That very night 12

Ethan unleashed his fury on Chiara. She screamed, but it couldn’t evoke any sympathy. 

To him, she was nothing more than an object. 

I had been his partner through thick and thin, the one who had endured so much for him. 

He had never dared to hurt me, but yearning and jealousy festering inside him had twisted into something dark. 

So, he found Chiara, a girl who bore an uncanny resemblance to me. With a piece of candy, he lured her away, molding her into 

another me. 

If I helped a classmate with a problem and the boy glanced at my lips, Ethan would storm back to Chiara, biting and bruising her 

mouth until it bled. 

“Don’t let me catch you talking to another man again!” he’d growl. “Or I’ll rip your mouth apart.” 

If I accidentally bumped into another man, Ethan would grab Chiara by the hair and slam her head into the wall. 

“I know what men are thinking,” he’d sneer. “Don’t fall for their tricks.” 

If I received a love letter, Ethan would be consumed by jealousy and take it out on Chiara until she was too broken to move. 

For seven years, Chiara had endured this torment, her identity slowly eroding until she no longer remembered who she was. 

She had convinced herself that she was me and that Ethan’s obsession was love. 

The two broken people, entangled in insanity, even brought a daughter into the world. 

When his rampage ended, Ethan left Chiara behind in the basement. 

He didn’t even bother closing the golden cage’s door. The symbol of his twisted love was now nothing more than a pile of scrap 

1/2 

Chapter 6 

metal. 

With me gone, Chiara’s purpose had vanished. 

Ethan’s new goal was to find me, chain me, and build a better cage to contain me. 

Then I couldn’t leave him again. 

+15 BONUS 

In the heart of Noswood forests, my job was to monitor the auroras, documenting their patterns and beauty. 

As I stood beneath the shimmering lights, my phone buzzed with an urgent notification. 

[Ms. Melton, your position has been compromised. If you don’t want to be found by him, you need to move immediately.] 

My stomach dropped. 

[What do you mean, compromised? You promised my location would be kept secret. How did this happen?] 

The typing indicator flickered for what felt like an eternity before a reply finally appeared. 

[We’re sorry. Mr. Cooper offered us an amount we couldn’t refuse. And he threatened to kill us if we didn’t cooperate.]