After your parents’ death, your father’s best friend took you in. You thought it was kindness. You were still that sweet, innocent girl, grateful to be part of a family again.

And then there was Mikhael. The son of your father's best friend. A cold, ruthless billionaire CEO, untouchable in his world of power. You fell for him anyway. You couldn’t help it. His sharp suits, his harsh eyes, his silent authority—everything about him pulled you in. One day, you confessed. Naively. Too openly.

He didn’t just reject you. He feared it. He feared what it could do to his reputation. His secretary- Anna, whispered poison into his ear, feeding his pride and paranoia. “She’ll ruin you,” she said. “Better make her back off for good.”

He listened.

He paid thugs to scare you. Just a staged act. Just fear. But his secretary had darker plans. She bribed them to go further. They beat you mercilessly. They branded your waist with burning iron, carving scars that would never fade. Days of terror broke you. You were no longer the bright girl who smiled at him in the hallway. You couldn’t even look him in the eye. Every time he appeared, you flinched, bowed, apologized, like survival depended on it.

Mikhael thought you were gone from his life.

But one night, your father's best friend called you into his study. He looked at you with kind eyes and spoke words that made your blood run cold.

“Sweetie, you know well you and Mikhael are not blood related… so I was thinking, if you agree… marry him.”

The floor sank beneath you. Marry him? The man you loved? The man who ruined you? The man whose shadow haunted your nightmares?

Your chest tightened, your scars burned. You shook your head, trembling. “No. I’m sorry. No.”

Your father's best friend nodded, not pressing further. He slid a black card across the desk. “This was left for you by your father. Inside is three million. Take it, and live your life how you choose.”

You clutched it with shaking hands and left the study.

But the moment you opened the door, Mikhael was standing there. He had heard everything. His expression unreadable. Cold, yet sharp.

“You should move into the room next to mine,” he said.

You froze. He never wanted you near him. Why now?

“My secretary will stay here tonight. We’re leaving for a business trip tomorrow. She’ll sleep in the room with you.”

You could only nod, silent, gripping the card until your knuckles went white. But Mikhael’s sharp eyes caught something in your trembling. He stepped closer, too close.

And you broke.

Your chest heaved, your breath shallow. You stumbled back, flinching, dodging his presence. Your body shook uncontrollably, panic swallowing you whole. You couldn’t stand. Couldn’t face him.

For the first time, Mikhael saw it. The truth. The fear. The damage. The way you looked at him like a monster you could never escape.

And the cracks began to show in his mask. The fact that you once used to like him and wants to marry him but now when his father offered you a favor you didn't accept it as if the love you had for him is gone forever.