Aria shuddered. Over the next three days, she didn't get a single full night's sleep.

From lighting calibration to model walk paths, from the scent system to background music, every detail was soaked in her effort.

The project bonus was one million dollars, just enough to cover the first payment for her treatment in Edelmark.

On the day of the bidding, she walked into the venue in a sharply tailored black suit.

The exhibition director smiled slightly. "Aria, your proposal passed unanimously. We're just waiting for you to sign the contract."

The next second, Aria's smile froze.

Julian walked in with Lila on his arm.

"Mr. Lawson?" The exhibition director looked surprised.

Julian sat down lazily, his gaze sweeping over Aria. "I heard you decided on Aria?"

"Yes. Her proposal is very—"

"I'll add another one million dollars in investment," Julian cut in. "Transfer the position to Lila. She wants to transition into a fashion director."

The room fell silent.

Aria dug her nails into her palm.

One million dollars. Exactly the money she needed for treatment.

And he would rather spend that money to buy empty prestige for a woman who couldn't even understand a proposal?

The exhibition director hesitated. "Mr. Lawson, Miss Bennett does have potential, but Aria's professional expertise—"

"Two million." Julian suddenly smiled, his eyes stabbing straight at Aria. "Another million. To buy her silence."

Aria stood frozen as a roaring hum filled her ears.

She watched the director finally nod, watched Lila lift her chin in triumph, watched four months of her work get priced, sold, and discarded.

She didn't cry.

She only turned away, went into the restroom, and vomited until the world spun, the pain in her stomach nearly knocking her to the floor.

Three days later, at the model exhibition.

Lila took the stage as the director. Under the spotlight, her makeup was flawless, but her nerves showed.

She stumbled on her very first line. "Thank you… thank you all for coming… um, for supporting my… my…"

Whispers rippled through the audience.

Sweat pooled in Lila's palms. She rushed through the rest and fled the stage.

Then the disasters came one after another.

The international supermodel scheduled for the finale was absent due to visa issues. The backup model, never having rehearsed the walk, froze at the center of the runway, looking around in confusion.

The guest singer arrived forty minutes late, leaving the intermission painfully empty.

Most fatal of all, the brand's promotional video meant for the big screen cut straight to black.

The venue erupted. This million-dollar launch became the biggest joke in the fashion world in the past five years.

Social media exploded instantly, trending topics filled with Lila's name.

"Lila Bennett's debut is a total disaster!"

"A pretty face playing fashion director?"

"Has the Lawson Group lost its taste?"

The investor's representative was livid. "Miss Bennett! Do you know how much brand value evaporated today? Thirty million dollars! Thirty million!"

Lila's legs gave out. She lunged at Julian, her voice shaking. "Julian… it wasn't me… it was Aria! She deliberately didn't tell me the international model needed a visa in advance! The schedule was wrong too! She just wanted to humiliate me!"

All eyes turned to Aria in the corner, wearing a badge labeled "Assistant," silent from start to finish.

Julian looked at her, his gaze cold as a blade.

One second. Two.

Then he spoke, his voice carrying clearly across the venue. "It was indeed Aria's mistake. Lila didn't know anything. She was completely kept in the dark."

He paused, then delivered the final blow. "Effective immediately, Aria is relieved of all duties at this company."

Just like that, Aria was thrown into the media spotlight, drowned in a storm of abuse.

Julian stared at Aria, waiting for her to charge over like before, to explode, to wreck the venue, to grab his collar and demand, "Why are you doing this to me?"

But Aria didn't argue.

She simply unclipped her badge and set it down.

Dragging her exhausted body back to the apartment she had lived in for ten years, Aria sensed something was wrong the moment she slid the key into the lock. The lock had been changed.

She found the spare key under the rug. After opening the door, she froze in the entryway.

The ceramic vase she had made by hand for Julian, the birthday gift he once said felt warm and thoughtful, was gone.

In its place stood a cold, lifeless metal sculpture.

On the living room wall, the photo of her and Julian in the snowy fields had been taken down, replaced by a solo art portrait of Lila, her makeup bold, her gaze openly provocative.

The sofa had been replaced with pale pink velvet, and a couple's scented candles sat on the coffee table.

Even the pothos she had cared for for five years was gone, the windowsill left completely bare.

"Do you like it?" Julian's voice came from behind her.

Leaning against the doorframe, he spoke casually, as if showing off a renovation. "Lila said the place felt outdated, so I let her redo it however she liked."

Aria didn't speak. Her fingers brushed over the empty windowsill, where she used to water the plants every day.

"Move out for a few days first," Julian stepped closer, his tone leaving no room for argument. "When Lila gets tired of living here, you can come back."

Come back after Lila got tired of it?

Aria nodded and turned to the bedroom to pack the last of her belongings.

After all, she had only two days left before her flight. She didn't want to fight anymore. She didn't want to hurt anymore.

Julian frowned. "You're just leaving like that? No crying? No scene?"

He had expected her to smash things, to beg on her knees, to cling to him the way she always had.

But Aria simply zipped up her suitcase and said calmly, "I wish you happiness."

That detached calm only infuriated Julian.

"What are you pretending to be so noble for?" he sneered. "Playing hard to get again? Waiting for me to come begging you back?"

Aria was exhausted. She didn't even have the energy to explain, pushing her suitcase as she walked out.

"Get out!" Julian shouted after her, furious and unrestrained. "Don't ever show up in front of me again!"

Late at night, a twenty-four-hour convenience store.

Wearing an ill-fitting uniform, Aria scanned items behind the checkout counter.

It was a temporary job she'd taken just to scrape together enough money for the airport shuttle.

The doorbell chimed.

Lila walked in on high heels, her smile syrupy sweet. "Oh? Aria? What a coincidence."

For the next half hour, she treated Aria like a servant.

"Get me a bag of chips."

"Forget it. I don't want it. Put it back."

"What about beef jerky? Make it the spiciest one."

"Oh, I don't feel like eating anymore. Throw it away."

Aria kept her head down and said nothing.

She couldn't lose this job. She had to save five hundred dollars for the trip.

Then Lila pointed at the hot soup station. "Add some more broth for me."

Just as Aria lifted a ladle of steaming broth, Lila suddenly shoved her arm. The entire bowl of scalding liquid splashed over Aria's arm and chest.

Agonizing pain exploded. The exposed skin on Aria's arm instantly swelled and reddened.

Aria bit down on her lip to keep from screaming, her eyes locking onto Lila. "You did that on purpose."

Lila gave a provocative smile, then clutched her stomach and stepped back, her voice shaking. "Y-you scalded me on purpose? Are you trying to kill me and my baby?"

At that moment, Julian pushed the door open.

Lila immediately rushed to him, tears streaming. "Julian! She hates that I'm pregnant. She wants to destroy our baby!"

Julian didn't even look at Aria, irritation filling his eyes. "This again? At least have some limits when you're being jealous."

Aria opened her mouth to explain, but he shoved her away hard.

Her lower back slammed into the sharp edge of the counter.

"Ah!"

The pain was tearing and blinding. Her vision went dark as cold sweat soaked her back.

Julian had already scooped Lila up in his arms and strode toward the door.

He left behind only a cold sentence. "Get close to her one more time, and I'll make sure you won't survive in this city."

Only Aria remained in the convenience store, curled on the floor, one hand pressed to her waist, trembling in pain.

The store manager peeked out and asked hesitantly, "Should we call the police?"

Aria shook her head and slowly pushed herself upright. "No. I still have to work."

She had thirty-five hours left.

Thirty-five hours later, she would board a flight to Scoyjan.

At seven in the morning, the convenience store had just finished its shift change.

Aria stood on tiptoe, arranging coffee cans on the top shelf, burn patches still stuck to her arm.

When the doorbell chimed, she didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

Julian stood in the doorway, suit immaculate, his eyes restless with irritation.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" he asked, forcing his anger down. "Ghosting me? Playing disappearing acts? You think I'd beg you to come back like this?"

Aria didn't stop. She kept arranging the shelves.

She knew this routine too well. Every time she ignored his calls out of spite, he would show up with a cold face, using accusations to force her to lower her head and apologize.

She would cry and apologize, and he would brush it off with a casual, "Let's not do this again next time," as if nothing had happened.

For ten years, the cycle repeated. She was like a tamed bird, unable to fly far, unable to escape.

But this time, she didn't want to play along anymore.

"Say something!" Julian strode forward, grabbed her wrist, and forced her to turn around.

But the moment he saw her face clearly, he froze.

Aria had grown frighteningly thin.

Her cheekbones jutted sharply, her eye sockets hollow, the once full cheeks reduced to a thin layer of skin.

Her wrist was so thin in his grasp it felt like a dead branch, as if it would snap with a twist.

"You…" His voice suddenly caught.

Aria tried to pull her hand back, but her vision went black and her body went limp.

Julian caught her instinctively, only to realize she was as light as snow, almost weightless.

The sharp smell of disinfectant filled the air in the hospital.

Aria woke up on the hospital bed and saw Julian sitting beside her, his brows tightly knit.

"What's wrong with you?" His voice was unusually low. "Are you sick?"

She opened her mouth, her throat dry.

The words crowded in her mind. That she had stomach cancer. That she only had a few months left. That the money he had taken was her only chance to survive.

But before the words could leave her mouth, the ward door was pushed open.

Lila walked in with a hand on her waist, her smile gentle. "Julian, I heard Aria collapsed? That's really worrying."

She glanced at Aria and lowered her voice, just loud enough for both of them to hear.

"But… she's always liked using this trick. Pretending to be sick, pretending to be pitiful, just to soften your heart. Do you remember last time? She said she had gastric bleeding, and it turned out to be nothing…"

Julian's expression changed instantly.

He stood up abruptly, his concern turning into icy disappointment.

"I knew it." He sneered. "You never know how to speak properly. All you know is playing the martyr."

Aria's heart sank completely into an icy abyss.

She wasn't even given a chance to explain. In his mind, her pain had always been nothing but an act.

"Let's go." Julian took Lila's hand. "Don't waste time here."

The door closed. Footsteps faded away.

Aria finally broke down.

She buried her face in the blanket and cried silently.

Not because she was sick. Not because she had been misunderstood. But because she had loved a man who couldn't even be bothered to confirm the truth when she was dying.

She cried until her whole body shook, until her phone screen lit up.

A notification popped up. "Lawson Group heir Julian Lawson officially announces his engagement today! Fiancée Lila Bennett's pregnancy revealed. Grand society banquet in preparation."

In the photo, Julian had his arm around Lila's waist, his smile gentle.

On Lila's ring finger was the diamond ring Aria had imagined countless times, a family heirloom left by his mother. He had once said, "When you marry me, you'll wear this."

Aria stared at the photo until her tears ran dry.

So it wasn't that he couldn't give a title. He had just never intended to give it to her.

She pulled the IV needle from the back of her hand and staggered out of bed.

A nurse chased after her. "Miss! You haven't recovered yet! The doctor said you're severely malnourished and need to stay for observation!"

Aria shook her head, her voice hoarse but firm. "No. I have to leave now."

She had her final twenty-four hours left.

But a few hours later, Aria received Julian's engagement invitation.