I sat in the taxi, playing my own music. The taxi driver was an old man and very kind. We watched "Yad" together.

"This song is good, young lady" he said.

I smiled at him. "Isn't it? My boyfriend recommended it."

Mentioning my boyfriend made my heart race, especially since he hadn't contacted me. Strange. I searched my jacket pockets. Huh, where was my phone? I only had my work phone, not the other one. I furrowed my brow in confusion.

I muttered to myself, "Ah, damn, must have left it at home."

I received a text on my work phone from my mom: "When will you be here?"

"When am I actually there?" I asked the driver.

He thought for a moment. "About 5 minutes."

"Great, thanks."

I texted her back, "Will be there in 5 min," and put my phone away.

But how am I supposed to reach Dante now, or he reach me? He'll kill me if he finds out I went out without a bodyguard. I sighed. Elena still planned to go out with me; she wanted to buy containers for her project.

The driver stopped, and I handed him $50. "Keep the change."

He smiled broadly and waved goodbye as he drove off. I looked around the area. How long has it been since I was last here, almost four months? I went to the door and rang the bell. It took a moment before my mom opened the door, wearing such a happy smile and hugged me tightly.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh, my child, 4 months without a sign from you. Do you know how worried I've been?"

I hugged her back tightly and closed my eyes. "I'm sorry, things just happened that way."

She let go of the hug and ushered me inside. The smell of her cooking filled the whole house. Even though I had already eaten, I felt hungry again.

I stretched. "Oh, mom, how much I've missed you and your cooking."

She gave me a quick kiss. "And do you know how much I've missed seeing you get up every morning, do your stuff, and then leave? The apartment was so empty without you, and I hardly wanted to come home."

I hugged her from behind while she cooked on the stove.

She smiled at me and then asked cautiously, "So, what about James?"

I let go of the hug and sat in front of the kitchen island, facing her.

I rested my head on my hand. "We broke up, and he went his way, and I went mine."

She looked at me suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yes, why?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Because Mr. Collon had extra security guards sent three months ago because of James."

I stared at her. "Well, let's just say... um... he's gotten himself into some trouble, and there was a risk he might seek revenge."

She stared at me for a moment. "I know you're not telling me everything right now, but somehow, I'll find out."

I grinned "Mother instincts are something else."

She said proudly, "When you're a mother, you'll know how I feel."

I looked at my fingernails dreamily. "Hmm, kids do sound cute."

She stopped and said shocked, "Since when do you want kids?"

My mouth hung open, trying to come up with an excuse and not tell her about Dante. "Well, um... I mean... they're just so small and cute, but that's it."

She waved the spatula in my direction. "You're hiding something."

I shrugged, grinning.

I spun around in the chair, feeling happy, and then got up. 

"Mom, I'm going to my room for a bit. If I fall asleep, wake me up in an hour."

 I climbed the stairs to my room. My vintage room, how I had missed it. I ran my finger over my cabinets and touched the photo from the FBI when I passed the test. I smiled at the photo; well, those times were over. I went into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My face had gotten thinner, but the rest was the same. I returned to my room and saw all the paperwork on the desk that I had to do. If there was one thing I hated, it was bureaucracy. I sighed. The boss hadn't contacted me either.

 My mom called me from downstairs, "Rose, could you come here, please?"

 "Yeah, coming!" 

I went downstairs slowly and leaned against the doorframe, rubbing my eyes until I realized who was here. I froze. My body was like ice.

 My arms fell to my sides, and I muttered in shock, "Dante?"

 He was sitting on the couch in front of my mother, and she was sitting across from him. Three of his men were in the living room, one of them Claus. Dante sat there, crushed and empty, holding his gun in one hand and supporting his head with the other. I took a step back cautiously. 

My mother was crying, "Rose, what is going on here?" 

My heart sank. He knew. My blood pressure dropped, and I felt warm; my heart beat faster. Dante turned his head to me, his gaze cold. My eyes widened. He had blood on his body.

 He spoke softly, sounding exhausted, "I'm going to ask you a question now, and you better answer honestly because if not, I'll shoot your mother."

 My mother cried even more, and I took a step forward, afraid and shocked, "No, please, don't involve my mother."

 He scoffed, "Did you keep my family out of this the way I should have kept yours out?" he said bitterly.

 I looked at him confused, "What are you talking about?"

 He suddenly screamed, sending shivers down my spine, "YOU BETRAYED ME AND KILLED MY FAMILY AND YOU'RE ACTING LIKE YOU HAVE NO IDEA."

 I screamed in panic, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

 He stood up, his voice demonic, waving the gun at me and then at my mother, "Sofia- oh no, Rose Aydin, what was your mission?"

 Tears welled up in me, and I said through clenched teeth, "My mission was to find evidence against you and arrest you." 

He laughed like a madman who had given up all hope in life and turned to Claus, who was silently staring at the floor, then back at me with a betraying look, "Did you hear that, Claus?" 

He looked at me again, and more tears fell, "James told me you were responsible for Elena and my mother's death."

 I looked at him with wide eyes, shocked, "They... they're dead?"

 He took a few steps closer and grabbed me by the collar, almost choking me; his tone was bitter, his eyes showed me pain, "I don't believe a word you say."

 My heart broke into a thousand pieces, and more tears flowed. 

I whimpered, "I swear, I had nothing to do with it!" 

He scoffed. He took a step back and signaled to his men, "Take her into custody. I don't want to touch her, and spare your mother because she had nothing to do with this, except raising such a traitorous daughter."

 My mother stood up, frantic and panicky, and cried, "No, please, don't hurt her." 

The men and Claus came closer, and I took a few steps back, running in the other direction of the hallway where there was a window at the end. They chased after me, and I grabbed my mom's keys and opened the window, jumping out. It wasn't too far from the ground, and I landed on it. I wiped my tears away and ran as fast as I could.

I quickly unlocked her car and got in. I started the car and stepped on the gas. Everything had gone wrong. Exactly what I didn't want to happen had happened. It was all my fault. Elena and his mom were dead because of me. Tears welled up, and I cried loudly as I drove through the streets quickly. Her ring, which she had given me, stared back at me. I felt so awful. I loved Dante. What had I done? 

I saw Dante's car in the rearview mirror. He was apparently following me, so I stepped on the gas even more. I headed towards the highway. A few cars were in front of me, and I honked frantically, flashing my lights. I sped past them at full speed. Dante's car crashed into mine from behind, causing my car to lurch forward, and my head hit the steering wheel.

 I screamed in the car, crying, "I'M SORRY, DANTE."

 It was raining heavily, and my vision blurred. I was driving around 180 km/h, and I lost control of the car, slamming into the guardrail. I screamed in panic and squeezed my eyes shut as the car collided sideways. It took a moment for me to come back to my senses. I was upside down in the car. My head was throbbing with pain, and blood was dripping from me.

 I struggled back and forth and used all my strength to open the car door and crawl out. The mud on the ground soaked through my clothes. My hair, clothes, and body were soaked within seconds because the rain was so heavy. My vision wasn't clear, and everything hurt.

He angrily swung open his car door, slamming it shut again with a pistol in hand, then followed me. Grabbing me by the collar, he lifted me up, forcing me to stand.

"Get up and look at me like you used to you liar!" he shouted.

Looking up, I saw his wet face before me, strands of hair clinging to his skin, raindrops falling to the ground. His gaze was icy, capable of freezing anyone in place. Biting my lip in despair, I wondered, where was his gaze filled with love and concern? Where was it?

The cold metal of the pistol pressed against my forehead, his conflicted eyes revealing hurt, despair, betrayal, and anger. He wrestled with his decisions. Tears welled up, and I squeezed my eyes shut—not out of fear of the gun, but of the person I had become in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed.

He gritted his teeth, pushing the gun harder against my forehead, demanding, "Sorry?"

I looked up at him, tears streaming down my cheeks, my hands forming fists as I stared at the ground in shame. The headlights of his car illuminated our silhouettes, casting shadows on the ground. We were in a secluded spot outside the city.

Shaking me by the shoulders, he asked, his voice wounded, "Do you even realize what you've done?"

Trembling, I reached out to his chest, wanting to pull him close, to feel his heartbeat against my ears. He pushed my hands away, and I cried even more.

"You deserve to die right here, right now," he spat, his breath ragged.

In this moment it were like he teared up my heart out.

I said nothing, just stared at the ground, raindrops mingling with my blood as they fell.

He took the gun away from my forehead, and I looked up at him, shocked.

He seemed lifeless as he simply looked at me, took a few steps back, and then spoke, his voice cold and serious. "If I ever see you again in my life, Rose, I'll really kill you."

Reaching out for him as he drove away, the rain and my tears blurring my vision, I screamed, "Dante, please!" and collapsed to my knees.

My desperate cry echoed through the deserted area.

I slowly reached for my weapon at my hip. Yes, I had one too, but I didn't want to fight back. By what right would I?

Pressing the pistol against my head, my finger hovered over the trigger. If he didn't end it, then I should, because I couldn't live without him.

Suddenly, police officers arrived with their headlights, shouting, "Is anyone here?!"

I looked on lifelessly as the officers noticed me, one of them yelling to the others, "We have an injured person here! Call an ambulance."

Quickly, I tossed my gun aside. A young officer, with concern in his blue eyes, run towards me and looked at me.

"Ma'am, hold on. An ambulance is on its way," he said.

I simply nodded before collapsing to the ground.

Faintly, I heard the officer's calls, "Ma'am, wake up!"

The cold ground were right now my best friend.

———————————————

I woke up, looking around and realizing I was in a hospital room. My head was throbbing, and I reached up to feel the bandage wrapped around it. An IV drip was connected to me. Another person was in the room, looking at me cautiously. I was still wearing my own clothes, which were covered in dirt. I slowly sat up, wincing in pain. I remembered what had happened. I had blacked out after encountering Dante.

 My heart ached with sorrow. I searched for my work phone, and luckily, it was intact and still had battery. I limped outside to the exit. The nurse called after me, "Hey, wait!" I ignored her and kept going. I opened the car rental app, and there was one just 100 meters away. I booked it and limped in that direction. I opened the car and got in. I felt dizzy and had to close my eyes for a moment, taking deep breaths. 

Then I dialed my mom's number. 

She picked up immediately, "Rose, where are you, and how are you?" 

I had to suppress my groans of pain, "I'm fine, Mom, but are you okay?"

 She burst into tears, breaking my heart, and I cried along, managing to say, "Mom, we'll see each other again, but I have to hang up now."

 She said, "Rose-" but I hung up, exhausted, and then dialed the boss's number. 

He answered, sounding dry and serious, "Rose, where are you?" 

Exhausted, I leaned my arm on my eyes and replied, "Boss, I've been exposed." 

He scoffed, "You're officially wanted by us as a traitor."

 I was shocked, slowly leaning forward, "What? What is this?" 

He laughed, "Are you that dumb, Rose? Do you think I didn't have GPS on your phone and couldn't see where you were? I saw every single location and had you shadowed. When I called you and asked for a report, I knew you were lying."

 I sharply sucked in air and screamed into the phone, "YOU USED ME." 

He laughed even more on the phone, "Of course, Rose, what did you think? Of course, I used you, and you were so dumb to think I liked you? Hah, I'm  laughing. I arranged everything with James and the hunters, but he was incompetent and stupid." 

I covered my mouth in shock, "You miserable bastard! I'll kill you."

 He laughed even more on the phone, "Rose, in your place, I would take care of yourself. Your situation is much worse, and you're wanted everywhere." 

I hung up and screamed, hitting the steering wheel out of frustration. He was the one who killed Elena and his mom. 

Breathing heavily, I started the car and drove off. I chose a direction and drove out of the city. I stepped on the gas. For now, I needed to get out of the city and withdraw the money to flee with my mother. I drove past a guardrail that led down to the sea. I had to stop the car because my head was hurting. I opened the window. 

To my left, another road led, and a white truck was driving at high speed. I looked confused in that direction. It didn't stop and kept getting closer. It was too late, and it crashed into my car, pushing me off the cliff. I didn't even scream. It was probably planned.

I muttered under My breath "I am sorry Dante,mom...."

 I smiled one last time before hitting the water.

————-

"Hey Dad, there's been an accident here," I called out.

 He looked around and approached from the beach to the lake, shouting to me, "Jin Woo, come help me, there's someone injured here!"

 I hurried over to him.