"Adrian, Adrian, please help me! My mother is sick, I beg you to save her..."
The bitter winter wind howled, whipping tiny snowflakes against Tessa's trembling frame as she pounded desperately on the grand gates of the Langford family villa, her voice hoarse from crying.
To her relief, the gates soon swung open, revealing an expressionless bodyguard.
"I need to see Adrian," Tessa pleaded, her voice quivering with fear.
The bodyguard gestured for her to follow and led her to a closed door deep inside the villa.
Clutching her damp, freezing school uniform, Tessa glanced around the eerily silent mansion, unease creeping into her chest.
Adrian’s home was always bustling with servants, alive with noise—why was it so deathly quiet now?
"The young master is waiting for you. Go in." Before she could react, the bodyguard shoved her inside and slammed the door shut behind her.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
Her heart hammered wildly. "Ad-Adrian? Where are you? I need to ask you for—ah!"
Before she could finish, a pair of strong hands seized her wrists, yanking her into a scorching embrace.
Terrified, she tried to speak, but a ruthless mouth crashed down on hers, silencing her with a searing kiss.
The scent was unfamiliar—overpowering, predatory. A scream lodged in her throat.
She thrashed wildly, shoving against him, but the man’s iron grip only tightened as he hauled her onto the bed. His lips trailed from her jaw downward, relentlessly.
"Let me go! Let me go... You're not Adrian! Who are you? Don't touch me! I'll report you for— Ah!"
In the pitch-black darkness, Tessa thrashed wildly, sobbing and screaming for help. Her hand grabbed something—she couldn't see what—and she swung it hard at the man's head.
A muffled grunt followed. Fighting back terror, she scrambled to escape, arms and legs flailing.
But the man seized her effortlessly with one hand, dragging her back. He wrenched the makeshift weapon from her grip and tossed it aside, then pinned her against his chest...
Tessa lost her first kiss—and her innocence.
She had come here to find her boyfriend, Adrian, to save her mother. She thought nothing of angering the Rayne family anymore. But... how had it come to this?
She didn’t know how long the torment lasted before the man finally left, leaving her ravaged and broken.
When Tessa stumbled out of that lightless room, her clothes in disarray, the Langford residence was still empty—no one in sight.
Outside, the snow had piled thick, and heavy flakes continued to fall. Overwhelmed, she dashed into the blizzard, running back to the ramshackle warehouse.
Inside the warehouse...
A figure lay on the cardboard-strewn floor, dusted with a thin layer of snow.
In an instant, crushing dread stole Tessa’s breath. She rushed forward, lifting the "snow-covered figure" into her arms. "Mom! Mom...!"
Frantically, she brushed the snow from the woman’s body—only to find her limbs stiff, her face ghastly pale and tinged with blue. She was already gone.
The light in Tessa’s eyes shattered. "Mom... Mom, you can’t do this... I was wrong. I shouldn’t have gone to Adrian for help. I shouldn’t have left you. I was wrong... Mom, wake up, please... wake up..."
Her entire body trembled uncontrollably as the memory flashed before her—her mother’s gentle hand cupping her face, her loving yet pained voice speaking to her before she left.
"Tessa, Mom isn't feeling well... I don't think I have much time left."
"Listen to me, child. After I'm gone, leave this place. Don't harbor hatred toward the Rayne family. Don't seek revenge. Study hard, eat well, find someone who truly loves you, and live a happy life. Promise me?"
"As long as you're happy, I can go in peace..."
Snowflakes fell thick and fast, blanketing Tessa and her mother. She held her mother close, tears streaming down her face from dusk till dawn.
Until the snow stopped.
Tessa closed her eyes, her voice hoarse with grief.
"Mom... After I settle the score for you, I'll leave this place and live well—I promise."
...
Three years later.
The heavy gates of Stonebridge City Women's Prison creaked open, and Tessa stepped out.
She was painfully thin, clutching a red scarf—her mother's only keepsake—in her trembling hands. Wrapping it tightly around her neck, she tilted her face toward the sun. A storm of hatred swirled in her pitch-black eyes, cold enough to freeze blood.
At last... freedom.
"Tessa." A deep, melodious voice called out.
She turned to see a handsome young man striding toward her. The darkness in her expression softened slightly as she managed a faint smile for him.
The man took a good look at her face, his eyes brimming with heartache.
"You've lost so much weight," he murmured, his voice thick with concern. "Damn that Adrian and his endless reach—he had to make you suffer. A minor mistake like yours shouldn't have landed you in prison! And to think of all you've endured..."
Tessa's faint smile vanished, her fingers tightening into fists.
"What exactly was the relationship between Langford Adrian and Rayne Tilda back then?"
She had a blood feud with the Rayne family, an irreconcilable enmity with Tilda—so how had she managed to cross Langford Adrian?
