Easther was never meant to be ordinary. Orphaned and molded into a ruthless killer, she grew up in shadows where love, kindness, and sympathy did not exist. Cold, silent, and obedient—she was a weapon, not a girl. Then came Zaki Lee. The dazzling heir of the Lee family became the only light in her bleak world. Against her better judgment, Easther’s frozen heart thawed. She dreamed of love. She dreamed of him. But dreams are cruel. Zaki never loved her. To him, Easther was nothing more than a stray he picked up—a tool to command, not a woman to cherish. The tenderness she clung to was nothing but a leash. After years of waiting in vain, Easther finally broke free. She walked away from the Lees, determined to live richly, beautifully, and on her own terms. Zaki never realized she was gone… until he saw her again. At a glittering banquet, Easther stood transformed—elegant, radiant, her arm linked with that of another man. The mysterious stranger leaned down, whispering something that made her lips curve into a smile so soft, so alive, it shattered Zaki’s composure. The glass in his hand cracked and splintered, blood trailing from his clenched fist as fury consumed him. She had never smiled like that at him. She had never looked at him with such warmth. And the man at her side—the stranger who held her gaze as if she belonged only to him—was now Zaki’s greatest threat. Easther was no longer his shadow. No longer waiting. No longer his. But Zaki Lee has never lost anything he claimed as his. And he will do whatever it takes to tear her away from the arms of another… even if it means dragging her back into a gilded cage she can never escape. The battle for Easther’s heart has begun. And only one man will win.