After Rebirth, I Gave My Control-Freak Fiancé to My Stepsister - FULL | Reelshort | Full Short Drama | English Sub 2026 - video Dailymotion

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After Rebirth, I Gave My Control-Freak Fiancé to My Stepsister - FULL | Reelshort  Watch the full short drama with English subtitles. CEO, billionaire, revenge, betrayal — complete story in one video.  #shortdrama #ceodrama #drama #revenge #fullmovie #englishsub #reelshort #dramabox #miniseries #love #betrayal #drama2026

Transcript

00:00:02My billionaire fiancé, Damien, did not love me. He loved control.

00:00:07In my last life, I tried to become his perfect wife, obedient, quiet, and easy to manage.

00:00:12I gave him everything, but he still chose my scheming stepsister every time.

00:00:17In the end, a car crash killed the woman he had spent years trying to cage,

00:00:21but death sent me back to the start, right before our wedding.

00:00:24This time, I will not beg for love.

00:00:26I am giving my controlling billionaire fiancé to my treacherous stepsister.

00:00:30Packing my bags and leaving New York forever, their perfect world is going to burn, and I will walk away

00:00:35free.

00:00:37Manhattan's most exclusive VIP mic club was a blur of neon lights.

00:00:42I sat in the center of a private booth,

00:00:47and with perfect intention.

00:00:50Up by the second floor rallying, a paparazzi lens was pointed straight at us.

00:00:55Good. Those photos would be on Damien Blackhood's desk before morning.

00:00:59That was the whole point.

00:01:02Damien needed a wife who was spotless, graceful, and obedient.

00:01:05So I was going to rip his perfect wife fantasy apart with my own hands.

00:01:08If the scandal was ugly enough, he would call off the engagement himself.

00:01:11Then the air around me turned ice cold.

00:01:21In that split second, I could almost hear chains pulling tight from another life.

00:01:25In my past life, I loved him to the point of madness.

00:01:28I told myself his control was love.

00:01:30Then the Blackwood family code was placed in front of me.

00:01:33No nightclubs.

00:01:34No being alone with any man.

00:01:36No leaving New York without permission.

00:01:38He froze my passport and cut off every account I had.

00:01:41Then he clasped a diamond bracelet around my wrist and called it an engagement gift.

00:01:46It was not a gift.

00:01:47It was a GPS tracker.

00:01:49He sanded me down, piece by piece, until I became something quiet and hollow.

00:01:54The perfect Mrs. Blackwood.

00:01:57Then a car crash ended my suffocating life.

00:02:01I had been reborn on the night before our wedding.

00:02:03This time, I did not want Damien.

00:02:05I wanted to be Scarlet Vale again.

00:02:07So the first thing I did was find my father.

00:02:10I want to call off the engagement.

00:02:11What the hell is wrong with you?

00:02:13Marrying to the Blackwood family is the greatest opportunity of your life!

00:02:16He is so perfect, let Clara marry him.

00:02:18She is the dignified, obedient one.

00:02:20The ideal Blackwood wife, right?

00:02:24You are really willing to give it up?

00:02:26I did not wait for the rest.

00:02:28I booked an international flight and moved my passport somewhere Damien could not reach

00:02:32and called my best friend Mia.

00:02:34Come drink with me, which brought me here, to this moment.

00:02:39Who gave you the nerve to come to a place like this?

00:02:42I go where I want.

00:02:43What does that have to do with you?

00:03:00My blood ran cold.

00:03:02That bracelet.

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

00:03:07Don't touch me!

00:03:11GPS tracking.

00:03:13Heart rate monitor.

00:03:14Entry and exit logs.

00:03:15Synced in real time.

00:03:16Every step you take, I will see it.

00:03:18I want a public apology statement by tomorrow morning.

00:03:22You put diamonds on a cage and think that makes it something else?

00:03:27I held his gaze and said it clearly, one word at a time.

00:03:30I am not marrying you, Damien.

00:03:32We are done.

00:03:36The car went silent.

00:03:37Damien's eyes snapped mine.

00:03:39Done?

00:03:40Done what?

00:03:41What the hell is that supposed to mean?

00:03:43For a second, I almost told him the truth.

00:03:46That the bride had already been changed.

00:03:48That Clara was the one his family would get.

00:03:50Then I stopped myself.

00:03:52I wanted him dreading every day until the wedding.

00:03:54Convinced he was still stuck with me.

00:03:58Forget it.

00:03:58I was just mad.

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

00:04:05Sit properly.

00:04:07I kicked off my heels,

00:04:09pressed my bare feet into his expensive floor mat,

00:04:11and rolled the window down.

00:04:13When are you going to learn to behave like a Blackwood wife?

00:04:17Maybe in my next life.

00:04:18The rose stopped at the Vale Estate gates.

00:04:21I want that apology on my desk by nine tomorrow.

00:04:24And don't waste your time trying to take off the bracelet.

00:04:26I pushed the door open.

00:04:27I looked down at the disgusting thing locked around my wrist.

00:04:31Then you'd better watch closely.

00:04:32I slammed the door and walked inside without looking back.

00:04:35Richard, Monica, and Clara were all waiting in the living room.

00:04:39My father, his ex-mistress turned trophy wife,

00:04:41and the bastard daughter they'd spent years polishing

00:04:44into exactly the kind of obedient, presentable girl Damien wanted.

00:04:49You reek of alcohol,

00:04:50and you wore a Blackwood engagement bracelet to a nightclub.

00:04:53Have you completely lost your mind?

00:04:56Don't be too hard on her, Richard.

00:04:58Though honestly,

00:04:59I'm not sure a family like the Blackwoods can afford that kind of reputation.

00:05:03Scarlet,

00:05:03Dad said he already spoke with the Blackwoods.

00:05:06Are you really sure you want me to take your place?

00:05:09A hundred percent sure.

00:05:10You've always loved picking up what I throw away.

00:05:13This time I'm handing it to you myself.

00:05:16No need to sneak around for it.

00:05:19Watch your mouth!

00:05:20Clara is steadier, smarter,

00:05:22and a far better fit for the Blackwood family than you ever were!

00:05:25Perfect.

00:05:26Just don't come crying to me

00:05:27when the whole thing blows up in your faces.

00:05:31I only hope you won't regret this.

00:05:33I would hate to see you lose everything because of one bad mood.

00:05:40Scarlet Veil never regrets a damn thing.

00:05:46A servant came hammering on my door first thing in the morning.

00:05:49Damien was downstairs.

00:05:50He stood in the living room like last night had never happened.

00:05:53First thing he checked was my wrist.

00:05:56The bracelet.

00:05:57Green light blinking.

00:05:59Then he looked up.

00:06:00The statement.

00:06:01I didn't write one.

00:06:02Blackwood's PR team buried those photos.

00:06:04I need that statement.

00:06:05Your rules do not apply to me anymore.

00:06:07I am not signing anything.

00:06:08When are you going to learn to do or told?

00:06:10Not in this lifetime.

00:06:12Right on cues, Clara appeared in a white dress,

00:06:14eyes faintly red,

00:06:15holding a printed statement.

00:06:16Damien, please don't be angry with Scarlet.

00:06:18She was upset last night.

00:06:20I wrote the statement for her.

00:06:21Will this work?

00:06:22Damien scanned it.

00:06:23When he looked back at me,

00:06:25the disgust was undisguised.

00:06:27Look at Clara.

00:06:28She knows when to be graceful,

00:06:29when to step back,

00:06:31when to put the family first.

00:06:33All you do is create problems.

00:06:37Scarlet just needs more time.

00:06:39The Blackwood Charity Gala is tonight.

00:06:41I can go with her and help her get through it.

00:06:44Help me with what?

00:06:45How to smile on cue?

00:06:48How to play the innocent girl in white

00:06:50while hiding the snake underneath?

00:06:52Enough.

00:06:53Add her name and release it.

00:06:54I did not sign it.

00:06:55You went to a nightclub as the future Mrs. Blackwood.

00:06:57It stopped being your personal guest

00:06:59the second you dragged my family name into it.

00:07:01If you refuse to do the right thing,

00:07:03I will do it for you.

00:07:04Then take Clara.

00:07:05She is always so good at doing the right thing.

00:07:06You are my fiancé.

00:07:08You will be at that gala tonight.

00:07:09Fine.

00:07:10This life,

00:07:10I was going to give him exactly what he wanted.

00:07:12Clara linked her arm through mine,

00:07:14going upstairs.

00:07:15Warm smiles,

00:07:15nails digging into my skin.

00:07:17The second the door closed,

00:07:18I shook her off.

00:07:19Nobody is watching.

00:07:20Drop the act.

00:07:21Damien will be mine.

00:07:22On the wedding day,

00:07:22he will be grateful someone made the switch.

00:07:24A disaster like you has no business

00:07:25near the Blackwood name.

00:07:26Then why didn't you tell him just now?

00:07:27Scared that once he knows,

00:07:28he still won't want you?

00:07:29I want to keep your mouth shut, Scarlet.

00:07:30I don't care about the you

00:07:31or your control freak fiancée.

00:07:33Happy wedding.

00:07:36The Blackwood Family Charity Gala

00:07:38was packed with Manhattan's most powerful people.

00:07:40Old money, new money,

00:07:42and the kind of influence that could buy both.

00:07:43I showed up deliberately

00:07:45in a floor-long thread backless gown,

00:07:47bold, unapologetic,

00:07:49and everything a Blackwood wife

00:07:50was not supposed to be.

00:07:52Clara wore white couture,

00:07:54pristine as a lily.

00:07:56When the waltz began

00:07:57and every eye in the room

00:07:58drifted toward Damis,

00:07:59Manhattan's most coveted heir

00:08:01stepped forward

00:08:02and reached right past me,

00:08:03his actual fiancée,

00:08:05to offer his hand to Clara.

00:08:07The socialite crowd

00:08:08broke into sharp,

00:08:09delighted whispers.

00:08:10Did you see that?

00:08:11He chose the stepsister?

00:08:13Honestly, I get it.

00:08:14Scarlet is a walking scandal.

00:08:16Clara is everything

00:08:17a Blackwood wife should be.

00:08:18Damien led Clara onto the floor

00:08:20without looking back,

00:08:21then threw me a cold parting shot.

00:08:23You do not know how to dance

00:08:24at this level.

00:08:25Stay where you are

00:08:26and watch Clara.

00:08:28Maybe you will finally learn something.

00:08:31I watched them turn

00:08:32beneath the chandeliers

00:08:34and felt nothing but revulsion.

00:08:36I slipped upstairs

00:08:37to the terrace for air,

00:08:39desperate to breathe something

00:08:40that did not feel like a trap.

00:08:41Of course, Clara followed.

00:08:43Her heels clicked up the stairs

00:08:44like she had been attached

00:08:46to my shadow all night.

00:08:47She wore the face of someone

00:08:48who had already won,

00:08:49and when she spoke,

00:08:50her voice was low and vicious.

00:08:51Poor Scarlet.

00:08:53Your mother could not beat mine,

00:08:55and now you cannot beat me either.

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

00:08:59she should have said anything else,

00:09:01anything but that.

00:09:02She had insulted my dead mother.

00:09:04My eyes went cold.

00:09:05Without a word,

00:09:06I drew back

00:09:06and slapped her heart

00:09:07across the face.

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

00:09:10Clara's head snapped to the side,

00:09:11and her cheek flushed red

00:09:12almost instantly.

00:09:14She screamed.

00:09:15You crazy bitch!

00:09:17You actually hit me?

00:09:18I closed the distance

00:09:20and 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,

00:09:28fragile little thing

00:09:29like you would barely

00:09:30count as exercise.

00:09:31I whipped one leg up

00:09:32in a clean sidekick.

00:09:37The courtyard below

00:09:39erupted into screaming chaos.

00:09:40I straightened my dress,

00:09:42picked up my wrap,

00:09:42and turned to leave.

00:09:43But I had not made it

00:09:44three steps before

00:09:45Damien's hand clamped

00:09:46around my wrist like a vice.

00:09:48His eyes were bloodshot with rage,

00:09:49and his voice was cold enough

00:09:50to freeze the air between us.

00:09:52Clara fell from the terrace.

00:09:54Was it you?

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

00:09:57Yes.

00:09:58She had it coming.

00:10:00You are beyond saving.

00:10:02Since she refuses to apologize,

00:10:03she needs to learn a lesson.

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

00:10:06No one lets her out

00:10:07until I say so.

00:10:08The bodyguards grabbed me

00:10:09before I could fight them off.

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

00:10:12they dragged me across the courtyard

00:10:14and threw me straight

00:10:14into the fountain.

00:10:15The water was freezing cold,

00:10:17but it was liquid water,

00:10:18not ice.

00:10:19The spring night air

00:10:20cut like a blade,

00:10:21and the cold sank

00:10:22straight into my bones.

00:10:23Every time I clawed

00:10:25for the marble rim

00:10:25of the fountain,

00:10:26the guard standing along the edge

00:10:28pushed me back under

00:10:29without a word.

00:10:29The struggle drained me fast.

00:10:32Then something worse hit me.

00:10:33A sharp, familiar cramp

00:10:35twisted low in my abdomen.

00:10:36My period had come early.

00:10:38Blood seeped into

00:10:39the cold water around me,

00:10:40spreading in slow,

00:10:41dark ribbons beneath the surface.

00:10:43I was trembling,

00:10:44barely conscious,

00:10:45when I heard one of the guards

00:10:46call Damien.

00:10:47Sir, 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

00:10:51on the other end.

00:10:51Keep going.

00:10:52She will never learn

00:10:53if she does not suffer

00:10:54the consequences.

00:10:54In that moment,

00:10:55my blood ran colder

00:10:56than the fountain ever could.

00:10:57The despair of two lifetimes

00:10:59crashed down over me

00:11:00all at once,

00:11:01and the world went black.

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

00:11:07I was in a hospital room

00:11:08that smelled sharply

00:11:09of antiseptic.

00:11:10Damien was sitting

00:11:11at my bedside.

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

00:11:13he released my hand

00:11:14with an expression

00:11:15of careful indifference.

00:11:16I spoke with your father.

00:11:17He will not give you

00:11:18any more trouble.

00:11:19But do not ever

00:11:20go after Clara.

00:11:22Clara is my father's

00:11:23precious little affair daughter.

00:11:25She is not my problem,

00:11:26and I am not promising

00:11:28you a damn thing.

00:11:33Mr. Blackwood,

00:11:34Clara is getting very upset

00:11:35in the next room.

00:11:36She has been crying

00:11:36and asking for you.

00:11:40I 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

00:11:54into the car

00:11:55and drove me

00:11:56to the veil estate.

00:11:56But when I pushed open

00:11:57my bedroom door,

00:11:58my blood went cold.

00:11:59Clara was sitting

00:12:00at my vanity,

00:12:01dangling a sapphire necklace

00:12:02from her fingertips.

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

00:12:05The only thing

00:12:06she had left me.

00:12:07I crossed the room

00:12:08in three steps.

00:12:09My voice stripped down

00:12:10to nothing.

00:12:11Put it down

00:12:11and get out.

00:12:14Yours?

00:12:16Scarlet,

00:12:16everything in this house

00:12:17is going to be mine.

00:12:27Daddy,

00:12:28I only wanted to look

00:12:29at Scarlet's necklace

00:12:30and she shoved me

00:12:31into the floor.

00:12:40What the hell

00:12:41are 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

00:12:45the performance of your life.

00:12:47I grabbed a metal pen

00:12:48from the vanity

00:12:49and drove it straight

00:12:50into the Clara's palm.

00:12:51Clean through.

00:12:51Pinned to the hardwood.

00:12:53Ah!

00:12:53You fucking psycho!

00:12:55Get this animal

00:12:56out of my house!

00:12:57You are no longer

00:12:58welcome in the veil family!

00:12:59The servants dragged me

00:13:00to the door

00:13:01and threw my luggage

00:13:02into the mud.

00:13:02I bent down,

00:13:03pulled my mother's

00:13:04sapphire necklace

00:13:05out of the dirt

00:13:06and held it tight.

00:13:06It was raining.

00:13:07I stood sosed

00:13:08under an ornery

00:13:09until a black roll

00:13:10pulled up.

00:13:10Damien got out

00:13:11without a word,

00:13:12put me in the car

00:13:12and drove me to his house.

00:13:14He came back

00:13:14with a first aid kit

00:13:15and started treating

00:13:16the mark my father

00:13:17had left on my face.

00:13:18Then the doorbell rang.

00:13:20Clara,

00:13:21banded hand,

00:13:21fragile expression.

00:13:22She walked straight

00:13:23into Damien's arms

00:13:24like she belonged there.

00:13:25Damien,

00:13:25I had to come.

00:13:26I was worried

00:13:26what she did to me.

00:13:27She is still...

00:13:27Damien's face darkened.

00:13:28Apologize to her.

00:13:29Right now, Scarlet.

00:13:31Not a chance in hell.

00:13:32We started arguing

00:13:33by the entryway.

00:13:33Damien reached for my arm

00:13:34and I shoved him off.

00:13:36In the struggle,

00:13:36his elbow knocked

00:13:37into the glass kettle

00:13:38sitting on the side cabinet.

00:13:39The kettle reacted

00:13:40to the floor

00:13:40and shattered.

00:13:41Scalding water

00:13:42exploded across the marble.

00:13:43He threw himself

00:13:43around Clara

00:13:44and covered her completely.

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

00:13:46The boiling water

00:13:47splashed across my legs and arm.

00:13:48My skin turned red

00:13:49almost at once

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

00:13:51Damien checked Clara first.

00:13:53She was fine.

00:13:54Then he glanced at me

00:13:54on the floor,

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

00:13:56Leave her.

00:13:57A little pain might teach her

00:13:58to think before she goes

00:13:59after you again.

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

00:14:01with scalding water

00:14:02still spreading around me.

00:14:06I sat on that floor,

00:14:07holding myself together

00:14:08through the pain

00:14:09and called 911 myself.

00:14:10I got out of the hospital

00:14:12just in time

00:14:12for 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

00:14:17trust assets and shares

00:14:18would be transferred to Clara

00:14:19in front of every guest

00:14:20in the room,

00:14:21took out a velvet box

00:14:22and clasped a diamond necklace

00:14:24worth a small fortune

00:14:25around Clara's neck.

00:14:26Clara's socialite friends

00:14:27swept over with their glasses,

00:14:29making sure to spill

00:14:30red wine across my dress.

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

00:14:32You clean up like

00:14:33somebody's charity project.

00:14:39The bottle shattered.

00:14:41Blood and liquor ran together.

00:14:43The room erupted in screams.

00:14:45Damien was on me in seconds,

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

00:14:48his eyes loaded with contempt.

00:14:50Scarlet, what the hell

00:14:51is 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.

00:14:58It was the laugh of a man

00:14:59who had run out of patience completely.

00:15:01He knew exactly what I feared most.

00:15:03Since you refuse to listen,

00:15:04you can sit in the dark

00:15:05and 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'

00:15:11basement wine cellar.

00:15:13Stone walls.

00:15:13No windows.

00:15:14No light.

00:15:15The heavy iron door slammed shut,

00:15:17and total darkness swallowed me whole.

00:15:20Three days and three nights.

00:15:21No water.

00:15:22No food.

00:15:23The fear nearly broke me.

00:15:25On the fourth day,

00:15:26the door finally opened,

00:15:27but it was not Damien.

00:15:29It was Clara,

00:15:30pushing in a piece of equipment

00:15:31I 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

00:15:41and strapped me down.

00:15:42They pressed electrode pads to my temples.

00:15:45Clara hit the switch.

00:15:46The current ripped through me.

00:15:48The pain had no words.

00:15:50It only had sound,

00:15:51and the sound was mine.

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

00:15:57I woke up in the main house,

00:15:59in a proper bed.

00:16:00Damien was sitting beside me,

00:16:01frowning.

00:16:02I told you to stay in there and think.

00:16:04Three 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

00:16:10with an electric shock chair

00:16:11and used it on me.

00:16:12Do you believe me?

00:16:15Impossible.

00:16:16Clara's gentle.

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

00:16:18Scarlet, there is a limit to how far you can take a lie.

00:16:21He would never believe me.

00:16:23Fine.

00:16:23I would collect that debt on my own.

00:16:26That night,

00:16:26I hired a team and made the arrangements myself.

00:16:29That night,

00:16:29Clara had been bound,

00:16:31suspended in the open air through the entire night.

00:16:34Damien kicked my door in,

00:16:35the vein in his temple visible from across the room.

00:16:37You left Clara hanging off a rooftop all night.

00:16:39If it were not for the safety net at the base of the building,

00:16:42she would be dead.

00:16:43I sat by the window,

00:16:44trimming my nails without looking up.

00:16:45Damien slammed his hand on the table hard enough to rattle it.

00:16:47The wedding is in a few days.

00:16:49You are staying in this house until then.

00:16:51You are not going anywhere.

00:16:52Do you understand me?

00:16:53The night before the wedding,

00:16:55a still shaking Clara was brought back to the Vale estate.

00:16:57Richard took one look at me and started screaming.

00:16:59Stay away from the wedding tomorrow.

00:17:00Don't you dare show your face and humiliate this family.

00:17:03I picked up the luggage I had already packed

00:17:05and smiled at him.

00:17:08Trust me,

00:17:09that suffocating circus is the last place I would ever want to be.

00:17:13You could not pay me to go.

00:17:42Don't be nervous, Scarlet.

00:17:43I'm right here.

00:17:44I will teach you everything you need to know to become the perfect Mrs. Blackwood.

00:17:49Go on, Damien.

00:17:51Marry your dream wife.

00:17:52Consider it my wedding gift to you both.

00:17:55Once the procession left for St. Hart Cathedral,

00:17:57the Vale estate went completely quiet

00:18:01and flagged a cab to JFK.

00:18:04Inside the car,

00:18:05I pulled a small remote from my coat pocket

00:18:07and looked back at the house one last time.

00:18:10My mother had designed it.

00:18:12Now it sheltered the woman who had replaced her

00:18:14and the daughter who had spent years making my life hell.

00:18:17I was done with it.

00:18:22Miss, was that your house?

00:18:26Yes.

00:18:27I blew it up.

00:18:32St. Hart Cathedral.

00:18:33The vaulted ceiling soared overhead

00:18:34and the pipework and filled the nave and grand with something.

00:18:37Every name that mattered in Hatton had shown up.

00:18:39At the end of the aisle,

00:18:39Damien stood in a perfectly tailored suit,

00:18:41precise, untouchable,

00:18:42watching the bride walk toward him.

00:18:44Today's bride was the long usual lace veil fell all the way down,

00:18:46hiding her face completely.

00:18:48Damien assumed all those cold lessons had finally worked.

00:18:50He assumed I had finally been worn smooth

00:18:52and that the woman walking towards him had learned how to submit.

00:18:54The priest began the vows.

00:18:55Damien lowered his voice,

00:18:56speaking only to the bride in front of him.

00:18:58After today,

00:18:58I will personally teach you how to be a proper Mrs. Blackwood.

00:19:01He took the bride's hand

00:19:02and guided her toward the altar

00:19:03as camera flashes stirred across the room.

00:19:06Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for.

00:19:08The groom lifted the veil.

00:19:09Damien reached up with calm, certain fingers,

00:19:11caught the edge of the lace and swept it back.

00:19:13For one breath,

00:19:13the cathedral seemed to freeze.

00:19:15The face in front of him

00:19:16was not the one burned into his memory.

00:19:18It was not the proud, defiant face

00:19:20he had spent years trying to control.

00:19:22It was Clara, flushed with excitement,

00:19:24her eyes bright with smug satisfaction.

00:19:26The cathedral went silent for one stunned second

00:19:28before the whole room broke into chaos.

00:19:30Why is the younger veil daughter wearing the wedding dress?

00:19:32The half smile on Damien's face frozen,

00:19:35then vanished completely.

00:19:36His pupils tightened like someone had struck him.

00:19:39In one violent motion,

00:19:41he flung the veil away as if it had burned his hand.

00:19:43Clara had no warning.

00:19:44The force sent her stumbling back

00:19:46and crashing to the floor,

00:19:48her headpiece crooked,

00:19:49and her white gown tangled around her legs

00:19:51in front of the entire congregation.

00:19:54Damien's voice tore through the cathedral.

00:19:56Where is Scarlet?

00:19:58Tell me where she is!

00:20:01The most prestigious society wedding in New York

00:20:04had just turned into the city's biggest scandal.

00:20:07Damien, just finish the ceremony.

00:20:10Richard told us a few days ago

00:20:11that the bride was being changed to Clara.

00:20:13Clara. We thought Clara was more suitable,

00:20:16more composed.

00:20:17The arrangement benefits both families' trusts and shareholding,

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

00:20:21She had assumed he would be relieved.

00:20:23His reaction told her she had never understood her son at all.

00:20:26Damien's personal istant pushed past security

00:20:28and sprinted into the hall.

00:20:29His face drained of color.

00:20:30Sir, it is bad.

00:20:31The veil estate exploded half an hour ago.

00:20:33The entire mansion is gone.

00:20:35There is nothing left but rubble.

00:20:36That sentence snapped the last thread of Damien's composure.

00:20:39If I had not come to the wedding,

00:20:41I had to be at the estate.

00:20:42That reckless, insane woman.

00:20:44Did she burn herself alive in there?

00:20:46It was enormous and bottomless,

00:20:47the kind of fear that only came when loss had already reached for your throat.

00:20:51He shoved his mother aside,

00:20:52ignored every voice calling after him, and ran.

00:20:55The black rolls tore through red lights one after another

00:20:57before screeching to a stop in front of what remained of the veil estate.

00:21:01Damien stumbled out of the car and stood before the scorched ruins,

00:21:04feeling as if something had been carved straight out of his chest.

00:21:07He screamed my name into the rubble until his voice broke.

00:21:10Then he shoved past the emergency crew and tore into the debris with his bare hands.

00:21:15The entire structure could have caved in at any second, but he did not stop.

00:21:19Get off me!

00:21:20She might still be in there!

00:21:22Let me through!

00:21:25His designer suit was shredded where the debris had caught it, but he did not notice.

00:21:29Rebarm sliced his palms open.

00:21:31Smoldering cinders burned blisters straight into his skin.

00:21:33Blood dripped into the sut, but he did not flinch once.

00:21:36There was only one thought left in him.

00:21:39He had to find her.

00:21:40His voice had gone raw.

00:21:54In the area where my bedroom had been, he finally dug out a small jewelry box,

00:21:58warped and half-melted, with the blackwood crest barely recognizable on the surface.

00:22:02His hands shook as he pried it open.

00:22:04Inside lay a diamond necklace fused into a molten shape.

00:22:06He closed his fist around it.

00:22:08The scorched, twisted metal cut into his palm, but he held on anyway.

00:22:11Guilt hit him like drowning, cold and total, with no way back to the surface.

00:22:15For the first time, he understood what his control had done to the woman he to love.

00:22:19I had always been bright, defiant, but he had spent years trying to grind that fire out of me.

00:22:23His certainty, his rules, and his need to own every part of my life had driven me to this.

00:22:28Then his assistant came sprinting across the debris field, holding a tablet and barely able to breathe.

00:22:32Sir, we found something. You need to see this.

00:22:35It was security footage from a discreet camera at a side exit near the estate.

00:22:39The timestamp was ten minutes before the explosion.

00:22:41A slender figure in a plain coat, pulling a small carry-on.

00:22:44Walked out of the Vale estate at an easy pace.

00:22:47She flacked a cab on the street.

00:22:48Just before getting in, she looked back at the house, raised her hand, and pressed something.

00:22:52Behind her, the fireball rose.

00:22:54The image was grainy, but Damien Profford knew that face had burned into him for years.

00:22:57It was me, alive and untouched, walking out of the house by my own choice.

00:23:04The relief and a deeper, darker panic hit him at the same time, nearly knocking him off his feet.

00:23:08She was alive.

00:23:10That was everything.

00:23:11But she had done this with clear eyes and steady hands.

00:23:13She had blown up the house she had grown up in, set up a wedding day decoy, and walked away

00:23:16without looking back.

00:23:17This was not a tantrum, and it was not a cry for attention.

00:23:20She truly did not want him.

00:23:22She hated him enough to erase her old life in one morning, and she had meant every word she said.

00:23:26Damien pulled himself up from the wreckage, his eyes shot through with red, and his voice scraped raw.

00:23:31But there was something in it now beyond rage, something dangerously close to desperation.

00:23:35Listen to me.

00:23:36Use every private aviation resource and every security network the Blackwood family has.

00:23:40I want every private terminal and border crossing in this country locked down.

00:23:43He locked eyes with his assistant.

00:23:44Track that cab.

00:23:45Pull passenger manifels and facial recognition data from every transatlantic departure.

00:23:49Search every route, every airport name she could have used.

00:23:51I want her found, and I want her found now!

00:23:53After giving the orders, he drove straight to the Four Seasons where Richard's family had taken a suite.

00:23:58Inside, Richard, Monica, and a shaken, pale-faced Clara were still trying to recover from the morning's disasters.

00:24:04Damien kicked the door open and walked in like something feral.

00:24:07Hands raised, we scrambled...

00:24:08Damien, please, let me explain.

00:24:09Scarlet refused the marriage herself.

00:24:11She voluntarily handed the contract over to Clara.

00:24:12We had no choice.

00:24:13Clara is gracious, she is well-behaved, and she is far more appropriate for you than that wreckage.

00:24:17She handed it over.

00:24:18Damien laughed.

00:24:19Low and terrible was the look you gave something already dead.

00:24:23Do you have any idea what you have done?

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

00:24:28He overturned the marble coffee table.

00:24:31Shards scattered across the carpet.

00:24:33There is one woman who carries the name Damien Blackoad's wife.

00:24:37That woman is Scarlet, and it has always been Scarlet.

00:24:40Now tell me where she is.

00:24:45Clara had been terrified from the moment Damien walked in.

00:24:48But watching him fall apart like this over the woman who had run away made her envy curdle into something

00:24:54vicious.

00:24:55It became stronger than fear.

00:24:57She threw herself forward and grabbed the leg of his trousers, looking up at him with tears streaming down her

00:25:04face.

00:25:05Damien, what does she have that I do not?

00:25:08I love you more than she ever did.

00:25:10I will follow every rule in that family code.

00:25:13I will be the perfect Mrs. Blackwood.

00:25:19Just look at me, please.

00:25:21Look at me for once.

00:25:22Damien looked down at her.

00:25:23There was nothing in his eyes.

00:25:25Not anger, not pity.

00:25:26Just naked, undisguised disgust.

00:25:28He stepped back, then kicked her away from him.

00:25:30Clara crashed into the corner of the sofa and gasped from the impact.

00:25:33Do not ever compare yourself to her.

00:25:37You do not even get to come close to a single hair on her head.

00:25:40The only reason you and your entire family ever mattered to me was because of Scarlet.

00:25:45Without her, you are nothing.

00:25:47I would waste a second looking at her.

00:25:48He did not stay to hear Richard and Monica beg.

00:25:51Clara!

00:25:52No, sir!

00:25:55He walked out.

00:25:56Back at Blackwood Tower, in the top floor office.

00:26:00He moved through the dark like something trapped in a cage.

00:26:04Pacing because he could not stop and could not think.

00:26:08Hours later, his assistant came in looking worse than before, holding a file with both hands.

00:26:13Sir, we found new records.

00:26:15Miss Vale filed an expedited single-entry exit visa through a private channel one week before the nightclub incident.

00:26:23One week before the nightclub?

00:26:25His feet stopped moving.

00:26:27The realization hit him like ice water.

00:26:30The nightclub, the dancer, the paparazzi, and even the bracelet had all been part of the same plan.

00:26:37Every time she pushed him, provoked him, and refused him.

00:26:42It had never been recklessness.

00:26:44It had never been a tantrum or some desperate game for attention.

00:26:48She had planned everything carefully, putting every piece in place long before he had ever thought she was capable of

00:26:54it.

00:26:54She had not stumbled into freedom by accident.

00:26:58She had built her escape step by step, and she had never once intended to come back.

00:27:05Damien braced himself against his desk, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.

00:27:10He stared at the date on the file as if it were the last thing left in the world.

00:27:15His stomach twisted violently, and regret hit him so hard it felt almost physical.

00:27:21He suddenly remembered how different I had been during those days.

00:27:24I had screamed the same thing at him again and again.

00:27:28I told him I was not marrying him.

00:27:30I told him we were done.

00:27:31Back then, he had thought it was just a spoiled heiress throwing a tantrum.

00:27:34He thought all he had to do was snap a tracking bracelet around my wrist, lock me up for a

00:27:39few days, force me to sign a public statement, and I would stay trapped inside that beautiful cage.

00:27:46But the truth was that I had already decided I did not want him anymore.

00:27:52Was it the insane family code that had driven me away?

00:27:55Was it the way he kept taking Clara's side and blaming me every single time?

00:28:01Was it the night he threw me into that freezing fountain while I was bleeding?

00:28:06Or was it the simple fact that he had never once believed me?

00:28:10The question spread through Damien's mind like poison, but none of it changed the only thing he cared about now.

00:28:18No matter what it took, even if he had to use every dirty trick the Blackwood family had, he had

00:28:24to get me back.

00:28:25Even if I hated him, even if I resented him, even if I made him suffer for the rest of

00:28:30his life, he was going to keep me by his side forever.

00:28:36Keep searching. Don't stop until you find it.

00:28:39He told him to use every connection the Blackwood family had, from finance circles to private security networks.

00:28:46He did not care what it cost. He did not care who they had to pressure.

00:28:50They were going to find me.

00:28:54The entire month that followed turned into a manhunt.

00:28:57I had vanished without a trace.

00:28:59There was no record of me on any private jet manifest, no ferry log, and no clean departure route anyone

00:29:05could find.

00:29:06Anxiety burned through Damien's nerves every second of every day.

00:29:10Since he could not take that rage out on me, he poured all of it onto the already broken Vale

00:29:14family.

00:29:18Blackwood Group launched a full-scale commercial attack on the Vale businesses.

00:29:21Their methods were merciless, and they left no room for survival.

00:29:25The Vale company had already been falling apart.

00:29:28Within two weeks, its assets were liquidated, its stock price collapsed, and bankruptcy was waiting at the door.

00:29:40Richard was completely losing his mind.

00:29:44He went to Blackwood Tower several times, begging for a meeting, but he could not even get past the elevator

00:29:50on the ground floor.

00:29:51After the bankruptcy, Clara became the easiest target for Damien's despair.

00:29:59She could not accept it.

00:30:01She kept trying to use the media to get Damien's attention.

00:30:05She even stood outside Blackwood Tower in the pouring rain, waiting there like someone with nowhere else to go.

00:30:10Finally, she threw herself in front of Damien's stretch limousine and refused to move.

00:30:16Clara pressed her face against the rain streak window, crying so hard she could barely speak.

00:30:22She begged Damien to stop destroying the Vale family.

00:30:25She said she was sorry.

00:30:27I promised I would find that bitch Scarlet and bring her back.

00:30:31All I wanted was for him to look at me.

00:30:34The window rolled down only a crick, revealed Damien's cold, hollow face and the stubble along his jaw.

00:30:40He did not even give her a proper look.

00:30:44Get her out of my way.

00:30:49The guards got out and dragged Clara away like she was nothing, ignoring her screams.

00:30:57The limousine drove off, leaving Clara sitting in the mud, sobbing in the rain.

00:31:02Damien closed his eyes and let the alcohol and sleepless nights swallow him whole.

00:31:07He had started relying on heavy doses of sleeping pills just to get a few hours of rest.

00:31:12But every time he fell asleep, the same nightmares came back.

00:31:17He saw me in the fountain, bleeding and pale.

00:31:20He heard me screaming in the wine cellar while the current tore through me.

00:31:26He saw the explosion and the fire swallowing the Vale estate.

00:31:29Every time, he woke up drenched in cold sweat, his heart pounding with terror and regret.

00:31:35He became darker and more violent with each passing day.

00:31:39Everyone in Blackwood's upper management walked on eggshells around him.

00:31:44One week later, Damien's mother forced him to attend a top-teal private charity gala in Manhattan.

00:31:49No one had expected that after Scarlet Vale left, she would take the soul of Manhattan's most powerful air with

00:31:54her.

00:31:54Damien stood in a corner with a glass of whiskey, staring blankly at the dance floor.

00:31:58Then, for one second, he thought he saw a familiar figure in a bright red dress, laughing with that proud,

00:32:02dazzling profile he could not forget.

00:32:05He called my name. His heart almost stopped.

00:32:08He lost every trace of composure, pushed through the crowd of politicians and billionaires, and grabbed the woman's wrist.

00:32:17What the hell are you doing? Let go of me!

00:32:19It was not me. The light in Damien's eyes went out instantly, replaced by despair and humiliation.

00:32:23He released her as if all the strength had left his body.

00:32:26The wealthy guests around him stared with confusion and thinly hidden mockery.

00:32:30Sir, please. You need to be careful. This is not appropriate.

00:32:33It does not meet Blackwood family standards.

00:32:35Damien repeated the word with a bitter laugh.

00:32:38Standards?

00:32:39To hell with the standards. I do not care about any of it anymore.

00:32:43I only want Scarlet.

00:32:45Then he pulled his fist back and slammed it into the decorative stone pillar beside him.

00:32:50His knuckles split open immediately, and blood ran down the column.

00:32:54But he did not feel the physical pain.

00:32:57All he felt was the hollow space in his chest where something vital used to be.

00:33:04Another week passed.

00:33:07The thick curtains were drawn shut.

00:33:09The ashtrays were overflowing with cigar beats.

00:33:13The air smelled of tobacco and bitter coffee.

00:33:16Inside the top floor office of Blackwood Tower, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like the silence before a

00:33:21storm.

00:33:22Damien had been sitting there for five days without real sleep.

00:33:25Every hour felt like torture.

00:33:27His desk was covered with reports from private investigators, and they all said the same thing.

00:33:35They could not find me.

00:33:36Just as he was about to lose the last of his sanity, his assistant walked in carefully with a black

00:33:42coffee.

00:33:45He swallowed hard before speaking.

00:33:47Sir, we have new information.

00:33:50We cross-checked blurry facial matches from every non-standard exit channel over the past three months.

00:33:55We found someone who looks a lot like Miss Vale.

00:33:58Damien's head snapped up.

00:34:00His blood-sharp eyes locked onto the assistant like a starving wolf.

00:34:03The assistant quickly continued.

00:34:05She appeared in the transit area of Heathrow Airport.

00:34:11The timing matches.

00:34:12It was three days after the mansion exploded.

00:34:17Damien grabbed the classified file from his assistant,

00:34:20his fingers shaking so badly from desperation and excitement that he could barely hold it steady.

00:34:26He stared at the enlarged surveillance photo.

00:34:29The image was blurry, but it showed someone in a coat,

00:34:32walking towards a quieter boarding gate with a small suitcase.

00:34:36The figure was familiar enough to burn through his bones.

00:34:40He knew it was a new lead on me.

00:34:42Hope lit up the near-extinction madness in his eyes like the last lifeline thrown to a drowning man.

00:34:48Where was the connecting flight going?

00:34:50We are still working on it.

00:34:52Heathrow transit records are complicated,

00:34:53and she seems to have avoided the major national flights that required stricter identity checks.

00:34:58She chose smaller, cheaper airlines that attracted less attention.

00:35:00It will take time.

00:35:02We do not have time.

00:35:05Get the jet ready.

00:35:07We are leaving for Heathrow right now.

00:35:08Yes, sir.

00:35:09Sir, the Federal Reserve Board meeting is this afternoon.

00:35:12Cancel it.

00:35:13Cancel everything.

00:35:14Nothing matters more than finding her.

00:35:16Three hours later,

00:35:17the Blackwood family's private jet tore through the clouds above Manhattan

00:35:21and landed at Heathrow Airport in London.

00:35:23The plane had not even fully stopped before Damien was already opening the door.

00:35:27He could not wait for the stairs to lower all the way and jump down.

00:35:30His tie was crooked.

00:35:31His shirt collar was torn open and deep circles shadowed his eyes.

00:35:34Messy stubble covered his jaw.

00:35:36He looked nothing like the perfectly dressed, untouchable CEO he used to be.

00:35:39Damien repeated the city name under his breath as he ran through the crowded airport,

00:35:43his sharp eyes scanning every woman he passed.

00:35:46Finally, he saw the boarding gate, just as it was about to close.

00:35:51Damien's eyes locked onto the end of the boarding line.

00:35:54The slender figure in a cream linen dress, wide-breamed hat and sunglasses was the woman

00:35:59he had been hunting for an entire month.

00:36:02Scarlet?

00:36:02He ran toward her, not caring that travelers around him were staring in shock.

00:36:07He grabbed my wrist and held on like his life depended on it.

00:36:10My body went stiff.

00:36:15Let go of me, Mr. Blackwood.

00:36:17Grabbing a woman in public like this is not very appropriate, is it?

00:36:20I thought your precious family code cared about appearances.

00:36:24The cold sarcasm in my voice hit Damien like ice water, but he did not care anymore.

00:36:29Scarlet, come back with me.

00:36:31Please.

00:36:32I know I was wrong.

00:36:33I screwed up.

00:36:34I will fix it.

00:36:36Just come home with me.

00:36:37I laughed and pried his fingers off me, one by one.

00:36:43Come back to what?

00:36:44That cage with 3,000 stupid rules?

00:36:47Am I supposed to go back and play Mrs. Blackwood again?

00:36:50His face turned paler.

00:36:52I looked at him with open disgust.

00:36:54Did you forget your perfect bride is Clara now?

00:36:57Your sweet, sensible little bride is waiting for you.

00:37:00Chasing your ex-fiancé through an airport is a bad look, Damien.

00:37:04The man who had once been Manhattan's coldest and most untouchable heir fell to his knees

00:37:08in that foreign airport, surrounded by cameras and strangers, looking smaller than dirt.

00:37:12Damien looked up at me, and tears finally broke through.

00:37:15The wedding did not count.

00:37:16I never wanted her.

00:37:18I do not care about the family code anymore.

00:37:20If you come back with me, you can do whatever you want.

00:37:23I will agree to anything.

00:37:24Just do not leave me like this.

00:37:26I took a step back, as if avoiding something filthy.

00:37:29Your apology came too late, and honestly, I do not need it.

00:37:34Then I turned around, handed my boarding pass to the gate agent,

00:37:38and walked straight into the jet bridge with my back straight.

00:37:41Damien tried to follow, but airport security and his assistant held him back.

00:37:47He screamed my name toward the closing door, sounding like a man being torn apart.

00:37:55Three months later, in Monaco, inside the Monte Carlo Casino,

00:37:59money and desire blurred together under the glittering lights.

00:38:02The sound of poker chips never stopped.

00:38:04At a crowded Bacarmo table, every man nearby had his eyes fixed on the woman

00:38:07sitting across from the dealer.

00:38:11That woman was me.

00:38:13I wore a black silk slip dress with thin straps and a high clip

00:38:17that revealed my pale ankles and silver heels.

00:38:21The next round of cards came out.

00:38:23I barely glanced at my hand before tapping my fingers lightly on the table.

00:38:28Raise.

00:38:29Player wins.

00:38:31Then he pushed a mountain of chips toward me.

00:38:34The crowd around us broke into amazed whispers.

00:38:37They said the socialite from New York had won seven hands in a row.

00:38:40They said my psychological game was terrifying.

00:38:43I took a sip of champagne and almost laughed at the irony.

00:38:47This was not luck.

00:38:48It was probability, statistics, and psychology.

00:38:51All the things Damien had once forced me to learn so I could become the perfect high society wife.

00:38:56I never thought those lessons would become my best weapon for burning through money in a place like this.

00:39:01Just as I was about to place another bet,

00:39:03a drunk local heir named Charles shoved through the crowd.

00:39:06His face was red from losing too much money and he reeked of alcohol.

00:39:11Come play with me tonight.

00:39:13I will split my winnings with you.

00:39:15Before his hand could touch me,

00:39:17I stepped back and lifted my right foot in its seven centimeter heel.

00:39:20Then I kicked him hard and precisely between the legs,

00:39:23using every bit of strength I had built through years of training.

00:39:27I was about to leave with my chip card when the crowd suddenly parted.

00:39:30A young mixed-age man walked toward me with his hands in his pockets.

00:39:33He wore a black suit with the top three buttons undone,

00:39:36looking relaxed and arrogant in a way that came naturally to men who had never been told no.

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

00:39:41It was Nathaniel.

00:39:45Nathaniel had an unlit cigar between his lips.

00:39:47He used the polished tip of his shoe to nudge Charles,

00:39:50who was still curled up on the floor groaning.

00:39:51His expression was pure contempt.

00:39:53You put your hands on someone I am interested in, in my casino.

00:39:56That is not flirting, Charles.

00:39:58That is a death wish.

00:40:02If I ever see you near her again,

00:40:04what she broke tonight will be the least of your problems.

00:40:07Charles scrambled away with the help of his friends, too scared to look back.

00:40:11Then Nathaniel turned to me.

00:40:12His deep, flirtious eyes landed on mine,

00:40:14and he did not bother hiding his interest.

00:40:16He stepped forward naturally,

00:40:18slid one arm around my waist and pulled me closer with a confidence that was almost insulting.

00:40:22His hold was intimate, possessive, and far too practiced.

00:40:25My body tensed, and I tried to pull away,

00:40:27but his arm stayed relaxed while still leaving no room to escape.

00:40:30He lowered his head close to my ear,

00:40:32his warm breath brushing my skin.

00:40:34I have been watching the little wildcat from New York for a while now.

00:40:38Those claws are impressive.

00:40:40Then he lifted his head and announced it to the whole casino

00:40:42with the kenless arrogance of a spoiled playboy.

00:40:45Damien Blackwood was blind enough not to want her.

00:40:47Lucky me, because I do.

00:40:50The Monaco socialites watching from nearby immediately started buzzing with gossip.

00:40:55Everyone knew Nathaniel had impossibly high standards,

00:40:58and now he was publicly chasing a runaway bride from New York.

00:41:02I looked up at him,

00:41:03met his burning gaze,

00:41:05and smiled.

00:41:07I appreciate the offer,

00:41:10but do I look like I need a man to get whatever I want?

00:41:13Nathaniel did not get angry.

00:41:14Instead, he pulled me a little closer,

00:41:16and the admiration in his eyes almost overflowed.

00:41:20That mouth of yours is dangerous.

00:41:22I like dangerous.

00:41:27I stayed in Monaco for a while,

00:41:29and Nathaniel kept his word.

00:41:30He pursued me loudly, aggressively,

00:41:32and with absolutely no shame.

00:41:33The next morning,

00:41:34a limited edition bright yellow Lamborghini

00:41:35was parked outside my apartment building.

00:41:37The keys were delivered with a card

00:41:38written in messy handwriting.

00:41:40It was just a way to get around.

00:41:41If you crash it,

00:41:42I will pay for it.

00:41:43A few days later,

00:41:44he rented a massive luxury yacht

00:41:45and threw an extravagant party on the water,

00:41:47insisting that I be the center of it.

00:41:55Have fun anywhere you want.

00:41:57Use my name if anyone gets in your way.

00:41:59He took me skydiving,

00:42:01deep sea diving,

00:42:01and even snuck us onto an F1 track

00:42:03to race cars in the middle of the night.

00:42:05He did every crazy, dangerous, reckless thing with me,

00:42:08and none of it had anything to do with family codes,

00:42:10rules, or proper behavior.

00:42:11What got to me most was that he never asked me

00:42:13to be gentle, quiet, or obedient.

00:42:15He never wanted me to behave.

00:42:16Whenever I pushed a race car up to 200 miles per hour,

00:42:19showing every wild edge I had,

00:42:21he sat in the passenger seat,

00:42:22whistling and cheering

00:42:23like he had never seen anything better.

00:42:24After we landed on the soft sand

00:42:26from a 10,000 meter skydive,

00:42:27Nathaniel pulled off his goggles.

00:42:29His hair was a mess,

00:42:30and he was smoking a cigarette

00:42:31while looking at my flushed face

00:42:32with a chalky smile.

00:42:33This is how you are supposed to live, Scarlett.

00:42:35Wild, loud, and impossible to leash.

00:42:37It suits you a hell of a lot better

00:42:38than playing some polished fake heiress in New York.

00:42:40Looking at this loud, arrogant man,

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

00:42:44A frozen part of my heart,

00:42:45locked away by Damien for two lifetimes,

00:42:47began to thaw just a little.

00:42:48When I was with Nathaniel,

00:42:49I did not have to pretend.

00:42:50I did not have to be careful.

00:42:52I could let every sharp edge show.

00:42:53One night, we were playing a huge game

00:42:55of Texas Hold Us at a private club,

00:42:57and I had lost several hands in a row.

00:42:58I was hesitating over whether to call the bet

00:43:00when Nathaniel lazily pushed

00:43:01more than half of his kips towards me.

00:43:03Call it.

00:43:03Do not get scared now.

00:43:05If you lose, it is on me.

00:43:06If you win, it's your fun money.

00:43:08On the way home that night,

00:43:10with the wind blowing through the car,

00:43:11he was quiet for once.

00:43:13Then, he said something I did not expect.

00:43:17You know, we met a long time ago.

00:43:24I turned my head in surprise

00:43:26and looked at his handsome profile.

00:43:31Nathaniel kept his eyes on the road

00:43:33and let out a bitter laugh.

00:43:34Years ago,

00:43:35at a horse track in New York,

00:43:38you were 18.

00:43:40Richard, Monica, and Clara

00:43:42there to embarrass you

00:43:44in front of half the social crowders.

00:43:46Do you remember what you did?

00:43:48You jumped your horse

00:43:49over the highest obstacle

00:43:50and beat the guy

00:43:51who had been looking down on you all day.

00:43:53You were sitting on that horse,

00:43:55laughing like you owned the whole world,

00:43:57loud, arrogant,

00:43:58impossible to ignore.

00:44:00I remember thinking,

00:44:01damn, that girl is something else.

00:44:05I was stunned.

00:44:06I had almost forgotten

00:44:08that miserable day

00:44:09when Richard had tried

00:44:10so hard to humiliate me.

00:44:12Too bad your eyes

00:44:14were only on that fake gentleman,

00:44:15Damien Blackwood.

00:44:17I was wild back then too,

00:44:19but I knew one thing.

00:44:21You cannot force someone to want you.

00:44:24So I did not step in

00:44:25just to get rejected.

00:44:28His words landed like a stone

00:44:30dropped into the dead still lake

00:44:32of my heart.

00:44:33So there had been someone

00:44:35watching the real Scarlet Vals all along,

00:44:37even when I had not known it.

00:44:39What truly changed the way I saw him

00:44:41happened during a dirt bike accident.

00:44:42We were racing on a mountain road

00:44:44in Southern Europe.

00:44:45On the way down,

00:44:46the pavement was wet

00:44:46and I was going too fast.

00:44:48My tire lost traction on a sharp turn

00:44:49and both my bike and I

00:44:50flew toward a steep drop

00:44:51hundreds of feet below.

00:44:54In that split second,

00:44:55Nathaniel was right behind me.

00:44:56He did not hesitate.

00:44:57He hit the gas and shot toward me,

00:44:59using his heavier bike

00:44:59to slam into mine

00:45:00and changed the direction of my fall.

00:45:02But because of the force and the rebound,

00:45:03he and his bike went tumbling down the steep slope instead.

00:45:05When I scrambled down the hill

00:45:05and found him among the rocks,

00:45:07his right leg was pinned under the heavy bike.

00:45:09Blood covered his forehead

00:45:10and his face was white from pain.

00:45:12Do not cry.

00:45:13I am too damn tough to die like this.

00:45:14Even then,

00:45:15he forced an ugly,

00:45:16cocky smile,

00:45:17like he was still trying to make me feel better.

00:45:21In the private hospital in Monaco,

00:45:23Nathaniel had thick bandages

00:45:24wrapped around his head

00:45:25and a cased on his right arm,

00:45:26but he still acted like the same

00:45:27wild,

00:45:28carenless trouble mare.

00:45:29He lay in the hospital bed,

00:45:30looking at me as I sat beside him

00:45:32with slightly red eyes.

00:45:33For once,

00:45:34he put away all his cocky,

00:45:35unserious attitude.

00:45:37His deep,

00:45:38flertuous eyes

00:45:38locked onto mine

00:45:39with a seriousness

00:45:40I had never seen from him before.

00:45:42I know you've been hurt.

00:45:45I know Black Hill broke you

00:45:47with his rules and chains.

00:45:50I am not asking you

00:45:51to get over it for me.

00:45:53Take all the time you need.

00:45:54I can wait.

00:45:56I can wait.

00:45:58When you are ready

00:45:59to want someone again,

00:46:01I want you to think of me first.

00:46:03His honesty,

00:46:04the way he had risked his life

00:46:05to save me

00:46:05and the way he accepted

00:46:06every wild part of me

00:46:07without trying to change it

00:46:08all hit me at once.

00:46:09It felt like hot sunlight

00:46:10breaking through the frozen walls

00:46:11around my heart.

00:46:12For this time,

00:46:13I did not answer with something sharp.

00:46:14I only lowered my eyes

00:46:15and felt some of those

00:46:16cold hard chains inside me

00:46:17begin to crack.

00:46:18But the peace did not last long.

00:46:20A few days later,

00:46:21the nightmare found me again.

00:46:23Late one night,

00:46:24after I had been out

00:46:25dancing with Mia,

00:46:26I was walking back

00:46:27to my apartment

00:46:28when the air around me

00:46:29turned cold

00:46:29in a way I knew too well.

00:46:31A thin, worn out figure

00:46:32stood under the shadow

00:46:33of a streetlight.

00:46:34His eyes red

00:46:34with endless obsession.

00:46:36Damien Blackwood.

00:46:36He looked terrifying.

00:46:38His suit was wrinkled,

00:46:39his eyes were bloodshot,

00:46:40and violent desperation

00:46:40seemed to radiate

00:46:41from his entire body,

00:46:42like he was one step away

00:46:43from losing his mind.

00:46:44He stepped forward

00:46:45and grabbed my arm,

00:46:46squeezing so hard

00:46:47it felt like he was

00:46:47trying to break it.

00:46:48His voice was rough,

00:46:50like sandpaper

00:46:51dragged over concrete.

00:46:52Scarlet,

00:46:53are you done playing games?

00:46:54Come back with me.

00:46:56Now.

00:46:59Let go of me,

00:47:00Mr. Blackwood.

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

00:47:12Just as Damien was about

00:47:14to force me into his car,

00:47:15a hand with long,

00:47:16defined fingers

00:47:17and a limited edition watch

00:47:18cut through the air

00:47:19faster than anyone expected.

00:47:20It caught Damien's wrist

00:47:22with a sharp smack

00:47:23and held tight.

00:47:26A Blackwood CEO

00:47:27should know better

00:47:28than to put his hands

00:47:29on my woman in public.

00:47:32Even a three-year-old

00:47:33knows you cannot force

00:47:34someone to want you.

00:47:36He twisted Damien's wrist

00:47:37with sudden,

00:47:38explosive strength,

00:47:39forcing him to let go of me.

00:47:42At the same time,

00:47:43he slid his arm around my waist

00:47:45and pulled me behind him,

00:47:47natural and protective.

00:47:49Damien's eyes shot to Nathaniel's hand

00:47:51on my waist

00:47:51like poison daggers.

00:47:53The jealousy and rage

00:47:54burned through

00:47:55the last thread of sanity

00:47:56the New York air had left.

00:47:57Damien's veins stood out

00:47:59on his forehead

00:47:59and he spat Nathaniel's name

00:48:01through his teeth.

00:48:02Take your hands off her.

00:48:04You are a spoiled piece of trash

00:48:06who changes women

00:48:07more often than cars.

00:48:08Do not touch her

00:48:10with your filthy hands.

00:48:11If you do not let go,

00:48:13I will destroy

00:48:14your entire family in Europe.

00:48:20I am a mess.

00:48:21Sure.

00:48:22I sleep around

00:48:23and I have never

00:48:24pretended to be a saint.

00:48:26Then his tones changed completely

00:48:28and every word

00:48:29came out cold and poison.

00:48:31But I have never been sick enough

00:48:32to make a woman

00:48:33write a 10,000 word

00:48:34tumblet apology.

00:48:35I have never locked her

00:48:37in a dark wine cellar

00:48:38for three days

00:48:39without food or water.

00:48:40I have never thrown her

00:48:41into a freezing fountain

00:48:42at a gala.

00:48:44Watched her bleed in the water

00:48:45and then told my guards

00:48:47to keep going

00:48:48because she needed

00:48:48to learn a lesson.

00:48:56So tell me Blackwood

00:48:59what the hell

00:49:00kind of man

00:49:00do you think you are?

00:49:05Every word out of Nathaniel's mouth

00:49:07cut open the guilt

00:49:08Damien had been trying

00:49:09not to face.

00:49:09Right there on a foreign street,

00:49:11Nathaniel stripped away

00:49:12every pathetic excuse

00:49:13Damien had ever made

00:49:14about love,

00:49:15discipline,

00:49:16and protection,

00:49:17leaving him with nothing

00:49:17to hide behind.

00:49:18The color drained

00:49:19from Damien's face.

00:49:20His lips trembled

00:49:21and he tried to argue back

00:49:23but his throat was so dry

00:49:24that not a single word

00:49:25came out.

00:49:26Two months of guilt

00:49:27and regret

00:49:27crashed over him

00:49:28all at once.

00:49:29His vision went dark

00:49:30and he could barely stand.

00:49:32Then he snapped.

00:49:34Shut up.

00:49:36His voice was hazy

00:49:37and shaking.

00:49:41Shut your mouth!

00:49:43The last thread

00:49:44holding him to get broke.

00:49:46He pulled his fist back

00:49:47and charged forward

00:49:48trying to tear me away

00:49:49from Nathaniel.

00:49:51Nathaniel had run out

00:49:52of patient.

00:49:53His eyes went cold

00:49:54and he lunged forward

00:49:55throwing a punch

00:49:56straight at Damien.

00:49:58Two powerful men

00:49:59who were used to

00:49:59commanding boardrooms

00:50:00and making entire markets move

00:50:01started brawling

00:50:02on the streets of Monaco

00:50:03like common street thugs.

00:50:05The heavy sound

00:50:05of fists hitting flesh

00:50:06and the raw grails of age

00:50:08made casino guests

00:50:09scream and scattered.

00:50:10In the chaos,

00:50:11Damien used that reckless

00:50:12almost suicidal force

00:50:14to break through the guards

00:50:15and reach me again.

00:50:17Come with me.

00:50:18I am not losing you again.

00:50:19He grabbed my shoulders

00:50:20with his bloody hands.

00:50:22His eyes obsessive

00:50:23and unhinged.

00:50:24Damien forced me

00:50:25into the black armored car

00:50:26waiting on the street

00:50:27and ordered his men

00:50:28to clear a pay.

00:50:29Clear the way, now!

00:50:32Drive to the private airport.

00:50:34Now, we are leaving

00:50:35for New York.

00:50:39By the time Nathaniel

00:50:40ran back into the street

00:50:41with blood on his face,

00:50:42all he could see

00:50:43were the taillights

00:50:43disappearing toward the coast.

00:50:49Find Blackwood's

00:50:50private flight path

00:50:51across the Atlantic.

00:50:52Get my people ready.

00:50:53I am going to New York

00:50:54and I am tearing his tower down

00:50:56if I have to.

00:50:58Twelve hours later,

00:50:59the Gulf Ray landed

00:51:00a heavily guarded private estate

00:51:02outside New York City,

00:51:03completely isolated

00:51:04from the outside world.

00:51:05It was Damien's

00:51:06most hidden asset,

00:51:07a beautiful golden cage

00:51:08built with the best

00:51:09security systems money could buy.

00:51:10I was locked inside

00:51:11the luxurious living room,

00:51:13but I stayed completely silent.

00:51:14I did not cry.

00:51:16I did not scream.

00:51:17I did not make a scene.

00:51:19I only looked at Damien

00:51:20with a coldness

00:51:21that made it clear

00:51:22he was already dead to me.

00:51:24Damien's heart cracked

00:51:25piece by piece

00:51:26under that look.

00:51:27He desperately wanted

00:51:28to make things right.

00:51:31Then he suddenly remembered

00:51:32that I had once mentioned

00:51:33liking a certain French dessert.

00:51:35He had never been

00:51:36in a kitchen in his life,

00:51:37but he took off his jacket

00:51:38and walked into the kitchen anyway,

00:51:40clumsily cutting ingredients

00:51:41with his ruined hands.

00:51:43Hot oil splashed up

00:51:44and burned blisters

00:51:44across the backs of his hands,

00:51:46but he did not seem to notice.

00:51:47An hour later,

00:51:48he came out carrying

00:51:49a plate of dessert

00:51:49that looked terrible

00:51:50and slightly burnt.

00:51:51He walked up to me

00:51:52with a tired, worn-out face

00:51:53that carried a pathetic

00:51:54kind of hope.

00:51:55His whole body was shaking.

00:51:57His eyes were red

00:51:58and he could barely stand

00:51:59as it helped it

00:51:59played out to me.

00:52:00You used to say

00:52:01you liked this.

00:52:02I made it myself.

00:52:03Please, Scarlet,

00:52:04just try one bite.

00:52:05I leaned against the couch,

00:52:07completely different,

00:52:08and did not even bother

00:52:09to look at him.

00:52:09I treated him

00:52:10like he was invisible.

00:52:11Damien's heart sank deeper

00:52:12into that frozen silence

00:52:13until there was nothing

00:52:14left but despair.

00:52:15All his pride fell away

00:52:16as he dropped to his knees

00:52:17in front of me

00:52:18and looked up like a beggar.

00:52:19I know that now.

00:52:19I do want the family code anymore.

00:52:20I will never lock you down again.

00:52:21Just do not look at me

00:52:22like I'm already dead.

00:52:23It's driving me insane.

00:52:24Why you can't forgive me?

00:52:29I finally turned my head

00:52:31and looked at his broken face.

00:52:33Beneath my calm surface

00:52:35was the frozen cold

00:52:36of two lifetimes.

00:52:37You really want to know why?

00:52:39Fine, Damien.

00:52:41I will tell you.

00:52:42I looked at him without blinking

00:52:44because at the charity gala,

00:52:46you let your guards

00:52:48throw me into a freezing fountain.

00:52:50You knew I was bleeding

00:52:51and when they asked

00:52:53if they should stop,

00:52:54you told them to keep going.

00:52:56His face went white

00:52:57because in the pouring rain,

00:52:59you brought me back

00:53:00to your mansion.

00:53:01But the second Clara

00:53:02put on her innocent little act,

00:53:04you protected her

00:53:05from the boiling water

00:53:07and left me on the floor

00:53:08while my skin peeled off.

00:53:10His breathing turned unsteady

00:53:12because you locked me

00:53:13in that dark wine cellar

00:53:14and gave Clara

00:53:15the perfect chance

00:53:16to torture me

00:53:17with an electroshock chair.

00:53:18When I told you the truth

00:53:20with injuries all over my body,

00:53:22you called me a liar.

00:53:24His face went pale.

00:53:26Every time you had to choose

00:53:27between me and Clara,

00:53:29you chose her.

00:53:31You chose your family's reputation.

00:53:34You chose control.

00:53:35And now you are kneeling here

00:53:37asking me to believe

00:53:38you loved me?

00:53:40Every word struck Damien

00:53:41like a judgment.

00:53:42Damien's face

00:53:43was completely pale.

00:53:44His body shook so hard

00:53:45he could barely stay upright.

00:53:46He tried to argue,

00:53:48to say I had misunderstood,

00:53:49but in front of those brutal facts,

00:53:50he realized words meant nothing.

00:53:52Regret tore through him.

00:53:53He tried to stand

00:53:55but accidentally

00:53:55knocked over the bag

00:53:56tucked between the couch hips.

00:53:58Everything inside

00:53:59spilled onto the floor.

00:54:00As he scrambled to pick it up,

00:54:02his fingers touched

00:54:03a medical file

00:54:04hidden deep inside.

00:54:09Damien opened

00:54:10the medical report

00:54:11from the private hospital

00:54:12in Monaco

00:54:13before he could think

00:54:14better of it.

00:54:14Large area deep

00:54:15second degree burns

00:54:16with severe PSTD

00:54:17caused prolonged

00:54:18psychological

00:54:19combustible pressure.

00:54:20Burns.

00:54:22Boiling water.

00:54:24He stared at the date

00:54:26on the report.

00:54:27It was the same day

00:54:28he had knocked over

00:54:29the hot water

00:54:29and carried Clara

00:54:30away from the mansion.

00:54:31That was how badly

00:54:32I had been hurt.

00:54:33It had not only been my body,

00:54:35my mind had been damaged too.

00:54:37And what had he been doing then,

00:54:39the man who claimed to love me?

00:54:40He had been holding Clara,

00:54:42the person at the center

00:54:43of all of it,

00:54:44asking if she was okay.

00:54:46Meanwhile,

00:54:46he had left me

00:54:47in boiling water to suffer.

00:54:48Damien completely lost control.

00:54:50He punched the wall so hard

00:54:51that the crack of his knuckles

00:54:52breaking was audible.

00:54:53Blood splattered

00:54:54across the wall,

00:54:54but the physical pain

00:54:55was nothing compared

00:54:56to the feeling of his heart

00:54:57being crushed piece by piece.

00:54:59He crawled back to my feet

00:55:00like a dying dog

00:55:01and grabbed the hem

00:55:01of my dress

00:55:02with his broken,

00:55:03bleeding hand.

00:55:04His voice was wrecked

00:55:05as he apologized

00:55:06over and over again.

00:55:08I did not know

00:55:09it was that bad.

00:55:10Scarlet,

00:55:11I swear,

00:55:11I did not know.

00:55:13Kill me if you want.

00:55:14Take a knife

00:55:15and do it right now.

00:55:16Just give me one chance.

00:55:18Please.

00:55:19Just one chance.

00:55:22I looked down at him,

00:55:24my long lashes

00:55:25casting cold shadows

00:55:26over my eyes.

00:55:27There was no emotion

00:55:29in them at all.

00:55:30I heard your apology,

00:55:31Damien.

00:55:32I just do not forgive you.

00:55:38At that moment,

00:55:39the roar of Moletter cycle engines

00:55:41and screaming security alarms

00:55:42exploded outside the villa.

00:55:44Through the chaos

00:55:44of guards yelling

00:55:45and fighting,

00:55:46the thick bulletproof

00:55:47front door of the living room

00:55:48was slammed open

00:55:49from the outside.

00:55:50Nathaniel burst in

00:55:51covered in injuries,

00:55:52his eyes wild with rage,

00:55:53carrying the kind of fury

00:55:54that looked ready to kill.

00:55:58Nathaniel strode in

00:55:59over the shattered glass,

00:56:00his black leather jacket

00:56:02stained with the blood

00:56:03of Damien's guards.

00:56:04The usual lazy charm

00:56:06in his eyes was gone,

00:56:08replaced by something

00:56:09savage and deadly.

00:56:12He pulled me behind him

00:56:14in one swift motion.

00:56:17His right fist trembled

00:56:18from the force

00:56:19he was barely holding back.

00:56:24Damien Blackwood,

00:56:25you really had the nerve

00:56:26to take her right under my nose.

00:56:28You think because your family

00:56:30runs New York,

00:56:32I cannot touch you?

00:56:33Damien was still on the floor.

00:56:35His broken hand hung at his side,

00:56:36blood dripping from his fingertips

00:56:38onto the expensive wool carpet.

00:56:39Slowly he stood.

00:56:41His proud, untouchable spine

00:56:42looked bent now,

00:56:43but the moment he saw Nathaniel,

00:56:45jealousy and violence

00:56:45flared back to life

00:56:46in his hollow eyes.

00:56:48Let her go.

00:56:49Nathaniel, this is New York.

00:56:55This is my territory!

00:56:57When the council I'm assailed,

00:56:58you are not taking her anywhere!

00:57:01Nathaniel looked as if he had just heard

00:57:03the funniest thing in the world.

00:57:08He stepped forward

00:57:10and grabbed Damien by the collar,

00:57:12lifting him with brutal force.

00:57:13Your territory?

00:57:15Look outside.

00:57:17Beyond the windows,

00:57:19countless armored vehicles

00:57:20flashed with warning lights

00:57:21surrounding the private estate.

00:57:23Nathaniel's men

00:57:24had already formed a standoff

00:57:25with Blackwood's guards.

00:57:27I am not just taking her

00:57:28out of here today.

00:57:31I am going to go and collect.

00:57:34I select the life

00:57:35you should have lost in Monaco,

00:57:36right here in New York.

00:57:42Damien did not fight back.

00:57:44He let Nathaniel hold him

00:57:45by the collar,

00:57:45but his eyes stayed locked

00:57:46on my face

00:57:47over Nathaniel's shoulder.

00:57:49There was no trace

00:57:50of his old arrogance

00:57:51left in that look,

00:57:52only a plea so desperate

00:57:53it had sunk into his bones.

00:57:55Scarlet, do not go.

00:57:57I am begging you.

00:58:01Stay,

00:58:02even if all you want

00:58:03is to kill me.

00:58:04I looked at him

00:58:05without emotion,

00:58:06as if I were looking

00:58:06at something already dead.

00:58:08Damien,

00:58:10the moment you threw yourself

00:58:11in front of Clara,

00:58:12we became enemies

00:58:13in both lifetimes.

00:58:15Do not make me hate you

00:58:16more than I already do.

00:58:17Then I turned

00:58:18and took Nathaniel's

00:58:20blooded hand myself.

00:58:21Nathaniel,

00:58:22let's go.

00:58:24Nathaniel froze

00:58:25for half a second,

00:58:25then clasped my hand tightly,

00:58:27locking his fingers

00:58:28with mine.

00:58:29With a look of disgust,

00:58:30he shoved Damien away

00:58:31as if pushing aside trash.

00:58:33Damien staggered back

00:58:34and crashed into

00:58:35the luxury wine cabinet

00:58:36behind him.

00:58:37Countless bottles

00:58:38shattered across the floor

00:58:39and dark red wine

00:58:41spread over the wreckage

00:58:42like blood.

00:58:44He sat collapsed

00:58:45in the ruin,

00:58:46able to do nothing

00:58:47but watch

00:58:48as Nathaniel shielded me

00:58:49and led me out

00:58:50of that beautiful golden cage

00:58:52without looking back.

00:58:54Nathaniel shielded me

00:58:55and led me out

00:58:56without looking back.

00:59:01The door slammed shut

00:59:02behind us.

00:59:03Behind it

00:59:04came Damien's

00:59:06broken,

00:59:06desperate growl.

00:59:15The suffocating gloom

00:59:17of New York

00:59:18was left behind

00:59:19on the other side

00:59:20of the Atlantic.

00:59:21Nathaniel did not

00:59:22take me back to Madoco

00:59:23in its glittering,

00:59:24noisy world

00:59:25of money and pleasure.

00:59:26Instead,

00:59:27he put me on his private jet

00:59:28and flew me straight

00:59:29to an extremely private estate

00:59:30in the south of France.

00:59:32The estate sat deep

00:59:33in the quiet

00:59:34Provenche countryside,

00:59:35far away from the world.

00:59:39When I opened the windows,

00:59:41I could see endless fields

00:59:42of lavender.

00:59:43The air smelled clean,

00:59:45full of grass,

00:59:46sunlight,

00:59:47and peace.

00:59:48There was no Richard Will

00:59:49calculating what I was worth.

00:59:51There was no Damien Blackfield

00:59:53haunting me with his obsession.

00:59:54There was only a silence

00:59:56gentle enough

00:59:56to make breathing

00:59:57feel easy again.

00:59:58Cancel all meetings.

01:00:00Nathaniel threw away

01:00:01every bit of his

01:00:02Southern European

01:00:03playboy image

01:00:04and became surprisingly patient.

01:00:07He canceled business mootings,

01:00:09turned down parties,

01:00:10and simply sat with me

01:00:11during breakfast

01:00:12in the flower-filled garden.

01:00:13At sunset,

01:00:14he would lie half on the grass

01:00:16beneath the grapefines

01:00:17with a book in his hand.

01:00:19Every now and then,

01:00:20he would look up

01:00:21and flash me

01:00:21that lazy,

01:00:22troublemaking smile.

01:00:23He never mentioned New York.

01:00:25He never mentioned

01:00:26Damien Blackwood.

01:00:27He never mentioned

01:00:28any part of the past

01:00:29that hurt me.

01:00:30With that strange,

01:00:32reckless tenderness

01:00:32only he had,

01:00:33he slowly chased the shadows

01:00:35of my last life

01:00:36from between my brows.

01:00:40The skin burned

01:00:41by deep second-degree scalds

01:00:43still arced at night,

01:00:45and the PTSD

01:00:46left by my past life

01:00:47often dragged me awake

01:00:49from nightmares.

01:00:50Every time I sat up

01:00:51covered in cold sweat,

01:00:52I saw a faint light

01:00:53glowing outside

01:00:53on the terrace.

01:00:54Nathaniel was always there,

01:00:56guarding my bedroom

01:00:56from the soap

01:00:57outside the glass doors.

01:00:58He held an old guitar

01:00:59in his arms,

01:01:00his long fingers

01:01:01moving over the strings.

01:01:02The melodies

01:01:02were never perfect,

01:01:03but somehow they were

01:01:04gentle enough

01:01:05to calm my heart.

01:01:08Nightmare again,

01:01:09Wildcat?

01:01:10Do not be scared.

01:01:11I am right here.

01:01:13Not even God

01:01:13gets past me tonight.

01:01:18paint whatever you want.

01:01:20Turn my face

01:01:21into a pig

01:01:22if it makes you happy.

01:01:26During the years,

01:01:27Damien controlled me.

01:01:29Painting had been dismissed

01:01:30as a useless distraction,

01:01:32but here,

01:01:32it was freedom.

01:01:34It belonged

01:01:34to Scarletta Vale.

01:01:38Under Nathaniel's

01:01:39shameless indulgements

01:01:40and steady companionship,

01:01:41I smiled more and more.

01:01:43It was the kind of joy

01:01:44that came from being

01:01:45accepted without conditions

01:01:46and encouraged to release

01:01:47every part of myself.

01:01:49One day,

01:01:50he secretly arranged

01:01:50a 10,000 meter skydive.

01:01:52The hellifter climbed higher

01:01:53and higher with a violent roar.

01:01:55Beneath us were the

01:01:55jewel blue Mediterranean

01:01:56and the distant line

01:01:57of the Alps.

01:01:58Wind poured in

01:01:59through the open cabin door,

01:02:00whipping my hair into chaos.

01:02:02The instructor checked

01:02:03and left our gear one final time.

01:02:04I looked at the shrinking world

01:02:05outside the door,

01:02:06took a deep breath

01:02:07and felt the brightest

01:02:08rush of anticipation

01:02:09I had known

01:02:09since my rebirth.

01:02:11Nathaniel him

01:02:11hailed my tightly,

01:02:12his palm burning hot

01:02:13at against mine.

01:02:14He leaned close to my ear

01:02:16and shouted over the engine.

01:02:17He grinned wild

01:02:18and dazzling.

01:02:19Just as the green light

01:02:20came on

01:02:20and the instructor

01:02:21signaled that we were

01:02:22ready to jump,

01:02:23he suddenly gestured

01:02:23for him to wait.

01:02:24He turned to me

01:02:25and stared straight

01:02:26into my eyes,

01:02:27deep and burning.

01:02:28Above the deafening engine,

01:02:29his voice somehow

01:02:30reached me clearly.

01:02:31Scarlet,

01:02:32before we jump,

01:02:33Scarlet Vale,

01:02:34I know you are hurt.

01:02:35I know that bastard

01:02:36in New York

01:02:37broke something in you.

01:02:38I am not gonna feed

01:02:39you pretty lies.

01:02:40I am asking you straight.

01:02:42Give me a chance.

01:02:47Let me take care of you.

01:02:49Everything Damien Blackwood

01:02:51did to you,

01:02:51I will spend the rest

01:02:52of my life

01:02:54helping you heal from it.

01:02:57If the sky falls,

01:02:58I will hold it up for you.

01:03:00If you wanna walk

01:03:01through the world

01:03:01like you own it,

01:03:02I will clear the road.

01:03:03If you want the stars,

01:03:04I will build you

01:03:05a damn ladder.

01:03:06I have never been

01:03:08this serious

01:03:08about anyone,

01:03:09Scarlet.

01:03:11I choose you.

01:03:12His conflation

01:03:12was direct,

01:03:13arrogant,

01:03:14and rough around

01:03:15the edges

01:03:15just like him,

01:03:16but it burned

01:03:16through me like sunlight,

01:03:18melting the deepest ice

01:03:19inside my heart.

01:03:20There was no prophet

01:03:20binding us together,

01:03:21no rules,

01:03:23no cage,

01:03:24only the purest

01:03:25kind of desire

01:03:25to love someone

01:03:26as they were.

01:03:27I looked into

01:03:28those flirtious eyes,

01:03:29now filled

01:03:30with love

01:03:30and nervousness,

01:03:31and the string

01:03:32that had been pulled

01:03:33in my heart

01:03:33for two lives

01:03:34finally snapped loose.

01:03:36The heavy chains

01:03:37were scattered

01:03:38by the wind

01:03:3910,000 meters

01:03:40above the earth.

01:03:57The wind thundered

01:03:59past my ears

01:04:00as I opened

01:04:00my arms to freedom.

01:04:02This time,

01:04:02my guardian

01:04:03was falling beside me.

01:04:08The sun

01:04:09in southern France

01:04:09was warm

01:04:10and gentle,

01:04:11but the top floor

01:04:12of Blackwood Tower

01:04:13in New York,

01:04:14the heavy curtains

01:04:15were drawn tight,

01:04:16shutting out

01:04:16every trace

01:04:16of daylight.

01:04:17Damien Sack

01:04:18collapsed

01:04:18in his oversized

01:04:19leather chair,

01:04:20surrounded by

01:04:20empty vodka bottles.

01:04:21He had grown

01:04:22painfully thin,

01:04:23his face was hangered,

01:04:24his eyes sunken,

01:04:25and the hair

01:04:26he had once kept

01:04:26perfectly styled

01:04:27for the sake

01:04:27of the family code

01:04:28now hung in a mess.

01:04:29His phone screen

01:04:29was still lit.

01:04:30On it was a blurry

01:04:31Pemperazzi photo

01:04:32taken in southern France.

01:04:33Sunlight poured

01:04:34over an outdoor cafe.

01:04:35I was wearing

01:04:36a bright yellow dress,

01:04:37laughing with

01:04:37Nathaniel a spoonful

01:04:38of ice cream.

01:04:39Nathaniel was looking

01:04:39at me with open affection,

01:04:40gently tapping

01:04:41my nose with his finger.

01:04:42The photo was

01:04:43beautiful enough

01:04:43to hurt.

01:04:44Scarlet,

01:04:45I only found out

01:04:45recently that Clara

01:04:46used an electroshock chair

01:04:48on you in the

01:04:48wine feller.

01:04:49I have locked her away.

01:04:51I will make her

01:04:52pay back every bit

01:04:53of pain she caused you.

01:04:57Scarlet.

01:04:58Scarlet.

01:05:00Scarlet.

01:05:02Tears mixed with blood

01:05:04at the corner

01:05:04of his mouth.

01:05:05He whispered my name

01:05:07like a prayer

01:05:07and a punishment.

01:05:10I was smiling,

01:05:12bright and unrhynd,

01:05:13but that happiness

01:05:14no longer belonged to him.

01:05:16That place beside me

01:05:18should have been his.

01:05:19He was the one

01:05:20who had pushed me away

01:05:21with those damned rules.

01:05:32He wrote like a madman.

01:05:34Sometimes his handwriting

01:05:35was messy.

01:05:37Sometimes it was

01:05:38painfully neat.

01:05:39Before long,

01:05:40the white paper

01:05:41was covered in tear marks

01:05:42and bloody fingerprints

01:05:43from his broken hand.

01:05:45He wrote about

01:05:46how stupid he had been

01:05:47to believe

01:05:48the Vail family's act.

01:05:49He wrote about

01:05:50forcing me to write

01:05:51apologies.

01:05:52Locking me in the wine cellar,

01:05:53I bled and bound me

01:05:54standing right

01:05:54and spilled about

01:05:55then hot water

01:05:56to protect Clara

01:05:57while leaving me

01:05:57with second degree burns

01:05:59and PTSD.

01:06:01Scarlet,

01:06:01I only found out recently

01:06:02that Clara used

01:06:03an electroshock chair

01:06:04on you in the wine cellar.

01:06:05I have locked her away.

01:06:07I will make her pay back

01:06:09every bit of pain

01:06:10she caused you.

01:06:18The letter was sent

01:06:19by international courier

01:06:20to southern France

01:06:21and eventually reached

01:06:22my hands.

01:06:23I did not read

01:06:25a single line.

01:06:26I threw it straight

01:06:27into the roaring fireplace.

01:06:29The pages curled

01:06:30and flailed in the flames

01:06:31and turned to ash.

01:06:39No answer ever came.

01:06:43After the letter was sent,

01:06:45no reply came back.

01:06:47Damien's last bit of hope

01:06:48died completely.

01:06:49Ignoring the furious objections

01:06:51of his private doctor,

01:06:52he tore the IV from his hand

01:06:54and booked the nearest flight

01:06:55to the south of France.

01:06:57Through the Blackwood family's

01:06:58underground channels in Europe,

01:06:59he eventually located

01:07:00the quiet estate

01:07:01surrounded by lavender fields.

01:07:03But he did not dare go near it.

01:07:05He was afraid of disturbing me.

01:07:07Even more than that,

01:07:08he was afraid of seeing

01:07:09the disgust in my eyes.

01:07:10So he stayed outside

01:07:11the thorny fence like a ghost,

01:07:13watching from far away

01:07:14day and night.

01:07:15He saw Nathaniel's Lamborghini

01:07:16come and go.

01:07:17He saw us walking

01:07:17hand in hand

01:07:18along the country road

01:07:19at sunset.

01:07:20At night,

01:07:20he saw Nathaniel's shadow

01:07:21on the second floor balcony

01:07:22as he gently held me

01:07:23in his arms.

01:07:24Every scene was a dull knife,

01:07:26slowly cutting through

01:07:26his body and soul.

01:07:28One day,

01:07:28a violent storm

01:07:29broke over southern France.

01:07:30Lightning split the night sky.

01:07:32Damien stood outside

01:07:33the fence without moving,

01:07:34letting the cold rain

01:07:35soak him through.

01:07:36He was running a fever

01:07:37of 104 degrees,

01:07:38his body burning

01:07:39under the creasing rain,

01:07:40but he stood there

01:07:41like a statue

01:07:41and refused to leave.

01:07:45In his sick,

01:07:46desperate mind,

01:07:47he imagined that

01:07:48maybe the rain

01:07:49was heavy enough

01:07:50to soften my heart.

01:07:52Maybe I would come out

01:07:53with an umbrella

01:07:54and look at him

01:07:55just once.

01:07:56Only when his body

01:07:57finally gave out

01:07:58did he collapse

01:07:59into the muddy water.

01:08:01Before he lost

01:08:02consciousness completely,

01:08:04he thought he saw

01:08:05the curtain move

01:08:06in a second floor window.

01:08:15Scarlet,

01:08:16let me see her.

01:08:20Keep dreaming, Blackwood.

01:08:22She does not want

01:08:23to see you.

01:08:24She would feel dirty

01:08:26wasting even one second

01:08:27on you.

01:08:32She told me to give you

01:08:33four words.

01:08:35No forgiveness.

01:08:37No pity.

01:08:39No return.

01:08:45Keep whatever dignity

01:08:46the Blackwood family

01:08:47still has.

01:08:48Every word struck Damien

01:08:50like an ice hook

01:08:51through the heart,

01:08:51shattering the last bit

01:08:52of hope left in him.

01:08:54He understood.

01:08:55I was not even willing

01:08:56to waste hatred

01:08:57on him anymore.

01:08:58Between us,

01:08:59everything had ended

01:09:00in the second of the car crash

01:09:01in my last life

01:09:02and in the moment

01:09:02he ordered the guards

01:09:03to keep me in the fountain

01:09:04in this life.

01:09:05After his fever broke,

01:09:07he was put on a plane

01:09:08back to New York

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

01:09:11He left like a puppet

01:09:13with its soul pulled out.

01:09:20Damien's forced departure

01:09:22did not stop

01:09:22the next storm

01:09:23from arriving.

01:09:24After recovering

01:09:25in southern France,

01:09:26I was no longer

01:09:27the weak woman

01:09:28from my past life

01:09:29who could only endure pain.

01:09:30With Nathaniel's financial power

01:09:32and international

01:09:33underground network

01:09:34behind me,

01:09:34I personally planned

01:09:35the final reckoning

01:09:36against the Vail family.

01:09:37Using hackers,

01:09:38I gathered hard evidence

01:09:39of Richard's years

01:09:40of tax evasion,

01:09:41money laundering,

01:09:42embezzlement

01:09:42of my mother's trust assets,

01:09:44and massive commercial

01:09:45brubbering.

01:09:45Then I anonymously

01:09:46submit everything

01:09:47to the highest federal

01:09:48prosecutors in New York.

01:09:52The evidence

01:09:53was overwhelming.

01:09:54Richard was arrested

01:09:55by federal agents

01:09:56during a Vail group

01:09:57board meeting

01:09:58right in front of the cameras

01:09:59and the entire press.

01:10:00The Vail family trust

01:10:02and company

01:10:02collapsed overnight.

01:10:04Their assets

01:10:04were seized

01:10:05and liquidated,

01:10:06and bankruptcy

01:10:07followed almost immediately.

01:10:08In the visiting room

01:10:09of New York's

01:10:10first federal prison,

01:10:11I sat behind

01:10:12thick bulletproof glass

01:10:13and looked coldly

01:10:14at Richard.

01:10:14He had gone

01:10:15white-haired overnight.

01:10:16He looked old,

01:10:17broken,

01:10:18and frantic.

01:10:19Scarlett,

01:10:19I am your father.

01:10:20My blood runs

01:10:21in your veins.

01:10:22You sent your own father

01:10:23to hell with your own hands.

01:10:24You'll pay for this.

01:10:25Pay for it?

01:10:26Richard,

01:10:26did you think about

01:10:27payback when you

01:10:27brought Monica

01:10:28into my mother's house?

01:10:29Did you think about it

01:10:30when you let

01:10:31tried to sell me

01:10:31into the Blackwood family

01:10:32like a piece of property?

01:10:36This is your payback.

01:10:38Spend the rest of your life

01:10:40repenting in there.

01:10:46Monica could not survive

01:10:48the shock

01:10:48of the Vail family

01:10:49collapsing overnight.

01:10:51Her mind broke completely,

01:10:52and she was forced

01:10:54into the cheapest

01:10:54psychiatric hospital

01:10:56in New York.

01:10:57Every day,

01:10:58she wandered

01:10:59with tangled hair,

01:11:00muttering nonsense

01:11:01to herself.

01:11:07Damien,

01:11:08please save my mother!

01:11:09Please save the Vail family!

01:11:10I know I was wrong!

01:11:12I will bring Scarlet

01:11:13back if you want!

01:11:13I will beg that bitch

01:11:14to come back!

01:11:15Just look at me once!

01:11:17The iron gate

01:11:17slowly opened.

01:11:19Damien came out

01:11:20with a cane.

01:11:21He looked down

01:11:22at the woman

01:11:23kneeling at his feet

01:11:24like she was filth

01:11:25on the road.

01:11:26There was no emotion

01:11:27in his eyes,

01:11:28only disgust.

01:11:30Love?

01:11:31Clara,

01:11:32I know exactly

01:11:32how you and Monica

01:11:33schemed your way

01:11:34through Manhattan society

01:11:35and bullied Scarlet

01:11:36for years.

01:11:37I did not touch you

01:11:38before because

01:11:39you were not worth

01:11:40dirtying my hands.

01:11:42Also,

01:11:43I was saving you

01:11:44for Scarlet.

01:11:47Now that she has

01:11:48made her move,

01:11:49I am satisfied.

01:11:50Get this disgusting

01:11:51woman out of my sight.

01:11:57After that,

01:11:57a filthy,

01:11:58ragged woman

01:11:59appeared on the

01:11:59underground streets

01:12:00of Manhattan.

01:12:01She smelled rotten,

01:12:02laughed at strangers,

01:12:03and screamed at shadows.

01:12:05Damien had his men

01:12:05watch her from a distance.

01:12:07He did not allow her

01:12:08to die.

01:12:08He made sure

01:12:09she stayed alive

01:12:10long enough

01:12:10to suffer every humiliation

01:12:11the bottom of society

01:12:12had to offer.

01:12:13It was exactly

01:12:14what I had wanted

01:12:14for her.

01:12:15She would live

01:12:16like a rat in the gutter,

01:12:17slowly and painful.

01:12:20After hearing

01:12:21how everything ended,

01:12:22I stood before

01:12:23the floor-to-clear

01:12:23windows of the estate

01:12:24in southern France

01:12:25and watched the sun

01:12:26sink below the horizon.

01:12:27For the first time,

01:12:28my heart felt

01:12:29strangely calm.

01:12:30The nightmare

01:12:30and karma

01:12:31that had followed me

01:12:31through two lifetimes

01:12:32had finally come

01:12:33to an end.

01:12:34Bad people

01:12:34got what they deserved.

01:12:36From now on, baby,

01:12:37let me be the only one

01:12:38who gets to spoil you.

01:12:39Over the next half year,

01:12:40Nathaniel and I

01:12:41grew closer and closer.

01:12:42We traveled

01:12:43from country to country,

01:12:44enjoying our freedom

01:12:45and love

01:12:46anywhere in the world

01:12:47we wanted.

01:12:47We both thought

01:12:48the blood and storms

01:12:49were finally behind us.

01:13:07But no one expected Clara,

01:13:09who had long gone mad

01:13:10and been forgotten

01:13:11in the trash-filled corners

01:13:12of New York,

01:13:13to be planning

01:13:14one last act of revenge.

01:13:30Nathaniel reacted instantly.

01:13:31With a low growl,

01:13:32he shoved open the car door

01:13:33and threw himself

01:13:34into the fight,

01:13:34doing everything he could

01:13:35to protect me.

01:13:36But there were too many of them

01:13:37and they had come prepared.

01:13:38Nathaniel was soon

01:13:38cut across the arm

01:13:39while shielding me,

01:13:40then forced to the ground

01:13:41under several guns.

01:13:42His face was covered in blood

01:13:43and his eyes were wild

01:13:45with rage.

01:13:45Do not touch her!

01:13:46Let her go!

01:13:54A burst of crazed applause

01:13:55rang out.

01:13:56Clara slowly stepped out

01:13:57from behind one of the vants.

01:13:58She wore a filthy,

01:13:59torn dress stained with grime.

01:14:00Her hair was a tangled mess

01:14:01and her eyes were cloudy

01:14:02and insane.

01:14:03In her hand,

01:14:03she gripped a loaded glock.

01:14:04Her ruined face twisted

01:14:05like something out of a nightmare

01:14:06as she laughed at me.

01:14:14At that deadly moment,

01:14:15just as one of the thugs

01:14:16was about to pull the trigger,

01:14:17the roar of an engine

01:14:18ripped through the sea wind.

01:14:19A black armored SUV

01:14:20came crashing in from behind,

01:14:21ramping the van,

01:14:22blocking the road

01:14:23and screeched to a stop

01:14:24in the middle of the chaos.

01:14:25A thin figure with a slight limp

01:14:26stepped out,

01:14:27carrying an automatic rifle

01:14:28and surrounded by cold,

01:14:30murderous and tate.

01:14:31Damien.

01:14:32He had been following my movements

01:14:33from a distance all along.

01:14:34When he found out Clara

01:14:35had disappeared

01:14:36under strange circumstances,

01:14:37he sensed something was wrong

01:14:38and tracked the Rive route here

01:14:39with the sea.

01:14:45Let her go, Clara.

01:14:47Get that filthy gun

01:14:48away from her head.

01:14:55Damien, you came too?

01:14:56Good.

01:14:57Perfect.

01:14:58The head of the Blackwood family

01:14:59and Nathaniel's family

01:15:00are both here.

01:15:01I can send all of you

01:15:03to hell together.

01:15:03What do you want?

01:15:05I will give you

01:15:06every Blackwood trust,

01:15:08every share,

01:15:09every asset I have.

01:15:11Take my life if you want.

01:15:13Just let Scarlet go.

01:15:15That's it.

01:15:16I do not want anything anymore.

01:15:18I want her to suffer.

01:15:21I want you,

01:15:22the high and mighty king

01:15:23of Manhattan,

01:15:24to watch with your own eyes

01:15:25while I tear her apart.

01:15:28Watching both men suffer

01:15:29because of me

01:15:30tore my heart open

01:15:31and tears blurred my vision.

01:15:32Stop!

01:15:33Nathaniel, Damien,

01:15:34just go.

01:15:35Do not worry about me.

01:15:35You want her alive?

01:15:36Fine.

01:15:37Damien, king of Manhattan,

01:15:38get on your knees.

01:15:39Kneel and beg me.

01:15:40Damien looked at my

01:15:41deathly pale face

01:15:41and did not hesitate

01:15:42for even a second.

01:15:43He threw away the rifle

01:15:44in his hand

01:15:45and dropped to his knees

01:15:45on rough gravel-covered road.

01:15:47The heavy sound of his bones

01:15:48hitting the ground

01:15:48tore through the sea wind.

01:15:49This was a man

01:15:50who had been pathologically proud

01:15:51in both lifetimes,

01:15:52a man who had never

01:15:53lowered his head to anyone.

01:15:54For my life,

01:15:54he threw away

01:15:55every last bit of dignity.

01:16:02Look at you.

01:16:04You finally know

01:16:05what it feels like.

01:16:07Beat him.

01:16:08Beat him until he cannot move.

01:16:12The thugs rushed forward.

01:16:13Iron rods and fists

01:16:14fell on Damien like rain.

01:16:16He curled tightly

01:16:17around himself,

01:16:17blood pouring from his mouth,

01:16:19but he stubbornly

01:16:19kept his body angled toward me,

01:16:21blocking the sand and gravel

01:16:22that flew in my direction.

01:16:39In that split second,

01:16:41no one saw

01:16:41where Damien found the strength.

01:16:43Like a black panther

01:16:43burning through its last breath,

01:16:45he threw himself up

01:16:45from the ground

01:16:46and slammed me

01:16:47with that ounce of life

01:16:47he had left.

01:16:48He knocked me hard

01:16:49onto the road

01:16:49and covered completely

01:16:50with his broad,

01:16:51bloodied back,

01:16:51leaving no gap

01:16:52between me and the bullet.

01:16:53The sound that followed

01:16:54tore into his back,

01:16:55exploding only a few millimeters

01:16:56from his heart.

01:16:57Blood sprayed across the air

01:16:59and instantly stained

01:17:01my white dress,

01:17:02a shocking red.

01:17:08For a moment,

01:17:09the whole world seemed to stop.

01:17:10Damien's heavy body

01:17:11pressed down over mine.

01:17:12With impossible effort,

01:17:13he slowly raised his head.

01:17:15His deathly pale face

01:17:16was covered in blood.

01:17:17When he saw that I was safe,

01:17:18quer crend with him,

01:17:19without a gesture of his mouth

01:17:20lifted into a relieved smile.

01:17:22In that smile was a kind of longing

01:17:23and regret I had never seen

01:17:24from him in either lifetime.

01:17:25He struggled to raise

01:17:26his bleeding hand

01:17:27as if he wanted to touch

01:17:28my face one last time.

01:17:30But his fingers shook violently

01:17:31in the air,

01:17:32never quite reaching me,

01:17:33before falling wheatly

01:17:34into the mud.

01:17:36He looked at me

01:17:36as the light in his eyes

01:17:37began to scatter.

01:17:38Scarlet,

01:17:40I am sorry.

01:17:44This time,

01:17:45I finally protected you.

01:17:48Live well with Nathaniel.

01:17:51Goodbye.

01:18:01Damien!

01:18:02Damien!

01:18:04Oh!

01:18:06Oh!

01:18:07Oh!

01:18:08Oh!

01:18:11But I only held

01:18:12the blood-covered man-in-arms

01:18:13tears streaming down my face.

01:18:15Did I hate him?

01:18:16Did I resent him?

01:18:17The moment that bullet

01:18:18tore through his body,

01:18:19the chains from my past life

01:18:20and the hatred from this life

01:18:21were shattered with it.

01:18:22With his own life,

01:18:23he completed a redemption

01:18:24that had come two life teams

01:18:25too late.

01:18:28Above the Southeast Asian island,

01:18:30the roar of a rescue helicopter

01:18:32tore through the humid air.

01:18:33A team of top international medics

01:18:35carefully lifted Damien,

01:18:36covered in blood

01:18:37and deep in shock,

01:18:38onto a stretcher.

01:18:38His face had turned acid,

01:18:40almost like a corpse.

01:18:41His breathing and heartbeat

01:18:41were so weak

01:18:42the machines could barely detect them.

01:18:44I stood beside the helicopter,

01:18:45his warm blood still on my face

01:18:47and clothes.

01:18:48My fate's control is now,

01:18:49wrapped in bandages

01:18:50and looking grim.

01:18:50Poor self threw the pain

01:18:51of his fractures

01:18:52and pulled me hard

01:18:52into his arms,

01:18:53using his broad chest

01:18:54to hold me up.

01:18:55His eyes were complicated

01:18:56as he watched Damien,

01:18:56always despised

01:18:57he'd really been willing

01:18:58to trade his life

01:18:59for my freedom.

01:18:59The helicopter rushed

01:19:01toward the nearest

01:19:01international medical center.

01:19:03The doors of the operating room

01:19:05stayed shut

01:19:06and the red light above them

01:19:08burned for 12 full hours.

01:19:11Nathania and I waited

01:19:12in the hallway

01:19:12as time stretched

01:19:14until it felt like a century.

01:19:18The surgery succeeded.

01:19:20The bullet is out,

01:19:21but he's not out of danger.

01:19:23Recovery will be long.

01:19:24The damage,

01:19:25it's severe,

01:19:26irreversible.

01:19:37Damien remained unconscious

01:19:39in the sterile ICU

01:19:40for more than half a month.

01:19:42During that time,

01:19:43with no one in control

01:19:44of Blackwood Group,

01:19:45rival financial powers

01:19:46in New York

01:19:46began tearing into it.

01:19:47The stock price plunged

01:19:48and the company started

01:19:49from the inside.

01:19:50Through Nathaniel's

01:19:50underground channels,

01:19:51Iannoy passed Damien's

01:19:52confidential medical trial

01:19:53to a relatively loyal elder

01:19:54inside the Blackwood family.

01:19:55That elder stepped in

01:19:57and barely stabilized

01:19:58the chaos in New York.

01:19:59Half a month later,

01:20:00Damien finally opened his eyes

01:20:01to the beeping

01:20:02of medical machines.

01:20:03His vision slowly focused

01:20:05until he's standing

01:20:05outside the satiral glass.

01:20:07Our eyes met

01:20:07and the air in the room

01:20:09seemed to freeze.

01:20:10My gaze was complicated.

01:20:11There was concern in it.

01:20:12There was release.

01:20:13There was no love left.

01:20:14There was no hatred left either.

01:20:16Damien wore an oxygen mask.

01:20:17His dry lips parted

01:20:18as if he wanted to say my name,

01:20:20but only a weak,

01:20:21hoary breath came out.

01:20:22He saw the calm in my eyes.

01:20:23He also saw Nathaniel behind me,

01:20:25covered in casts and bandages

01:20:26still gripping my shoulder

01:20:27in a posture of absolute protection.

01:20:29Damien understood.

01:20:30The last faint,

01:20:31impossible hope in his soul

01:20:32went out like a candle in the wind.

01:20:34Two silent lines of tears

01:20:35slid from the corners of his eyes

01:20:36into his hair.

01:20:37He had used his life to save me.

01:20:39Whatever remained between us

01:20:41had died with that redemption.

01:20:44Three months later,

01:20:45at Geneva International Airport

01:20:47in Switzerland,

01:20:48morning fog covered

01:20:49have the runway

01:20:49bound for one of Switzerland's

01:20:50top private rehabilitation plants

01:20:52waited in silence.

01:20:53Damien could barely sit

01:20:54in a wheelchair now.

01:20:55He looked older and thinner

01:20:56than any disability

01:20:56in his left leg.

01:20:57For the rest of his life,

01:20:58he would have to rely on a cane

01:20:59and a wheelchair to move.

01:21:00His body had been drained

01:21:01almost beyond repair.

01:21:03He never tried to contact me again.

01:21:05He even refused visits

01:21:06from the core members

01:21:07of the Blackwood family.

01:21:08Before boarding,

01:21:09he calmly signed

01:21:10every equity transfer document

01:21:11and full management

01:21:12authorization agreement,

01:21:14handing away the business empire

01:21:16he had once treated

01:21:16as his life.

01:21:17He sold all of his

01:21:18Manhattan properties,

01:21:20poured every dollar

01:21:20into a newly established

01:21:21Global Wildlife

01:21:22and Freedom Photography Trust.

01:21:24It was an anonymous gift

01:21:25that would benefit me forever

01:21:27without requiring my signature.

01:21:28The medical plane's engines roared.

01:21:30Damien leaned beside the window

01:21:31and looked out at the endless

01:21:32freezing white cloud sea

01:21:33above the Alps.

01:21:34His eyes held nothing

01:21:35but quiet acceptance

01:21:36and deathly stillness.

01:21:37He had finally removed himself

01:21:38from my world.

01:21:39Scarlet, I love you.

01:21:40Not because I want to lock you

01:21:41in a house like some pretty bird

01:21:43and not because

01:21:43what you're following

01:21:44on any damn family rules.

01:21:45I love you exactly like this.

01:21:47Wild, proud, bright

01:21:48and impossible to tame.

01:21:50Let me be the man

01:21:51who protects you

01:21:52for the rest of your life.

01:21:53Marry me.

01:21:59Yes.

01:22:00I will marry you.

01:22:02The last light of sunset

01:22:03wrapped around us in gold

01:22:04as he pulled me into his arms.

01:22:06The chains for my past life

01:22:08were finally broken.

01:22:09In this life,

01:22:10I finally had the wide open sky

01:22:11I deserved.

01:22:12Here we go.

01:22:12You

After Rebirth, I Gave My Control-Freak Fiancé to My Stepsister - FULL | Reelshort | Full Short Drama | English Sub 2026

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