Chapter 3

No one had expected me to become so agitated, and all eyes turned to me.

Crystal glanced my way. "That won't do, Rose. Your crimes haven't been judged yet. Please continue, Your Honor."

My protest was ignored, and the pain in my body grew stronger.

The screen flickered again, shifting to another memory.

I was leaning in Austin's arms, my red lips curving seductively. "Austin, I've had my eye on a designer handbag. Could you give me some money?"

Austin pinched my waist with a smirk. "Sure. But you'll have to earn it. I have a lot of buddies here. Satisfy one of them, and I'll give you 20 thousand. How about it?"

A door on the side creaked open. A man stood there, staring at me with feverish hunger, like a predator eyeing its prey.

Instead of shame, I smiled sweetly. Slipping off my coat to reveal a thin nightdress, I walked into the room.

The audience below the bench broke into a furious uproar.

"No wonder she was so desperate to plead guilty. Turns out she was terrified this filthy scene would come out and disgrace her!"

"This is crazy. That woman's insane! She actually stooped that low for money!"

"Back then, the female lead sang at bars every night to pay for the male lead's treatment and was never swayed by money. But this vicious woman? She throws herself at men for scraps. Ugh, she's disgusting!"

"Don't compare her to the female lead. It would only tarnish her name."

A smug look crossed Crystal's gaze when she heard the scornful comparisons.

The very next moment, her face appeared on the screen.

Backstage at a bar, I wore a mask and cap, handing Crystal a wad of cash and a sealed letter.

"This should be enough to cover Jonah's treatment. Spend the rest as you see fit. And this letter. Please deliver it to him."

Crystal eyed me warily, her expression uneasy. "Rose, where did you get this money? And your neck—what happened to it?"

She reached for the marks on my skin, but I jerked away.

"I-It's nothing. Just hurry and pay his bills. If it drags on, the damage will be permanent."

I left the money behind and hurried away.

The courtroom erupted in shock.

"What's going on here? Could it be that the money she begged from the antagonist was actually for the male lead's treatment?"

"In the novel, this part was glossed over. It only said that some kind-hearted donor was moved by the female lead's perseverance and covered the male lead's bills. Could that person have been Rose? No way!"

Even Jonah was in disbelief. He grabbed Crystal's hand. "Why didn't you tell me Rose gave you the money? Where's that letter? Why didn't you give it to me?"

Startled, Crystal trembled a little as she tried to explain, voice filled with grievance, "You were badly hurt back then, Jonah. Of course your treatment had to come first! And I was afraid it was some kind of trap, so I didn't tell you.

"She may be my sister, but she's still a traitor. As for the letter… I was so busy paying the hospital bills that I must've misplaced it."

Suppressing his emotions, Jonah turned to me. "What did you write in that letter?"

Crystal quickly cut in, "What else could she have written? It had to be some pathetic love letter. She'd say anything to trick you into trusting her, no?"

The crowd agreed with her.

"She's right. Don't forget—Rose broke Jonah's legs in the first place. Now she comes offering to pay the hospital bills? Isn't that just knocking him down, then throwing him a bone? She definitely had ulterior motives."

"The female lead was right to be worried that he might fall into Rose's trap. After all, she can't always show up in time to save him."

As the voices piled on, Jonah's emotions gradually calmed, but his eyes never left me. "Did you really write that letter just to trick me into trusting you?"

My ugliest side had been laid bare before him, and shame burned through me. Yet unlike the others, he didn't call me filthy or insult me. He only pressed for the truth about the letter.

The weight of that struck me like a blow to the chest, and pain rippled through every corner of my body.