Breanna fell hard onto the floor, a sharp pain shooting up her ankle. She let out a cold laugh. “She’s the one who came running up to me acting cheap.”

“That’s enough.” Todd pulled Darlean tightly into his arms and turned to leave.

A bodyguard nearby tried to help Breanna up, but Todd stopped him with a cold voice. “Don’t bother with her.”

It took everything Breanna had to get to her feet. Limping, she made her way out of the hotel—only to see Todd taking off his suit jacket to wrap it around Darlean, his eyes full of worry and tenderness.

Even though she’d already expected it, her heart still sank.

Darlean’s eyes were red as she choked out, “Breanna’s hurt. Aren’t you going to check on her?”

“Don’t worry about her.” Todd’s voice was low. “You’re the one who’s pregnant and just fell into the water. I’m more worried about you.”

“It’s all my fault… If I hadn’t missed you so much and rushed over, she wouldn’t have targeted me.” Darlean’s voice softened pitifully. “I’m the one causing you trouble… What if she overthinks it? I always mess things up…”

“What nonsense?” Todd scolded, but his tone was gentle. “She hit you and pushed you into the pond. How can you still be this kind? You’re carrying my baby. Of course, you matter more to me.”

Breanna stood frozen, watching him shield Darlean and lead her out the back door.

It was as if he had completely forgotten she even existed.

In a daze, she stumbled out into the pouring rain.

And in the next second, a speeding car slammed straight into her.

She hit the ground hard with a loud thud. Pain twisted through her abdomen as blood streamed down her legs.

The driver didn’t even look back. He just sped away.

Lying in the mud, Breanna struggled to pull out her phone. On instinct, she dialed Todd.

“The number you are calling is currently busy.”

Once. Twice. Three times…

Her vision blurred. In the haze, she suddenly saw the eighteen-year-old Todd—right after blowing out his birthday candles, making a promise.

“No matter where Breanna is, as long as she needs me, I’ll be there. I’ll protect her.”

But now, he was with another woman.

He lied to her. He lied completely.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when doctors and nurses rushed into view.

Someone had brought her to the hospital. Amid the ringing in her ears, she faintly heard Darlean’s voice nearby.

“She’s bleeding so much… I’m scared…”

Breanna forced her head to the side with what little strength she had left.

She saw Todd lower his gaze, gently covering Darlean’s eyes, so tender it made Breanna’s heart twist.

“Don’t look. I don’t want our baby to get scared.”

Todd had just finished accompanying Darlean for her check-up when he saw a group of medical staff rushing past with a stretcher.

The woman on it looked badly injured, blood dripping along the hallway.

For a split second, he almost thought it was Breanna.

He grabbed a passing doctor. “What happened?”

“A pregnant woman got hit by a car. Poor thing.”

He immediately let out a breath.

It definitely wasn’t Breanna.

But something in his chest twisted—like something important was being ripped out from inside him…

Darlean tugged gently on his sleeve. “Todd, what’s wrong?”

Todd’s eyes flickered. “Nothing. I’ll take you home first, then go pick up Breanna.”

When Breanna woke up, the doctor beside her told her the baby was gone.

A wave of emptiness, despair, and unwillingness washed through her…

Then all of it slowly turned into relief.

At least, she wouldn’t have to get rid of the baby herself.

She wiped away the tear at the corner of her eye, unlocked her phone, and saw more than a hundred missed calls from Todd. The corner of her lips curled into a mocking smile.

She didn’t call him back. She just silently counted the days in her head.

Seven more days.

She didn’t understand why, since he’d already fallen out of love, he still insisted on putting on such a convincing show, as if he still cared about her.

Breanna closed her eyes, sinking back into grogginess.

Suddenly, the hospital door was shoved open. Todd rushed in, drenched from head to toe, his eyes bloodshot.

“Breanna, why didn’t you answer my calls? What happened?”

His hands gripped her shoulders tightly, anxiety written all over his face.

Breanna opened her eyes and stared straight at him. “Nothing. It was raining, and the ground was slippery. I fell.”

Todd loosened his grip, his brows furrowing even deeper. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He called in the hospital director, arranged a VIP suite on the top floor, and summoned multiple specialists to examine her.

One doctor began, “She just had a mis—”

Breanna casually knocked over a glass of water and shot him a “shut up” gesture.

Todd’s voice was hoarse. “What is it?”

Realizing the situation, the doctor quickly backed off. “The patient is weak and needs proper rest.”

During the next few days in the hospital, Todd practically did everything himself.

He made soup and fed it to her spoon by spoon.

He even stood in line for three hours on the east side of the city to buy her a trendy cake she’d once mentioned in passing…

If not for the occasional bright flash in his eyes whenever his phone rang, Breanna could almost have believed his heart hadn’t drifted away already.

When she was discharged and returned home, the first thing she saw in the living room were shattered picture frames and a torn-up photo album.

Her heart instantly dropped.

She rushed over, pushing away the dog making a mess, and confirmed that the ruined album was hers.

It contained all the memories of her and her parents.

Now, not a single photo remained intact.

Then Darlean walked down the stairs, looking every bit like she owned the place. “The dog got a little naughty. I went upstairs to get some documents and didn’t watch him. Sorry.”

Breanna felt her blood run backward. Her hands shook as she picked up the final surviving photo of her and her father.

Her father’s smiling face was full of holes; she could even see smudges of dog treats rubbed into it.

Clenching her jaw, she forced down the urge to tear Darlean apart. “Don’t think I don’t know you did this on purpose.”

Darlean smirked. “So what if I did? Your parents were short-lived anyway. Dead is dead. Their leftovers make great chew toys for Zoe. At least, they’re useful!”

Before Breanna could react, Darlean lifted the photo like she was about to tear it.

“Give it back!” Breanna’s chest tightened. She lunged for the photo, but Darlean dodged her hand.

With a sly grin, Darlean tore the photo into pieces and tossed them into the air.

Her eyes sparkled with amusement, waiting for Breanna to break.

Breanna’s mind buzzed, her body trembling uncontrollably. Tears streamed from her widened eyes, turning crimson at the edges.

After her father died, she didn’t have any photos or videos left—just this one.

And now, even that was gone.

Her heart throbbed painfully, vision blurring, and for the first time she couldn’t hold back the fury and hatred choking her.

“You bitch! Why don’t you just die?!” she snapped. “I treated you like family all these years, and you stole my boyfriend and destroyed my dad’s last photo?!”

She suddenly raised her hand and slapped Darlean hard across the face.

Before the woman could react, Breanna’s fingers closed tightly around her neck.

Grinding her teeth, she choked out, “If I weren’t a cop, I swear I’d kill you right here!”

But Darlean didn’t fight back; she only laughed harder. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “So what? Let me tell you the truth. It was my dad who exposed your father’s identity.”

Her laugh sounded like a death knell from hell, cracking Breanna’s heart open bit by bit.

“My gambling-addict dad wanted to sell me off, and guess what? I sold him first! In Chicago, he ran into your dad—recognized he was a cop and slipped up. Your dad got caught, beaten to a pulp, thrown into a water dungeon. Every bone in his body was smashed. My dad’s still alive, and well, he even calls me sometimes to talk about it!”

Breanna slammed Darlean’s head against the floor over and over.

“Breanna!”

Todd rushed in just in time to see the scene.

He grabbed Breanna from behind to pull her away, but she violently shoved him off.

“Get away from me!

“Why is she in this house?! She killed my dad! And her dog destroyed the last photo I had of him!

“That was my dad…”

She sobbed uncontrollably, her grip tightening again.

Darlean’s face turned red as she gasped out, “I-I just came to get documents for the company… I didn’t watch the dog… I didn’t do it on purpose…”

“You’re lying!”

Breanna screamed at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly, a huge force slammed into her. She fell hard, her lower back hitting the sharp corner of the table, pain exploding through her body.

Todd shielded Darlean with his body, his eyes dark.

“Breanna, stop it! They’re just photos! She’s pregnant! How could you hurt her like this?!”

Breanna quietly stared at Todd and at Darlean standing behind him.

All the memories from the past tangled in Breanna’s chest.

Before her father died, he taught her—by example—that she should be a good person and do good things.

But why… why did doing good only ever lead her to betrayal?

She suddenly remembered bringing Todd home for dinner back in high school.

Back then, he was just the Lannisters’s illegitimate child—alone and unwanted.

Her father had said, “From now on, this will be his home.”

After her father passed, she finished his mission and ended up with severe PTSD.

She couldn’t sleep, so Todd stayed up with her all night.

She couldn’t eat, so he learned how to cook just to coax her into smiling…

He told her, “From today onward, I’ll be your home.”

A single tear of despair slid from the corner of her eye.

He never—never—was her home.

All the injustice and bitterness clogged her throat until she couldn’t force out a single word.

She tilted her head back with a broken laugh, her voice hoarse.

“How could you hurt me this much?”

Todd lowered his gaze, hiding the flicker of guilt in his eyes. Then he turned to Darlean.

“You go first.”

He crouched down and gently tried to soothe Breanna.

“She didn’t mean it. I know these photos mean a lot to you. I’ll find someone to restore them for you.

“And besides, with how advanced technology is now, I’m sure your family has digital copies…”

Breanna slowly shook her head.

Her and her father’s identities had always been classified.

Afraid of dragging Todd and his family into danger, she never told him.

Her father was an undercover narcotics officer; he lived in the shadows and never dared keep photos of his family on his phone.

That torn photo… was the last existing proof of his face in this world.

Todd wiped her tears. “Don’t cry.”

His voice was rough, carrying a hint of a pain he tried to hide.

The next second, Darlean—who had just stepped outside—let out a soft cry.

“Todd… my belly… It hurts…”

Her legs buckled, and she was about to fall.

Todd didn’t hesitate for even a second. He spun around, caught her in his arms, and lifted her up. Then, he strode away without looking back.

Breanna’s vision blurred.

She drifted into a long dream.

In the dream, eighteen-year-old Todd had returned to the dangerous Lannister’s place just for her. He held her hand, his smile sincere and unwavering.

“From now on, let me protect you.”

When his uncles deliberately caused a car accident, he shielded her with his body and ended up in the ICU for three days and nights.

After he got out, he acted like a storm, dragging his uncles in front of her and forcing them to apologize.

Back then, he told her, “Anyone who hurts you deserves to die... including me.”

In her dream, Breanna broke down crying and threw herself into his arms.

Then the scene suddenly shifted to reality.

Todd shielding Darlean.

“Stop acting crazy.”

She struggled awake, the sting of disinfectant filling her nose.

It was late at night.

Todd pushed the door open and yanked her up from her hospital bed, his whole expression cold.

“Where did your people take Darlean?”

Before she could speak, he tapped his phone.

Darlean’s trembling, tear-soaked voice played through the speaker:

“I’m sorry, Breanna… Please, I’m begging you, let me go! Ahh! Help—”

Her scream cut off abruptly.

Breanna’s heart clenched.

“You’re doubting me because of that recording?”

Impatience, suspicion, and anger flickered in Todd’s eyes.

“If it wasn’t you, then who was it? If I hadn’t stopped you earlier, you might’ve killed her!”

“Yes. I do want her dead.” Breanna rasped. “But I didn’t order anyone to kidnap her! So whatever she says, you just take it as truth, huh?”

Todd stared at her, growing more agitated.

Seconds ticked by.

Finally, he lost his patience and grabbed her wrist hard—painfully hard.

“Why can’t you tolerate her? She was your best friend. How could you become so vicious, ruining her reputation by hiring someone to set her up?”

Breanna’s face went pale. She let out a cold laugh.

“My best friend? You mean your lover? I already told you it wasn’t me! You can investigate all you want!”

Todd’s gaze turned razor-sharp.

“I’m not in that kind of relationship with her.”

He released her and said coldly, “You better pray she’s safe. If anything happens to her…”

He strode out, already dialing someone.

“Search the entire city if you have to. Find Darlean.”

‘If not… what?’

A mocking smile tugged at Breanna’s lips.

But as she smiled, tears fell anyway.

Todd was now threatening her for another woman.

So this was “forever”—just ten years.