Chapter 1

I knelt in the snow, forced to kowtow—ninety-eight times already today.

Three years ago, there was an avalanche. Kael Hawthorne decided I cut the rope that left his first love paralyzed.

This was his punishment for me.

Now he stood on the ridge with Lily's wheelchair parked at the highest point, looking down at me.

"One more left," he said. "Do that and get on your knees and lick the snow off her shoes. Then you're done."

The crowd of heirs laughed. Black cards came out. Bets were placed.

"One million says she'll lick Lily's boots till they shine — just for his forgiveness."

"Two million!"

"Plus five hundred thousand!"

Everyone expected me to crawl like I always did. For love. For him.

Instead, I unbuckled my knee pads and threw them off the cliff.

"Kael. I'm not begging you anymore."

Just now, I got a text: My brother Ryan died.

He sold blood on the black market to pay off the compensation money they said I owed. The infection got him.

I have nothing left to lose.

Time for someone else to kneel in the snow.

...

The crowd went quiet for a second. Then someone snorted.

"Oh, new trick? Throwing things instead of kneeling?"

"I'll bet she'll crawl back in ten minutes."

"Not just that, She'll kneel. It's her ninety-ninth time asking for forgiveness."

In the middle of all the noise, Lily's voice cut through.

"Zoe, don't be stupid. The wind's crazy out here. You'll freeze to death and ruin the whole party."

She sat in her wheelchair, looking at me with soft, worried eyes.

What a snake.

Then, Kael.

He nodded to his assistant. A cup of hot ginger tea appeared in front of me.

"Your hands are split open. Here, drink first. You're paying for what you did, but I'm not trying to actually kill you."

I didn't take the tea.

Even the wind ripped snow across my face.

Even blood soaked through my pants, frozen stiff.

His face darkened. A note of warning crept into his voice. "Zoe. Just do the last one. Then we're done. I'll give you what you want."

Give me what I want?

Can he bring Ryan back?

The red string on my wrist was broken. Ryan tied it there. Now only a small piece of thread was left.

I tucked my hands into my sleeves. "No."

Silence. Then—

Bang！

Glass shattered against stone. The sound came sharp and final.

"Fine. Don't take it. Suit yourself."

Kael didn't even look at me anymore. He just tucked Lily's blanket tighter around her. "Are you cold, Lily? Do you want to head back to the tent?"

She tugged his sleeve. "I'm okay. I'm just worried about Zoe. Her brother's still down the mountain waiting for her. Don't be too hard on her."

My fingers curled into a fist inside my pocket.

"He died. Just now."

A pause. The laughter stopped for a second.

Then someone scoffed.

"Here we go again."

"Last time she said her foster mom was dying. Time before that, the orphanage was starving."

"Now her brother's dead? What's she going to come up with next? It's really unlucky to be her family."

"Enough." Kael frowned. He took a napkin from the server and held it out to me. "Zoe, don't joke about your family. That's not you."

I pulled my phone from my inside pocket—hand shaking.

The photo of the death certificate had blurred. The melted snow had gotten to it first.

He barely glanced at it. Then he laughed and tossed it back at my chest.

"Seriously, Zoe? You're getting really good at this."

"Lily's legs were hurting again yesterday, I just held back the payment to cheer her up. Are you really making a fuss over this?"

"Just one day. There's no way he's dead."

I looked at him. My throat closed up — like it was stuffed with bloody cotton.

One day.

That one day, Ryan was bleeding everywhere. Curled up in his hospital bed. Too weak to even scream.

I went to every hospital on my knees to raise the money for his treatment.

I had no pride left.

But Ryan saw me. His big sister who he thought was too good to bow to anyone. He saw me begging.

Today, while I was on my knees, begging Kael for his medical bills—he dragged himself to the roof. And he jumped.

Now Kael was looking at me like he was doing me a favor.

"Alright, that's the end of your punishment."

"Once we're down from the snowy mountain, I'll arrange for your younger brother to receive treatment abroad."

I laughed. Bitterly.

"Forget it. It doesn't matter anymore."

The air froze.

"What did you just say?" He frowned, like I was a child throwing a tantrum.

"Zoe, stop being so dramatic. You're just—" He stopped himself, let out a cold laugh, like he'd just realized he was wasting his breath. "Forget it. Why am I even talking to someone like you."

"It's freezing out here. Lily didn't bring enough clothes. Take off your jacket and put it under her feet."

I looked down at the jacket I was wearing.

Ryan had saved up for three months to buy it for my birthday.

"The mountain wind is strong. Wear this so you won't be cold," he'd said.

He was wrong.

I was still cold. Freezing.

But the colder I got, the more I wanted to hold on to this one small piece of warmth.

"No." I stepped back.

For one stupid second, I actually thought I could keep it. That I could protect this one last thing Ryan left me.

The next second, the guards were already on me. Ripping it off.

"No—"

It didn't matter. Nothing I did mattered.

Within seconds, the last jacket Ryan ever gave me was lying on the ground under Lily's feet. Snow and mud soaked into it, turned it gray.

The cold air hit my skin. It felt like knives.

I let out a laugh. A cold one. Empty.

Ryan was gone.

And now this jacket — the last thing he touched, the last thing he gave me — couldn't protect me anymore.

There was nothing left.

So I had nothing left to lose.

Good.