After Rebirth, I Gave My Control-Freak Fiancé to My Stepsister FULL EP 2026 | Engsub - video Dailymotion

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After Rebirth, I Gave My Control-Freak Fiancé to My Stepsister FULL EP 2026 | Engsub

Transcript

00:00:00Billionaire fiance Damien did not love me. He loved control. In my last life, I tried to become

00:00:06his perfect wife, obedient, quiet, and easy to manage. I gave him everything, but he still chose

00:00:12my scheming stepsister every time. In the end, a car crash killed the woman he had spent years

00:00:17trying to cage, but death sent me back to the start, right before our wedding. This time,

00:00:22I will not beg for love. I am giving my controlling billionaire fiance to my treacherous stepsister,

00:00:27packing my bags, and leaving New York forever. Their perfect world is going to burn and I will

00:00:32walk away free. Manhattan's most exclusive VIP mic club was a blur of neon lights. I sat in the

00:00:40center of a private booth and with perfect intention. Up by the second floor rallying,

00:00:50a paparazzi lens was pointed straight at us. Good. Those photos would be on Damien Blackhood's

00:00:55desk before morning. That was the whole point. Damien needed a wife who was spotless, graceful,

00:01:02and obedient. So I was going to rip his perfect wife fantasy apart with my own hands. If the scandal

00:01:06was ugly enough, he would call off the engagement himself. Then the air around me turned ice cold.

00:01:18In that split second, I could almost hear chains pulling tight from another life. In my past life,

00:01:24I loved him to the point of madness. I told myself his control was love. Then the Blackwood family

00:01:29code was placed in front of me. No nightclubs. No being alone with any man. No leaving New York

00:01:35without permission. He froze my passport and cut off every account I had. Then he clasped a diamond

00:01:40bracelet around my wrist and called it an engagement gift. It was not a gift. It was a GPS tracker.

00:01:53He

00:01:54when a car crash ended my suffocating life. I had been reborn on the night before our wedding. This

00:02:01time, I did not want Damien. I wanted to be Scarlet Vale again. So the first thing I did was

00:02:06find my

00:02:06father. I want to call off the engagement. What the hell is wrong with you? Marrying to the Blackwood

00:02:11family is the greatest opportunity of your life. He is so perfect. Let Clara marry him. She is the

00:02:16dignified, obedient one. The ideal Blackwood wife, right? You are really willing to give it up?

00:02:24I did not wait for the rest. I booked an international flight and moved my passport

00:02:28somewhere Damien could not reach and called my best friend Mia. Come drink with me, which brought me here

00:02:34to this moment. Who gave you the nerve to come to a place like this? I go where I want.

00:02:41What does that

00:02:41have to do with you? My blood ran cold. That bracelet. The same one that had locked away my freedom

00:03:03in my

00:03:03last life. Don't touch me. GPS tracking, heart rate monitor, entry and exit logs, synced in real time.

00:03:14Every step you take, I will see it. I want a public apology statement by tomorrow morning.

00:03:19You put diamonds on a cage and think that makes it something else?

00:03:24I held his gaze and said it clearly, one word at a time. I am not marrying you Damien. We

00:03:30are done.

00:03:33Car went silent. Damien's eyes snapped mine. Done? Done what? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

00:03:41For a second, I almost told him the truth. That the bride had already been changed.

00:03:46That Clara was the one his family would get. Then I stopped myself. I wanted him dreading every

00:03:51day until the wedding, convinced he was still stuck with me. Forget it. I was just mad.

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

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

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

00:04:14Maybe in my next life. The rose stopped at the Vale Estate gates.

00:04:18I want that apology on my desk by nine tomorrow. And don't waste your time trying to take off the

00:04:23bracelet. I pushed the door open. I looked down at the disgusting thing locked around my wrist.

00:04:28Then you'd better watch closely. I slammed the door and walked inside without looking back.

00:04:33Richard, Monica, and Clara were all waiting in the living room. My father, his ex-mistress turned

00:04:38trophy wife, and the bastard daughter they'd spent years polishing into exactly the kind of obedient,

00:04:44presentable girl Damien wanted. You reek of alcohol, and you wore a Blackwood engagement bracelet to a

00:04:50nightcup. Have you completely lost your mind? Don't be too hard on her, Richard. Though honestly,

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

00:05:00Scarlett, Dad said he already spoke with the Blackwoods. Are you really sure you want me to take your place?

00:05:06A hundred percent sure. You've always loved picking up what I throw away. This time I'm handing it to you

00:05:12myself. No need to sneak around for it. Watch your mouth! Clara is steadier, smarter, and a far better

00:05:20fit for the Blackwood family than you ever were! Perfect. Just don't come crying to me when the

00:05:25whole thing blows up in your faces. I only hope you won't regret this. I would hate to see you

00:05:32lose

00:05:32everything because of one bad mood. Scarlet Veil never regrets a damn thing.

00:05:44A servant came hammering on my door first thing in the morning. Damien was downstairs. He stood in

00:05:48the living room like last night had never happened. First thing he checked was my wrist. The bracelet,

00:05:55green light blinking. Then he looked up. The statement. I didn't write one. Blackwoods PR team buried those

00:06:01photos. I need that statement. Your rules do not apply to me anymore. I am not signing anything.

00:06:06When are you going to learn to do or told? Not in this lifetime. Right on Cuse,

00:06:10Clara appeared in a white dress, eyes faintly red, holding a printed statement. Damien,

00:06:15please don't be angry with Scarlet. She was upset last night. I wrote the statement for her. Will this

00:06:19work? Damien scanned it. When he looked back at me, the disgust was undisguised. Look at Clara. She knows

00:06:26when to be graceful, when to step back, when to put the family first. All you do is create problems.

00:06:35Scarlet just needs more time. The Blackwood charity gala is tonight. I can go with her and help her get

00:06:41through it. Help me with what? How to smile on cue? How to play the innocent girl in white while

00:06:48hiding the snake underneath? Enough. Add her name and release it. I did not sign it. You went to a

00:06:54nightclub

00:06:54as the future Mrs. Blackwood. It stopped being your personal guest the second you drag my family

00:06:58name into it. If you refuse to do the right thing, I will do it for you. Then take Clara.

00:07:03She is always

00:07:03so good at doing the right thing. You are my fiance. You will be at that gala tonight. Fine. This

00:07:08life,

00:07:08I was going to give him exactly what he wanted. Clara linked her arm through mine, going upstairs,

00:07:12warm smiles, nails digging into my skin. The second the door closed, I shook her off. Nobody is watching.

00:07:18Drop the act. Damien will be mine. On the wedding day, he will be grateful someone made the switch.

00:07:21A disaster like you has no business near the Blackwood name. Then why didn't you tell him

00:07:25just now, scared that once he knows, he still won't want you? I won't just keep your mouth

00:07:27shut, Scarlett. I don't care about the you or your control freak fiance. Happy wedding.

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

00:07:39new money, and the kind of influence that could buy both. I showed up deliberately in a floor-long

00:07:44thread backless gown, bold, unapologetic, and everything a Blackwood wife was not supposed to be.

00:07:50Clara wore white couture, pristine as a lily. When the waltz began and every eye in the room

00:07:56drifted toward Damis, Manhattan's most coveted heir stepped forward and reached right past me,

00:08:02his actual fiance, to offer his hand to Clara. The socialite crowd broke into sharp,

00:08:07delighted whispers. Did you see that? He chose the stepsister. Honestly, I get it. Scarlett is a

00:08:13walking scandal. Clara is everything a Blackwood wife should be. Damien led Clara onto the floor

00:08:18without looking back, then threw me a cold parting shot. You do not know how to dance at this level.

00:08:24Stay where you are and watch Clara. Maybe you will finally learn something.

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

00:08:34I slipped upstairs to the terrace for air, desperate to breathe something that did not feel like a trap.

00:08:39Of course, Clara followed. Her heels clicked up the stairs like she had been attached to my shadow all

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

00:08:49vicious. Poor Scarlett. Your mother could not beat mine, and now you cannot beat me either.

00:08:56Losing must run in your blood. She should have said anything else, anything but that. She had insulted

00:09:01my dead mother. My eyes went cold. Without a word, I drew back and slapped her heart across the face.

00:09:06The

00:09:06crack cut through the night air. Clara's head snapped to the side, and her cheek flushed red almost instantly.

00:09:12She screamed. You crazy bitch! You actually hit me?! I closed the distance and grabbed her by the neck.

00:09:20Hit you? I can do a lot worse than hit you. I trained in MMA, Clara. Taking apart a fake,

00:09:26fragile little thing like you would barely count as exercise. I whipped one leg up in a clean sidekick.

00:09:36The courtyard below erupted into screaming chaos. I straightened my dress, picked up my wrap, and turned

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

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

00:09:50Clara fell from the terrace. Was it you?

00:09:53I met his eyes without flinching. Yes. She had it coming.

00:09:59You are beyond saving. Since she refuses to apologize, she needs to learn a lesson.

00:10:03Throw her into the estate fountain. No one lets her out until I say so.

00:10:06The bodyguards grabbed me before I could fight them off. No matter how hard I struggled,

00:10:11they dragged me across the courtyard and threw me straight into the fountain. The water was freezing

00:10:15cold, but it was liquid water, not ice. The spring night air cut like a blade,

00:10:19and the cold sank straight into my bones. Every time I clawed for the marble rim of the fountain,

00:10:25the guard standing along the edge pushed me back under without a word. The struggle drained me fast.

00:10:30Then something worse hit me. A sharp, familiar cramp twisted low in my abdomen. My period had come

00:10:36early. Blood seeped into the cold water around me, spreading in slow, dark ribbons beneath the surface.

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

00:10:45Sir, Miss Val just got her period. There is blood in the water. Should we keep going?

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

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

00:10:54my blood ran colder than the fountain ever could. The despair of two lifetimes crashed down over me,

00:10:59all at once, and the world went black.

00:11:05When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital room that smelled sharply of antiseptic. Damien was

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

00:11:14indifference. I spoke with your father. He will not give you any more trouble. But do not ever go

00:11:19after Clara. Clara is my father's precious little affair daughter. She is not my problem,

00:11:25and I am not promising you a damn thing.

00:11:31Mr. Blackwood, Clara is getting very upset in the next room. She has been crying and asking for you.

00:11:38I will go check on her. She was hurt because of you. As your fiancée, it is only proper that

00:11:43I go.

00:11:47Go on then. Run to your real fiancée.

00:11:50On the day I was discharged, Damien forced me back into the car and drove me to the veil

00:11:55estate. But when I pushed open my bedroom door, my blood went cold. Clara was sitting at my vanity,

00:12:00dangling a sapphire necklace from her fingertips. My mother's sapphire necklace. The only thing she

00:12:05had left me. I crossed the room in three steps. My voice stripped down to nothing. Put it down and

00:12:10get

00:12:10out. Yours? Scarlet, everything in this house is going to be mine.

00:12:26Daddy, I only wanted to look at Scarlet's necklace and she shoved me into the floor.

00:12:39What the hell are you smiling at? I looked straight at Clara. You love putting on a show?

00:12:43Fine. I will give you the performance of your life. I grabbed a metal pen from the vanity and

00:12:48drove it straight at the Clara's palm, clean through, pinned to the hardwood.

00:12:52Ah! You fucking psycho monster! Get this animal out of my house! You are no longer welcome in the

00:12:57Vail family! The servants dragged me to the door and threw my luggage into the mud. I bent down,

00:13:02pulled my mother's sapphire necklace out of the dirt, and held it tight. It was raining. I stood

00:13:07sosed under an ornery until a black rolls pulled up. Damien got out without a word, put me in the

00:13:11car,

00:13:12and drove me to his house. He came back with a first aid kit and started treating the mark my

00:13:16father had

00:13:16left on my face. Then the doorbell rang. Clara, banded hand, fragile expression. She walked straight

00:13:22into Damien's arms like she belonged there. Damien, I had to come. I was worried what she did to me.

00:13:26She is still- Damien's face darkened. Apologize to her. Right now, Scarlet. Not a chance in hell.

00:13:31We started arguing by the entryway. Damien reached for my arm, and I shoved him off. In the struggle,

00:13:35his elbow knocked into the glass kettle sitting on the side cabinet. The kettle reacted to the floor

00:13:39and shattered. Scalding water exploded across the marble. He threw himself around Clara and covered

00:13:43her completely. I was on the other side. The boiling water splashed across my legs and arm. My skin

00:13:48turned red almost at once, then started to blister and peel. Damien checked Clara first. She was fine.

00:13:52Then he glanced at me on the floor, bent down, and picked Clara up. Leave her. A little pain might

00:13:56teach her to think before she goes after you again. He left me alone on the floor, with scalding water

00:14:01still spreading around me. I sat on that floor, holding myself together through the pain, and called

00:14:09911 myself. I got out of the hospital just in time for Clara's birthday party. Richard used the occasion

00:14:14to make a grand announcement. The majority of the Vale family's trust assets and shares would be

00:14:18transferred to Clara in front of every guest in the room, took out a velvet box, and clasped a diamond

00:14:23necklace worth a small fortune around Clara's neck. Clara's socialite friends swept over with their

00:14:27glasses, making sure to spill red wine across my dress. Look at the ex-fiance. You clean up like

00:14:33somebody's charity project. The bottle shattered. Blood and liquor ran together. The room erupted in screams.

00:14:44Damien was on me in seconds, crushing my wrist in his grip, his eyes loaded with contempt.

00:14:50Scarlet, what the hell is wrong with you? Apologize to them. Now.

00:14:54In your dreams! Damien laughed, but there was no humor in it. It was the laugh of a man who

00:14:59had run

00:14:59out of patience completely. He knew exactly what I feared most. Since you refuse to listen, you can sit

00:15:04in the dark and think about what you have done. Lock her in the wine cellar. Nobody opens that door

00:15:08without my permission. They dragged me into the estates' basement wine cellar. Stone walls. No

00:15:13windows. No light. The heavy iron door slammed shut, and total darkness swallowed me whole. Three

00:15:19days and three nights. No water. No food. The fear nearly broke me. On the fourth day, the door finally

00:15:26opened, but it was not Damien. It was Clara, pushing in a piece of equipment I did not recognize.

00:15:32She was smiling like something out of hell. Damien said you needed to learn a real lesson,

00:15:36so I brought something to make sure it sticks. Two men in black dragged me to a metal chair and

00:15:41strapped me down. They pressed electrode pads to my temples. Clara hit the switch. The current ripped

00:15:46through me. The pain had no words. It only had sound, and the sound was mine. Then there was nothing

00:15:54at all.

00:15:57I woke up in the main house, in a proper bed. Damien was sitting beside me, frowning.

00:16:02I told you to stay in there and think. Three days. How are you this week?

00:16:05I opened my eyes and looked at him. Your precious Clara brought men into that cellar with an electric

00:16:10shock chair and used it on me. Do you believe me?

00:16:15Impossible. Clara's gentle. She would never do something like that. Scarlet, there is a limit to how far you can

00:16:19take a lie. He would never believe me. Fine. I would collect that debt on my own. That night,

00:16:26I hired a team and made the arrangements myself. That night, Clara had been bound, suspended in the

00:16:31open air through the entire night. Damien kicked my door in, the vein in his temple visible from

00:16:36across the room. You left Clara hanging off a rooftop all night. If it were not for the safety net

00:16:40at the

00:16:40base of the building, she would be dead. I sat by the window trimming my nails without looking up.

00:16:45Damien slammed his hand on the table hard enough to rattle it. The wedding is in a few days.

00:16:48You are staying in this house until then. You are not going anywhere. Do you understand me?

00:16:53The night before the wedding, a still shaking Clara was brought back to the Vale estate. Richard

00:16:57took one look at me and started screaming. Stay away from the wedding tomorrow. Don't you dare

00:17:00show your face and humiliate this family. I picked up the luggage I had already packed and smiled at him.

00:17:07Trust me, that suffocating circus is the last place I would ever want to be. You could not pay me

00:17:14to go.

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

00:17:23At Clara's insistence, the ceremony had been planned as an elaborate old-fashioned church wedding.

00:17:29Damien couldn't see who was underneath it. He assumed his lessons had finally worked,

00:17:34that the sharp edges had been worn down, and the woman walking toward him had learned to obey.

00:17:38He stepped forward and took the bride's hand gently. Don't be nervous, Scarlet. I'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. Marry your dream wife. Consider it my wedding gift to you both.

00:17:54Once the procession left for St. Hart Cathedral, the Vale estate went completely quiet,

00:18:01and flagged a cab to JFK. Inside the car, I pulled a small remote from my coat pocket,

00:18:07and looked back at the house one last time. My mother had designed it. Now it sheltered the

00:18:13woman who had replaced her, and the daughter who had spent years making my life hell. I was done with

00:18:17it.

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

00:18:27Yes. I blew it up.

00:18:32St. Hart Cathedral, the vaulted ceiling soared overhead, and the pipework and filled the nave

00:18:36and grand with something. Every name that mattered in Hatton had shown up. At the end of the aisle,

00:18:39Damien stood in a perfectly tailored suit, precise, untouchable, watching the bride walk toward him.

00:18:44Today's bride was the long usual lace veil fell all the way down, hiding her face completely.

00:18:47Damien assumed all those cold lessons had finally worked. He assumed I had finally been worn smooth,

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

00:18:55Damien lowered his voice, speaking only to the bride in front of him. After today,

00:18:58I will personally teach you how to be a proper Mrs. Blackwood. He took the bride's hand and guided

00:19:02her toward the altar. As camera flashes stirred across the room, then came the moment everyone

00:19:07had been waiting for. The groom lifted the veil. Damien reached up with calm, certain fingers,

00:19:11caught the edge of the lace and swept it back. For one breath, the cathedral seemed to freeze.

00:19:15The face in front of him was not the one burned into his memory. It was not the proud, defiant

00:19:19face

00:19:20he had spent years trying to control. It was Clara, flushed with excitement, her eyes bright with

00:19:24smug satisfaction. The cathedral went silent for one stunned second, before the whole room broke into

00:19:29chaos. Why is the younger veil daughter wearing the wedding dress? The half-smile on Damien's face

00:19:34frozen, then vanished completely. His pupils tightened like someone had struck him. In one violent motion,

00:19:40he flung the veil away as if it had burned his hand. Clara had no warning. The force sent her

00:19:46stumbling back and crashing to the floor, her headpiece crooked, and her white gown tangled

00:19:51around her legs in front of the entire congregation. Damien's voice tore through the cathedral.

00:19:56Where is Scarlet? Tell me where she is!

00:20:01The most prestigious society wedding in New York had just turned into the city's biggest scandal.

00:20:07Damien, just finish the ceremony. Richard told us a few days ago that the bride was being changed to

00:20:13Clara. We thought Clara was more suitable, more composed. The arrangement benefits both families'

00:20:19trusts and shareholding, so we agreed to it privately. She had assumed he would be relieved.

00:20:23His reaction told her she had never understood her son at all. Damien's personal stint pushed past

00:20:27security and sprinted into the hall, his face drained of color. Sir, it is bad. The veil estate

00:20:32exploded half an hour ago. The entire mansion is gone. There is nothing left but rubble.

00:20:36That sentence snapped the last thread of Damien's composure. If I had not come to the wedding,

00:20:41I had to be at the estate. That reckless, insane woman. Did she burn herself alive in there?

00:20:46It was enormous and bottomless, the kind of fear that only came when loss had already reached for

00:20:50your throat. He shoved his mother aside, ignored every voice calling after him, and ran. The black rolls

00:20:56tore through red lights one after another before screeching to a stop in front of what remained of the veil

00:21:00estate. Damien stumbled out of the car and stood before the scorched ruins. Feeling as if something

00:21:05had been carved straight out of his chest, he screamed my name into the rubble until his voice

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

00:21:16structure could have caved in at any second, but he did not stop. Get off me! She might still be

00:21:22in there!

00:21:22Let me through!

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

00:21:30his palms open. Smoldering cinders burned blisters straight into his skin. Blood dripped into the

00:21:35sut, but he did not flinch once. There was only one thought left in him. He had to find her.

00:21:41His voice

00:21:42had gone raw. Scarlet, answer me! Come out here! I will never make you write another apology. I will

00:21:48never lock you down again. Whatever you want, I will give it to you. Just answer me.

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

00:22:00with the black wood crest barely recognizable on the surface. His hands shook as he pried it open.

00:22:04Inside lay a diamond necklace fused into a molten shape. He closed his fist around it. The scorched,

00:22:09twisted metal cut into his palm, but he held on anyway. Guilt hit him like drowning,

00:22:13cold and total, with no way back to the surface. For the first time, he understood what his control

00:22:17had done to the woman he to love. I had always been bright, defiant, but he had spent years trying

00:22:22to grind that fire out of me. His certainty, his rules, and his need to own every part of my

00:22:27life

00:22:27had driven me to this. Then his assistant came sprinting across the debris field, holding a tablet

00:22:32and barely able to breathe. Sir, we found something. You need to see this. It was security footage

00:22:36from a discreet camera at a side exit near the estate. The timestamp was 10 minutes before the

00:22:41explosion. A slender figure in a plain coat, pulling a small carry-on, walked out of the

00:22:45Vale estate at an easy pace. She flacked a cab on the street. Just before getting in,

00:22:49she looked back at the house, raised her hand, and pressed something. Behind her, the fireball rose.

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

00:22:58alive and untouched, walking out of the house by my own choice.

00:23:05Belief and a deeper, darker panic hit him at the same time, nearly knocking him off his feet. She was

00:23:09alive. That was everything. But she had done this with clear eyes and steady hands. She had blown up

00:23:14the house she had grown up in, set up a wedding day decoy, and walked away without looking back.

00:23:18This was not a tantrum, and it was not a cry for attention. She truly did not want him. She

00:23:23hated him

00:23:23enough to erase her old life in one morning, and she had meant every word she said. Damien pulled

00:23:28himself up from the wreckage. His eyes shot through with red, and his voice scraped raw. But there was

00:23:32something in it now beyond rage. Something dangerously close to desperation. Listen to me.

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

00:23:41every private terminal and border crossing in this country locked down. He locked eyes with his

00:23:44assistant. Track that cab. Pull passenger manifels and facial recognition data from every transatlantic

00:23:49departure. Search every route, every airport name she could have used. I want her found!

00:23:53And I want her found now! After giving the orders, he drove straight to the Four Seasons where

00:23:57Richard's family had taken a suite. Inside, Richard, Monica, and a shaken, pale-faced Clara were still

00:24:02trying to recover from the morning's disasters. Damien kicked the door open and walked in like

00:24:06something feral. Hands raised, we scrambled. Damien, please let me explain. Scarlett refused the

00:24:11marriage herself. She voluntarily handed the contract over to Clara. We had no choice. Clara is gracious,

00:24:15she is well behaved, and she is far more appropriate for you than that reckless girl. She handed it over.

00:24:19Damien laughed. Low and terrible was the look you gave something already dead. Do you have any idea

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

00:24:28suits you? He overturned the marble coffee table. Shards scattered across the carpet.

00:24:34There is one woman who carries the name Damien Blackwood's wife. That woman is Scarlett,

00:24:39she has always been Scarlett. Now tell me where she is.

00:24:46Clara had been terrified from the moment Damien walked in. But watching him fall apart like this

00:24:52over the woman who had run away made her envy curdle into something vicious. It became stronger than fear.

00:24:58She threw herself forward and grabbed the leg of his trousers, looking up at him with tears streaming

00:25:04down her face. Damien, what does she have that I do not? I love you more than she ever did.

00:25:11I will follow every rule in that family code. I will be the perfect Mrs. Blackwood.

00:25:20Just look at me, please. Look at me for once. Damien looked down at her. There was nothing in his

00:25:25eyes. Not anger, not pity. Just naked, undisguised disgust. He stepped back, then kicked her away from him.

00:25:31Clara crashed into the corner of the sofa and gasped from the impact. Do not ever compare yourself to

00:25:36her. You do not even get to come close to a single hair on her head. The only reason you

00:25:42and your

00:25:42entire family ever mattered to me was because of Scarlett. Without her, you are nothing. I would

00:25:48waste a second looking at her. He did not stay to hear Richard and Monica beg.

00:25:56He walked out. Back at Blackwood Tower, in the top floor office. He moved through the dark like

00:26:03something trapped in a cage, pacing because he could not stop and could not think. Hours later,

00:26:10his assistant came in looking worse than before, holding a file with both hands.

00:26:14Sir, we found new records. Miss Vale filed an expedited single entry exit visa through a private

00:26:20channel one week before the nightclub incident. One week before the nightclub? His feet stopped

00:26:27moving. The realization hit him like ice water. The nightclub, the dancer, the paparazzi, and even the

00:26:35bracelet had all been part of the same plan. Every time she pushed him, provoked him, and refused him.

00:26:43It had never been recklessness. It had never been a tantrum or some desperate game for attention.

00:26:49She had planned everything carefully, putting every piece in place long before he had ever

00:26:53thought she was capable of it. She had not stumbled into freedom by accident. She had built her escape

00:27:00step by step, and she had never once intended to come back. Damien braced himself against his desk,

00:27:09his knuckles turning white from the pressure. He stared at the date on the file as if it were the

00:27:14last thing left in the world. His stomach twisted violently, and regret hit him so hard it felt almost

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

00:27:27thing at him again and again. I told him I was not marrying him. I told him we were done.

00:27:32Back then,

00:27:33he had thought it was just a spoiled heiress throwing a tantrum. He thought all he had to do

00:27:37was snap a tracking bracelet around my wrist, lock me up for a few days, force me to sign a

00:27:43public

00:27:43statement, and I would stay trapped inside that beautiful cage. But the truth was that I had already

00:27:50decided I did not want him anymore. Was it the insane family code that had driven me away?

00:27:56Was it the way he kept taking Clara's side and blaming me every single time?

00:28:02Was it the night he threw me into that freezing fountain while I was bleeding? Or was it the

00:28:09simple fact that he had never once believed me? The question spread through Damien's mind like poison,

00:28:15he had never once believed me. But none of it changed the only thing he cared about now. No matter

00:28:20what it took, even if he had to use every dirty trick the Blackwood family had, he had to get

00:28:26me

00:28:26back. Even if I hated him, even if I resented him, even if I made him suffer for the rest

00:28:31of his life,

00:28:32he was going to keep me by his side forever.

00:28:37Keep searching. Don't stop until you find it. He told him to use every connection the Blackwood family

00:28:43had. From finance circles to private security networks. He did not care what it cost. He did

00:28:49not care who they had to pressure. They were going to find me.

00:28:55The entire month that followed turned into a manhunt. I had vanished without a trace. There was no record

00:29:01of me on any private jet manifest, no ferry log, and no clean departure route anyone could find.

00:29:07Anxiety burned through Damien's nerves every second of every day. Since he could not take that rage out on me,

00:29:13he poured all of it onto the already broken Vale family.

00:29:19Blackwood Group launched a full-scale commercial attack on the Vale businesses. Their methods were

00:29:23merciless, and they left no room for survival. The Vale Company had already been falling apart.

00:29:30Within two weeks, its assets were liquidated, its stock price collapsed, and bankruptcy was waiting at the door.

00:29:41Richard was completely losing his mind. He went to Blackwood Tower several times, begging for a meeting,

00:29:49but he could not even get past the elevator on the ground floor. After the bankruptcy,

00:29:54Clara became the easiest target for Damien's despair.

00:30:00She could not accept it. She kept trying to use the media to get Damien's attention. She even stood

00:30:07outside Blackwood Tower in the pouring rain, waiting there like someone with nowhere else to go. Finally,

00:30:12she threw herself in front of Damien's stretch limousine and refused to move.

00:30:16Move.

00:30:18Clara pressed her face against the rain streak window, crying so hard she could barely speak.

00:30:23Go away.

00:30:24She begged Damien to stop destroying the Vale family. She said she was sorry.

00:30:28I promised I would find that bitch Scarlet and bring her back. All I wanted was for him to look

00:30:35at me.

00:30:35The window rolled down only a crick, revealed Damien's cold, hollow face and the stubble along his jaw.

00:30:41He did not even give her a proper look. Get her out of my way.

00:30:51The guards got out and dragged Clara away like she was nothing, ignoring her screams.

00:30:58The limousine drove off, leaving Clara sitting in the mud, sobbing in the rain. Damien closed his

00:31:05eyes and let the alcohol and sleepless nights swallow him whole. He had started relying on heavy doses of

00:31:11sleeping pills just to get a few hours of rest. But every time he fell asleep, the same nightmares

00:31:17came back. He saw me in the fountain, bleeding and pale. He heard me screaming in the wine cellar

00:31:23while the current tore through me. He saw the explosion and the fire swallowing the Vale estate.

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

00:31:37He became darker and more violent with each passing day. Everyone in Blackwood's upper management

00:31:43walked on eggshells around him. One week later, Damien's mother forced him to attend a top-teal

00:31:49private charity gala in Manhattan. No one had expected that after Scarlet Vale left, she would

00:31:53take the soul of Manhattan's most powerful air with her. Damien stood in a corner with a glass of

00:31:57whiskey, staring blankly at the dance floor. Then, for one second, he thought he saw a familiar

00:32:01figure in a bright red dress, laughing with that proud, dazzling profile he could not forget.

00:32:06He called my name. His heart almost stopped. He lost every trace of composure,

00:32:12pushed through the crowd of politicians and billionaires, and grabbed the woman's wrist.

00:32:19What the hell are you doing? Let go of me!

00:32:21It was not me. The light in Damien's eyes went out instantly, replaced by despair and humiliation.

00:32:25He released her as if all the strength had left his body.

00:32:28The wealthy guests around him stared with confusion and thinly hidden mockery.

00:32:32Sir, please, you need to be careful. This is not appropriate. It does not meet Blackwood family

00:32:36standards. Damien repeated the word with a bitter laugh.

00:32:40Standards. To hell with the standards. I do not care about any of it anymore. I only want Scarlet.

00:32:47Then he pulled his fist back and slammed it into the decorative stone pillar beside him.

00:32:51His knuckles split open immediately, and blood ran down the column. But he did not feel the physical

00:32:58pain. All he felt was the hollow space in his chest where something vital used to be.

00:33:06Another week passed. The thick curtains were drawn shut. The ashtrays were overflowing with cigar beats.

00:33:14The air smelled of tobacco and bitter coffee. Inside the top floor office of Blackwood Tower,

00:33:20the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like the silence before a storm. Damien had been sitting

00:33:25there for five days without real sleep. Every hour felt like torture. His desk was covered with reports

00:33:30from private investigators, and they all said the same thing.

00:33:36They could not find me. Just as he was about to lose the last of his sanity,

00:33:41his assistant walked in carefully with a black coffee.

00:33:47He swallowed hard before speaking.

00:33:49Sir, we have new information. We cross-checked blurry facial matches from every non-standard

00:33:55exit channel over the past three months. We found someone who looks a lot like Miss Vale.

00:34:00Damien's head snapped up. His blood-sharp eyes locked onto the assistant like a starving wolf.

00:34:05The assistant quickly continued. She appeared in the transit area of Heathrow Airport.

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

00:34:20Damien grabbed the classified file from his assistant, his fingers shaking so badly from

00:34:24desperation and excitement that he could barely hold it steady. He stared at the enlarged surveillance photo.

00:34:30The image was blurry, but it showed someone in a coat walking towards a quieter boarding gate

00:34:36with a small suitcase. The figure was familiar enough to burn through his bones. He knew it was

00:34:42a new lead on me. Hope lit up the near-extinction madness in his eyes like the last lifeline thrown

00:34:48to

00:34:48a drowning man. Where was the connecting flight going? We are still working on it. Heathrow transit

00:34:54records are complicated, and she seems to have avoided the major national flights that required

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

00:35:03It will take time. We do not have time.

00:35:07Get the jet ready. We are leaving for Heathrow right now. Yes, sir. Sir, the Federal Reserve

00:35:12board meeting is this afternoon. Cancel it. Cancel everything. Nothing matters more than finding her.

00:35:18Three hours later, the Blackwood family's private jet tore through the clouds above Manhattan and

00:35:23landed at Heathrow Airport in London. The plane had not even fully stopped before Damien was already

00:35:28opening the door. He could not wait for the stairs to lower all the way and jump down.

00:35:32His tie was crooked, his shirt collar was torn open, and deep circles shadowed his eyes.

00:35:36Messy stubble covered his jaw. He looked nothing like the perfectly dressed, untouchable,

00:35:40CEO he used to be. Damien repeated the city name under his breath as he ran through the crowded airport,

00:35:45his sharp eyes scanning every woman he passed. Finally, he saw the boarding gate, just as it was about to

00:35:51close.

00:35:54Damien's eyes locked onto the end of the boarding line. The slender figure in a cream linen dress,

00:35:59wide-bringed hat and sunglasses was the woman he had been hunting for an entire month.

00:36:04Scarlet? He ran toward her, not caring that travelers around him were staring in shock.

00:36:09He grabbed my wrist and held on like his life depended on it. My body went stiff.

00:36:17Let go of me, Mr. Blackwood. Grabbing a woman in public like this is not very appropriate,

00:36:22is it? I thought your precious family code cared about appearances. The cold sarcasm in my voice

00:36:28hit Damien like ice water, but he did not care anymore.

00:36:31Scarlet, come back with me, please. I know I was wrong. I screwed up. I will fix it. Just come

00:36:38home

00:36:39with me. I laughed and pried his fingers off me, one by one.

00:36:45Come back to what? That cage with three thousand stupid rules? Am I supposed to go back and play Mrs.

00:36:51Blackwood again? His face turned paler. I looked at him with open disgust. Did you forget your perfect

00:36:58bride as Clara now? Your sweet, sensible little bride is waiting for you. Chasing your ex-fiancé

00:37:04through an airport is a bad look, Damien. The man who had once been Manhattan's coldest and most

00:37:08untouchable heir fell to his knees in that foreign airport, surrounded by cameras and strangers,

00:37:13looking smaller than dirt. Damien looked up at me and tears finally broke through.

00:37:17The wedding did not count. I never wanted her. I do not care about the family code anymore.

00:37:23If you come back with me, you can do whatever you want. I will agree to anything.

00:37:26Just do not leave me like this. I took a step back as if avoiding something filthy.

00:37:32Your apology came too late and honestly I do not need it. Then I turned around,

00:37:38handed my boarding pass to the gate agent and walked straight into the jet bridge with my back

00:37:42straight. Damien tried to follow, but airport security and his assistant held him back.

00:37:49He screamed my name toward the closing door, sounding like a man being torn apart.

00:37:583 months later, in Monaco. Inside the Monte Carlo Casino, money and desire blurred together

00:38:03under the glittering lights. The sound of poker chips never stopped. At a crowded Bacarmo table,

00:38:08every man nearby had his eyes fixed on the woman sitting across from the dealer.

00:38:14That woman was me. I wore a black silk slip dress with thin straps and a high clip that revealed

00:38:21my pale

00:38:22ankles and silver heels. The next round of cards came out. I barely glanced at my hand before tapping my

00:38:28fingers lightly on the table. Raise. Player wins.

00:38:34Then he pushed a mountain of chips toward me. The crowd around us broke into amazed whispers.

00:38:39They said the socialite from New York had won seven hands in a row. They said my psychological

00:38:44game was terrifying. I took a sip of champagne and almost laughed at the irony. This was not luck.

00:38:51It was probability, statistics and psychology. All the things Damien had once forced me to learn so I

00:38:57could become the perfect high society wife. I never thought those lessons would become my best weapon

00:39:01for burning through money in a place like this. Just as I was about to place another bet, a drunk

00:39:06local

00:39:07heir named Charles shoved through the crowd. His face was red from losing too much money and he reeked of

00:39:12alcohol. Come play with me tonight. I will split my winnings with you. Before his hand could touch me,

00:39:19I stepped back and lifted my right foot in its seven centimeter heel. Then I kicked him hard and precisely

00:39:24between the legs, using every bit of strength I had built through years of training. I was about

00:39:30to leave with my chip card when the crowd suddenly parted. A young mixtape man walked toward me with

00:39:35his hands in his pockets. He wore a black suit with the top three buttons undone, looking relaxed and

00:39:39arrogant in a way that came naturally to men who had never been told no. A limited edition watch gleamed

00:39:43on his wrist. It was Nathaniel. Nathaniel had an unlit cigar between his lips. He used the polished tip of

00:39:51his shoe to nudge Charles, who was still curled up on the floor groaning. His expression was pure

00:39:55contempt. You put your hands on someone I am interested in, in my casino. That is not flirting,

00:40:00Charles. That is a death wish. If I ever see you near her again, what she broke tonight will be

00:40:08the

00:40:08least of your problems. Charles scrambled away with the help of his friends, too scared to look back.

00:40:13Then Nathaniel turned to me. His deep, flirtious eyes landed on mine, and he did not bother hiding his

00:40:19interest. He stepped forward naturally, slid one arm around my waist and pulled me closer with a

00:40:23confidence that was almost insulting. His hold was intimate, possessive, and far too practiced.

00:40:28My body tensed, and I tried to pull away, but his arms stayed relaxed while still leaving no room to

00:40:33escape. He lowered his head close to my ear, his warm breath brushing my skin. I have been watching the

00:40:38little wildcat from New York for a while now. Those claws are impressive. Then he lifted his head and

00:40:43announced it to the whole casino with the kenless arrogance of a spoiled playboy.

00:40:47Damien Blackwood was blind enough not to want her. Lucky me, because I do.

00:40:53The Monaco socialists watching from nearby immediately started buzzing with gossip.

00:40:58Everyone knew Nathaniel had impossibly high standards, and now he was publicly chasing a

00:41:03runaway bride from New York. I looked up at him, met his burning gaze, and smiled.

00:41:10I appreciate the offer, but do I look like I need a man to get whatever I want? Nathaniel did

00:41:16not get

00:41:16angry. Instead, he pulled me a little closer, and the admiration in his eyes almost overflowed.

00:41:23That mouth of yours is dangerous. I like dangerous.

00:41:30I stayed in Monaco for a while, and Nathaniel kept his word. He pursued me loudly, aggressively,

00:41:35and with absolutely no shame. The next morning, a limited edition bright yellow Lamborghini was

00:41:39parked outside my apartment building. The keys were delivered with a card written in messy handwriting.

00:41:43It was just a way to get around. If you crash it, I will pay for it. A few days

00:41:47later,

00:41:47he rented a massive luxury yacht and threw an extravagant party on the water, insisting that

00:41:51I be the center of it. Have fun anywhere you want. Use my name if anyone gets in your way.

00:42:02He took me skydiving, deep sea diving, and even snuck us onto an F1 track to race cars in the

00:42:07middle

00:42:07of the night. He did every crazy, dangerous, reckless thing with me, and none of it had anything to do

00:42:12with

00:42:12family codes, rules, or proper behavior. What got to me most was that he never asked me to be gentle,

00:42:17quiet, or obedient. He never wanted me to behave. Whenever I pushed a race car up to 200 miles per

00:42:22hour, showing every wild edge I had, he sat in the passenger seat whistling and cheering like he had

00:42:26never seen anything better. After we landed on the soft sand from a 10,000 meter skydive, Nathaniel pulled

00:42:31off his goggles. His hair was a mess, and he was smoking a cigarette while looking at my flushed face

00:42:35with

00:42:35a chalky smile. This is how you are supposed to live, Scarlett. Wild, loud, and impossible to leash. It

00:42:40suits you a hell of a lot better than playing some polished fake heiress in New York. Looking at this

00:42:44loud, arrogant man, I felt something inside me start to loosen. A frozen part of my heart, locked

00:42:49away by Damien for two lifetimes, began to thaw just a little. When I was with Nathaniel, I did not

00:42:53have to pretend. I did not have to be careful. I could let every sharp edge show. One night,

00:42:57we were playing a huge game of Texas Hold Us at a private club, and I had lost several hands

00:43:01in a row.

00:43:01I was hesitating over whether to call the bet when Nathaniel lazily pushed more than half of his

00:43:05hips towards me. Call it. Do not get scared now. If you lose, it is on me. If you win,

00:43:11it's your fun

00:43:11life. On the way home that night, with the wind blowing through the car, he was quiet for once.

00:43:17Then, he said something I did not expect. You know, we met a long time ago.

00:43:27I turned my head in surprise and looked at his handsome profile.

00:43:34Nathaniel kept his eyes on the road and let out a bitter laugh.

00:43:38Years ago, at a horse track in New York, you were 18. Richard to Monica and Clara

00:43:45there to embarrass you in front of half the social crowd. Do you remember what you did?

00:43:51You jumped your horse over the highest obstacle and beat the guy who had been looking down on you all

00:43:56day. You were sitting on that horse, laughing like you owned the whole world, loud, arrogant,

00:44:01impossible to ignore. I remember thinking, damn, that girl is something else.

00:44:08I was stunned. I had almost forgotten that miserable day when Richard had tried so hard to humiliate me.

00:44:16Too bad your eyes were only on that fake gentleman, Damien Blackwood. I was wild back then too,

00:44:22but I knew one thing. You cannot force someone to want you. So I did not step in just to

00:44:29get rejected.

00:44:31His words landed like a stone dropped into the dead still lake of my heart.

00:44:36So there had been someone watching the real Scarlet Vals all along,

00:44:41even when I had not known it. What truly changed the way I saw him happened during a dirt bike

00:44:45accident.

00:44:46We were racing on a mountain road in southern Europe. On the way down, the pavement was wet,

00:44:50and I was going too fast. My tire lost traction on a sharp turn, and both my bike and I

00:44:54flew toward

00:44:54a steep drop hundreds of feet below. In that split second, Nathaniel was right behind me. He did not

00:45:00hesitate. He hit the gas and shot toward me, using his heavier bike to slam into mine and change the

00:45:04direction of my fall. But because of the force and the rebound, he and his bike went tumbling down the

00:45:08deep slope instead. He stumbled down the hill and found him among the rocks. His right leg was

00:45:11pinned under the heavy bike. Blood covered his forehead, and his face was white from pain.

00:45:15Do not cry. I am too damn tough to die like this. Even then, he forced an ugly,

00:45:19cocky smile, like he was still trying to make me feel better.

00:45:24In the private hospital in Monaco, Nathaniel had thick bandages wrapped around his head and a cased

00:45:29on his right arm, but he still acted like the same wild, carenless trouble mare. He lay in the hospital

00:45:34bed, looking at me as I sat beside him with slightly red eyes. For once, he put away all his

00:45:38cocky,

00:45:39unserious attitude. His deep, flurchous eyes locked onto mine with a seriousness I had never seen from

00:45:45him before. I know you've been hurt. I know Black Hill broke you with his rules and chains.

00:45:54I am not asking you to get over it from me. Take all the time you need. I can wait.

00:46:00I can wait.

00:46:02When you are ready to want someone again, I want you to think of me first.

00:46:07His honesty, the way he had risked his life to save me, and the way he accepted every wild part

00:46:11of me without trying to change it all hit me at once. It felt like hot sunlight breaking through

00:46:14the frozen walls around my heart. For those times, I did not answer with something sharp. I only lowered my

00:46:18eyes and felt some of those cold, hard chains inside me begin to crack. But the peace did not

00:46:23last long. A few days later, the nightmare found me again. Late one night, after I had been out

00:46:29dancing with Mia, I was walking back to my apartment when the air around me turned cold in a way

00:46:33I knew

00:46:34too well. A thin, worn-out figure stood under the shadow of a streetlight, his eyes red with endless

00:46:38obsession. Damien Blackwood. He looked terrifying. His suit was wrinkled, his eyes were bloodshot, and violent

00:46:44desperation seemed to radiate from his entire body, like he was one step away from losing his mind.

00:46:48He stepped forward and grabbed my arm, squeezing so hard it felt like he was trying to break it.

00:46:52His voice was rough, like sandpaper dragged over concrete. Scarlet, are you done playing games?

00:46:58Come back with me. Now. Let go of me, Mr. Blackwood. Do we even know each other?

00:47:16Just as Damien was about to force me into his car, a hand with long defined fingers and a limited

00:47:21edition watch cut through the air faster than anyone expected. It caught Damien's wrist with a sharp smack

00:47:26and held tight. A Blackwood CEO should know better than to put his hands on my woman in public.

00:47:36Even a three-year-old knows you cannot force someone to want you. He twisted Damien's wrist with sudden,

00:47:42explosive strength, forcing him to let go of me. At the same time, he slid his arm around my waist

00:47:49and

00:47:49pulled me behind him, natural and protective. Damien's eyes shot to Nathaniel's hand on my waist

00:47:55like poison daggers. The jealousy and rage burned through the last thread of sanity the New York air

00:48:00had left. Damien's veins stood out on his forehead and he spat Nathaniel's name through his teeth.

00:48:06Take your hands off her. You are a spoiled piece of trash who changes women more often than cars.

00:48:12Do not touch her with your filthy hands. If you do not let go, I will destroy your entire family

00:48:19in Europe.

00:48:24I am a mess, sure. I sleep around and I have never pretended to be a saint. Then his tones

00:48:31changed

00:48:31completely and every word came out cold and poisoned. But I have never been sick enough to make a woman

00:48:37write a 10,000 word Tumblick apology. I have never locked her in a dark wine cellar for three days

00:48:42without food or water. I have never thrown her into a freezing fountain at a gala. Watched her bleed

00:48:49in the water and then told my guards to keep going because she needed to learn a lesson.

00:49:00So tell me Blackwood, what the hell kind of man do you think you are?

00:49:09Every word out of Nathaniel's mouth cut open the guilt Damien had been trying not to face.

00:49:13Right there on a foreign street, Nathaniel stripped away every pathetic excuse Damien had ever made

00:49:19about love, discipline and protection, leaving him with nothing to hide behind. The color drained from

00:49:23Damien's face. His lips trembled and he tried to argue back, but his throat was so dry that not a

00:49:29single

00:49:29word came out. Two months of guilt and regret crashed over him all at once. His vision went dark and

00:49:35he

00:49:35could barely stand. Then he snapped. Shut up. His voice was hawsy and shaking.

00:49:45Shut your mouth! The last thread holding him to get broke. He pulled his fist back and charged forward,

00:49:52trying to tear me away from Nathaniel. Nathaniel had run out of patience. His eyes went cold and he

00:49:59lunged forward, throwing a punch straight at Damien. Two powerful men who were used to commanding

00:50:04boardrooms and making entire markets move started brawling on the streets of Monaco like common

00:50:08street thugs. The heavy sound of fists hitting flesh and the raw grails of age made casino guests

00:50:13scream and scattered. In the chaos, Damien used that reckless, almost suicidal force to break through

00:50:18the guards and reach me again. Come with me. I am not losing you again. He grabbed my shoulders with

00:50:25his bloody hands, his eyes obsessive and unhinged. Damien forced me into the black armored car waiting

00:50:31on the street and ordered his men to clear up hay. Clear the way, now! Drive to the private airport.

00:50:38Now,

00:50:39we are leaving for New York.

00:50:43By the time Nathaniel ran back into the street with blood on his face,

00:50:46all he could see were the taillights disappearing toward the coast.

00:50:53Find Blackwood's private flight path across the Atlantic. Get my people ready.

00:50:57I am going to New York and I am tearing his tower down if I have to.

00:51:02Twelve hours later, the Gulfray landed a heavily guarded private estate outside New York City,

00:51:07completely isolated from the outside world. It was Damien's most hidden asset, a beautiful golden cage

00:51:12built with the best security systems money could buy. I was locked inside the luxury

00:51:16living room, but I stayed completely silent. I did not cry. I did not scream. I did not make a

00:51:22scene.

00:51:23I only looked at Damien with a coldness that made it clear he was already dead to me.

00:51:28Damien's heart cracked piece by piece under that look. He desperately wanted to make things right.

00:51:35Then he suddenly remembered that I had once mentioned liking a certain French dessert. He had never been in a

00:51:41kitchen in his life, but he took off his jacket and walked into the kitchen anyway, clumsily cutting

00:51:45ingredients with his ruined hands. Hot oil splashed up and burned blisters across the backs of his hands,

00:51:50but he did not seem to notice. An hour later, he came out carrying a plate of dessert that looked

00:51:54terrible and slightly burnt. He walked up to me with a tired, worn-out face that carried a pathetic

00:51:58kind of hope. His whole body was shaking. His eyes were red, and he could barely stand as it helped

00:52:03it played out to me. You used to say you liked this. I made it myself. Please, Scarlet, just try

00:52:09one bite.

00:52:10I leaned against the couch, completely different, and did not even bother to look at him. I treated him

00:52:14like he was invisible. Damien's heart sank deeper into that frozen silence until there was nothing left but

00:52:19despair. All his pride fell away as he dropped to his knees in front of me and looked up like

00:52:22a beggar.

00:52:23I know that now. I don't want the family code anymore. I will never lock you down again.

00:52:26Just do not look at me like I'm already dead. It's driving me insane. Why you can't forgive me?

00:52:33I finally turned my head and looked at his broken face. Beneath my calm surface was the frozen cold

00:52:41of two lifetimes. You really want to know why? Fine, Damien. I will tell you. I looked at him without

00:52:48blinking. Because at the charity gala, you let your guards throw me into a freezing fountain.

00:52:55You knew I was bleeding. And when they asked if they should stop, you told them to keep going.

00:53:01His face went white. Because in the pouring rain, you brought me back to your mansion. But the second

00:53:07Clara put on her innocent little act, you protected her from the boiling water and left me on the floor

00:53:13while my skin peeled off. His breathing turned unsteady because you locked me in that dark wine

00:53:18cellar and gave Clara the perfect chance to torture me with an electroshock chair. When I told you the

00:53:24truth with injuries all over my body, you called me a liar. His face went pale. Every time you had

00:53:31to

00:53:32choose between me and Clara, you chose her. You chose your family's reputation. You chose control. And now

00:53:40you are kneeling here asking me to believe you loved me? Every word struck Damien like a judgment.

00:53:47Damien's face was completely pale. His body shook so hard he could barely stay upright. He tried to

00:53:52argue, to say I had misunderstood. But in front of those brutal facts, he realized words meant nothing.

00:53:56Regret tore through him. He tried to stand but accidentally knocked over the bag tucked between

00:54:02the couch hips. Everything inside spilled onto the floor. As he scrambled to pick it up,

00:54:07his fingers touched a medical file hidden deep inside.

00:54:14Damien opened the medical report from the private hospital in Monaco before he could think better of it.

00:54:19Large area deep second degree burns with severe PSTD caused prolonged psychological

00:54:24of the combustion of pressure burns. Boiling water.

00:54:29He stared at the date on the report. It was the same day he had knocked over the hot water

00:54:34and

00:54:34carried Clara away from the mansion. That was how badly I had been hurt. It had not only been my

00:54:39body,

00:54:40my mind had been damaged too. And what had he been doing then, the man who claimed to love me?

00:54:45He had been holding Clara, the person at the center of all of it, asking if she was okay. Meanwhile,

00:54:51he had left me in boiling water to suffer. Damien completely lost control. He punched the wall so

00:54:55hard that the crack of his knuckles breaking was audible. Blood splattered across the wall,

00:54:59but the physical pain was nothing compared to the feeling of his heart being crushed piece by piece.

00:55:03He crawled back to my feet like a dying dog and grabbed the hem of my dress with his broken,

00:55:08bleeding hand. His voice was wrecked as he apologized over and over again.

00:55:12I did not know it was that bad. Scarlet, I swear I did not know. Kill me if you want.

00:55:19Take a knife and

00:55:20do it right now. Just give me one chance. Please. Just one chance. I looked down at him, my long

00:55:29lashes

00:55:30casting cold shadows over my eyes. There was no emotion in them at all. I heard your apology, Damien.

00:55:37I just do not forgive you. At that moment, the roar of Moletter cycle engines and screaming security

00:55:46alarms exploded outside the villa. Through the chaos of guards yelling and fighting, the thick

00:55:51bulletproof front door of the living room was slammed open from the outside. Nathaniel burst in

00:55:56covered in injuries, his eyes wild with rage, carrying the kind of fury that looked ready to kill.

00:56:03Nathaniel strode in over the shattered glass, his black leather jacket stained with the blood of

00:56:08Damien's guards. The usual lazy charm in his eyes was gone, replaced by something savage and deadly.

00:56:17He pulled me behind him in one swift motion. His right fist trembled from the force he was barely

00:56:25holding back. Damien Blackwood, you really had the nerve to take her right under my nose.

00:56:34You think because your family runs New York, I cannot touch you? Damien was still on the floor.

00:56:40His broken hand hung at his side, blood dripping from his fingertips onto the expensive wool carpet.

00:56:45Slowly, he stood. His proud, untouchable spine looked bent now, but the moment he saw Nathaniel,

00:56:49jealousy and violence flared back to life in his hollow eyes. Let her go. Nathaniel, this is New York.

00:57:00This is my territory! When the council I'm assailed, you are not taking her anywhere!

00:57:07Nathaniel looked as if he had just heard the funniest thing in the world.

00:57:14He stepped forward and grabbed Damien by the collar, lifting him with brutal force.

00:57:18Your territory? Look outside.

00:57:22Beyond the windows, countless armored vehicles flashed with warning lights, surrounding the

00:57:27private estate. Nathaniel's men had already formed a standoff with Blackwood's guards.

00:57:32I am not just taking her out of here today.

00:57:36I am going to go and collect. I select the life you should have lost in Monaco, right here in

00:57:42New York.

00:57:47Damien did not fight back. He let Nathaniel hold him by the collar, but his eyes stayed locked on my

00:57:52face over Nathaniel's shoulder. There was no trace of his old arrogance left in that look,

00:57:57only a plea so desperate it had sunk into his bones.

00:58:00Scarlet, do not go. I am begging you. Stay, even if all you want is to kill me.

00:58:09I looked at him without emotion, as if I were looking at something already dead.

00:58:14Damien, the moment you threw yourself in front of Clara, we became enemies in both lifetimes.

00:58:20Do not make me hate you more than I already do.

00:58:23Then I turned and took Nathaniel's blooded hand myself.

00:58:27Nathaniel, let's go. Nathaniel froze for half a second, then clasped my hand tightly,

00:58:32locking his fingers with mine. With a look of disgust,

00:58:35he shoved Damien away as if pushing aside trash. Damien staggered back and crashed into the luxury

00:58:41wine cabinet behind him. Countless bottles shattered across the floor, and dark red wine spread over the

00:58:47wreckage like blood. He sat collapsed in the ruin, able to do nothing but watch as Nathaniel

00:58:54shielded me and led me out of that beautiful golden cage without looking back. Nathaniel shielded me

00:59:00and led me out without looking back. The door slammed shut behind us. Behind it came Damien's broken,

00:59:11desperate growl.

00:59:21The suffocating gloom of New York was left behind on the other side of the Atlantic. Nathaniel did not

00:59:28take me back to Modico in its glittering, noisy world of money and pleasure. Instead, he put me on

00:59:33his private jet and flew me straight to an extremely private estate in the south of France. The estate sat

00:59:38deep in the quiet Prevench countryside, far away from the world.

00:59:45When I opened the windows, I could see endless fields of lavender. The air smelled clean, full of

00:59:51grass, sunlight, and peace. There was no Richard Will calculating what I was worth. There was no Damien

00:59:58Blackfield haunting me with his obsession. There was only a silence gentle enough to make breathing feel

01:00:03easy again. Cancel all meetings. Nathaniel threw away every bit of his Southern European Playboy image

01:00:09and became surprisingly patient. He canceled business mootings, turned down parties, and simply sat with

01:00:16me during breakfast in the flower-filled garden. At sunset, he would lie half on the grass beneath the

01:00:22grapefines with a book in his hand. Every now and then, he would look up and flash me that lazy,

01:00:27trouble-making smile. He never mentioned New York. He never mentioned Damien Blackwood. He never

01:00:33mentioned any part of the past that hurt me. With that strange, reckless tenderness only he had,

01:00:39he slowly chased the shadows of my last life from between my brows.

01:00:46The skin burned by deep second-degree scalds still arced at night, and the PTSD left by my past life

01:00:53often

01:00:54dragged me awake from nightmares. Every time I sat up covered in cold sweat, I saw a faint light

01:00:58glowing outside on the terrace. Nathaniel was always there, guarding my bedroom from the soap

01:01:03outside the glass doors. He held an old guitar in his arms, his long fingers moving over the strings.

01:01:08The melodies were never perfect, but somehow they were gentle enough to calm my heart.

01:01:14Nightmare again, Wildcat? Do not be scared. I am right here. Not even God gets past me tonight.

01:01:24Paint whatever you want. Turn my face into a pig if it makes you happy.

01:01:31During the years, Damien controlled me. Painting had been dismissed as a useless distraction.

01:01:37But here, it was freedom. It belonged to Scarletta Vale.

01:01:44Under Nathaniel's shameless indulgements and steady companionship, I smiled more and more.

01:01:49It was the kind of joy that came from being accepted without conditions and encouraged to release every

01:01:54part of myself. One day, he secretly arranged a 10,000-meter skydive. The Hellifter climbed higher

01:01:59and higher with a violent roar. Beneath us were the jewel-blue Mediterranean and the distant line of

01:02:04the Alps. Wind poured in through the open cabin door, whipping my hair into chaos. The instructor checked

01:02:09our gear one final time. I looked at the shrinking world outside the door, took a deep breath, and felt

01:02:14the

01:02:14brightest rush of anticipation I had known since my rebirth. Nathiel Hulma hailed my tightly,

01:02:18his palm burning hot at against mine. He leaned close to my ear and shouted over the engine. He

01:02:23grinned, wild and dazzling. Just as the green light came on and the instructor signaled that we were

01:02:28ready to jump, he suddenly gestured for him to wait. He turned to me and stared straight into my eyes,

01:02:33deep and burning. Above the deafening engine, his voice somehow reached me clearly.

01:02:37Scarlet, before we jump. Scarlet Vale, I know you are hurt. I know that bastard in New York broke

01:02:43something in you. I am not going to feed you pretty lies. I am asking you straight. Give me a

01:02:48chance.

01:02:53Let me take care of you. Everything Damien Blackwood did to you, I will spend the rest of my life

01:03:00helping you heal from it. If the sky falls, I will hold it up for you. If you want to

01:03:07walk through

01:03:07the world like you own it, I will clear the road. If you want the stars, I will build you

01:03:11a damn ladder.

01:03:13I have never been this serious about anyone, Scarlet. I choose you.

01:03:18His conflation was direct, arrogant, and rough around the edges just like him. But it burned through me like

01:03:23sunlight, melting the deepest ice inside my heart. There was no prophet binding us together. No rules.

01:03:29No cage. Only the purest kind of desire to love someone as they were. I looked into those flirtious eyes,

01:03:35now filled with love and nervousness, and the string that had been pulled in my heart for two lives

01:03:40finally snapped loose. The heavy chains were scattered by the wind 10,000 meters above the earth.

01:03:47Yes! I will give you that chance!

01:03:51All right, loveards, time to jump!

01:04:04The wind thundered past my ears as I opened my arms to freedom. This time, my guardian was falling beside

01:04:10me.

01:04:14The sun in southern France was warm and gentle. But the top floor of Blackwood Tower in New York,

01:04:21the heavy curtains were drawn tight, shutting out every trace of daylight. Damien sat collapsed in his

01:04:25oversized leather chair, surrounded by empty vodka bottles. He had grown painfully thin,

01:04:30his face was hangered, his eyes sunken, and the hair he had once kept perfectly styled for the

01:04:34sake of the family code now hung in a mess. His phone screen was still lit. On it was a

01:04:37blurry

01:04:37Pemperazzi photo taken in southern France. Sunlight poured over an outdoor cafe.

01:04:42I was wearing a bright yellow dress, laughing with Nathaniel a spoonful of ice cream. Nathaniel was

01:04:46looking at me with open affection, gently tapping my nose with his finger. The photo was beautiful

01:04:49enough to hurt. Scarlet, I only found out recently that Clara used an electroshock chair on you in

01:04:54the wine feller. I have locked her away. I will make her pay back every bit of pain she caused

01:05:00you.

01:05:03Scarlet. Scarlet. Scarlet.

01:05:09Tears mixed with blood at the corner of his mouth, he whispered my name like a prayer and a punishment.

01:05:17Scarlet. I was smiling, bright and unrind, but that happiness no longer belonged to him.

01:05:23That place beside me should have been his. He was the one who had pushed me away with those damned

01:05:28rules.

01:05:38He wrote like a madman. Sometimes his handwriting was messy. Sometimes it was painfully neat.

01:05:45Before long, the white paper was covered in tear marks and bloody fingerprints from his broken hand.

01:05:52He wrote about how stupid he had been to believe the Vale family's act. He wrote about forcing me to

01:05:58write apologies. Locking me in the wine cellar, I bled and bound me standing right and spilled about

01:06:02then hot water to protect Clara while leaving me with second degree burns and PTSD.

01:06:07Scarlet, I only found out recently that Clara used an electroshock chair on you in the wine feller.

01:06:12I have locked her away. I will make her pay back every bit of pain she caused you.

01:06:24The letter was sent by international courier to southern France and eventually reached my hands.

01:06:30I did not read a single line. I threw it straight into the roaring fireplace. The pages curled in the

01:06:37flailed in the flames and turned to ash.

01:06:46No answer ever came.

01:06:50After the letter was sent, no reply came back. Damien's last bit of hope died completely.

01:06:56Ignoring the furious objections of his private doctor, he tore the IV from his hand and booked the nearest flight

01:07:02to the south of France.

01:07:03Through the Blackwood family's underground channels in Europe, he eventually located the quiet estate surrounded by lavender fields.

01:07:10But he did not dare go near it. He was afraid of disturbing me. Even more than that, he was

01:07:15afraid of seeing the disgust in my eyes.

01:07:17So he stayed outside the thorny fence like a ghost, watching from far away day and night.

01:07:22He saw Nathania's Lamborghini come and go. He saw us walking hand in hand along the country road at sunset.

01:07:26At night, he saw Nathania's shadow on the second floor balcony as he gently held me in his arms.

01:07:31Every scene was a dull knife, slowly cutting through his body and soul.

01:07:34One day, a violent storm broke over southern France. Lightning split the night sky.

01:07:39Damien stood outside the fence without moving, letting the cold rain soak him through.

01:07:42He was running a fever of 104 degrees, his body burning under the creasing rain, but he stood there like

01:07:48a statue and refused to leave.

01:07:52In his sick, desperate mind, he imagined that maybe the rain was heavy enough to soften my heart.

01:07:59Maybe I would come out with an umbrella and look at him just once.

01:08:03Only when his body finally gave out did he collapse into the muddy water.

01:08:08Before he lost consciousness completely, he thought he saw the curtain move in a second floor window.

01:08:23Scarlet, let me see her.

01:08:27Keep dreaming, Blackwood. She does not want to see you.

01:08:31She would feel dirty wasting even one second on you.

01:08:39She told me to give you four words.

01:08:42No forgiveness.

01:08:44No pity.

01:08:46No return.

01:08:52Keep whatever dignity the Blackwood family still has.

01:08:55Every word struck Damien like an ice hook through the heart,

01:08:58shattering the last bit of hope left in him.

01:09:01He understood.

01:09:02I was not even willing to waste hatred on him anymore.

01:09:05Between us, everything had ended in the second of the car crash in my last life

01:09:09and in the moment he ordered the guards to keep me in the fountain in this life.

01:09:12After his fever broke, he was put on a plane back to New York by Nathaniel's private guards.

01:09:19He left like a puppet with its soul pulled out.

01:09:28Damien's forced departure did not stop the next storm from arriving.

01:09:32After recovering in southern France, I was no longer the weak woman from my past life who could

01:09:37only endure pain. With Nathaniel's financial power and international underground network behind me,

01:09:42I personally planned the final reckoning against the Vale family. Using hackers, I gathered hard

01:09:46evidence of Richard's years of tax evasion, money laundering, embezzlement of my mother's trust assets,

01:09:51and massive commercial brubbering. Then I anonymously submit everything to the highest

01:09:55federal prosecutors in New York.

01:09:59The evidence was overwhelming. Richard was arrested by federal agents during a Vale group board meeting,

01:10:05right in front of the cameras and the entire press. The Vale family trust and company collapsed

01:10:10overnight. Their assets were seized and liquidated, and bankruptcy followed almost immediately.

01:10:16In the visiting room of New York's first federal prison, I sat behind thick bulletproof glass

01:10:20and looked coldly at Richard. He had gone white-haired overnight. He looked old, broken, and frantic.

01:10:26Scarlett, I am your father! My blood runs in your veins! You sent your own father to hell with your

01:10:31own hands! You'll pay for this!

01:10:32Pay for it?

01:10:33Richard, did you think about payback when you brought Monica into my mother's house?

01:10:37Did you think about it when you let tried to sell me into the Blackwood family like a piece of

01:10:40property?

01:10:43This is your payback. Spend the rest of your life repenting in there.

01:10:54Monica could not survive the shock of the Vale family collapsing overnight.

01:10:58Her mind broke completely, and she was forced into the cheapest psychiatric hospital in New York.

01:11:05Every day, she wandered with tangled hair, muttering nonsense to herself.

01:11:15Damien, please save my mother! Please save the Vale family! I know I was wrong! I will bring

01:11:20Scarlett back if you want! I will beg that bitch to come back! Just look at me once!

01:11:24The iron gate slowly opened. Damien came out with a cane. He looked down at the woman kneeling at his

01:11:31feet like she was filth on the road. There was no emotion in his eyes, only disgust.

01:11:37Love? Clara, I know exactly how you and Monica schemed your way through Manhattan society and bullied

01:11:43Scarlett for years. I did not touch you before because you were not worth dirtying my hands.

01:11:50Also, I was saving you for Scarlett.

01:11:55Now that she has made her move, I am satisfied. Get this disgusting woman out of my sight.

01:12:04After that, a filthy, ragged woman appeared on the underground streets of Manhattan.

01:12:09She smelled rotten, laughed at strangers, and screamed at shadows. Damien had his men watch her from a

01:12:14distance. He did not allow her to die. He made sure she stayed alive long enough to suffer every

01:12:18humiliation the bottom of society had to offer. It was exactly what I had wanted for her. She would

01:12:23live like a rat in the gutter, slowly and painfully.

01:12:28After hearing how everything ended, I stood before the floor to clear windows of the estate in southern

01:12:32France and watched the sun sink below the horizon. For the first time, my heart felt strangely calm.

01:12:38The nightmare and karma that had followed me through two lifetimes had finally come to an end.

01:12:42Bad people got what they deserved. From now on, baby, let me be the only one who gets to spoil

01:12:47you.

01:12:47Over the next half year, Nathaniel and I grew closer and closer. We traveled from country to country,

01:12:52enjoying our freedom and love anywhere in the world we wanted. We both thought the blood and storms were

01:12:57finally behind us.

01:13:15But no one expected Clara, who had long gone mad and been forgotten in the trash-filled corners of New

01:13:21York to be planning one last act of revenge.

01:13:38Nathaniel reacted instantly. With a low growl, he shoved open the car door and threw himself into the fight,

01:13:42doing everything he could to protect me. But there were too many of them, and they had come prepared.

01:13:46Nathaniel was soon cut across the arm while shielding me, then forced to the ground under several guns.

01:13:50His face was covered in blood, and his eyes were wild with rage.

01:13:53Do not touch her! Let her go!

01:14:02A burst of crazed applause rang out. Clara slowly stepped out from behind one of the vants.

01:14:06She wore a filthy, torn dress stained with grime. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her eyes were cloudy

01:14:10and insane.

01:14:11In her hand, she gripped a loaded glock. Her ruined face twisted like something out of a nightmare as she

01:14:14laughed at me.

01:14:15Charlotte, you bitch. I have requested a nice name, pay-balled me under.

01:14:18Get the hundred times, a thousand's over. You and the man you love are both going to hell today!

01:14:22At that deadly moment, just as one of the thugs was about to pull the trigger, the roar of an

01:14:26engine ripped through the sea wind.

01:14:27A black armored SUV came crashing in from behind, ramping the van, blocking the road, and screeched to a stop

01:14:32in the middle of the chaos.

01:14:33A thin figure with a slight limp stepped out, carrying an automatic rifle and surrounded by cold, murderous, and tate.

01:14:39Damien. He had been following my movements from a distance all along.

01:14:42When he found out Clara had disappeared under strange circumstances, he sensed something was wrong and tracked the rive route

01:14:47here.

01:14:53Let her go, Clara. Get that filthy gun away from her head.

01:15:03Damien, you came too? Good. Perfect. The head of the Blackwood family and Nathaniel's family are both here.

01:15:10I can send all of you to hell together.

01:15:12What do you want? I will give you every Blackwood trust, every share, every asset I have.

01:15:19Take my life if you want. Just let Scarlet go.

01:15:24I do not want anything anymore. I want her to suffer.

01:15:29I want you, the high and mighty King of Manhattan, to watch with your own eyes while I tear her

01:15:34apart.

01:15:36Watching both men suffer because of me tore my heart open and tears blurred my vision.

01:15:41Stop! Nathaniel, Damien, just go! Do not worry about me!

01:15:44You want her alive? Fine! Damien, King of Manhattan, get on your knees! Kneel and beg me!

01:15:48Damien looked at my deathly pale face and did not hesitate for even a second.

01:15:52He threw away the rifle in his hand and dropped to his knees on rough gravel-covered road.

01:15:55The heavy sound of his bones hitting the ground tore through the sea wind.

01:15:58This was a man who had been pathologically proud in both lifetimes,

01:16:00a man who had never lowered his head to anyone. For my life, he threw away every last bit of

01:16:04dignity.

01:16:11Look at you! You finally know what it feels like. Beat him. Beat him until he cannot move.

01:16:20The thugs rushed forward. Iron rods and fists fell on Damien like rain.

01:16:24He curled tightly around himself, blood pouring from his mouth, but he stubbornly kept his body angled toward me,

01:16:30blocking the sand and gravel that flew in my direction.

01:16:32Stop! Please stop!

01:16:48In that split second, no one saw where Damien found the strength. Like a black panther burning through its last

01:16:53breath,

01:16:53he threw himself up from the ground and slammed to me with that ounce of life he had left.

01:16:57He knocked me hard onto the road and covered completely with his broad bloodied back,

01:17:00leaving no gap between me and the bullet. The sound that followed tore into his back,

01:17:03exploding only a few millimeters from his heart. Blood sprayed across the air and instantly stained my white dress.

01:17:10A shocking red.

01:17:17For a moment, the whole world seemed to stop. Damien's heavy body pressed down over mine.

01:17:21With impossible effort, he slowly raised his head. His deathly pale face was covered in blood.

01:17:26When he saw that I was safe,

01:17:27queer creme with him. Without a capture of his mouth lifted into a relieved smile.

01:17:30And that smile was a kind of longing and regret I had never seen from him in either lifetime.

01:17:34He struggled to raise his bleeding hand, as if he wanted to touch my face one last time.

01:17:39But his fingers shook violently in the air, never quite reaching me, before falling wheatly into the mud.

01:17:44He looked at me as the light in his eyes began to scatter.

01:17:47Scarlet, I am sorry. This time, I finally protected you. Live well with Nathaniel. Goodbye.

01:18:10Damien!

01:18:20But I only held the blood-covered man in arms tears streaming down my face. Did I hate him? Did

01:18:25I resent him?

01:18:26The moment that bullet tore through his body, the chains from my past life and the hatred from this life

01:18:30were shattered with it.

01:18:31With his own life, he completed a redemption that had come two life teams too late.

01:18:37Above the Southeast Asian island, the roar of a rescue helicopter tore through the humid air.

01:18:42A team of top international medics carefully lifted Damien, covered in blood and deep in shock,

01:18:46onto a stretcher. His face had turned acid, almost like a corpse. His breathing and heartbeat were

01:18:51so weak the machines could barely detect them. I stood beside the helicopter, his warm blood still

01:18:55on my face and clothes. My fate's control of snow, wrapped in bandages and looking grim.

01:18:59Poor self threw the pain of his fractures and pulled me hard into his arms, using his broad chest

01:19:03to hold me up. His eyes were complicated as he watched Damien always despised he'd really been

01:19:07willing to trade his life for my freedom. The helicopter rushed toward the nearest international

01:19:11medical center. The doors of the operating room stayed shut, and the red light

01:19:16above them burned for 12 full hours. Nathania and I waited in the hallway as time stretched until

01:19:23it felt like a century. The surgery succeeded. The bullet is out, but he's not out of danger.

01:19:31The recovery will be long, but damage is severe, irreversible.

01:19:46Damien remained unconscious in the sterile ICU for more than half a month.

01:19:51During that time, with no one in control of Blackwood Group, rival financial powers in New

01:19:55York began tearing into it. The stock price plunged, and the company started from the inside. Through

01:19:59Nathaniel's underground channels, Iannoy passed Damien's confidential medical trial to a relatively

01:20:03loyal elder inside the Blackwood family. That elder stepped in and barely stabilized the chaos in New

01:20:08York. Half a month later, Damien finally opened his eyes to the beeping of medical machines. His

01:20:13vision slowly focused until he's standing outside the satiral glass. Our eyes met, and the air in the

01:20:18room seemed to freeze. My gaze was complicated. There was concern in it. There was release. There was no

01:20:23love left. There was no hatred left either. Damien wore an oxygen mask. His dry lips parted as if he

01:20:28wanted

01:20:28to say my name, but only a weak, poor breath came out. He saw the calm in my eyes. He

01:20:33also saw Nathaniel

01:20:33behind me, covered in casts and bandages, still gripping my shoulder in a posture of absolute

01:20:37protection. Damien understood, but the last faint, impossible hope in his soul went out like a candle in the wind.

01:20:43Two silent lines of tears slid from the corners of his eyes into his hair. He had used his life

01:20:48to save me.

01:20:48Whatever remained between us had died with that redemption.

01:20:54Three months later, at Geneva International Airport in Switzerland, morning fog covered

01:20:58up the runway bound for one of Switzerland's top private rehabilitation plants waited in silence.

01:21:02Damien could barely sit in a wheelchair now. He looked older and thinner than any disability in

01:21:06his left leg. For the rest of his life, he would have to rely on a cane and a wheelchair

01:21:09to move.

01:21:10His body had been drained almost beyond repair. He never tried to contact me again. He even refused

01:21:15visits from the core members of the Blackwood family. Before boarding, he calmly signed every

01:21:20equity transfer document and full management authorization agreement, handing away the business

01:21:25empire he had once treated as his life. He sold all of his Manhattan properties, poured every dollar

01:21:30into a newly established global wildlife and freedom photography trust. It was an anonymous gift

01:21:35that would benefit me forever without requiring my signature. The medical plane's engines roared.

01:21:40Damien leaned beside the window and looked out at the endless freezing white cloud sea above the Alps.

01:21:43His eyes held nothing but quiet acceptance and deathly stillness. He had finally removed himself

01:21:47from my world.

01:21:48Scarlet, I love you. Not because I want to lock you in a house like some pretty bird,

01:21:52and not because what you're following Ong any damn family rules. I love you exactly like this. Wild,

01:21:57proud, bright, and impossible to tame. Let me be the man who protects you for the rest of your life.

01:22:03Marry me.

01:22:09Yes, I will marry you. The last light of sunset wrapped around us in gold as he pulled me into

01:22:15his arms.

01:22:15The chains from my past life were finally broken. In this life, I finally had the wide open sky I

01:22:21deserved.

01:22:21Now thank you.

After Rebirth, I Gave My Control-Freak Fiancé to My Stepsister FULL EP 2026 | Engsub

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