Anna crushed Mom's memorial tablet under her heel, sneering. "Surprised? Did you really think Dad loved your mother? He only stayed for the Whitmore fortune. The one he loves is my mother. And the daughter he loves is me. I'm taking everything, Serena."
I snapped. Screamed, calling her illegitimate scum, and lunged. My hand connected with her face in a vicious slap.
Before I could strike again, a heavy boot kicked me aside. Dad.
Bodyguards swarmed me, dragging me to the courtyard and forcing me to kneel in the torrential rain. The physical pain was nothing compared to the ice spreading through my chest.
The fever took me quickly. My last memory before darkness claimed me was Paul's face, twisted in panic, rushing toward me through the rain.
When I woke, I was staring at a strange ceiling. Tears leaked from my eyes.
Paul was there. He fed me water and pulled me into his arms, eyes red-rimmed. His voice was a steady promise against my ear.
"Rena, don't be afraid. You still have me. I will always be on your side."
I moved into the Gilbert estate. Paul became my universe. He did everything to make me smile—impossible-to-get concert tickets, a garden full of my favorite roses, meals cooked with his own hands.
The quiet boy had grown into a man. My rock. Throughout university, he flaunted our relationship, wrapping me in a cocoon of security.
Then Anna Fox set her sights on him.
At first, just love letters. Paul tossed them without a second glance. But Anna was relentless—leveraging connections, manufacturing "chance" encounters, confessing her love at every turn.
Chipping away at our armor.
Friends used to tease me about being hopelessly lovesick. Back then, Paul would stroke my hair with lazy affection.
"In this lifetime, I belong only to Rena," he'd say. "Besides, Anna steals your things. How could I ever like a thief?"
Blinded by love, I missed the warning signs. I didn't notice how his gaze softened whenever he mentioned Anna, how his voice lost its edge.
On his birthday, I baked him a cake myself. Anna showed up at the Gilbert estate clutching a gift, standing in the pouring rain all afternoon just to catch a glimpse of him.
At first, Paul impatiently ordered the butler to send her away. But he couldn't sit still. He kept glancing at the storm outside, his leg bouncing.