Chapter 2

Julian’s hand froze in mid-air, the gentle mask on his face cracking for the first time.

A hint of darkness flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a look of worry.

“Alice, making a big deal out of this kind of thing will only ruin your reputation.”

“Let me handle it, okay?”

I bent down to pick up the notebooks from the floor, brushed off the shoe prints, and looked up to meet his gaze directly.

“Didn’t you already destroy my reputation?”

“Everything you guys did to me, I’m going to tell the police. None of you will get away with it.”

My eyes swept over the faces of the guys who had been there earlier.

Hearing me say that, their arrogant expressions finally softened a bit.

In reality, I hadn't called the police.

Because in the original story, Julian's specialty was using public opinion to apply pressure.

Every time I was close to grasping a sliver of hope, he'd cut off all outside help under the guise of "protecting" me.

Since I couldn't stop him, I'd use the most just method to punish him.

A month ago, on my way home, I was dragged into a dark alley by a drunk, an attempted assault.

Julian appeared, rescued me, and took me home.

But somehow, photos of last night's incident were taken and spread throughout the school, reaching almost everyone.

In the photos, my expression was maliciously distorted, my shoulder exposed.

The boys leered, pointing and whispering, calling me “trash” and “slut.”

I was isolated, labeled a slut. Every time, it was Julian who stepped in to save me.

Until I awakened my memories and discovered it was all Julian’s carefully laid trap.

He hired the drunk, and he spread the photos.

All to make me cower under his wing, belonging only to him.

Later, I was bullied into dropping out, confined by him in a mansion, and cut off from my parents.

My father, consumed by rage and grief, suffered a fatal heart attack, and my mother never recovered from the devastation.

The mansion’s curtains remained drawn day after day.

I was trapped in that luxurious cage, living the same monotonous life.

Until I accidentally stumbled into a secret room.

The walls were plastered with photos of me from childhood to adulthood, dense and overwhelming.

In the center was an old newspaper, featuring a blurry photo of a little girl’s back.

Julian entered without me noticing, wrapping his arms tightly around me from behind, his voice twisted and trembling.

“Do you remember, Alice?”

“I was eight that year, and I fell into the icy lake in the park. The water was so cold, I thought I was going to die.”

“It was you, such a tiny person, crying and yelling for adults, desperately pulling me out with a tree branch…”

“You were the only light in my dark life.”

His arms tightened around me, a fervent declaration, his breath hot against my neck.

“Only I truly love you. My life belongs to you, and you’ll never escape me.”

I felt cold all over, as if plunged into an ice abyss.

My innocent act of kindness as a child had led to a nightmare that haunted half my life.

My father dead from anger, my mother gravely ill…

The source of all this tragedy was me, and the devil I had saved years ago.

The ultimate outcome was me spending the rest of my life in the suffocating cage he had woven.