Chapter 4

Comments from the livestream flashed before my eyes.

[Back in the old days, they would've strapped her to a ducking stool and dunked her in the river. A dog crate is letting her off easy.]

[That figure's gotta be at least a D cup, right? She looks just like a dog. Definitely homewrecker material.]

[So disgusting. Crashing someone's wedding and making a scene like that. She's trash, through and through.]

The endless humiliation left me gasping for air.

Carla lifted the hem of her gown, came over, and bent down to look at me. "Good doggy. Just bark once for me, and we'll call that your apology."

The resentment I'd been bottling up for so long burned away my reason, and I spat right at her.

Connor's face darkened instantly. "Are you sure you don't want to apologize to Carla?"

I clenched my jaw and refused to say a single word.

To my shock, the next second, he pulled that stack of intimate photos out of his pocket and waved them at me.

In an instant, I felt as if I'd been struck by lightning.

I met Connor's threatening gaze. "With a personality as proud as yours, could you really handle that kind of humiliation?"

I touched my lower belly, and my heart sank painfully.

'This man doesn't even deserve to be your father!'

I closed my eyes for a moment, then read the to the camera, word for word.

Carla smiled at me, wearing the look of a victor.

Outside the dog crate, there was nothing but curses and people spitting at me.

Connor's expression was complicated. He cleared his throat. "To keep you from doing anything else out of line, you're staying in there for now. I'll let you out after the wedding."

I curled up in the corner as a sharp pain stabbed through my lower belly. "Mom... let me out."

But Mom deliberately avoided my gaze, her voice wary. "What if you do what you did three years ago? Who knows what you'd do to Carla? Today is Carla's big day. Just behave yourself."

The moment she finished speaking, a warm rush flowed between my legs.

"It hurts so much..."

Just as Connor was about to look over, Carla suddenly cried out in delight, "Thank goodness! The vet says my puppy can still be saved. We have to get to the animal hospital right away!"

As soon as she said that, Connor, Mom, and the rest of them carried the dog off and left.

The only mercy Connor showed me was having someone unlock the crate.

Words like "homewrecker" and "slut" rang in my ears. I touched my flat stomach, wanting to cry but unable to make a sound.

Dragging my broken body along and holding the livestream camera, I limped my way to the riverbank.

Connor texted me.

Connor: [Once Carla's wedding is over, everything will go back to normal for us. We'll act like none of this ever happened.]

Connor: [Your mom has agreed to stop pretending to be sick, too. She'll move in with us to make up for the time she missed over these three years.]

I didn't reply. I just stared at the endless flood of abuse pouring into my phone.

'Connor, I never want your fake love again.'

I turned on the livestream camera, dragged my bloodied body forward, then turned and leaped.

The instant the river closed over my ears, I heard a bodyguard on the shore shouting in a panic, "Mr. Magder! Your wife just jumped into the river on a livestream!"