When Kelsey screamed, Herbert flinched—as if the sound had pierced his nerves.
He turned toward Sophia, voice sharp and thunderous.
“Sophia, you’re out of control!”
“Kelsey has taken care of me for years. Apologize to her. Now!”
Kelsey staggered forward, still clutching her cheek, her sobs low and pitiful as she leaned against Herbert like a wronged heroine.
Sophia’s eyes narrowed, her voice calm, but laced with contempt.
“Uncle, you know my temper better than anyone.”
“I don’t apologize to people with hidden agendas.”
Uncle Lewis cast Sophia a helpless look, silently urging her to back down. But Sophia stood her ground.
Herbert had said it himself once—she was like a little hedgehog, always bristling, always defensive.
No one knew her better than he did.
But now, he was shielding someone else.
An outsider.
Without hesitation, Herbert reached for the whip himself.
His voice was ice.
“Come here, Sophia.”
She didn’t move. She stood stiff and proud, though her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
Her last name wasn’t Winter.
There was no blood tie between them—only a title, and years of loyalty she could no longer recognize.
From childhood, she had trusted his every word.
Even staying behind in Westbridge after the college entrance exam had been because of him.
Herbert… I stayed for five years. For you.
What did I get in return?
Herbert, blind but sure, stepped forward, guided by instinct and rage.
Uncle Lewis panicked and tried to push Sophia aside.
“Go, Sophia, quickly—!”
But she refused to move.
She wanted to know—would Herbert really strike her?
The whip sliced through the air.
Sophia dodged instinctively, stepping back—but not fast enough.
The lash grazed her cheek, a savage cut tearing open her skin.
Blood welled up instantly and slid down her jaw, dripping to the floor.
Uncle Lewis gasped.
“What a sin... Sophia’s face!”
Yes.
Who said her fate with Herbert wasn’t doomed from the start?
Sophia clutched her bleeding face, her heart splitting wider than the wound.
And in that moment, she called him “uncle” one final time—
The man whose whip ended everything between them.
—
At the hospital, Sophia sat silently in the back seat, pressing gauze to her cheek.
Her hand trembled as she dialed a number overseas.
Tears brimmed in her eyes.
“My face… is ruined.”
A concerned voice came through.
“What happened? Is it serious?”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” Sophia replied quietly.
“But I don’t want this face anymore.”
There was a pause.
“…What do you mean?”
“I want to disappear. Plastic surgery. Cancel my domestic ID. Change everything. I want a new life.”
The silence on the other end grew heavier. Then, her friend exhaled slowly.
“There’s something you should consider… Herbert’s surgery went well, right? He’s supposed to regain his sight in ten days. Are you sure you want to leave now?”
“Yes,” Sophia said without hesitation.
“I’ve made up my mind.”
“…I figured. Once you decide something, no one can stop you.”
A weak laugh escaped Sophia’s lips.
Yes—just like when she chose to live with Herbert over every other uncle.
And for a time, it had felt like he truly loved her. Their bond had once crossed the fragile boundary of family.
She believed—naively—that when he regained his sight, they would finally stand side by side in the light.
But fate had other plans.
That’s fine.
She would carve out her own future—even if it meant burning the past to ash.
—
After the call ended, the stitches were finished.
Sophia stared into the mirror.
A jagged scar now marred her left cheek—angry, raw, unforgettable.
But it didn’t matter.
She would leave this face behind.
Leave this pain behind.
—
Back home, still groggy from painkillers, Sophia paused at the base of the stairs.
A sound drifted down from above—soft, breathy… unmistakably intimate.
Her heart stopped.
She looked up—and froze.
At the top of the staircase—the very one she had walked a thousand times toward Herbert’s room—
He stood there.
Locked in a kiss with Kelsey.
As if she had never existed at all.
