Third Person's POV
The gentle snowfall had turned into a blizzard and the howling wind blurred everything ahead. But Starlet kept walking, aimless, lost—like a deer that had strayed too far from home. As she wandered, her mind drifted back to the past, to memories she had buried long ago.
She met Aldrich during the darkest year of her high school life.
She was the school’s top student—brilliant but poor, while he was the wealthy, charming golden boy. The kind of person who belonged in a world far from hers. Clearly, they should have never crossed paths. But fate had other plans.
The day their lives intertwined, she had been beaten so badly by bullies that she could barely stand. Then, out of nowhere, he appeared.
Like a hero descending from the heavens, Aldrich pulled her from the fists and kicks, carrying her away on his back. Her leg had been broken, her body battered, but he never once hesitated. He carried her for miles.
That day, the snow was heavy. But for the first time, it felt warm.
What came after felt natural. She became his girlfriend.
He never once looked down on her for the scars she bore from years of bullying. Instead, he cherished her, adored her, and turned her into the most envied girl in school. He celebrated every special occasion with her, always surprising her with something thoughtful, something grand.
And those who had tormented her? He made sure they paid. He exposed their cruelty, ruined their reputations, and left them with no choice but to transfer schools.
Their love lasted ten years. From the innocence of youth to the harsh reality of adulthood, Aldrich’s devotion never faded. If anything, it only grew stronger.
On their fifth anniversary, after he had become a CEO, he bought five asteroids and named them after her—"Starlet"—because he wanted her to be the brightest star in everyone’s eyes.
On their ninth anniversary, he set up a global livestream to capture him kneeling before her with the Angel Heart Ring, making a lifelong promise to her, and asking her to become his wife.
Everyone said she was the luckiest woman in the world.
And she had believed it, too.
Then, two months before their wedding, his plane suddenly crashed overseas. Fortunately, he survived. But when he woke up, he had forgotten only one person.
Her.
The news shattered her and she collapsed on the spot.
When she came to, she made a choice. She would do whatever it took to bring his memories back.
She begged anyone who might help. She swallowed her pride, even seeking out the very people who had once tormented her. They humiliated her, made her kneel, threw every insult they could think of—but she endured it all. For him. For their love.
But in the end, it had all been a lie. A twisted, cruel game of deceit.
The sharp ring of her phone yanked her out of her haze. Barely thinking, she answered.
“Miss Bennett, your sister’s condition has worsened. She doesn’t have much time left.”
“How long?”
“Half a month.”
The words echoed in her mind and a dull ache settled in her chest. Everything from earlier—the lies, the betrayal—flashed through her mind. Her already pale face turned even colder, but her voice was steady when she spoke.
“Dr. Erickson, I need a favor.”
After a pause, Travis Erickson replied, “What is it?”
“In half a month, instead of Talia..." She exhaled slowly and continued, "Make it appear that I'm the one who died."
Dragging her exhausted, frozen body home, she stripped off her damp clothes and slipped into the bathtub. She curled up inside, letting the warmth of the water wash over her.
Memories then surfaced, as relentless as the waves.
Ever since their parents’ divorce, she and her sister, Talia Bennett, had been nothing more than a burden to them.
Especially Talia, who was born weak, and constantly sick, living her life between hospital rooms and medication. She never even had the chance to go to school.
Their parents had long since abandoned them. Only their grandmother had stayed. Only she had loved them unconditionally, working herself to the bone just to raise them.
But later, she was gone, too.
And so, Starlet learned to survive.
