Introduction

The leather seats of the Rolls-Royce were cold against my bare skin, just like the emptiness inside me after another stolen encounter with Ethan Vance.

I was Scarlett Hayes, a sharp fashion designer, entangled with a tech billionaire, a genius admired by the world.

But tonight, the usual rush was gone, replaced by a chilling void as I watched city lights blur past.

Then, a message on Ethan' s laptop caught my eye: "Ethan, the storm scares me..." From "Willow." Willow, my sickly stepsister, a name that tasted like bitter poison.

My phone buzzed. It was Ethan. "I have to step out for a bit. An emergency. Stay here." He rushed out, leaving me with a cold dread.

I tracked his car to a high-end hotel, and what I saw shattered my world: Ethan, tenderly carrying Willow like she was made of glass.

He was her protector, her long-lost sweetheart; the two painful parts of my life colliding.

Suddenly, Willow wasn't just some delicate girl. She was Ethan's past, and now, my stepsister. Rage, betrayal, and a deep, aching hurt swirled inside me.

The arranged marriage my father forced on me wasn't just an escape anymore. It was a weapon. My revenge.

Two days later, homeless and broke after a vengeful shopping spree, Ethan found me. He offered me refuge. I saw the handsome, deceptive face of the man who had played me for a fool.

A week later, at Willow' s welcome-home party, the ultimate humiliation struck. In a cruel game, Ethan chose Willow repeatedly-for kindness, for trust, and finally, on a sinking ship, to save.

His silence when asked who he loved more was a public verdict. He chose Willow. He always would.

Something inside me snapped. I lunged at Willow, my hands finding her fragile neck. Ethan pulled me off, his face a mask of cold fury, choosing her even then.

"He was never yours," Willow hissed after I was detained. "This whole affair? It was my idea. He recorded everything. All for me."

The betrayal was monstrous. I walked out, went to his penthouse, and systematically destroyed it. I burned everything to the ground.

The "ailing" groom in the South, Liam Sterling, was not what I expected. He was healthy, charming, and looked at me as a long-lost dream, confessing he had orchestrated the arranged marriage just to meet me.

Just as I found a flicker of peace, a fragile hope for a new life, Ethan came back.

He interrupted my engagement party, a wild, desperate man, publicly declaring his love for me.

But it was too late. I rejected him. I had a new, real life.

On the eve of my wedding, in a final, mad act of possession, Ethan kidnapped me. He took me to a secluded private island.

He tried to rekindle our past with lavish gifts and desperate affection. I feigned compliance, secretly planning my escape.

I managed to get a message to Liam. He came for me. As we escaped, a cliff collapsed. Ethan, in a single, selfless act, threw himself in front of us. He saved us.

The last thing I saw before everything went black was Ethan, lying broken at the bottom of the cliff. He lost. I won.

But deep down, a question lingered: what kind of love could twist so violently?