"Impossible... How could you not like me..."

"For three whole years, how could you not have loved me?"

"You learned how to cook for my sake, never giving up even when your hands were blistered by hot oil. When I was injured and hospitalized, you knelt across nine hundred and ninety-nine stone steps at the monastery just to pray for a protective amulet for me... How could you possibly not like me..."

Caspian's voice was raspy beyond belief, like a drowning man begging for a final piece of driftwood, staring at Seraphina with a stubborn, frantic fixation.

"Sera, speak."

"Tell me."

"Say something!"

His voice rose higher with every command, shifting from a desperate plea to an outright order.

Yet Seraphina's face remained entirely unruffled, flat as a pool of stagnant water.

But Caspian understood her silence completely.

For those three years, he had stayed beside her under the identity of "Christian."

Every single ounce of her kindness and devotion had been meant for Christian.

As for Caspian himself...

In her heart, he had already died long ago in that freezing ocean.

"Heh."

A short, bitter laugh escaped Caspian's throat, dry and scraping like rusted iron sheets rubbing together.

A violent, crushing agony erupted from his heart.

It was so direct and savage that the pain left him curling inward with a near-convulsive spasm.

He instinctively clutched his chest, bending completely forward in a desperate attempt to ease the tearing pain.

Seraphina paid no attention to his state, pushing the car door open and stepping out without a backward glance.

The evening wind, thick with the dampness of the Thames, swept past, causing the hem of her wool coat to sway gently.

After walking a few paces, she caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye.

Beneath the dim yellow light, Caspian remained huddled over in that bent position, his profile turned toward her, and there seemed to be a glistening trace of moisture at the corner of his eye...

...

Likely due to running into Caspian the night before, Seraphina didn't sleep very well.

By the time she arrived at the academy, she couldn't help but stifle a heavy yawn.

Her senior, Ethan, handed her a freshly warmed sandwich, asking with concern, "Didn't get much rest last night?"

"Yeah, suffered a bit of insomnia."

"Are you still adjusting to the London time zone? After class, let me take you for a stroll through Chinatown. We can pick up some traditional calming tea, I heard it works wonders for insomnia."

Ethan was the person she was closest to at the academy.

When she had first arrived in London, completely baffled by the course registration process, it was Ethan who had patiently guided her through it.

On rainy days when she forgot her umbrella, he was always the one to give her a ride back to her apartment.

He appeared aloof and detached on the surface, but he was actually incredibly gentle and easy to get along with.

Seraphina took the sandwich, offering a faint smile. "No need, thank you, Ethan. It shouldn't happen again."

A man as proud to his very bones as Caspian would surely never show his face before her again after the brutal truths she had laid bare the night before.

As for Christian—

He was likely thoroughly wrapped up in his honeymoon bliss with Natalia, meaning their paths would never cross again.

Seraphina took a deep breath, completely clearing the chaotic thoughts from her mind.

She focused entirely on her lectures throughout the morning, and at noon, she went out with Ethan to capture reference photos for an upcoming children's foundation campaign.

Midway through the shoot, the phone in her bag suddenly began to vibrate.

It was a call from the staff at a highly influential art gallery she frequently collaborated with.

Several of her photographs from a running series were currently on display there, so she had maintained regular contact with them.

"Miss Seraphina, the gentleman who has long been collecting your work has taken a keen interest in your latest piece, 'The Snow of the Port'. He wishes to speak with you in person to discuss it, if it's convenient. The meeting is set for the penthouse private box at the Corinthia Hotel in central London."

"Alright."

Seraphina agreed to the meeting. Since she happened to be nearby, she said her goodbyes to Ethan and walked toward the location.

Upon stepping into the private box, a faint aroma of tea drifted into Seraphina's nose.

Crisp, sweet, and refined—it was the distinct scent of premium green tea.

The person collecting her work... was a fellow countryman?

Before the doubt could fully form in her mind, the high, upright figure dressed in a dark gray suit sitting upon a red rosewood chair slowly turned around.

It was Christian.

Chapter 19

The moment she saw Christian.

Seraphina's face instantly turned cold, and she turned on her heel to leave.

"Sera, I need to give you an explanation for everything that happened over these past few years."

"Even if you walk away today, I will still come looking for you. What needs to be said, what needs to be repaid—I owe it all to you, and there's no escaping it," Christian said, his voice low and deep.

Seraphina's retreating footsteps paused, her hand on the doorknob slowly pulling back.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the chaotic emotions churning in her heart, she turned back, walked over to the seat opposite Christian, and sat down, her tone flat and distant. "What do you want to say?"

Christian noticed that in her words, even her usual pet name for him was gone.

A dense, sharp ache flared up in his chest.

He reached out to pour tea into the cup in front of Seraphina, his voice softening. "This is the premium green tea you used to love. You probably haven't had it in a long time. Taste it."

"Let's get straight to the point," Seraphina said, not touching the cup of tea.

Christian's eyelashes lowered slightly. "Alright."

He pushed a thick stack of documents across the table. "Regarding the events of these past few years, you can look over this first."

Seraphina hesitated for a few seconds before reaching out to pick up the files.

Twenty minutes later, she tossed the documents back onto the table, her tone laced with biting irony.

"If this is your proof of an unbreakable bond forged over three years of nursing Natalia back to health, then save it. I have absolutely no interest in listening to your love story."

The documents consisted mostly of Natalia's detailed medical records and progress photographs over the years.

"She is Professor Su's long-lost daughter."

Seraphina froze slightly.

She knew better than anyone just how much weight Professor Su carried in Christian's heart—he was both a mentor and a father figure, an immense debt of gratitude.

Seraphina lifted her eyes to look at him. "And? Am I supposed to offer my blessings as your ex-wife?"

"No," Christian replied rapidly, his voice carrying a rare edge of urgency. "Natalia and I are not what you think."

Christian had been emotionally stable since childhood, having mastered the aristocratic art of keeping his feelings carefully masked beneath a calm exterior at a very young age.

He rarely showed any outward signs of losing control.

In her memory, the only time he had truly lost his composure was during their teenage years, when he was lying in bed with a fever. Taking advantage of his lack of strength, she had secretly stolen a kiss from his lips.

Watching his shocked, helpless expression, she had sat on top of him, smiling slily as she tapped her own lips, speaking with absolute righteousness.

"Christian, it was just a little kiss! During my first-birthday ceremony, I grabbed your hand and that annoying Caspian's hand too. You both belong to me!"

Back then, Christian's ears had turned crimson as he countered in a frantic, cracking voice, "Sera, the ceremony is just an old tradition, you can't take it seriously..."

She had covered her ears with both hands, shaking her head like a spinning top. "I'm not listening, I'm not listening! Since I grabbed you, you are mine!"

Snapping out of her memories, Seraphina lifted her cup and took a sip of the tea.

The warm liquid slid down her throat, yet it failed to dispel the coldness settled deep within her core.

Setting the cup down, she looked up at Christian, her tone flat. "Go on."

She was, in fact, curious now.

She wanted to know exactly what could have driven Christian to go so far as to swap identities with his own brother, dragging her into a completely fraudulent marriage that lasted for three whole years.

Over the next hour, Seraphina listened in absolute silence.

She heard him explain that he shared no romantic relationship with Natalia.

From how Natalia had thrown life-and-death tantrums to force him to stay before she would agree to the treatments, to her demanding to be with him, and finally to her forcing him to shoot wedding photos with her at Aspen Mountain after they returned home.