Chapter 6

"Get off me!" Zoe shouted, trying to pull away despite the pain from her injuries.

But she was a second too slow.

The man was much stronger than she was. He pinned her shoulder down with one hand and yanked open the collar of her hospital gown with the other, exposing her pale skin and the bandages underneath.

His eyes gleamed with excitement, though his expression also held a trace of disgust.

"Well, your body's not bad... Shame about the face. Then again, I guess everyone's the same with the lights off."

"Let me go! Help! Somebody help me!"

Zoe struggled desperately, her entire body trembling with fear and humiliation.

But Mia and her friends made no move to help.

Some sneered. Others stood with their arms crossed, enjoying the spectacle.

The woman in pink even pulled out her phone, apparently intending to record the assault.

Despair and fury overwhelmed Zoe.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a glass vase on the nightstand.

She grabbed the heavy vase and swung it with all her strength, bringing it down on the man's head.

Crash!

A sickening thud, the man's scream, and the sound of shattering glass filled the room.

At that very moment, the door opened.

A nurse entered carrying a tray of fresh dressings.

When she saw the shattered glass scattered across the floor, the man bleeding from his head, and Zoe sitting on the bed with her hospital gown torn open and her face deathly pale, she nearly dropped the tray.

"Oh my God! What happened here? Security! Somebody call security! Call the police!"

...

At the police station, Zoe was questioned separately from Mia and her friends.

Mia's entire group told the same story.

They claimed Zoe had deliberately assaulted the man.

Zoe insisted she'd acted in self-defense when he tried to sexually assault her.

But nobody believed her.

After all, who would believe that a woman considered so ugly could be sexually assaulted?

Before long, Aiden arrived with a lawyer.

The police chief personally received him.

"Mr. Carter, both sides are giving conflicting accounts of what happened. We have to resolve this according to procedure. But since everyone involved is someone you know, perhaps you'd like to..."

Aiden's gaze first settled on Zoe.

His eyes lingered briefly on her disheveled collar and the bandages covering her face.

His brows drew together almost imperceptibly.

Then he looked away and turned toward Mia, who was sitting quietly nearby.

Mia met his gaze and gently shook her head, looking helpless and faintly aggrieved at having been dragged into the incident.

Aiden remained silent for several seconds.

The interview room was unbearably quiet.

Every passing second felt like torture to Zoe.

Finally, he spoke.

His voice was deep and steady, revealing no emotion.

"Preston Luther was a little reckless, but attempted rape?"

He turned toward Zoe.

"Zoe, are you sure you haven't misunderstood what happened? Preston has no shortage of women interested in him."

Then he addressed the police chief, his tone calm but authoritative.

"Preston's injuries are serious. Have him taken to the hospital for an examination.

"As for Zoe, she's emotionally unstable and needs time to calm down. Since the police are already involved, handle it as a public disturbance. Detain her for a few days and give her some time to reflect on her behavior."

Zoe's eyes widened in disbelief.

She stared at him.

Was it really because Preston had plenty of women to choose from?

Or was it because she was so ugly that Aiden couldn't imagine anyone wanting to assault her?

Did he really think she'd made it up and hurt Preston on purpose?

The pain in her chest was unbearable.

It felt as though someone had ripped out her heart and crushed it beneath their feet.

It hurt a thousand times more than her facial injuries or the terror she'd experienced in that hospital room.

The officer immediately understood what Aiden wanted.

"Understood, Mr. Carter. Officers, escort Mr. Luther and Ms. Mitchell out."

Then he turned toward Zoe, his expression professional.

"Mrs. Carter, you're being detained on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct."

Soon, Mia and Preston were politely escorted out of the station.

As Preston passed Zoe, he clutched his injured head and shot her a vicious glare.

Mia slowed beside her.

She turned slightly, a triumphant smile curling her lips.

Then she whispered, barely loud enough for Zoe to hear, "Well, I think it's pretty obvious who Aiden believes, don't you?"

With that, she walked away.

Zoe was taken to a detention cell.

She knew Mia wouldn't let such a perfect opportunity go to waste.

And she was right.

The next seven days were hell.

A freezing cell.

Food that smelled rotten.

Cellmates who deliberately picked fights with her.

Cold water dumped over her in the middle of the night.

Her unhealed injuries handled so roughly that the pain became unbearable.

The torment seemed endless.

But Zoe gritted her teeth and endured it all.

She didn't cry or complain.

With each passing day, her eyes grew emptier and her heart grew colder.

On the seventh day, she was released.

Aiden was waiting outside.

He leaned against his car with a cigarette between his fingers, smoke curling around his handsome face and partially obscuring his features.

When he saw her emerge, he stubbed out the cigarette and walked toward her.

"You're out. Come on, get in the car."

Zoe didn't move.

She raised her head and stared straight at him.

"Why?"

Her voice was hoarse.

Aiden seemed caught off guard by the question.

He paused.

"What do you mean, why?"

"Why did you let them go? Why did you have me locked up?"

Zoe's voice was quiet, but it trembled with suppressed emotion.

"Because you think I'm ugly, you believe Mia's friend couldn't possibly have wanted to do anything to me.

"So you decided I must have been lying. That I deliberately attacked him.

"Is that it?"