Chapter 1
It was the eighth year Aurora was stuck on the island when she was diagnosed with cancer. The organization finally allowed her to return to Biration for treatment.
During those eight years, she applied seven times to go back, but her spot was always taken by someone else.
She always blamed it on bad luck, so she worked harder.
It wasn't until she worked herself into leukemia after years of exhaustion that she finally got a chance to go back for treatment.
Back at Biration Hospital, as she had completed her admission paperwork, her eyes drifted past the registration desk, and she suddenly spotted a familiar figure.
There, at the registration desk, stood a man in a military uniform.
It was Owen, her childhood sweetheart and fiancé.
Eight years ago, she was exiled to the island because of her family's status.
When the ship was about to set sail, Owen stood on the dock, his eyes red with emotion, and promised her, "No matter how long, I'll wait for you."
She believed him.
For eight years, Owen made the trip to the island every single month to see her.
The overnight sea voyage from Sourthan to the island was a trip he never missed; he came every single month.
Even if they only had a few hurried minutes together, Owen treasured the briefest moments.
But now, with his back to her, Owen was holding a little girl who looked about six or seven years old in his arms.
The little girl was listlessly resting her head on his shoulder, her cheeks flushed red.
As Aurora was about to step forward, the little girl in Owen's arms stirred awake.
She lifted her head from his shoulder and happened to glance right at Aurora. "Daddy, that lady over there has been staring at you."
Aurora froze in her tracks, thinking, 'Daddy? It must be a misunderstanding, right? Owen loves me so much. There's no way he'd marry someone else and have a kid with her.'
But in the next moment, a slender, pale hand reached out and rested naturally on Owen's arm.
A clear, gentle voice reached Aurora's ears. "Owen, let's go get the medicine. Lily needs her shot this afternoon."
The woman standing next to Owen was none other than Evelyn Carter, Aurora's half-sister.
In that instant, Aurora's mind went totally blank.
Suddenly, the little girl on Owen's shoulder called out, "Mommy," to Evelyn.
Aurora's eyes widened in shock. She instinctively pressed her hand to her chest, her fingers gripping her shirt tight.
'Dad? Mom?' Aurora thought.
In a haze, Aurora felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. She was hurting so much that she couldn't speak.
She could barely accept that the man she'd given her youth to loving had deceived her for eight whole years.
He got married and had a child with Aurora's sister, and Aurora had no idea about any of it.
Aurora clutched her aching chest, about to confront Owen, when Evelyn suddenly spoke up. "Owen, all Aurora did was mess up my favorite dress, and you punished her by sending her to the island.
"She's been stuck there for eight years. If she stays any longer, she'll be too old for anyone to want to marry her."
Aurora froze in her tracks.
But then Owen replied, his voice icy, not a trace of remorse, "It's fine. She doesn't care."
Aurora felt like the life had been sucked out of her in an instant.
She couldn't believe that her sudden banishment to the island all those years ago had been entirely Owen's doing.
'So, it was he pulling the strings behind my back, and that's why all those times my applications to return were denied?' Aurora thought
He knew full well that Evelyn and her mother were the ones Aurora despised most, hands down.
When Aurora was eight, her stepmother came knocking at their door with her illegitimate daughter, pushing Aurora's mother to suicide.
Aurora's mother had barely been gone a month before her father rushed to bring Evelyn and her mother into their home.
Once Evelyn moved in, Aurora's princess bedroom was taken from her.
Aurora was crammed into the servants' quarters, and from then on, she never saw a new dress again.
Even her mother's belongings were taken from her.
Owen knew all about it.
He'd stepped in to block her stepmother's slaps, called out Evelyn and made her cry, and promised he'd always be there for her.
And in the end, because of a stupid dress, he was the one who exiled Aurora to that island, throwing away eight years of her life for nothing.
Aurora lowered her head, staring at the hospital admission slip in her hand. The pain in her chest was so sharp that she hunched over.
Just then, Owen seemed to sense someone watching him and suddenly turned around.
Their eyes met, and Aurora caught the shock flickering in his gaze.
Owen frowned in confusion. "Aurora, why are you here?"
Aurora didn't bother to respond. She turned and walked away.
But Owen, still carrying the little girl, came after her in big strides and caught her wrist.
His grip was so tight that his knuckles dug into her wrist bones, sending a sharp pain through her.
"Did you come back without permission?" Owen snapped, his brows furrowed, and his eyes full of accusation. "Do you have any idea how serious it is to return without approval?"
Aurora stood frozen.
She stared at him, and suddenly he felt like a stranger.
Ten years of love, eight years apart, and she'd poured her whole heart into him. In the end, all she got was a soul-crushing betrayal.
Owen met her dull gaze, and for some reason, he felt a strange pang in his chest.
He remembered how Aurora used to get jealous and throw a fit whenever he got even a little close to a female classmate, and he'd have to coax her for ages to calm her down.
But now, she stared at him in silence, not saying a word, like he was some stranger to her.
Owen said impatiently, "Come on, we're heading to the port. You're getting a ticket for the next boat back to the island. Go take your punishment."
He gripped her so hard that the IV line in Aurora's wrist got yanked out, blood beading and running down her hand.
She gasped from the pain, instinctively trying to pull her hand back.
However, when Owen caught sight of it, he let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Eight years on the island, and now you suddenly know how to fake being sick?"