Nina didn't want to attend the Blackwell Spring Banquet. If she went, it meant watching Julian and Aria being intimate with each other.

It would be like driving a knife straight into her heart.

But the invitation had been written personally by Edmund. "Nina, the ten years are nearly over. This will be the final family banquet. You must attend."

She understood. It was both a dignified farewell and a final warning. When she left, she was not to break the Blackwell family's rules.

The banquet was held in the century-old Rose Hall of Blackwell Manor. Influential figures from across the Eastridge Coast filled the room, dressed in tailored suits and glittering jewels. Beneath the polite smiles and laughter, however, every word carried an edge.

The moment Nina stepped into the hall, her gaze fixed on the head table. Julian stood there in a black custom-tailored suit, his eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses as calm and deep as the ocean.

Beside him, Aria leaned close, wearing a wine-red mermaid gown that made her dazzlingly beautiful. She was smiling as she adjusted his tie.

Suddenly, Julian raised his glass. His voice was low but carried clearly through the hall. "Today, I formally introduce Aria Monroe to all of you. She is my fiancée and the only woman I will ever love."

The only woman he would ever love.

Nina dug her nails into her palm so hard that the sharp pain was the only thing keeping her from losing control.

For a moment, the hall fell silent.

Then thunderous applause erupted.

But Nina noticed clearly that several patriarchs of the old families exchanged subtle glances. Their expressions were complicated.

They all knew.

They knew that ten years ago Julian had been nothing more than an illegitimate son suppressed by his uncle, and it was Nina who stayed beside him through three assassination attempts and two violent shootouts.

They knew that last year the mafia had tried to lure him with a honey trap, and that woman ended up with her limbs severed and dumped into the harbor that same night.

They also knew Julian had never allowed any woman within arm's reach of him except Nina.

Once, Nina had been Julian's only exception. Now, Aria was the one who could stand beside him openly and legitimately.

Nina lifted her champagne glass to hide the pain inside her, but the tremor in her fingers betrayed her.

So ten years of life and death beside him meant less than a single sentence—the only woman he would ever love.

Aria suddenly approached, her smile sweet. "Nina, you came too? I thought you wouldn't dare face this."

Nina didn't even look at her. She took a small sip of champagne. "Face what? The fortune you came back for after ten years away?"

Aria's expression stiffened. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." Nina finally lifted her eyes, her gaze full of contempt. "Ten years ago, when Julian was being hunted across the city and hiding in a dockside warehouse eating stale bread, where were you? Trying on wedding dresses overseas with some other man?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "Now that he sits firmly at the top of the Blackwell Group and holds half the Eastridge Coast in his hands, suddenly you're back. Miss Monroe, do you love Julian, or the heir to the Blackwell Group?"

Aria's face went ashen. "That's nonsense! My family forced me to leave!"

"Really?" Nina let out a cold laugh. "Then why did he search for you for three years without receiving a single reply? Yet the moment a financial magazine reported last month that the Blackwell Group's valuation had surpassed one hundred billion dollars, you suddenly became heartsick with longing and rushed back?"

Around them, the guests pretended to continue their conversations, but every ear was sharply tuned to the exchange.

This was no ordinary rivalry between two women. This was the public tearing away of Aria's mask.

Aria's eyes reddened as her voice trembled. "Julian! You see how she's slandering me!"

Julian approached with a frown, his voice carrying a warning. "Nina, that's enough."

Nina looked at him and suddenly laughed. "Julian, do you actually believe her? The woman who walked away when you were at your lowest?"

Julian's gaze darkened. "The past is best left in the past."

"Fine." Nina set down her glass and turned away. "I wish you both a lifetime together. May you never be separated."

She walked through the crowd and left the Rose Hall.

Nina took a deep breath. She had just turned into a side alley to call for a car when a sharp pain struck the back of her neck.

Someone grabbed her from behind and pressed a cloth soaked with anesthetic over her mouth and nose.

She struggled, but her limbs quickly weakened and her vision blurred.

The last thing she saw was a black van without license plates parked at the alley entrance. The door slid open, revealing a pair of polished leather shoes.

A man spoke quietly. "Mr. Blackwell said not to kill her. Take her to Warehouse No. 3 at the docks."

Nina's heart jolted. Were these Julian's men?

The sea wind cut across Nina's face like blades.

She hung beneath the steel cables of the bridge, her hands bound behind her back, with thirty meters of black seawater beneath her feet.

Night fog drifted across the water, and the distant horn of a cargo ship echoed like a funeral bell.

Footsteps approached through the mist.

Julian walked toward her in a black cashmere coat, his expression calm as ever, as if he had just stepped out of a board meeting.

Behind him stood six bodyguards in black, each resting a hand on the grip of a gun.

"Let me down," Nina said, her voice trembling despite her effort to stay calm.

Julian stood at the edge of the bridge, looking down at her. "Why did you humiliate Aria at the banquet?" he asked calmly.

"She provoked me first!" Nina said urgently. "I only told the truth!"

"Enough." Julian's eyes turned icy. "Aria lost her parents and spent ten years alone overseas. She's suffered more than enough. What right do you have to question her?"

Nina's voice broke. "What about me? I was the one beside you for ten years. Now that she's back, I'm nothing to you?"

Julian fell silent for a moment, then gave a faint laugh. "Nina, have you forgotten who I am?"

He removed his glasses, revealing eyes devoid of warmth. "For ten years I tolerated you because you knew your place. Now I see that you don't."

He stepped closer, his voice dropping low. "You and Aria have never carried the same weight in my heart."

Nina felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.

"So now that Aria is back, you don't need me anymore?" Nina let out a bitter laugh.

Julian turned and gave an order to the bodyguards. "Hang her there for an hour. Let her remember that the Blackwell family's rules are not something she can challenge."

"Julian!" Nina screamed. "You can't do this to me!"

Julian didn't stop walking. "I protected you before because you stayed in your place. Now that you've crossed the line, you deserve punishment."

The bodyguards obeyed and tightened the rope.

Nina was hoisted higher. The freezing wind cut through her, and her wrists felt as if they might dislocate.

Watching his retreating figure, she suddenly remembered something from five years ago.

An enemy family had planted a bomb in her car. He dismantled it with his bare hands and told her then, "As long as I'm here, no one will touch you."

Now the person hurting her the most was him.

"Julian! Please… I'm afraid of heights!" she cried. "Let me down!"

No one responded.

The waves slammed against the bridge pillars like a beast growling in the dark.

She struggled violently as the rope tore into her skin, blood running down her arms.

For ten years he had kept her in a sheltered world, making her forget that he was, at his core, a ruthless mafia leader who devoured people without mercy.

Second by second, time passed.

Her consciousness began to blur as countless memories flashed before her eyes. He had taken drinks for her, killed for her, stayed up through the night with her during long shifts…

All of it was a lie. All of it had been manipulation.

Suddenly, a sharp crack sounded above her head.

The rope snapped.

"Ah!" Nina plunged into the freezing seawater.

Saltwater flooded her mouth and nose. She struggled desperately, but she sank deeper and deeper.

In the final moment before darkness claimed her, she saw the distant headlights of Julian's car fading away above the water like a dying star.

When she woke again, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled her nose.

She was lying in a VIP room at a private hospital, her wrists wrapped in bandages, her whole body aching.

One of Julian's bodyguards stood beside the bed. "Dr. Avery, you're awake?"

"Did he send you to save me?" Nina asked hoarsely.

The bodyguard nodded, then lowered his voice. "This was a warning. Don't provoke Miss Monroe again, and don't go near Mr. Blackwell."

Nina closed her eyes as tears slid down her face.

Her phone vibrated beside the pillow.

She opened it, and a news notification appeared on the screen.

"Blackwell heir Julian Blackwell makes romantic declaration to his fiancée!"

The photo showed hundreds of drones lighting up the night sky, forming the words, "Marry Me, Aria!"

Aria leaned against Julian's chest, looking up at the sky with a radiant smile.

It was the same wish Nina had once mentioned carefully.

On her birthday three years ago, she had casually said, "I heard people overseas use drones for proposals. It sounds romantic."

Julian had only replied coldly, "Childish."

Now he had filled the entire sky with lights for Aria.

Nina threw the phone to the floor, curled into herself, and finally broke down in tears.

On the third day after Nina left the hospital, Julian's order arrived.

"Seven tonight. Warehouse No. 7 at the docks. You're coming with me to a negotiation."

The note was delivered by one of Julian's bodyguards, his tone leaving no room for refusal. "Mr. Blackwell said you understand his injuries better than anyone. If anything happens, it's safest to have you there."

She had wanted to refuse.

But the contract had not yet expired. She was still his "concierge doctor." She had no choice.

Under the night sky, the salty scent of the sea filled Nina's lungs.

Nina wore a black turtleneck sweater, her long hair tied back. As she had done countless times before, she stood half a step behind Julian.

At his side, Aria held his arm, dressed in an elegant suit, her makeup flawless and her smile bright.

The leader across from them puffed on a cigar, his gaze moving between the three of them before he sneered. "You really know how to live. A woman on each arm. Aren't you worried that might cause a little trouble at home?"

Julian's expression didn't change. "Aria is my fiancée. Dr. Avery is my concierge doctor. If gossip is all you have to offer, we might as well move straight to the terms."

"Oh?" He narrowed his eyes. "I heard this doctor has been by your side for ten years. Even the honey trap your uncle sent lost her hands because of you. What happened? Change of taste?"

The entire warehouse fell silent.

Nina lowered her eyes, her nails digging into her palm.

She should have known. In their eyes, she was nothing more than a high-class mistress.

Julian suddenly spoke, his voice sharp and clear. "My heart has never changed. The one it belonged to ten years ago is still the same today."

Aria's eyes reddened instantly as she clung tightly to his arm.

Nina felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

Hearing those words felt like a giant hand closing around Nina's heart, squeezing until it bled, until she could barely breathe.

Five years ago, he had carried her through a hail of bullets, both of them soaked in blood. Through clenched teeth he had said, "Hold on, Nina. I'm taking you home."

Back then, she believed she had a place in that home.

Now she knew the home in his heart had always been waiting for only one person.

The negotiation collapsed without warning.

The opposing leader slammed the table. "Julian! You swallowed three of my docks. If you don't give them back tonight, you're not leaving here alive!"

Men rushed out of the shadows, and gunfire exploded through the warehouse.

In the chaos, Nina instinctively lunged toward Julian. "Watch out!"

But he had already pulled Aria behind him while drawing his gun to fire back.

He didn't even look at Nina.

The enemy had prepared an ambush. More than a dozen gunmen poured out from the shadows.

Amid the firefight, two masked men rushed forward. One grabbed Aria. The other seized Nina.

"Julian! Choose one!" the man shouted. "Or they both die!"

Time seemed to freeze.

Nina looked at Julian, a faint spark of hope still lingering in her eyes.

Maybe… maybe he would hesitate. After all, she had saved his life three times and stayed with him through his darkest nights.

But Julian's eyes held no hesitation.

He raised his gun and shot the man holding Aria, then rushed forward to catch her as she stumbled.

Meanwhile, the man holding Nina dragged her toward the warehouse's back door.

Julian's bodyguards started to chase after them.

"Leave her!" Julian shouted, tightening his hold on the trembling Aria. "Get Aria to the car first!"

Leave her.

At the moment between life and death, Julian had abandoned the woman who had stood beside him for ten years without hesitation.

As she was dragged away, Nina's back slammed into a metal rack, forcing a sharp breath from her lips.

She looked back and saw Julian checking Aria for injuries, his movements gentle as if she were a priceless treasure.

The thug shoved her into a van and kicked her hard in the stomach.

Nina curled up, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

So this was her ending. A discarded pawn thrown into the dark.

After an unknown amount of time, she was dumped at an abandoned shipyard.

The thug grabbed a steel pipe with a vicious grin. "If Mr. Blackwell doesn't want you, we'll cripple you and make him regret it for the rest of his life!"

As the pipe swung down, Nina closed her eyes.

She didn't try to dodge.

Her heart had already gone numb. What did a little physical pain matter anymore?

Just as the pipe came down, a gunshot rang out. Julian burst in with his men.

In the chaos, Nina felt a sharp explosion of pain in her abdomen.

She had been shot.