The night was dark, and the old castle stood engulfed in flames.

The air was thick with the choking stench of gasoline. Fire raced along its trail, devouring everything in its path. Heat surged through the air like it meant to burn away every last breath.

Evelyn Foster, bruised and battered, could barely keep herself upright. Her eyes dimmed with despair—no matter how she struggled, death was the only thing waiting for her. She closed her eyes, not to rest, but to surrender. Let the fire take her, let it wipe away the mess of a life she’d lived.

But right then, she heard a voice break through the chaos. Familiar.

“Evelyn, don’t be scared. I’m here.”

Her eyes shot open. Victor Hawkins, injured and barely standing, had come to her. And just like that, she broke. Tears spilled down her soot-smudged face as she screamed, “I told you not to come! You knew this was a trap—why would you still show up?”

“Because you’re here,” he said softly, eyes locked on hers. “Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.”

His words hit her like a punch to the gut. It hurt—because she knew. Deep down, she’d always known. He’d told her a thousand times: she was his everything.

Since he’d taken her back to the Hawkins estate at nineteen, he’d said that over and over again. But she refused to believe him. She’d been so easily fooled by the ones she thought loved her most. Thought Victor didn’t care, that he only kept her close because she reminded him of someone else. A stand-in for his lost love.

But that wasn’t the truth.

And now, it was too late. The one he loved... had always been her. No one else.

Still, she hadn’t trusted him. Kept trying to leave. Kept hurting him.

And through it all, he never once stopped loving her.

Even when she pushed too far, he’d look at her with that same patient smile and chuckle, “My Evelyn is adorable when she’s mad.”

No matter how cold she got, no matter how cruel—he stayed the same. Always choosing her.

And she? She kept turning her back on him.

She let some scumbag and a backstabbing liar twist her thoughts. Let herself believe the people closest to her. To get away from Victor, there was nothing she wouldn’t try. She crushed his heart, piece by piece, until there was nothing left.

Eventually, she thought she’d won—using her own pain to make him finally let go.

But she didn’t realize that walking away from Victor wasn't freedom. It was walking straight into a nightmare.

Lily Foster and Julian Park tricked her onto a ship headed overseas. Told her it was the only way out. And she believed them.

But Lily had already lined everything up. Men were waiting on that ship to take her, to sell her off so Victor would never find her again.

Only after she was captured did Lily tell her the truth. She could still remember the way Lily Foster looked at her with that twisted, jealous grin when she revealed the truth. "Evelyn Foster, what makes you so special that Victor Hawkins would fall for you? I met him first, I’ve admired him since forever, and yet he loves you—a country bumpkin fresh outta nowhere!"

Lily sneered, her tone full of spite. "You’re honestly so dumb. Victor doted on you, loved you like crazy, and you still bought into the garbage we fed you. You actually believed Mom and Dad? They just wanted you to hate him, push him away, so I could marry into the Hawkins family instead."

"'White moonlight'? A stand-in? All lies—we made them up. And you actually fell for it!"

She let out a nasty laugh again. "Oh, and by the way, Mom, Dad, and your dear brothers? They can't stand you. Everything you did for them? They all thought I did it."

"But it doesn’t matter now, does it? You’re about to vanish from this world. Once you're gone, Victor will only have eyes for me. The precious daughter of the Foster family? That’ll be me, and only me."

Like knives to the heart, every word shredded Evelyn to pieces.

Her voice trembled. "So all those times Mom, Dad, and the boys showed they cared... it was fake?"

Lily scoffed, her grin full of scorn. "Of course it was fake. It was all a show. They’ve only ever considered me their daughter and sister. Evelyn, you were just a leftover, someone who never fit in."

Everything... had been a lie?

A wave of sorrow washed over Evelyn. So that was it. Even after being brought back into the family, she was never truly loved. She thought she’d finally found a place she belonged—parents, brothers who cared.

But no. They’d loved Lily all along, not her.

All that effort she made to be accepted... all for show.

She fooled herself into thinking she finally mattered.

Turns out, it had all been scripted from the start.

Turns out, the people she’d called family... never really saw her as one of them.

How laughable.

Evelyn felt her whole world collapse.

And then... she thought of Victor.

Thinking back, he was probably the only one who ever genuinely cared.

And what had she done? Believed the lies. Hurt him. Pushed him away.

She wanted so badly to apologize. But she’d never get the chance.

In the end, she wasn't sold to a brothel. Instead, she got caught up in a trap set by Victor’s enemies. They used her to lure him out—just to kill him.

She was brought to this old castle, where they waited for Victor to walk into their death trap. The whole place rigged with explosives, ensuring that if he came, he wouldn't leave.

Tears streamed down Evelyn's face as pain crushed her chest. She told him not to come. She begged him not to.

So why did he come?

Why would he come after everything she’d done to him?

Why didn’t he hate her?

What on earth had she done to deserve someone like Victor risking his life for her?

The fire roared louder, smoke thick in the air. Her throat burned, every breath a struggle. The chains around her wrists and ankles made it clear—there was no escape. But Victor was still trying, frantically pulling at the chains, desperate to get her out.

It was useless.

Evelyn didn’t want him to die here with her. She shoved him away with all the strength she had left. "Victor Hawkins, go! Leave! Don’t worry about me—it’s too late for me!"“There’s dynamite in here. You have to leave, now. If you don’t, it’ll be too late. I’ve treated you so horribly… I’m not worth dying for.”

“I am!” Victor Hawkins’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Evelyn Foster. His hand reached up, trembling, brushing softly against her face. “You are. You’re the only person in this world I’d willingly die for. Evel, be good, I know you don’t want to see me, but if I can just get you out of this place, I swear I’ll disappear—forever. Just hang in there, okay? Let’s talk after we get out.”

Then, without wasting a second, Victor threw himself into trying to break the chains holding Evelyn. But those bastards who set this up clearly planned every detail—it wasn’t something brute force or even his gun could undo.

Tears streamed down Evelyn’s face. Watching Victor risk everything for her, she felt her chest ache like never before. The man she’d been so desperate to run away from... was the one who loved her the most, the one who’d never stopped protecting her.

She’d been so wrong. Completely, helplessly wrong.

The fire in the castle was spreading like crazy. If this kept going, the explosives were going to go off, and she and Victor would be gone with it.

Thick smoke stung her eyes, making it almost impossible to keep them open. Her breath was growing labored, each inhale a struggle. Choking on both smoke and regret, she screamed, “Victor… please go! I can’t make it out—you know that! I’ve wronged you in this life, hurt you, misunderstood everything… If there’s a next life, I’ll make it up to you. But you need to leave—please!”

Victor let out a bitter laugh, halting his movements. “But Evel… you know I could never leave you behind.”

“But I’m trapped! If you stay, you’ll just die with me!”

He stepped forward, wrapping her gently in his arms, one hand soothingly stroking her back. “Then I’ll die with you. Evel, if you’re not in this world, what’s left for me?”

“You’re insane, you know that?! Why are you so damn stubborn?” she sobbed, her body shuddering with each word.

“I know, I’m a fool.” Victor wiped the tears from her face with painful tenderness. “But what can I say? I choose to be your fool.”

Evelyn broke down even harder. The flames now roared on all sides, heat pressing in from every direction. The dynamite had begun reacting. A violent blast pierced the air. Victor pulled her close, shielding her with all he had. She knew—this was the end.

Why was he so stupid? Why would he choose to die for her?

In the final moment of their lives, he leaned in with a voice barely holding together, “Evel… can I kiss you?”

Her head nodded like she was clinging to her very last ounce of strength.

With that, Victor cupped her neck and kissed her deep, like he wanted to etch her into his soul—into bone and blood.

Trapped in that kiss filled with desperation and fiery passion, they held nothing back.

Explosions pounded the air around them, sky blazing with fire, thick smoke rising like stormclouds. In one deafening collapse, the castle crumbled.

And in that last breath before death took them, Victor whispered into her ear,

“I love you.”