Nichs''s eyes were bloodshot. Jasmine''s smug expression only fueled his rage. His gaze turned wild, showing a terrifying and violent fury.


    "Just kill me. I don''t understand. I tried so hard to please everyone, but I still can''t earn any sincerity."


    "You think I won''t?" Nichs tightened his grip around her throat, staring at her as if she were already dead.


    In her final moments, Jasmineughed defiantly. "Go ahead. I''ll join Ariana on the road to the underworld. I actually liked her, you know? Without you, maybe we could''ve been friends." "You don''t deserve her!" Nichs''s voice was filled with unwavering resolve. "And Ariana won''t die!"


    At that moment, the word "escape" echoed in my mind. If I chose to leave, go abroad perhaps, would I finally gain the freedom I had always longed for?


    Nichs lifted Jasmine by the throat. I did not doubt that, at the next second, he would m her head into the ground like a ragdoll. But he couldn''t do that. He couldn''t take her life. "Nichs!" I finally managed to shout.


    Nichs snapped back to reality and turned sharply to see me standing behind him. Without hesitation, he threw Jasmine to the ground like trash.


    He stood up but didn''t immediately walk toward me. Instead, he froze in ce, too shocked to move even an inch.


    We both looked disheveled. His once sleek ck suit was now coated in ash. His face and hair were covered in soot, and his hands were drenched in blood. It was impossible to believe that this was the same man who had appeared on TV just moments ago. I was no better. My arm throbbed so badly it had gone numb


    At that moment, the zing car behind us became a mère backdrop to the silent battle between us.


    This battle of wills had no deserters. and no losers. If either of us had truly fallen, we wouldn''t be standing here just ten feet apart, staring into each other''s eyes.


    Jasmine spat out a mouthful of blood. "Ariana... she''s not dead?"


    Her words shattered the tension Nichs had been holding onto. His sharp, handsome face suddenly crumbled, reced by an expression of grievance and despair.


    Nichs''s tall figure seemed to


    shrink as he ran toward me. It copsed into a small ball that was aimed directly at my heart. The impact was so painful that I could


    hardly breathe. N?velDrama.Org content.


    "I knew you would be okay!" he cried.


    He pulled me into a tight embrace, pressing a firm kiss onto my forehead. It was as if he was checking and making sure I was real.


    His hands cradled my face, and his lips gently brushed against my forehead and nose, before finallynding a heavy kiss on my lips. The taste of blood filled the air.


    I grasped his wrist, only to realize un close how much worse it was than I had thought. His burned skin was oozing with blood, swollen and terrifying.


    "You knew I was fine, and you still ended up like this?"


    Nichs lost all his formerposure. He pulled me into his arms, his voice trembling. "Ariana, I love you! I really love you!"


    Any previous uncertainty was gone. He was sure now that his love for Ariana was absolute. Nothing before had scared him like this, not even when Daniel was gravely ill. Suddenly, I felt warmth against my neck. It was something far more shocking than his unexpected confession.