Late that night, just as I'd fallen asleep, a loud, insistent banging on my door woke me up. After Irvin repeatedly figured out the new door codes I kept changing, I installed an additional lock on the inside of my door. Now, once I was home, no one could get in without my permission. "Emilia, open the door!" Hearing Irvin's voice, I sighed and sat back down on the couch. I didn't need to guess why he was here. Julianne must've woken up, and now that he had the time and energy, he'd come to confront me. I wasn't stupid. There was no way I was opening the door for someone who came to pick a fight. I figured he'd bang on the door for a while, lose his temper, and then leave. After all, tonight had been a disaster for his precious Julianne. He'd have plenty to do—cleaning up the mess, soothing her, and playing the perfect doting protector. Surely, he wouldn't waste too much time on me. But I underestimated him. "Emilia, I know you're in there. Open the door, or I'l
When we arrived at the hospital, Julianne was standing on the rooftop. The freezing winter air was biting, the temperature well below zero. Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, painting the night with a cold, silent beauty. And there she stood, in nothing but a thin white slip dress, her figure trembling in the fierce wind. She looked so fragile, so broken, like a tragic figure ripped from a storybook. Even a stray dog passing by might have felt sorry for her. And Irvin? He looked like he was about to explode. Grabbing Jeremy by the collar, he demanded, "What's going on? Why is Julianne on the rooftop?" Before Jeremy could answer, Mom caught sight of me. She rushed over, her face twisted with rage, and raised her hand to slap me. To my shock, Irvin—despite being laser-focused on his precious Julianne—managed to intercept her hand before it made contact. "Catherine, don't hit Emilia," he said, his tone firm but slightly distracted. "She didn't—" "What?" Mom c
Irvin's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Julianne on the edge of the rooftop. "Lianne, don't do this! Please, trust me—this won't ruin anything for you. I won't let it affect your life!" Julianne let out a bitter laugh, her thin frame trembling in the icy wind. She looked fragile and pitiful."Irvin, don't lie to me," she said softly, her voice laced with despair. "I've seen it all… I've read what they were saying about me in their group chats. Everyone is calling me a gold digger." Her tears streamed down her face, glistening in the faint moonlight. "Irvin, not being with you already made life meaningless for me. But now? Now, I can't go on at all…" She turned her gaze to me, her face twisted with sorrow and bitterness. "Millie," she said, her voice trembling. "I know you hate me because Mom and Dad adopted me and divided their love. I know you blame me for that. But I've always treated you like a real sister. Why? Why do you keep hurting me like this?" Tears wel
When I heard Irvin's words, I froze for a moment, stunned. Then, an icy chill spread through my entire body. Irvin knew. He knew Julianne's true nature. He knew she wasn't the sweet, innocent woman she pretended to be. He knew she was manipulative and cruel. And yet… Even knowing all of that, he still coddled her and indulged her every whim. Julianne wanted me dead, and he was willing to deliver me to her on a silver platter. I had always thought that Irvin—like the rest of my family—was blind to who Julianne really was. I thought he only loved her because he didn't know the truth. But now? Now I realized he wasn't blind at all. He knew exactly who she was. Which left only two explanation—either he loved her so much that he didn't care about her flaws, or… Or this was never about love. Maybe he wanted me gone, and Julianne's twisted plan was the perfect excuse. If she "accidentally" killed me, he'd become a widower without ever having to divorce me. No
When Mom and Dad snapped out of their shock, they immediately came at me, fists flying. "You ungrateful brat! How could you call the cops? How could you accuse Irvin like that?" The officers quickly stepped in, shielding me from their blows. Then Mom and Dad turned to the officers, their voices full of urgency and fake concern. "She's mentally ill! She's not in her right mind! We're her parents, and Irvin is her husband. He wasn't trying to hurt her—he just wanted her to go up and talk Julianne down. This is all a misunderstanding!" I cut in before they could spin their story further. "That's not true!" I shouted. "They didn't want me to calm Julianne down—they wanted me dead!" I knew I had to leave a record of this incident. If anything happened to me in the future, I wanted the police to know exactly where to start looking. This wasn't just about tonight but about protecting myself from whatever might come next. Despite their claims, my parents couldn't provide a
Mom really wished I had died when I fell off that cliff. If I had, she wouldn't have to wrestle with how to handle her "vicious" biological daughter anymore. Their expressions told me something terrifying—they weren't just hurling random accusations to protect Julianne. They truly believed that I had drugged her. I had forgotten a lot of things due to my memory loss, but I knew one thing for certain—I would never do something like that. "I don't know why you think I'd do such a thing," I said firmly. "But I didn't. I've never done anything like that." I looked straight at them and added, "In fact, I didn't even know Julianne had been involved with Irvin's father until recently. I only found out after I hired someone to investigate her." My explanation didn't calm them down. If anything, it made them angrier. Irvin lost what little composure he had left. He grabbed my shoulders roughly, his fingers digging into my skin. "You didn't do it?" he demanded, his voice sha
I stood there, speechless. I didn't know what to say, let alone what I could say. I never thought things would spiral to this point. Every time Irvin accused me of needing to face the "consequences" of my actions, I could tell he believed I had done something horrible. And somehow, it always tied back to Julianne. But I had always assumed it was a misunderstanding. Julianne was a master manipulator, skilled at creating misunderstandings. She thrived on making Mom, Dad, and Jeremy believe I couldn't tolerate her, that I wanted to harm her, or that I was jealous of her and wanted to take everything away from her. Because of this, I had never paid much attention to Irvin's accusations. I didn't care if he misunderstood me—I didn't want him anymore. He could believe whatever he wanted. But now… This was different. No matter how real that video seemed, no matter how much it looked like me in the footage, I couldn't believe I was capable of doing something so heinous.
In that moment, when Irvin was at his lowest, I forgot everything else. I forgot the doubts, the pain, the fear of being tied to someone connected to Julianne. All I could see was a broken man who needed me. So I promised him. I promised I would never leave him. I promised I would love him forever. For a time, he was everything to me. He treated me so well, day after day, that my love for him grew until it consumed me. I couldn't imagine life without him. I was willing to do anything for him. And then, just when I thought we had finally found our happiness, Julianne came back. The man who once made me feel like I was his entire world changed overnight. The Irvin who once put me above everyone else now couldn't stop putting Julianne first. For her, he began to hurt me—over and over again. I didn't understand. How could someone so full of love suddenly become so indifferent? How could someone who once made me feel like I was his one and only suddenly stop loving m
"Ms. Quill, you—" Grace sputtered.From her expression, I could tell she wanted to say, "You really will say anything to save your pride. How will you get in if you won't follow us?"Just then, a few people walked out of the hall. At the lead was an elderly man with white hair.Upon seeing me, the elderly man's stern expression morphed into a smile. "Emilia! You're here!"I returned the smile and walked up to greet him, "Hello, Professor Weiss."I had met several influential figures during the Global Technology Forum in Lestoria. Among them, I had gotten along best with this man, Professor Richard Weiss.After exchanging pleasantries, Professor Weiss turned to Mitchell and asked, "Who is this man? What gives him the right to bar you from attending the conference and call you an academic fraud?"Professor Weiss was the biggest name in the physics field. He was someone everyone respected and dared not offend.Hearing this, Mitchell quickly explained, "It was a misunderstanding! I
"Of course!" Grace said.Moving to my side, she linked her arm with mine in a friendly gesture. It was as though we were on very good terms.She continued, "Not only is she an incredibly skilled researcher, but she's also my sister-in-law—which means she's also a member of the Hardwell family. So, Mr. Slate, any accusations of her being an academic fraud must be a misunderstanding!"Upon hearing how solemn Grace was, Mitchell couldn't help but look at me."If you aren't an academic fraud, then why would Ms. Calder say that about you?" he asked.I coolly returned his gaze. "That's a question for Ms. Calder, not me."Mitchell frowned and looked displeased. He clearly hadn't expected that answer.Grace turned to me and said, "Alright, Emi. Let's go inside together!"Her expression read, "Come on. I'll bring you in."Irvin didn't understand why I hadn't been allowed in despite having an invitation. He also didn't know why I had been mistaken for an academic fraud and was being bar
I looked down at my phone and was zooming in on the image of the data. But before I could even take a good look at it, Emma squeezed my arm."Holy crap! Emilia. Isn't that your ex-husband's brother!" she exclaimed.I instinctively looked up—just in time to see Irvin opening the car door and courteously helping Grace get down.Grace flashed a gentle smile at Irvin, then linked arms with him. To onlookers, that intimate gesture made them look like a loving married couple.I thought back to how Irvin had been near tears when we had met on the first snowfall of the season. Yet now, he was holding another woman's arm and playing the role of her devoted husband.I couldn't even describe how I felt at that moment.Then, I recalled how much Irvin had despised Grace before. Yet, in just a month, he managed to make it look like they were happily married. I feared it wouldn't be long before he began to feel sympathy for her. And then, per Grace's scheme, Irvin would eventually truly becom
William wasn't the type to repay a life-saving favor. So, for the past two years, Julianne had always wondered why he treated her so well and was especially attentive to her health.It was only after she returned to Claudeville that she finally understood.It turned out William had a sickly niece he cherished dearly—one whose survival depended on Julianne. Upon learning this, she suddenly felt she had the upper hand again.While she still couldn't figure William out entirely, she had come to understand him somewhat. She knew he would continue to tolerate her—for the sake of his sickly niece—as long as she didn't do anything out of line.To be clear, Julianne made my life difficult because she hated me. But as long as she didn't harm me, she knew no one would hold it against her. After all, William's niece needed her blood to live.The more she thought about this, the more pleased she became.I could see it plainly in her eyes. Her expression seemed to say that even after all thes
Seeing how determined I was, Emma didn't press any further.Just as we were about to leave in the car, another car pulled up beside ours. When I saw who stepped out of it, my eyes widened in shock.Emma saw them too and tugged at my sleeve in surprise. "Emilia, isn't that your ex-husband's brother and sister-in-law?"I was just about to say yes when Grace suddenly collapsed into Irvin's arms. He picked her up and rushed toward the hospital.Seeing this reminded me of how I had wished that Irvin would come and save me when I was drowning.I chuckled mockingly.Noticing something was off with me, Emma turned to me. "Emilia, what's wrong?"I withdrew my gaze. "Nothing."Then I told the driver to start driving.As the car drove out of the hospital, Emma stared at me. She hesitated at first, but then curiosity got the better of her "Emilia, looking at how you reacted to your ex-husband's brother… Is it true that he's actually not Timothy, but Irvin?" she asked.She had been with
Only after our car had driven far into the distance did William finally withdraw his gaze from Noah's car."Was Ms. Quill's assistant rescued?" he asked.Matthew immediately replied, "Yes, she's been taken to the hospital. She's out of danger."William hummed indifferently in response, then got into the car and left.…By the time I woke up in the hospital, night had already fallen.I was surprised to see Noah sitting at my bedside—surprised that I was still alive and that it was Noah who had come to save me.Seeing me awake, Noah stood up excitedly. "Emi, how are you feeling? I'll get the doctor!"I wanted to tell him I was fine, but my voice came out hoarse when I opened my mouth.Suddenly, I remembered something and quickly reached out to grab Noah before he could leave to call the doctor.Before I could even ask, he already knew what I was going to ask. "Your assistant's fine. She woke up even earlier than you," he said. Hearing that, I breathed a sigh of relief.Noah
Emma was also quite smart. Once she calmed down, she immediately understood what I meant. She wanted to say something, but I had already opened the car door and pushed her out.Seeing several people swimming toward us, I shoved her again, urging her to leave quickly.In the face of life and death, survival would become an instinct for everyone. So even though she didn't wish me harm or want to leave me behind, she swam away with tears in her eyes. Not long after she left, those so-called "rescuers" surrounded me.When they noticed someone had swum away, they exchanged hand signals underwater, planning to send some after her and others to capture me. Realizing this, I quickly pointed at myself, trying to tell them that I was the one they were looking for. Then I turned and swam in the opposite direction, hoping to lure them away and buy her more time to escape. But even though they understood my gesture, they didn't believe me. They still sent people after her.They were very
There was only one road from the airport to the city, and William's car was right behind ours.Matthew, who was driving, immediately sensed something was wrong when he saw our car suddenly accelerating at an alarming speed.He quickly said, "Mr. Ashford, something's wrong with Ms. Quill's car!"William, who was busy reading the documents, immediately looked up. His gaze darkened when he saw how recklessly the car in front was moving."Catch up with them!" he ordered. At that moment, his phone rang. It was Noah calling, and he sounded anxious on the other end. "Uncle Will, are you with Emi right now? I just heard that Madeleine is planning to kill her! "I don't know the exact plan, but I heard they're making a move on the way from the airport to the city. You need to be careful! I'm heading to the airport right now!"Noah's words made William's expression grow even darker. …While Emma was still processing the situation, I noticed something strange about the driver. If the
Just like that, we came back alive from the brink of death in an instant. It felt like we were in hell one moment and in heaven the next.Perhaps I was still too scared. So scared that even after the plane had stabilized for a while, I still couldn't find any strength in my body. I was still shaken by the fear and couldn't fully snap out of it.William was also holding me tightly the entire time, not letting go. The softness of my body in his arms stirred something in him that he couldn't describe. He instinctively didn't want to let go.It wasn't until a flight attendant knocked on the door to check on us that I finally returned to my senses.William also let go of me instantly. The sudden emptiness in his arms left him feeling rather hollow.He came to realize something, and his already deep gaze darkened even more, making it even harder to read.After the flight attendant tidied up the cabin and left, William, who had been perfectly fine and warm just moments ago, suddenly tur