I suppressed the overwhelming urge to strangle her and demanded through gritted teeth,

“Before my mother signed the contract, you already knew who she was, didn’t you? You deliberately assigned her to the most dangerous job, didn’t you?”

Shakira smiled sweetly and shook her head with feigned innocence.

“Sister, what are you talking about? I have no idea. Customer information is confidential, you know. If I had known Auntie was struggling financially, I would’ve just given her the money myself.”

She tilted her head and sighed dramatically.

“But I doubt she would’ve taken it, right? You both… have so much pride.”

My nails dug so deep into my palms that I could feel warm blood rising to the surface. The pain nearly made me faint.

Shakira stepped closer in her designer heels, her voice soft and deliberate.

“No, if we’re talking about pride, you’re definitely worse. The last time I saw Auntie, she was washing dishes in the kitchen. I accidentally broke more than ten plates. The manager was going to deduct a month’s wages from her and do you know what she did?”

“She knelt in front of me—on the filthy kitchen floor—and begged. You should’ve seen your mother like that. It was almost pathetic.”

“I even told her to lick the soup off my shoes and she did it. Without hesitation. Later I found out she was doing all that to save money for your wedding.”

But Mom never told me any of this. Not a single word.

A white-hot fury scorched through my veins, burning away all sense of reason. Something inside me snapped.

I lunged at her, yanking her hair with both hands and slapping her across the face with everything I had.

Shakira stumbled, landing hard on the marble floor. She turned back with wide, tearful eyes, as if she were the victim.

“Sister, why would you hit me?” she whimpered. “I’ve already apologized. Isn’t it enough that I offered to compensate you with money?”

“Please… Dad misses you so much. He’s been hoping you’d come home…”

Before I could even respond, a powerful force struck me from behind.

My body slammed into the wall and a sharp pain shot through my head as warm blood trickled down my forehead.

Nathan’s voice rang out cold and sharp behind me.

“Kristine, have you gone insane?”

“Apologize to Shakira. Now!”

Shakira clutched his sleeve, tears falling as she trembled in mock sympathy.

“Forget it, Nathan. I don’t blame Sister. After all, this was my company’s mistake… I understand why she hit me.”

But his expression only grew colder.

“No, it’s her mother’s fault for not reading the contract carefully. This has nothing to do with you.”

“You want to make money and stay safe? The world doesn’t work like that. You can’t have both.”

“Greed has no limits. Kristine, are you here to extort money from Shakira? I’ve already paid you!”

I clutched the wound on my forehead, staring up at him in disbelief.

“Extort?” I whispered. “Do you really think I would trade my mother’s life for money?”

“If that’s how you see me, then why did you marry me?”

His face twitched, stunned by my question. An odd flicker passed through his eyes.

“I only believe what I see,” he said coldly. “And from what I saw today, this was entirely your fault.”

“Apologize, Kristine. This is your last chance.”

The warmth he once had for me was gone. Completely gone.

All that remained was bitter indifference.

A wave of despair swept over me. I let out a broken laugh.

“What if I refuse?”

“A murderer’s daughter. The child of a mistress. Do you think you deserve anything more?”

“You’re ungrateful. You don’t know when you’re being blessed.”

Before Shakira could say another word, Nathan’s voice cut through the room like a blade.

“Someone, make her kneel. Keep her there until she knocks her head ten times!”

“To be the wife of the Cole Family, you clearly need to be taught some manners.”

My knees refused to bend.

So the bodyguard kicked me hard.

Pain exploded through my body as an old injury flared up again.

But still, my neck stiffened in defiance. I would not bow.

“Nathan,” Shakira said softly, “maybe we should let it go. Sister didn’t mean to humiliate me...”

“Don’t speak for her!” he snapped.

“Keep going. Do I have to teach you how to punish someone properly?”

The bodyguard slammed my head down with brutal force.

The tile cracked beneath the impact.

A sickening thud echoed through the hall and blood quickly stained the floor.

My chest felt like it was being ripped apart.

But Nathan still wasn’t done.

Again and again.

By the tenth time, my legs were numb. I had no strength left to stay upright.

He casually waved his hand, signaling the bodyguard to retrieve the forgiveness letter from my arms.

After Shakira signed it with a flourish, the bodyguard yanked my hand and pressed my bloody fingerprint onto the paper.

Only then did Nathan’s expression soften.

“If you had just behaved earlier,” he said, looking pleased, “you wouldn’t have had to suffer.”

“Does your leg still hurt? I’ll take you to the hospital.”

He stepped forward to help me, reaching out with a tenderness that made me nauseous.

I slapped his hand away with a bitter smile.

“I don’t need your fake kindness.”

I turned to leave, but my body betrayed me. My knees buckled and I nearly fell down the stairs.

Nathan instinctively reached out to catch me—then stopped mid-motion.

His hand hovered for a moment, then dropped.

“You stay with her,” he told the bodyguard. “Take her to the hospital and keep me updated.”

And just like that, he turned away, wrapped his arm around Shakira and walked into the hotel without looking back.

Cold sweat drenched my forehead.

It took ten minutes just to descend the stairs.

The pain was unbearable.

Then everything went black.

***

In the haze of unconsciousness, I drifted back six years into the past.

Mom and I were homeless, wandering the streets.

We passed by a school gate when a runaway truck sped straight toward us—toward Nathan.

Without thinking, I rushed forward and shoved him out of the way.

He escaped with barely a scratch.

I, on the other hand, suffered multiple fractures in both legs and spent half a year in the hospital.

He visited every single day.

He brought his textbooks, sat by my bed, explained lessons and helped me review.

At night, thinking I was asleep, he’d lean close and whisper softly into my ear:

“Kristine, it looks like I’ll owe you for the rest of my life.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got a lifetime to repay you.”

In the corner of the room where he couldn’t see me, I smiled.

After that, every time it rained, my legs would ache unbearably.

And every single time, he’d drop everything, come to my side, apply heat packs and change my bandages himself.

But now… everything had changed.

***

When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed.

My phone showed a message from Nathan, sent two hours ago.

[Uncle wants you to come home for a visit. We’re getting married soon, so try to control your temper.]

[The family dinner is tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up.]

That was it.

The next day, he sent nothing more.

Until I saw Shakira’s new social media post.

She’d tagged her location: the summit of a bungee jumping site.

The photo showed them holding hands—her ring finger bare, with only a faint sunburn line where the ring had been.

[He said no matter what happens in the future, he’ll always stand in front of me to shield me from pain.

Thank you, Big Brother. Having you in this life is enough.]

Nathan liked the post and replied with a smiling cat emoji.

“There’s nothing I can do about you. I can only spoil my sister. Hope your future brother-in-law won’t mind…”

I remembered the day I turned eighteen.

He asked what I wanted as a gift.

I told him I wanted to go bungee jumping—to feel the thrill of skimming the edge of death, just once, so I could feel alive again.

His face turned cold. Disdainful.

“Bungee jumping? That’s something only people who don’t want to live anymore do,” he said.

“It’s basically like jumping off a building. Who has time for that kind of nonsense?”

When he noticed I was disappointed, he explained—

He was afraid of heights. Always had been.

But apparently, even his deepest fears could be overcome.

Just not for me.

I closed the app, shut off the screen and booked a plane ticket.

Three days later, I’d leave this country behind.

The wedding planning company called me.

“Ms. Raymond, the venue is nearly ready. Would you like to come take a look yourself?”

“Mr. Cole’s phone is unavailable and his assistant said you can make the decisions on your own without consulting him.”

So this is what his love looks like—he couldn’t even be bothered to care about our wedding.

My heart turned cold and my voice reflected the same chill.

“If he doesn’t want to see it, I have no objections. Do whatever you like—there’s no need to contact me again.”

When I was discharged from the hospital, the doctor informed me that my prescribed medication had already been picked up—by someone else.

I headed downstairs and saw Shakira.

She waved my medicine at me with a smug smile.

“Sorry, Sister. I tripped and hurt myself, so I borrowed your medication.”

It was a treatment for bruises and sprains. But her skin was flawless. No cuts, no bruises—just a glaring kiss mark on her neck.

Right in front of me, Shakira opened the tube of ointment and dabbed it gently on her neck.

“Oh no, Brother Nathan was a little too rough… Tonight’s the family dinner. If Dad sees this, it’ll be awful.”

I knew she was saying it just to get under my skin.

“You must have inherited the habit of stealing what belongs to others.”

A flash of irritation passed through her eyes before she gave a light laugh.

“Are you talking about you and Brother Nathan getting married?”

“He already explained everything to me. That marriage certificate? Fake. He only did it to keep you off his back.”

Right then, my phone buzzed with a new message—from her.

Attached was a photo of the City Hall’s record system.

Nathan’s marital status showed just two characters: unmarried.

My entire body went cold. It felt like I had fallen into an ice cave, frozen from head to toe.

So he had been lying to me. From the very beginning.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Cry because I was a fool.

Laugh because at least—I was still free.

“What exactly are you trying to prove by showing me this?” I asked, my voice dry.

“Think you still have a shot with Nathan?”

“Well then, congratulations. You’ve won. I’ll wish you a happy marriage in advance.”

I returned home, numb.

The wedding photos we had taken together were still on the bedside table.

I threw them all into a trash bag, carried it downstairs and burned everything.

The flames roared to life just as Nathan returned.

He frowned slightly at the sight.

“What are you burning?”

“Nothing important. Just some hazardous waste.”

He nodded casually, as if it meant nothing to him and turned to go change his clothes.

When he came back out and drove away, he didn’t even glance at the ashes smoldering in the bin.

Those wedding photos—our memories—meant nothing to him.

Just like me. Worthless. Dispensable.

***

At the Raymond Family home, my father and Shakira’s mother had been waiting for quite some time.

The moment I stepped through the door, my father accepted the engagement gifts from Nathan, then turned to me with a scowl.

“Kristine, making your elders wait like this—is this how your mother raised you?”

I met his glare without flinching.

“At least my mother didn’t raise me to seduce someone else’s boyfriend.”

Slap!

His palm struck my face, hard.

Nathan didn’t even blink.

Soon, Shakira’s mother pulled him aside into the study for a private chat.

I forced myself to look up, meeting my father’s gaze full of contempt.

“My mother was always dignified and upright. She never owed you anything.”

“You’re the one who cheated. You brought your mistress and illegitimate daughter into our home. You’re the one who should feel ashamed!”

My father exploded in fury. He grabbed the glass ashtray off the table and raised it high above my head.

“You ungrateful wench! You think I won’t discipline you?”

But just as he was about to strike, the front door opened.

A group of relatives walked in.

In an instant, my father’s expression flipped.

He smiled graciously and greeted them like the perfect host.

“I heard Old Raymond is about to marry into the Cole Family?" one of them said with a chuckle.

“We couldn’t miss today’s engagement celebration!”