Ariel lost her father at a young age. Dr. Victor, under the pretext of treating her mother, forcibly adopted her and kept her imprisoned at Thorn Manor for ten years. She was reduced to a stand-in for Lisa, Victor’s late first love, stripped of her right to paint, and subjected to confinement and beatings. On the day of Victor’s wedding, Ariel deliberately befriended Mike, a man more than ten years her senior. After a night of intimacy, she fled immediately, only to find that Mike had followed her all the way. After several encounters and tests of their feelings, the two fell in love and decided to join forces to fight against the confinement and oppression at Thorn Manor. Just as their feelings deepened, a paternity test caused a massive uproar; evidence suggested that Mike might be Ariel’s biological uncle, and the heavy ethical shackles trapped the two of them. A shocking twist then unfolded: Victor was merely Ariel’s legal adoptive father, and she and Mike shared no blood relation. Mike publicly revealed all the evidence, shattering Victor’s scheme. At the art exhibition, he rescued Ariel from danger and dealt a fatal blow to his enemy. Having overcome countless hardships and broken free from their shackles, the two set off toward a future of marriage and freedom together.
