Cold Betrayal Took Her, Warm Revenge Set Her Free

Leaning against Desmond’s shoulder, Heather allowed a faint, triumphant smile to tug at her lips, though she masked it with a veneer of concern. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring my sister some food. I won’t let her starve.”

Desmond nodded gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you.”

Once Heather left, Desmond glanced at Daisy’s state, a flicker of guilt tugging at him. His expression softened slightly. “What I said before was that it was in the heat of the moment. Once Heather’s feeling better, we’ll set a new date for the wedding. Daisy, you don’t have to take it this far.”

He checked the calendar and added, “The third of next month seems perfect.”

But Daisy’s heart felt like stone, unaffected by his words.

She had long given up on this fiancé.

The third of next month would indeed be her wedding day, but Desmond wouldn’t be the one at the altar.

Outside the door, Heather overheard, her teeth grinding together. A malicious gleam flashed in her eyes.

Heather hadn’t anticipated that, after all the schemes and all the years of waiting, Desmond would still refuse to let Daisy slip away.

Her nails dug painfully into her palms as frustration boiled over. Once in her room, she immediately dialed a number. “Make it look like an accident. Kill Daisy.”

And as the night deepened, the fire began to spread, silently licking its way through the shadows.

Daisy had no idea that death’s blade hovered over her, unseen but inevitable.

For more than twenty years, her existence had been defined by her parents and Desmond. Now, extracting them from her heart left a raw, empty wound that nothing could fill.

Curled in the cold, she felt a searing pain that made even the simplest of breaths feel like a cruel torment. The anguish gnawed at her as if her very soul were being pulled apart.

In that agonizing moment, she felt the pull to surrender, as if nothing in the world was worth holding on to.

And when the fire erupted in the room, Daisy remained unmoving.

Outside, the shrill sound of alarms pierced the silence of the Johnson villa.

“What’s happening?”

“The garage where the eldest daughter was locked... it’s on fire!”

Desmond’s face shifted instantly, a flash of panic overtaking his features. He sprinted toward the garage, but someone beat him to it, kicking open the door with force. "Sister!"

Seeing Heather rush in, Desmond’s heart dropped. "Heather, it’s too dangerous!"

But Heather, as if deaf to his warning, ran straight into the fire.

Desmond had no choice but to follow.

As Desmond stepped through the flames, Daisy’s blank gaze, locked onto the oncoming inferno, flickered with the faintest trace of life.

But before she could even process it, Heather, running ahead of Desmond, turned, a sly smile playing on her lips as she mouthed silently to Daisy, "Sister, guess who he’ll save, you or me?"

Before Daisy could react, Heather screamed and crumpled to the ground.

Desmond caught her instinctively, his eyes flickering between her and Daisy, the hesitation burning in his chest.

Ultimately, he lifted Heather in his arms and said to Daisy, the fire closing in, "I’ll take Heather out first... then I’ll come back for you."

But the fire spread like a beast unleashed, swallowing the space between them. There was no chance for him to return.

The faint light in Daisy’s eyes dimmed and then died, extinguished completely.

She watched, unmoving, as Desmond’s figure grew more distant, his footsteps hastening. Her parents rushed toward Heather, their faces twisted with concern and focus, yet not a glance in her direction.

She had become invisible in just five short years.

Daisy sank back to the ground, her expression blank. The air around her was thick with smoke and the sound of falling beams.

This was fine.

Death might have been a release.

As Daisy’s consciousness slipped away, the faces of the people on the other side of the flames blurred, their outlines dissolving into the smoke.

She tilted her head back, forcing the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks to stay hidden. In silence, she wished that, in another life, she would never cross paths with Desmond or her parents again.

She couldn’t tell how long had passed, but when she opened her eyes again, she saw the harsh white of the hospital ceiling.

It was then that she realized she had somehow survived.

A cold, humorless laugh cut through the air beside her.