Agony. Darkness. And endless cold. I felt myself floating in a void. Memories flashed by like a revolving lantern. The first time I met Julian, the disdain in his eyes. The first time in bed, the temperature of his fingertips. The last sight, his back as he unhesitatingly dove toward Selena. When I woke again, it was under the harsh white lights of a hospital. "Awake?" Julian sat by the bed, peeling a tangerine. Seeing me open my eyes, there wasn't much fluctuation on his face. "Mn." I moved, my whole body aching as if it had fallen apart. "Where is Selena?" "She suffered a shock and is resting next door." Julian handed me a segment of tangerine. "Eat some." I didn't take it. "Why did you save her?" Julian's hand paused in mid-air. He withdrew it, his tone terrifyingly rational: "Selena is a human hybrid with a fragile constitution. If that car hit her, she would die. You are a high-level hunter; your body is enhanced. You won't die from a hit." "A logical judgment." I looked at the ceiling, tears spinning in my sockets but stubbornly refusing to fall. "So because I can take a beating, I deserve to be hit?" "Elena, don't be unreasonable." Julian frowned. "It was the optimal solution in an emergency." "Yes, the optimal solution." I closed my eyes. "How much is the medical bill? I'll pay you back." "There is no need for accounting between us." "There is." I opened my eyes, my gaze dead. "After all, we no longer have any relationship." Julian seemed stung by my look. Just as he was about to speak, a nurse's cry came from next door. "Miss Selena! What's wrong?" Julian's expression changed, and he immediately stood up and rushed out. I listened to his urgent footsteps fading away. Finally, a tear slid from the corner of my eye, soaking into the pillow. The optimal solution. In the algorithm of his life, I was always the one to be discarded. Three days later, I forced myself to discharge from the hospital. Two days left until the wedding. I had to retrieve one thing—the "Hunter's Amulet" my mother left me. It was the Vance family heirloom, given to Julian by my father three years ago as collateral. I went to the underground auction house. I heard Julian was auctioning the amulet tonight, donating the proceeds to a foundation in Selena's name. Using my mother's relic to build karma for his 'white moonlight'? Truly ironic. At the auction, I sat in the corner. "Next item, an ancient Hunter's Amulet. Starting bid, five million." I raised my paddle. "Five million." "Ten million." A sweet voice rang out. It was Selena. Bandage wrapped around her head, sitting beside Julian, looking at me provocatively. "Fifteen million." I gritted my teeth. This was money scraped together from selling all my gear. "Twenty million," Selena said airily. I froze. I was out of money. I looked at Julian. He sat there expressionless, allowing Selena to squander his wealth. "Julian," I shouted to him across the crowd, my voice trembling. "That is... my mother's possession." The entire room looked at us. Selena tugged at Julian's arm, wheedling, "Julian, I feel like there's some energy in that amulet that soothes my headaches. I want to wear it." Julian glanced at me, then at the expectant Selena. Those few seconds of silence were longer than death. "Give it to Selena," he finally said. "Twenty million, sold!" My heart, with the sound of that gavel, died completely. Backstage. Selena held the ancient silver amulet, fastening it around the neck of a black cat that looked somewhat malevolent. "Oh my, Elena, you're here." She saw me and laughed tremulously. "I felt this amulet didn't quite match your mother's temperament; it suits my cat better. After all... they both carry a stench of the wild." "What did you say?" I clenched my fist, nails piercing my palm. "I said, your mother was a bitch who died in the wild, and you are the same." Selena leaned close, whispering venomously, "Julian doesn't care about this junk at all; he just wants to see you suffer. The more you suffer, the more amusing he finds it." "You have a death wish." I abruptly drew the small knife hidden in my boot. At this distance, I was sure I could pierce her throat. "Ah! Help!" Selena screamed and fell back, slamming her own palm against the tip of my knife. *Splurt.* Blood gushed out. Julian rushed in, seeing exactly this scene. "Elena!" He roared, and a terrifying wave of air blasted me against the wall. He scooped up the weeping Selena, his eyes as cold as if looking at a nemesis. "Are you crazy? Attacking someone just because you lost the bid?" "She insulted my mother..." I coughed up blood; my ribs were likely broken. "Enough!" Julian cut me off. "I always indulged you, thinking you were just willful. I didn't expect you to be so vicious." He took out his phone and dialed a number. "Take her away. Lock her in the 'Silent Prison'. Let her reflect there for three days." The Silent Prison. A place for heavy felons. Absolute darkness, absolute silence, and mental torture that devoured sanity. Two black-clad guards walked in and roughly hauled me up. I didn't struggle. I just stared dead at Julian. "Julian Thorne," I said, word by word. "You will regret this." He turned his back, not looking at me, only gently examining Selena's hand injury. "Take her away."