Chapter 2

It all began three years ago.

Zoran and I were both medical doctors, specializing in artificial skin research.

We fell in love as undergraduates, living the typical college life - shuttling between classrooms, cafeterias, and libraries.

He was smarter than me, always nailing his experimental data on the first try.

I, on the other hand, always fell just short.

Whenever my experiments failed, he'd ruffle my hair and tease, "You're such a klutz. Want your boyfriend to do it for you?"

I'd glare at him and retort, "No way, I'll do it myself."

He'd stand there, arms crossed, watching me with eyes full of adoration.

His father was a renowned medical expert overseas, while my mother was a chemistry professor.

Back then, our classmates would say we were a perfect match - brains and beauty combined.

But just as we were about to graduate, my parents were in a terrible car accident.

All our family's money went towards medical bills, but it still wasn't enough to save their lives.

We were left with a mountain of debt.

I went from being the only child of an intellectual family to a penniless orphan.

That's when Zoran's father approached me, demanding that I break up with Zoran.

The Carlisle family, he said, needed a woman who could elevate Zoran's status. Instead of someone useless like me, with no money and no connections.

He told me he had a patent for an anti-cancer drug that could save countless late-stage cancer patients.

But the condition for putting it into production was for me to break up with Zoran.

I was shocked, unable to believe these were words coming from a doctor.

I knew Zoran's medical dreams; he had always hoped to save everyone suffering from disease.

I bit my lip, remaining silent.

Even now, I remember Mr. Carlisle's condescending smile:

"Miss Langdon, you have no money, no background. You can only be a burden to Zoran and the Carlisle family."

"Either you leave Zoran immediately and make him give up on you."

"Or I'll make this drug disappear forever."

"The lives of tens of thousands of cancer patients - you weigh it up."

I knew he was capable of doing it.

The Carlisle family's influence was enormous; the fate of a new drug was entirely in his hands.

I had no choice.

I was also afraid I'd hold Zoran back.

Creditors threw paint on my front door, the landlord slammed bills in my face, demanding compensation. At this moment, the wealthy heir Elias, who had been pursuing me, invited me to join him for a round of golf.

I agreed.

From Zoran's perspective, I was a cheating scumbag.

But from Elias's point of view, I was the untouchable campus queen. He was bored with those trust fund babies who frequented the bars, and wanted someone pure like me.

To have a goddess on her knees licking his shoes, Elias was naturally over the moon.

Zoran found out about my affair pretty quickly.

He was furious, heartbroken, screaming and yelling, asking me why I would do such a thing.

I could only lift my head and say, "I'm still young. I don't want to waste my time in a lab. I want to enjoy life."

Zoran gritted his teeth and spat out each word, "So you're just going to be Elias's plaything?"

I shrugged, "He can give me things you can't."

As soon as the words left my mouth, a hard slap landed on my face.

He was shaking with rage, his face turning blue, "Vivienne, I can't believe I was so wrong about you. Are you really this cheap?"

That night, he broke into my dorm room and forcefully had sex with me.

The girl he had cherished and didn't dare to touch was now selling herself so casually.

If that was the case, he would take what was rightfully his, all at once.

I remained silent, offering no resistance, simply weeping quietly.

That was six months before the fire.