As they approached the Brooks family home, Lilian moved closer to Dorothy and lowered her voice. "Don't let this get to you. You can't give in now.""What do you mean?""I mean exactly what I said. Don't apologize or chase after him. And definitely don't let him make you believe he's actually going to divorce you."Lilian shook her head confidently. "There's no way Raphael will go through with it.""You saw what happened tonight." Dorothy frowned."I did.""That bastard threw me out and even revoked my access to the apartment."Lilian remained unconvinced. "That doesn't matter. Think about how much Raphael sacrificed for you.""When he insisted on marrying you, he openly fell out with his parents. He didn't just argue with them. He practically severed ties with his own family. He even gave up his position as heir to the wealthiest family in the state. Do you remember that?"Dorothy slowly nodded."How could someone who sacrificed that much possibly stop loving you overnight?" Lilian's

The next morning, Raphael woke up feeling more refreshed than he had in years. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, he had slept without nightmares. In his previous life, sleep had never truly been rest. Even before the apocalypse, there had always been responsibilities weighing on his shoulders. After the apocalypse began, things had become infinitely worse. He closed his eyes and memories came rushing back. He remembered his parents and younger sister dying because he had chosen to rescue Dorothy's family first. He also remembered the countless sacrifices he had made for Dorothy, the years he had spent raising five children he believed were his own, and the schemes Dorothy and Jake had carefully concealed from him. Jake was the only man she had ever loved, and the five children were all his. Everything Raphael had sacrificed had been built on a lie. And then came the cruelest truth of all. His death had not been an accident. Dorothy and Jake had orchestr

Van Tyler was a middle-school dropout who had spent most of his youth running with a street gang and had never held a legitimate job. Yet somehow, he possessed one talent that had repeatedly helped him get what he wanted. He knew how to talk. Van could say the right thing at exactly the right moment. When Janet was sad, he knew how to comfort her, and when she was angry with her family, he knew how to make himself appear like the only person who truly understood her. Van's words gradually became like a drug to Janet. At first, she had only felt sympathy for Van, then she began enjoying his company and thinking about him constantly. Before long, she had become completely infatuated with him. Ben Foster noticed the change first, and as the head of the Foster family, Ben was a rigid and traditional man. He had always demanded discipline from his children and had little patience for foolishness. The moment he discovered that Janet was becoming involved with Van, he opposed

But the man Janet had once loved no longer cared."You should have thought about that before trying to leave me."He and his mistress restrained her and contacted the Foster family.When Ben received the call, his entire face turned pale."Where is my daughter?"Van laughed. "She's safe for now."Ben's voice trembled with rage."If you hurt her, I swear—""You'll do exactly what I tell you." Van's demands were enormous.He wanted enough supplies to survive the collapse.Ben immediately understood why. Van had realized that the world had changed, and money alone was no longer enough.Supplies were everything and Janet was his bargaining chip."Release my daughter first," Ben demanded, but Van laughed."You think I'm stupid?"He sent a short video showing Janet bound and frightened.Ben's heart nearly broke.Janet looked exhausted. "Dad...""I'm here," Ben said immediately. "Don't worry. We'll get you out."Van interrupted. "You have three hours. If you want her alive, bring everything

Later, after everything had happened, Raphael had once asked a psychologist at one of the survivor bases about Janet.At that point, he had already spent years blaming himself, wondering whether he should have forced Janet away from Van.Perhaps he should have locked her inside the Foster estate, and exposed Van's criminal activities in front of everyone. Perhaps he should have done something drastic enough to make Janet hate him temporarily if that was what it took to save her.But the psychologist had listened carefully before explaining something Raphael had never considered."What happened to your sister may have been an example of what psychologists call the Romeo and Juliet effect.""It's a phenomenon associated with romantic relationships that face strong opposition, particularly opposition from parents."He explained that research conducted in 1972 by American psychologist Richard Driscoll and other researchers had examined how parental opposition could sometimes affect romant