Hillary hadn't even spoken when she saw Julian cast a sidelong glance at her, his expression displeased. "You should be grateful just to have a seat in my car. Or do you think you can fight Willow for the front seat?"

His tone carried a sense of condescension and Hillary instinctively moved toward the back seat. Still, a thought struck her as she watched Willow sitting there so comfortably.

Back at home, she had always been adored by her family. No matter what she did, her parents indulged her. When had she gotten so used to backing down? Her relatives had warned her before she got married and now, looking at Julian, she felt nothing but irony. Compromising—was this the price she had paid for three years of marriage?

For the first time, she didn't want to give in. Hillary looked straight at Julian and said, "I get carsick too." It wasn't a lie. Her carsickness was severe. Initially, Julian never allowed her to sit in the passenger seat. It was only because of this that he later agreed to let her sit beside him.

Julian seemed to recall this as well. Just as he was about to say something, Willow let out a soft chuckle. "Why are you copying me, Hillary? If you want the passenger seat, I'm happy to give it to you. There's no need to lie. After all, you are Julian's beloved wife."

The moment those words fell, Julian's eyes darkened. Willow made a show of moving to get up, but he stopped her. He cast a cold glance at Hillary. "The back seat is the only option. If you don't want it, then forget it."

Hillary hesitated. She was about to get out of the car and drive herself instead, but Willow suddenly grabbed her hand. "Come on, Hillary. Don't be stubborn. We'll be there soon."

The car door was closed. Hillary hadn't fastened her seat belt yet when the car flew out. She leaned forward uncontrollably and hit the back of the seat in front of her. Tears suddenly rushed out and she couldn't help but cry out in pain.

Julian abruptly slammed on the brakes, turning back to look at her. His expression was instantly filled with panic. With a stern face, he got out of the car to check her injuries. "Why can't you even fasten your seatbelt properly?"

Hillary was still dazed. Who knew he would drive off so quickly? But before she could speak, she saw him grimly fastening her seatbelt for her.

Willow's gaze somewhat flickered, but she quickly smiled and said nonchalantly, "It's just a little blood. Let's go. We shouldn't keep everyone waiting."

Hillary endured the throbbing pain and calmly said, "I'm fine now."

Julian's brows were furrowed with irritation. Hearing her words, he snapped angrily, "Shut up!"

Without another word, he turned the car around and drove straight to the hospital. Hillary's head was spinning, her face pale—she really did get car sick. The next moment, Julian pulled her out of the car and carried her in his arms. Hillary instinctively clung to his neck, her heart pounding as she gazed at his sharp features up close.

Despite her efforts to restrain herself, she couldn't help but wonder if Julian had even a sliver of affection for her. Otherwise, why would he be so concerned about her? But would someone who truly loved her treat her like this?

She bit her lip and looked away. "I can walk by myself."

Julian scoffed. His voice was laced with mockery. "I've never seen anyone as foolish as you."

By the time they left the hospital and headed to the banquet, her fleeting hope had vanished entirely. The bar's private room was filled with music. Julian and Willow walked in side by side, with Hillary trailing behind them.

Someone called out, "You two are late! You'll each have to down a drink as a penalty."

Julian sank into the couch. His brows had been tightly knit on the way there. Now, he exuded a languid air, reaching for a glass of wine. "Well, we had a little incident on the way."

His friends turned their attention to Willow. "Willow, you're late too."

Willow sat down naturally beside him, smiling as she replied, "I'm a bit dizzy and can't drink. You can't force me."

Julian looked at her with tenderness, taking the glass of wine in front of her and draining it in one gulp. "I'll drink for you."

Hillary, who was just about to enter, stopped in her tracks at the sight of this. She felt a pang of self-deprecation for the thought that had crossed her mind earlier.

How pathetic was she to think that just because of a tiny moment of concern, he might actually love her?

Inside, Willow cast a provocative and triumphant look at her. Willow beckoned to her with a smile before everyone. "Hillary, why don't you come in?"

Her words drew everyone's attention to Hillary. She paused for a few seconds before walking in, creating a momentary hush in the atmosphere. Someone couldn't help but question who she was and Julian stayed seated on the couch, without even glancing at her or bothering to introduce her.

Hillary lowered her gaze, then looked up calmly. "I'm Hillary."

The atmosphere stiffened. Some of the people there forced a chuckle. "Oh, so you're … his wife?"

Others looked confused. "Wait, I thought his wife was Willow?"

Willow giggled. "Since Hillary is still here, you shouldn't call me that. Though soon enough, I will be."

Julian played cards with a nonchalant expression, neither confirming nor denying her words. The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

Hillary lowered her eyes, her heart clenching at the scene before her. Ever since she arrived, the atmosphere seemed to have frozen over. Midway through, she felt a wave of dizziness and went to the restroom to splash some water on her face to clear her head.

When she returned to the private room, she overheard them talking about her. "You can't be serious, Julian. How could you do this to Willow and actually marry someone else?"

Someone scoffed. "You've just come back, so you don't know. They've been married for ages. Besides, she was the one who ran away from the wedding back then. She has no one to blame but herself."

Willow looked aggrieved when she heard this. Julian's face was highly handsome under the blue light. He, who had been silent all this time, slowly spoke, "It was Hillary who threatened Willow back then. It was not Willow's fault."

Hillary stood stiffly at the entrance of the private room, feeling nothing but helplessness and injustice. She bit her lip, eyes turning red, wanting so badly to rush in and explain. Yet, she quickly suppressed the impulse. They wouldn't believe her—just like Julian. No matter how many times she explained.

Willow looked even more aggrieved than she did, eyes rimmed with red as she accused, "Back then, Hillary threatened me to run away from the wedding. Otherwise, Julian and I would've been together long ago."

Some people were outraged when they heard this and cursed directly, "How dare she do this to you. Julian, you can't indulge her just because she is a woman."

Others asked for details, but Willow's answers were incoherent and contradictory. One person asked in confusion, "If she threatened you, why didn't you tell Julian?"

Willow's eyes filled with deep affection as she gazed at Julian. "The situation was urgent. She even said she'd threaten your life, so I had no choice. Julian, don't blame me." She then extended her hand to hug him.

Julian looked at her with a fond smile in his eyes. He flicked her forehead lightly with his fingers. "Silly."

Willow covered her forehead, pouting. "Julian!"

Julian suddenly raised his eyes and met Hillary's gaze, who was standing at the door of the private room. His expression was inscrutable and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

A sharp pain stabbed Hillary's heart. Before she could react, he looked away, lowering his head to ruffle Willow's hair as he declared, "From now on, I won't let anyone threaten you again."

Hillary took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm before stepping into the room. The atmosphere fell silent once more. When Julian's friends looked at her, their faces were filled with anger and resentment.

Julian's gaze immediately turned to her. "Where have you been for so long?"

Hillary's face was pale. She ignored his question and simply asked, "Can we go now?" She didn't want to stay here any longer.

Julian let out a mocking laugh and coldly uttered a single word, "No."

She had no car, so she could only sit in the room and wait. They played games while she stared at the door, lost in thought. Suddenly, a pack of tissues was thrown at her, smacking directly against the wound on her forehead. She winced in pain.

Looking up, she noticed a man in front of her with an arrogant attitude and a wicked grin. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you. Are you okay?"

The people around them stifled laughter while the man's eyes were full of hostility. Hillary glanced at Julian. He was laughing with Willow, not even bothering to look up. She clenched her teeth, her entire body trembling with anger. Then, she raised her hand without hesitation and slapped the man hard across the face.

The man was stunned. Hillary sneered and said coldly, "It wasn't on purpose. You're a man, you surely won't hold a grudge against a woman, right?"

Hillary directly walked out of the room. She didn't want to stay in this highly depressing room, but someone grabbed her wrist. Hillary thought it was the man, but she turned around and saw Julian. His voice was cold. "Hillary, have you lost your mind? Why don't you apologize to Charles? I knew I shouldn't have let you come."

Hillary's long, numb heart, was aching again. She couldn't bear it anymore. She stared at Willow and the group of people in front of her and said, "I didn't threaten Willow three years ago. She was the one who … "

Julian's friends didn't hear the rest of her words because Willow suddenly clutched her chest and groaned in pain.

Julian was about to say something, but his face turned pale when he turned around. Everyone in the room was panicking. Charles rushed to Willow for the first time and said with a tense expression, "Willow's heart disease relapsed."

He whipped around, glaring furiously at Hillary. "If it weren't for you upsetting her, how could this have happened?"

Hillary hadn't expected this turn of events. Her eyes darkened. "What did I even say that upset her?"

Before anyone could answer, Julian strode forward and scooped Willow into his arms. When he passed by Hillary, he stopped and his dark eyes were filled with a sinister look. "Hillary, you better pray that Willow is okay."

Hillary's heart clenched painfully, but Julian had already carried Willow away. After they left, she also tried to leave, but Julian's friends blocked her in the private room. Their eyes were full of contempt. "Hillary, you're a rich heiress, yet you're targeting Willow like this? Are you that desperate for a man?"

Hillary's heart pounded in panic, but her voice remained cold. "I didn't. Julian was the one who came to me first. If not for that, I wouldn't have married him."

The moment she said that their expressions changed. "You're still pretending to be innocent? If it weren't for you, why would Willow have run away from the wedding and then you just happened to marry Julian instead? You got everything you wanted and you still dare to act like the victim? Shameless!"

Hillary didn't want to argue with them, but they would playfully surround her and block her way every time she tried to leave. "Willow grew up with us and Julian. Who do you think you are to treat her like that?"

Looking at their angry faces, Hillary felt a chill in her heart. She suddenly realized that coming here was a mistake. Just as she reached for her phone to call someone, Charles's phone rang. It was Julian's voice. After answering, he looked at her with reluctant annoyance. "Julian asked me to send you back."

Someone was shocked. "Julian is too soft on women. If it were up to me, I'd make her walk back."

"Yeah," another one chimed in. "She not only threatened Willow but also interfered in their relationship. She's really shameless."

Hillary remained expressionless and didn't say anything. Charles tossed the car keys in his hand and said impatiently, "Hurry up and get going. If it weren't for Julian, do you think I'd give you a ride?"

"I don't need it. I'll call a cab myself."

Charles frowned. Hillary turned and left the bar, but the next second, she was violently pushed into the car by him.

Her brows furrowed slightly. The car ride was unbearable—her entire body broke into a cold sweat, her stomach churning. The motion sickness pills she had taken earlier must have worn off.

She leaned against the car, her face curled up and her face was pale. Just as she was about to ask him to stop, she looked up and saw that they were in the middle of nowhere.

The car screeched to a stop. Charles opened the door and yanked her out. Panic surged in Hillary's heart. "This isn't the way home. What are you doing?"

Charles smirked, shutting the car door. "Did you really think I was taking you back? Walk yourself home."

The car sped away into the night. Hillary felt a bone-chilling cold seep into her body as she struggled to stay calm. She reached for her phone, only to realize it was missing.

Inside the car, Charles smirked and called Willow. "Willow, I've done as you asked."

Willow was already at the villa. A smile slowly appeared on her lips as she stood at the window. "Thanks, Charles."

She threw out a bitter laugh after hanging up, her eyes full of hatred. "Do you actually think you can go against me? Not a chance."

Julian entered the room with a cup of hot water and frowned when he saw her standing by the window. Without a word, he scooped her up and placed her on the bed. "You'll catch a cold."

Willow looked at him with gratitude, her eyes glistening with tears. "Julian, you're so good to me. I almost thought I was going to die."

Julian gently reassured her. "That won't happen." He then dialed Hillary's number, but no one picked up.

Willow feigned concern. "Julian, do you think Hillary is in danger? Or maybe she's just mad at us?"

Julian's expression darkened as he recalled how Hillary had hit someone. He placed his phone down and his demeanor turned cold. "Someone like her? There's no way she'd be in danger. Even if she died, she'd have deserved it."

Meanwhile, Hillary struggled to stay conscious. She walked until her legs ached, finally reaching an area with people. She borrowed a phone from a passerby to call for help, but before she could escape, a group of thugs cornered her in an alley.

The leader, a scar-faced man, twirled a knife in his hand and sneered. "She looks even better than in the photos."

"What a shame," another thug jeered. "You should've known better than to offend the wrong people."

Their eyes gleamed with cruelty. Hillary's heart pounded, cold sweat dripping down her back as pain shot through her foot. Forcing herself to stay calm, she lowered her voice. "Who sent you? I'll pay triple whatever they're offering. Just don't touch me."

"Triple the price is tempting, but we don't break our promises," the leader replied, pulling out his phone. "Since you're so pretty, I'll let you die knowing why." He showed her the screen.

Hillary caught a glimpse of the contact name, Willow. Her fingers clenched into fists. How could someone be this ruthless? She had already promised to walk away once the contract expired. Why was Willow still targeting her?

Shortly after turning to run, a knife swung directly at her. Hillary's pupils shrank as a sharp pain flared across her face. The blade had grazed her cheek before embedding itself in the wall behind her.

Her mind went blank. Her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground. The scar-faced man grabbed her by the collar, but she dug her nails into her palms, forcing herself to remain composed. "If you hurt me, the Joneses won't let you off."

The man sneered. He was about to speak when one of his men came running up, looking terrified. "Boss, someone's coming!"

The leader's expression changed. "Bitch, did you call the cops?"

Hillary's heart pounded wildly. Just as she thought she was about to die, the man took out his phone and snapped a picture of her face. A moment later, sirens blared in the distance. As the gang swiftly scattered and vanished into the night, Hillary sat there trembling with her heart beating uncontrollably.

A pair of hands lifted her. "Why are you here alone? Where's Julian?"

She looked up to see her best friend, Anna. Hillary opened her mouth to speak, but darkness swallowed her whole as she lost consciousness.

In her nightmare, knives hovered over her throat. She curled into a ball, arms wrapped tightly around herself, but no matter how much she tried to escape, the blades still came down. Then, the scene shifted—Julian stood before her. His gaze filled with cold contempt. "Hillary, if anything happens to Willow, you'll pay the price."

Hillary's eyes snapped open. Anna was there, her face filled with worry. "Don't be afraid, Hillary. It's okay now. I'm here with you."

Hillary was awake, but her heart was still heavy with fear. She couldn't forget the photo they had taken of her. She knew they were up to no good. Clutching Anna's hand, she asked anxiously, "Anna, did they catch those men?"

Anna's expression darkened. "Not yet. They vanished without a trace."

Hillary shut her eyes briefly. "They took photos of me before they ran."

Anna's face hardened as she immediately took out her phone. "I'll tell your father."

Half an hour later, the Joneses arrived at the hospital. Her parents were livid. Hillary told them everything, including the three-year marriage contract. Her mother's eyes brimmed with tears. "You foolish child! What were you thinking?"

Her father's face was thunderous, his chest rising and falling with fury. "The Cooks dares to treat my daughter like this, yet they still want to negotiate a business deal with me? What a joke."

They wanted to retaliate immediately, but Hillary stopped them. "Not yet. The contract has its terms."

She looked at them steadily, her voice firm. "Dad, Mom, I want to handle this myself."

Her parents were helpless. Behind her back, they launched their own investigation, but they couldn't find the men who had kidnapped Hillary. Then, scandalous photos of Hillary surfaced online—edited to make her look like she had been kidnapped naked. The Joneses worked quickly to take them down before they could gain traction, reporting the culprits in the process.

Hillary's heart sank as she stared at the naked images of herself being kidnapped and Photoshopped in the hospital. It was Willow and Charles' doing. Although she knew they were to blame, she couldn't accuse them directly because there was no clear evidence of the kidnapping.

Not long after, Hillary asked to be discharged from the hospital. Anna was worried about letting her recuperate in the hospital, but Hillary shook her head and gently refused.

By the time she returned to the villa, it was already deep into the night. Rage boiled within her, but her blood ran cold the moment she opened the door.

Willow was sitting at the kitchen table, wrapped in Julian's arms. They were kissing passionately.