

Clare was the woman Axel begged and coaxed for—writing 99 love letters—before finally winning her hand in marriage. By their fifth year,however, Axel grew restless and began spending time with a young nurse. The girl, Emma, came from a poor family yet carried herself with quiet pride. When she firmly rejected the black card Axel offered,declaring she would never be anyone's kept woman, he became obsessed. Axel started appearing around Emma more and more,drawing the attention of all their friends, while briefly forgetting the wife he had once courted with 99 heartfelt letters. Clare neither cried nor argued. Instead, each time Axel broke her heart, she burned one of those letters. And when the last of the 99 was reduced to ashes, it would mark the day she left him for good.

Matthew and Xenia spent some time together in an orphanage when they were children. Later, after Xenia became a famous singer, she learned that Matthew had unexpectedly gone blind, so she retired from her singing career to care for him as a caregiver. The two got married and had a child. Ten years later, when Matthew regained his sight, he mistook Sarah for the girl he liked in childhood, leading him to neglect Xenia and their son Calvin. Heartbroken, Xenia decided to divorce him. It was only during Calvin's singing competition and Xenia's comeback concert that Matthew realized Xenia was the girl he liked as a child. However, it was too late. Xenia left with Calvin and Ethan to start a new life.