Chapter 3

Evelyn turned her head and fixed me with a sharp stare.

"Look, since Liam is willing to be generous and forgive you, I'll treat this as a misunderstanding. But Chloe is an innocent young woman. She can't just suffer this kind of humiliation for nothing.

"Emma, right here in front of all the guests, get on your knees, and beg Chloe for her forgiveness. Also, transfer the vacant villa you own in the south part of town to her. Then this matter is settled."

Evelyn lifted her chin, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"And don't even think about setting foot inside the Reynold family's estate for the rest of your life."

What a noble, righteous mother-in-law. What a self-sacrificing Reynolds family.

I looked at the people in front of me.

Liam, with his fake expression of "I'm doing this for your own good," Chloe with her coy, fragile act, and my future mother-in-law's shameless greed, using morality as a cover to rob me of a house.

In my past life, this suffocating combination of moral blackmail and phony forgiveness had driven me to the brink of collapse. In the end, unable to defend myself, I was labeled a crazy woman.

But in this life, I only felt disgust. And also, absurdly, laughter.

'You want my villa? You want to trample over my flesh and blood to build your own adulterous little fairy tale?'

I slowly wiped the cold smile off my face and, under a sea of contemptuous stares, took one step forward.

"You want me to kneel and beg for her forgiveness, and throw in a villa?"

I scanned the entire room, finally letting my gaze land on Liam's face, which was struggling to stay composed. My voice turned ice cold.

"Liam, do you really think this little act of righteous sacrifice you're putting on is touching? You want me to confess?"

I locked eyes with him and spoke each word deliberately.

"Who do you think you are?"

The moment I said that, Liam's face froze. His mask of devotion and magnanimity nearly cracked.

But he recovered quickly, immediately putting on an expression of agonized heartbreak mixed with pity. He strode toward me and reached out to forcibly grab my shoulder.

"Emma! Are you having another paranoid episode? What are you talking about?"

With the tone of someone soothing a mental patient, he sighed helplessly for everyone to hear. "Please forgive her. Her condition is getting worse. She can't tell reality from fantasy anymore."

As he spoke, he tightened his grip, trying to force my head down into a bow toward Chloe.

"Be good. Stop making a scene. Just lower your head and apologize to Chloe, and this whole thing will be over—"

I sidestepped his dirty hand, grabbed a wine glass from the nearby table, and smashed it at his feet.

The room went dead silent again.

I stood there in the shattered glass, staring coldly at him.

"Keep your filthy hands—the ones that have touched other women—off me."

Liam was stunned by my sudden outburst.

He probably never expected that I, who had always swallowed my pride for the sake of keeping the peace, would completely flip the table today.

Evelyn immediately started shrieking.

"Crazy! Emma has absolutely lost her mind! Liam, call security. Get her out of here. Don't let her make a mockery of us any longer!"

The groomsmen and hotel security moved in, trying to grab me.

Liam's face turned ashen. He dropped all pretense of patience.

"Emma! That's enough! If you keep acting like this, I'm going to have to call a psychiatrist!"

The same old trick again. Paint me as crazy, try to strip me of my right to speak as a normal person in front of everyone.

I watched his furious, flustered face and spoke slowly.

"Don't bother calling a doctor."

I met their uneasy, suspicious stares and let out a cold laugh.

"I've already called the police."

As soon as I said that, the color drained completely from Liam and Chloe's faces.

"What are you talking about?" Liam hissed, veins bulging in his forehead.

"Sexual harassment and forcible groping are actual criminal charges. Since you're both so certain that I tore her dress and assaulted her—such serious accusations—then of course we should let the police decide what really happened."