Ashes of a Silent Love

"Belated Regret" Six years ago, Claire gave false testimony in court and sent the man she loved—Ethan—to prison. She wasn't a traitor. She had no choice—her father Victor threatened to kill her paralyzed mother unless she covered up her brother Mason's hit-and-run. Ethan went to prison, broken in body and soul. Claire miscarried but miraculously kept her daughter Lily. She vanished, raising her sick child alone, caring for her bedridden mother, swallowing every tear and every debt she owed. Six years later, Ethan returned—as the president of E&C Group. Burning with hatred, he was certain Claire had sold him out for money and status. He set out to destroy her. Desperate for her daughter's surgery fund, Claire ended up working at a nightclub—where she crossed paths with Ethan again, and endured every humiliation and torment he could inflict. But the deeper his revenge cut, the more doubts surfaced. He met Lily by chance and was moved by the child's innocence. When Victor kidnapped Lily to force Claire into submission, Ethan saved her—and the hatred inside him began to crack. Claire's mother Evelyn decided to reveal the truth of what happened six years ago. But before she could speak, Vivian—a woman secretly in love with Ethan—pushed her down the stairs to her death. Devastated, Claire went to the courthouse and turned herself in, exposing Victor and Mason's crimes to clear Ethan's name once and for all. Only then did Ethan learn the cruelest truth—Claire was in the final stage of liver cancer. He had approached her for revenge against the Whitmore family. But somewhere along the way, he had fallen for her—truly, deeply. Crushed by the weight of her past, her illness, her guilt, and her shattered heart, Claire chose to end her life by drowning. Ethan was left with nothing but regret. He held the diary she left behind, drowning in eternal remorse and longing. —She gave her life to give him the truth. And he never even had the chance to say "I love you."