Temi_Gold_3475

In her previous life, Aria Song died with a secret in her heart—betrayed by her family and unclaimed by the man she loved. When she wakes up in the body of a fragile young woman trapped in a cold marriage to the city’s most feared tycoon, she realizes fate has given her a second chance.

But there’s a twist.

This isn’t her world. It's the world of a novel where her new husband, Xander Quinn, is destined to die as the villain—abandoned and unloved.

She was supposed to be a forgettable side character.

But not this time.

With her sharp wit, hidden strength, and knowledge of the future, Aria won’t let the story end the same way. Not for her. Not for him.

Even if the villain doesn’t want to be saved.

Until The Ice Melts

The war room pulsed with tension as Aria slammed the drive onto the table.

Xander, Nyra, and Colonel Hesh watched her with a mix of concern and curiosity. The screen flickered to life as she inserted the device into their encrypted terminal. Static blurred the interface at first, then rows of corrupted files appeared—then something deeper. Video logs. Scans. Names.

A list of every hybrid experiment.

"Project Frostheart," Nyra whispered. "That was you?"

But what followed twisted her insides. There were others. Dozens. Children. Teenagers. Some enhanced with fire, others with shadows, even one with what looked like energy manipulation. All of them deemed failures.

And one other—codenamed "Subject Zero."

The logs showed images, barely stable footage of a boy with eyes like obsidian and skin that pulsed with unstable energy. He didn't speak, didn't eat, didn't sleep.

"Ryven didn't just restart the program," Colonel Hesh said grimly. "He perfected it."

"No," Aria corrected. "He lost control of it."

The screen shifted again—this time, to security footage from a remote lab deep in the northern deadlands. The time stamp was just days ago. Scientists in hazmat suits scrambled to shut down systems, alarms blaring, before a pulse of dark energy shattered the cameras.

"They've unleashed him," Xander muttered. "Subject Zero."

Aria paced, her heartbeat loud in her ears. "We've been so focused on our fight with Ryven, we didn't see what he was really trying to stop."

"Do we have a location?" Hesh asked.

"Not exact," Aria said. "But the energy spike—it came from near the Cryowaste Zone. The last no-man's-land."

Nyra cursed under her breath. "That place is death."

"It will be," Aria said, grabbing her cloak, "if we don't get there first."

As the team mobilized, she felt the burden settle heavier on her shoulders. She wasn't just fighting for vengeance anymore. This was survival. And deep down, a darker truth chilled her more than the frost ever could:

Subject Zero wasn't just another hybrid.

Chapter 52: A Truth Buried in Ice