:34Stop!

01:16:35Please stop!

01:16:50In that split second,

01:16:51no one saw where Damien

01:16:52found the strength.

01:16:53Like a black panther

01:16:54burning through its last breath,

01:16:55he threw himself up

01:16:56from the ground

01:16:56and slammed me

01:16:57with that ounce of life

01:16:58he had left.

01:16:58He knocked me hard

01:16:59onto the road

01:17:00and covered completely

01:17:00with his broad,

01:17:01bloodied back,

01:17:02leaving no gap

01:17:02between me and the bullet.

01:17:04The sound that followed

01:17:04tore into his back,

01:17:05exploding only

01:17:06a few millimeters

01:17:07from his heart.

01:17:08Blood sprayed

01:17:09across the air

01:17:10and instantly stained

01:17:11my white dress,

01:17:12a shocking red.

01:17:18For a moment,

01:17:19the whole world

01:17:20seemed to stop.

01:17:21Damien's heavy body

01:17:22pressed down over mine.

01:17:23With impossible effort,

01:17:24he slowly raised his head.

01:17:25His deathly pale face

01:17:27was covered in blood.

01:17:28When he saw that

01:17:28I was safe,

01:17:29queer-cran with him,

01:17:30without a gesture

01:17:30of his mouth

01:17:31lifted into a relieved smile.

01:17:32In that smile

01:17:33was a kind of longing

01:17:33and regret

01:17:34I had never seen

01:17:35from him in either lifetime.

01:17:36He struggled

01:17:36to raise his bleeding hand

01:17:38as if he wanted

01:17:38to touch my face

01:17:39one last time.

01:17:40But his fingers

01:17:41shook violently

01:17:42in the air,

01:17:43never quite reaching me,

01:17:44before falling wheatly

01:17:45into the mud.

01:17:46He looked at me

01:17:47as the light

01:17:48in his eyes

01:17:48began to scatter.

01:17:49Scarlet,

01:17:51Scarlet,

01:17:51I am sorry.

01:17:54This time,

01:17:56I finally protected you.

01:17:59Live well with Nathaniel.

01:18:02Goodbye.

01:18:22But I only held

01:18:23the blood-covered man-in-arms,

01:18:24tears streaming down my face.

01:18:26Did I hate him?

01:18:26Did I resent him?

01:18:27The moment that bullet

01:18:28tore through his body,

01:18:29the chains from my past life

01:18:31and the hatred from this life

01:18:32were shattered with it.

01:18:33With his own life,

01:18:34he completed a redemption

01:18:35that had come two life teams

01:18:36too late.

01:18:39Above the Southeast Asian island,

01:18:41the roar of a rescue helicopter

01:18:42tore through the humid air.

01:18:44A team of top international medics

01:18:45carefully lifted Damien,

01:18:47covered in blood

01:18:47and deep in shock,

01:18:48onto a stretcher.

01:18:49His face had turned acin,

01:18:50almost like a corpse.

01:18:51His breathing and heartbeat

01:18:52were so weak

01:18:53the machines could barely detect them.

01:18:54I stood beside the helicopter,

01:18:56his warm blood still

01:18:57on my face and clothes.

01:18:59My fate's control of snow,

01:19:00wrapped in bandages

01:19:00and looking grim.

01:19:01Poor self threw the pain

01:19:02of his fractures

01:19:03and pulled me hard

01:19:03into his arms,

01:19:04using his broad chest

01:19:05to hold me up.

01:19:06His eyes were complicated

01:19:06as he watched Damien

01:19:07always despised

01:19:08he'd really been willing

01:19:09to trade his life

01:19:10for my freedom.

01:19:10The helicopter rushed

01:19:11toward the nearest

01:19:12international medical center.

01:19:14The doors of the operating room

01:19:16stayed shut,

01:19:17and the red light above them

01:19:19burned for 12 full hours.

01:19:22Nathaniel and I

01:19:22waited in the hallway

01:19:23as time stretched

01:19:25until it felt like a century.

01:19:29The surgery succeeded.

01:19:30The bullet is out,

01:19:32but he's not out of danger.

01:19:34Recovery will be long.

01:19:35The damage,

01:19:35it's severe,

01:19:37irreversible.

01:19:48Damien remained unconscious

01:19:50in the sterile ICU

01:19:51for more than half a month.

01:19:53During that time,

01:19:54with no one in control

01:19:55of Blackwood Group,

01:19:56rival financial powers

01:19:57in New York

01:19:57began tearing into it.

01:19:58The stock price plunged

01:19:59and the company

01:20:00started from the inside.

01:20:01Through Nathaniel's

01:20:01underground channels,

01:20:02Iannoy passed Damien's

01:20:03confidential medical trial

01:20:04to a relatively loyal elder

01:20:05inside the Blackwood family.

01:20:07That elder stepped in

01:20:08and barely stabilized

01:20:09the chaos in New York.

01:20:10Half a month later,

01:20:11Damien finally opened his eyes

01:20:12to the beeping

01:20:13of medical machines.

01:20:14His vision slowly focused

01:20:16until he's standing

01:20:16outside the satiral glass.

01:20:18Our eyes met

01:20:19and the air in the room

01:20:20seemed to freeze.

01:20:20My gaze was complicated.

01:20:22There was concern in it.

01:20:23There was release.

01:20:24There was no love left.

01:20:25There was no hatred

01:20:26left either.

01:20:27Damien wore an oxygen mask.

01:20:28His dry lips parted

01:20:29as if he wanted to say my name,

01:20:31but only a weak,

01:20:32hoary breath came out.

01:20:33He saw the calm in my eyes.

01:20:34He also saw Nathaniel behind me,

01:20:36covered in casts

01:20:37and bandages

01:20:37still gripping my shoulder

01:20:38in a posture

01:20:39of absolute protection.

01:20:40Damien understood.

01:20:41The last faint,

01:20:42impossible hope in his soul

01:20:43went out like a candle

01:20:44in the wind.

01:20:45Two silent lines of tears

01:20:46slid from the corners

01:20:47of his eyes

01:20:48into his hair.

01:20:49He had used his life

01:20:50to save me.

01:20:51Whatever remained between us

01:20:52had died with that redemption.

01:20:55Three months later,

01:20:56at Geneva International Airport

01:20:58in Switzerland,

01:20:59morning fog covered

01:21:00up the runway

01:21:00bound for one of Switzerland's

01:21:01top private rehabilitation

01:21:03plants waited in silence.

01:21:04Damien could barely sit

01:21:05in a wheelchair now.

01:21:06He looked older and thinner

01:21:07than any disability

01:21:07in his left leg.

01:21:08For the rest of his life,

01:21:09he would have to rely

01:21:10on a cane and a wheelchair

01:21:11to move.

01:21:11His body had been drained

01:21:12almost beyond repair.

01:21:14He never tried

01:21:14to contact me again.

01:21:16He even refused visits

01:21:17from the core members

01:21:18of the Blackwood family.

01:21:19Before boarding,

01:21:20he calmly signed

01:21:21every equity transfer document

01:21:23and full management

01:21:24authorization agreement,

01:21:25handing away

01:21:26the business empire

01:21:27he had once treated

01:21:28as his life.

01:21:29He sold all of his

01:21:30Manhattan properties

01:21:31and poured every dollar

01:21:32into a newly established

01:21:33Global Wildlife

01:21:34and Freedom Photography Trust.

01:21:35It was an anonymous gift

01:21:37that would benefit me forever

01:21:38without requiring

01:21:39my signature.

01:21:39The medical plane's

01:21:40engines roared.

01:21:41Damien leaned beside the window

01:21:42and looked out

01:21:43at the endless freezing

01:21:44white cloud sea

01:21:44above the Alps.

01:21:45His eyes held nothing

01:21:46but quiet acceptance

01:21:47and deathly stillness.

01:21:48He had finally removed

01:21:49himself from my world.

01:21:50Scarlet, I love you.

01:21:52Not because I want

01:21:52to lock you in a house

01:21:53like some pretty bird

01:21:54and not because

01:21:55what you're following

01:21:55Ong any damn family rules.

01:21:57I love you exactly like this.

01:21:58Wild, proud, bright

01:21:59and impossible to tame.

01:22:01Let me be the man

01:22:02who protects you

01:22:03for the rest of your life.

01:22:04Marry me.

01:22:10Yes.

01:22:12I will marry you.

01:22:13The last light of sunset

01:22:14wrapped around us

01:22:15in gold

01:22:16as he pulled me

01:22:16into his arms.

01:22:17The chains for my past life

01:22:19were finally broken.

01:22:20In this life,

01:22:21I finally had the wide open sky

01:22:23I deserved.

01:22:23to my turn.

01:22:24God bless you.

01:22:25I found my birth inum

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