She was once the cherished moonlight he held in his palms.
Now, she kneels to serve tea to his new bride—her husband, a crime boss.
In a hospital corridor thick with the sharp scent of disinfectant, she huddles in a wheelchair, blood seeping through her shoulder, voice trembling: "I think... I've been bitten."
He crouches beside her, gently brushing his fingertip over the red mark on her neck, chuckling softly: "Just a bug, don't be afraid." Tender, like every rainy night they once shared.
But one second before she’s wheeled into surgery, her phone pings with an anonymous video—
Surveillance footage shows him dragging her ex-boyfriend into a basement, pressing a gun to his temple: "Touch her again, and your entire family dies."
Time: three years ago. Location: the very house where they fell in love.
On the wedding day, crimson roses carpet the aisle.
Backstage, she touches up her makeup when suddenly her mirror reflects a familiar figure—him, wrapped around another woman in a storage room, locked in a fierce, breathless kiss.
She rushes forward, but the door is locked from within.
Then the walkie-talkie crackles—her groom’s cold voice: “Don’t cause trouble. You’re part of the deal, not here for love.”
As the officiant announces, “The couple shall now exchange rings,” she sees him at the back of the crowd, lighting a cigarette.
The instant the flame flares, he winks at her—their childhood secret signal.
But the next moment, he presses the burning tip against her wedding gown, extinguishing it into the fabric.
She shatters. In full view of everyone, she tears open her collar, revealing the snake-shaped brand beneath her collarbone: “You swore you’d only ever love me!”
Silence falls.
Slowly, he rises, unbuttons his suit to expose an identical brand over his heart, whispering so only she can hear:
“Every ‘bride’ gets a bite. Tell me… which rosebush buries the last one?”
Wind stirs. Petals swirl like snow.
At last, she understands—this marriage was never the end.
It was the beginning of the sacrifice.
Three years ago, Asher and Tessa were first loves until he vanished after proposing. Heartbroken, she married Austin and fell in love. When Asher returns, she rejects him. Seeing her happiness, he sends a gift and agrees to officiate their wedding. On the wedding day, Austin's affair is exposed.
