Julius Lockwood had his driver take down the oil painting and then left.

After they left, Una Sullivan was terrified. She grabbed Joseph Summers’s arm and said, "Joseph, I’ve had this terrible feeling lately. Do you think... do you think our son might just suddenly leave us?"

"No, of course not. It’s been so many years, and no one has ever come looking for him. How could that happen now?"

"But I just can’t shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen. We haven’t heard a word from our son in so long, and then there’s Mika..." At this, Una Sullivan grew even more frantic. "No, this won’t do. I have to go to the hospital. Something has already happened to our son, we can’t let anything happen to our daughter, too! If something happens to our daughter, how are we supposed to go on living? We might as well just find a rope and hang ourselves."

*****

「Southill Villa.」

The man watched the woman who hadn’t eaten or had a drop to drink since she woke up. He raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, his thin lips parting slightly. "I brought you back, but not so you could die here. If you want to die, if you’re determined to die, I won’t stop you. Just don’t dirty my place, and more importantly, don’t do it in front of me."

"I didn’t ask you to save me." Mika Summers looked up, her eyes hollow, and replied coldly.

’Why is it so hard just to die? Why must I be forced to live and endure all this pain?’

The man’s hand shot out, gripping her chin tightly. His voice was cold. "You really don’t know what’s good for you, do you? Do you think dying will make the people you hate suffer? Or do you think death will be your escape?"

"—" Mika Summers stared at him, biting her lip so hard it hurt. Everything he said was right, but she still didn’t want to go on living this wretched existence.

Every day she remained alive was another day of torment, a constant reminder of the pain she had suffered.

The man slowly released Mika Summers’s chin, a contemptuous sneer on his face. "Women like you are just hopelessly stupid."

"Fine, I’m hopelessly stupid! So even if I die, it’s none of your business! What right do you have to save me? What right?"

Faced with Mika Summers’s accusation, the man gave a cold, wicked smirk. He looked her up and down, his tone dripping with mockery. "Do you know what kind of woman men despise the most? Women exactly like you. No looks, no talent, a weak and forgettable personality. You’re right, there really isn’t much point in you being alive."

"What’s it to you?"

"It’s not my business," he conceded. "But if I were your husband, I would’ve cheated on you, too. I’d rather marry a woman on her deathbed than give you a second glance."

The man’s words pierced Mika Summers’s heart. Her eyes turned red as she demanded furiously, "Who the hell are you? How do you know all this?"

"Who I am isn’t important. What’s important is that you need me. With my help, everyone who has ever hurt you will pay the price."

"W-What are you going to do?" The man’s terrifying presence sent a violent shudder through Mika Summers’s body and soul. Yet, amidst her trembling, a flicker of something stirred in her heart. Because she truly, truly hated... she hated Tristan Grayson so much. She hated him, hated him... hated him...

"Live," he said. "Only by living can you crush those who hurt you under your heel. Only by living can you protect the people you want to protect. And only by living will you learn that the beauty in this world far outweighs the pain." The man seemed to be speaking to himself as much as to her, his gaze filled with a sad, somber light.