Nathalie didn''t waste a second. She soared through the mountain gate, gliding down to earth as the evening breeze caught her wings.

    Before her stretched a quiet, winding mountain path, shaded by old trees, the road twisting up the hillside in a way that tugged at her memory. Nathalie stared up at the familiar curves, feeling a strange, bittersweet nostalgia.

    Step by step, she made her way up, the silence broken only by her soft footsteps. Finally, she reached the summit.

    Night was falling, the sky painted with deep blue and fading gold. At the very top, someone was kneeling in front of two simple graves, sobbing so hard his shoulders shook.

    "My love, my daughter... why didn''t you wait for me?" His voice cracked. "It was just one business trip with Greta-—just a single day. How did everything fall apart in that one moment?"

    Something about his back, the slump of his shoulders, struck Nathalie as familiar. She circled around, and when she caught sight of his face, she froze.

    Cameron. Who else could it be?

    But she had never seen Cameron like thispletely shattered. His handsome eyes were swollen from crying, his jaw covered in rough stubble, shirt wrinkled and dirty. His hands were caked with mud, fingers raw and bleeding from digging into the earth.

    Nathalie''s heart twisted with unexpected pity.

    Then she noticed the names on the two in headstones: Nellie and Nina. No titles, no exnations-just their names.

    Cameron was nearly copsed over the graves, consumed by grief.

    Suddenly, a cold shadow swept across him. Cameron turned, dazed. Behind him stood the Prince, dressed in an expensive suit, every inch radiating power. His eyes, sharp as ice, bore down on Cameron.

    Cameron''s voice shook. "Your Highness? What are you doing here?"

    The Prince carried a bouquet of sunflowers, their yellow petals bright against the gray dusk. He walked up to the graves-and when he saw the gaping hole Cameron had dug, exposing the coffin, his face hardened with fury.

    "Are you insane? Coffins are supposed to stay sealed! Do you want Nathalie''s soul to be restless even in death?"

    Without warning, he kicked Cameron square in the chest. Cameron, weak as a feather, was sent flying and crashed to the ground, bloodb trickling from his nose and mouth.

    Nathalie stared in shock. The gentle, polished young man she remembered-was

    he truly this ruthless? No wonder people called him the Dark Prince.

    "Nathan... I''m just mourning my wife and daughter. How does that concern you?" Cameron managed, coughing.

    Nathan? Nathalie''s eyes widened. So in this life, his name was Nathan-and he was the Prince?

    But if that''s true, why did the Prince be Cameron in another life? And why did Nathan change his name to Morris?

    Nathalie''s mind spun with questions.

    Nathan''s eyes burned with anger. He grabbed Cameron and mmed him to the ground again, pinning him down with his shoe.

    "Cameron, do you remember what I told you when you married Nell?"

    Cameron blinked, lost for a moment-then realization dawned. "Wait... you were

    that street kid who threatened me at my wedding?"

    Nathan''s expression turned cold. “I

    ve

    told you as long as she was happy, you''d be safe. But if anything happened to her, you''d pay the price."

    He leanedan, voice low and fierce. "Well, look at what you''ve done. She lost a kidney and her life. You failed her. That''s on you-and I won''t let you forget it."

    Cameron''s face turned pale with fear. "What was your connection to my wife?"

    “She saved my life. She was my Nathalie. She was the one I kept closest to my heart."