Chapter 1

I was the last surviving member of the Immortal Kindred.

But after 99 heartbreaks, my immortality would shatter completely, and I would die for good.

Falling for Caleb Thorne, the brilliant archaeologist, was my last chance.

He once promised we'd grow old together, our love eternal.

But everything changed when Lila joined our excavation team.

He mocked my immortal fate, sneering, "Don't sicken me. When I'm gone, won't you just move on to the next guy? How filthy."

Later, when I was captured for live research, I called him for help.

He dismissed it as a pathetic act and hung up to be with Lila instead.

My heart broke for the 99th time. I closed my eyes, and my life finally ended.

But when he realized I was truly gone, he spiraled into madness.

Wind whipped up sand, the sky darkened, and the ancient tomb felt eerily sinister.

Our team carefully studied the murals on the walls.

Suddenly, a deep rumble echoed from above, and the tomb passage began to shake violently.

"Cave-in! Run!" one of the team members yelled.

"Lila!" Caleb's voice was filled with frantic urgency.

In that critical moment, my boyfriend was calling out another woman's name.

I turned my head and saw a massive rock hurtling towards Lila.

Before I could even react, a shove sent me forward, pushing Lila to safety.

The colossal rock, instead, crashed down on me.

Excruciating pain ripped through my body.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze to the hands that had pushed me—Caleb Thorne's.

He was frantically rushing to Lila, pulling her into his arms, as if terrified she might even get a scratch.

When the cave-in subsided, team members rushed to help move the rock off me.

Caleb, meanwhile, was still meticulously tending to Lila's slightly scraped knee.

Only after he was done did he finally remember me.

By then, I had already been moved onto a stretcher.

Caleb’s eyes widened when he saw my state. He looked stunned.

"Anya... I..."

"Caleb! My foot hurts!" Lila called out from a distance.

Caleb immediately rushed back to her. After a few steps, he turned back to me and said:

"Anya, it was too dangerous just now. You know Lila's always been delicate since childhood, she can't handle any injury."

"Anyway, you won't die. You won't blame me, right?"

I struggled to speak, but before I could utter a single word, Caleb was already helping Lila up.

Right. I wouldn't die.

But I just wouldn't die.

I had all the same emotions and senses as any normal person...

I was bedridden for three days.

Caleb finally came to see me.

He looked at me, lying in the hospital bed, his face full of guilt.

"Anya, this is an ancient coin we found during the dig these past two days. It has great meaning, so I had it made into a necklace for you."

The last time Caleb gave me a gift was four years ago, when I hand-knitted him a scarf.

The next day, he gifted me a bottle of perfume in return.

Even though the top notes of the perfume were an overpowering rose scent, which I didn't like, I still treasured it for years.

Every year after that, he would say:

"We're old married couples now, no need for these extra things. I'll always love you."

Though I accepted that notion, I was still excited and asked him to put the necklace on me.

But after he did, he said, "Lila and I made it together. She said it's her apology to you."

"She feels really bad about what happened the other day, and she's been down. When you're better, why don't you go apologize to her?"

The sudden surge of joy instantly drained away.

My heart clenched with a sharp, agonizing pain. I stared at him, confused, and said, "Caleb, you two made it together, fine. But why do I have to apologize?"

Caleb frowned, looking at me with dissatisfaction. "Anya, when did you become so petty? It's just an apology, sweet-talk her a bit. You won't lose a limb."

I turned away from him.

"I won't go."

Caleb said nothing, then turned and walked out.

From start to finish, not a single word of comfort.