Chapter 1 : Past Life

A light drizzle drenched her frail body. She trudged, aimless and aimless. Each step felt heavy, as if even the earth refused to accept her presence. The wounds all over her body bore silent witness to a life filled with violence, humiliation, and betrayal.

There is no place to go home. There is no hand outstretched to help. The world had swallowed her whole, tearing apart the remains of hope she once held.

Anne Beilynn... Once, her name was the epitome of luxury and perfection. A top actress, adored by the media, adored by the public, and living a flawless life. No scandals. No reproach. She even married the most powerful and richest man in the country—a fairytale dream of millions of girls.

But the fairy tale did not last long.

One by one, her film projects flopped. Advertising contracts stopped coming. Her once-glorious reputation began to fade, slowly but surely. As the spotlights moved away, reality hit her mercilessly. Her family went bankrupt. The media turned against her. Those who once adored her now sneered in cruel whispers.

How could someone who had everything end up this devastated?

Is fate punishing her now? But what crimes has she committed? Looking back on her life, Anne has never done anything that violates the norms of life.

If someone had asked her a few years ago, Anne Beilynn would probably have laughed, unable to believe that her life, which was almost perfect, could collapse so quickly.

Now, with her body wrapped in a shabby coat and a blank stare sweeping the city streets, she was just a shadow of her own past.

Suddenly, a luxury car slowed down beside the sidewalk where she was standing.

The soft sound of an engine broke the silence of the rain. The window slowly rolled down, and behind it, a figure appeared that should no longer have anything to do with her.

"Leonidas..." Anne called softly, her voice almost drowned out by the sound of the rain.

Their eyes met. Silence. The world seemed to stop for a moment.

That name, the man who had captured her entire heart in her youth, the first love who had destroyed her life. For ten years, they were bound in a marriage that, in the end, felt like a soulless contract.

They don't marry for love.

The marriage came about because of one unexpected night—the night Anne, then just 19, became pregnant.

At the time, her career was just beginning to take off. She had a loyal fan base, commercial projects, and a foray into film. Anne Beilynn was being called the brightest rising star on the small screen. But everything changed when two red lines appeared on a pregnancy test. And when the baby was declared stillborn, due to insufficient nutrition for the exhausted young mother.

After that, Anne closed her heart. She no longer thought about anything but her career. Gossip about the breakdown of their marriage, about a third party, circulated in the media. But Anne remained silent. She was not a woman who liked to create drama. She had never cheated, and if anyone deserved to be accused, there was only one name: Leonidas.

It wasn't that Anne didn't want to love. She always tried. She tried to understand him, to open herself up again, to find a way to get closer. But Leonidas only responded with harsh sneers and a piercing coldness.

Anne was tired... And the most painful thing was, she realized that her first love was not as good as she had imagined.

Ten years of marriage... Can it be called a marriage?

When her family was destroyed by the man who was supposed to protect her.

When her career collapsed not through her own fault, but because of the backstabbing of those closest to her. And as a husband, Leonidas did nothing. He simply stood by, allowing Anne to be the subject of insults across the internet, without a single word of defense.

Ah... Anne almost forgot. They're divorced.

That man is no longer her husband. It's no longer appropriate to be called that.

"Come in." Leonidas' voice was cold. It wasn't an invitation, but a command. Just that two word, as if everything that had happened could be erased in an instant.

Is it still right for Anne to obey all the orders of the man who destroyed her?

How ridiculous.

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Stay loyal with me and I will prove you that not everyone leaves - Anne Beilynn

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