After returning to the city, Kane Rivers' attitude underwent a subtle change.
He began testing Aria Snow's boundaries more frequently, as if searching for some switch that could reignite her emotions.
"There's a new project launch today." Monday morning, Kane Rivers put down his coffee cup, "You're responsible for receiving the media."
"Alright." Aria Snow's response remained brief.
"However." Kane Rivers suddenly added, "You'll appear as my girlfriend."
Aria Snow was stunned—this was the first time he had her appear in public with this identity.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I want to see if you can still act." Kane Rivers' gaze carried some expectation, "Act as a loving couple—do you still remember how?"
Aria Snow was silent for a moment: "I'll try."
At the launch event, reporters gathered. When Kane Rivers appeared holding Aria Snow's hand, it immediately caused a sensation.
"Mr. Rivers, who is this?" Reporters raised their microphones.
"My girlfriend, Aria Snow." Kane Rivers' arm around her waist was intimate and natural.
"How long have you been together?"
"Five years." Kane Rivers answered, "On and off."
Aria Snow listened to his fabricated lies, maintaining an appropriate smile on her face. She found she still remembered how to act, even very naturally.
"Miss Snow, what kind of person do you think Mr. Rivers is?" A reporter pointed the microphone at her.
Aria Snow glanced at Kane Rivers, then said to the camera: "He's very domineering, but also very devoted. When he loves, he's reckless; when he hates, he's also reckless."
This answer surprised Kane Rivers. He thought she would say something polite, but her words carried an intriguing double meaning.
After the launch event, all the reporters had dispersed, leaving only the two of them in the venue.
"Good answer earlier." Kane Rivers said, "Very real."
"Because it was the truth." Aria Snow was organizing the materials in her hands, "That's exactly what kind of person you are."
"What about you?" Kane Rivers walked closer, "What kind of person do you think you are?"
Aria Snow thought: "I'm someone who's learned to adapt. No matter how harsh the environment, I can adapt."
"Including adapting to me?"
"Including adapting to you." Aria Snow nodded, "Your controlling nature, your possessiveness, your... vengeful nature. I can adapt to all of it."
Kane Rivers' eyes flashed with complex emotion: "When you say that, it makes me feel like a pervert."
"You are one." Aria Snow's words were direct, "But I don't mind, because I'm not normal anymore either."
"How are you not normal?"
"A normal woman wouldn't calmly accept everything like this." Aria Snow looked at him, "A normal woman would resist, would run away, would seek help. But I've done nothing, and I've even started enjoying this life where I don't have to make decisions."
Kane Rivers was stunned. Her honesty shocked him.
"You said you've started enjoying it?" he asked.
"Yes." Aria Snow nodded, "When a person doesn't have to take responsibility for anything, life becomes very simple. You tell me what to do, and I do it. You want me to play a role, and I play it. This is much easier than making decisions myself."
These words filled Kane Rivers with an indescribable fear. He wanted her submission, but not this almost pathological dependence.
"Aria Snow, do you know what you're saying?" His voice trembled slightly.
"I know." Aria Snow's voice was calm, "I know this isn't normal, but I don't care anymore. Since there's no choice, I might as well enjoy this state of being chosen."
"This makes me feel like... I'm a criminal." Kane Rivers' words carried a hint of self-doubt.
"You're not a criminal." Aria Snow shook her head, "You're just a wounded man seeking security in your own way. And I'm just a woman who's learned to cooperate."
"What about love? Is there still love between us?" Kane Rivers asked.
Aria Snow was silent for a while, then said: "I don't know if this counts as love. But I know I can't leave you anymore. Not because of love, but because of dependence. I've gotten used to being controlled by you, used to days without thinking."
"This isn't what I wanted." Kane Rivers suddenly said.
"Then what do you want?" Aria Snow asked back, "Do you want me to hate you? Or do you want me to love you?"
Kane Rivers was speechless. He found himself caught in a contradictory situation—he neither wanted her hate nor wanted this pathological dependence.
"I want... the real you." He finally said.
"The real me?" Aria Snow laughed, but the smile was bitter, "The real me no longer exists. The me now is what you created with your own hands."
This sentence pierced Kane Rivers' heart like a knife. He suddenly realized that in tormenting Aria Snow, he was also tormenting himself.
"If we started over, would you be willing?" he suddenly asked.
"Start over?" Aria Snow looked at him, no emotion in her eyes, "Kane Rivers, some things once broken can never be put back together."
"Then let's not put it back together." Kane Rivers walked to her, "We'll establish a new kind of relationship."
"What kind of relationship?" Aria Snow asked.
"I don't know." Kane Rivers admitted, "But at least not like this."
Aria Snow looked at the confusion and pain in his eyes, a long-lost emotion stirring in her heart. It wasn't love, nor hate, but a complex kind of pity.
"Kane Rivers." She said softly, "Do you know? We're both sick."
"What do you mean?"
"You're sick with the need to control, I'm sick with dependence." Aria Snow's voice was soft, "We're like two patients who hurt each other yet depend on each other."
Kane Rivers fell silent. He knew she was right, but he didn't know how to change.
"So what should we do?" he asked.
"I don't know." Aria Snow shook her head, "Maybe we're destined to torment each other like this. Until one of us completely breaks down."