It was my first time going to my boyfriend’s home for the New Year.

In the middle of dinner, his childhood friend suddenly slammed her spoon on the table.

“Cole, how could you bring a bar girl to our New Year’s Eve dinner?”

The room fell silent.

Everyone thought she simply had too much to drink.

But she spoke with complete confidence.

“One of my friends works on the vice squad. He arrested her himself. There’s no way he got the wrong person.”

She threw a police penalty notice onto the table.

My name was clearly printed on it.

I was stunned.

Last month, the city’s vice squad had arrested dozens of people.

I was the one who approved and signed those cases.

I had just taken office as bureau chief.

When I did not respond, Quilla Spencer kept pushing.

“Cole, a woman like her, who tries to climb the social ladder and still won’t behave, is disgusting. It’s not too late to see who she really is.

“You should dump her now before she brings you nothing but trouble.”

I glanced at the police penalty notice and said calmly, “My name isn’t that uncommon. There are plenty of people with the same name. Why are you so sure it’s me?”

Quilla’s face darkened, and she snapped.

“Sophia, having the same name is one thing. Are you saying you also have the same face as the person my friend arrested?”

I snorted.

“If you’re so sure your friend recognized me, fine. Call him on video. Let’s confront him face-to-face.”

My firm tone made Quilla panic for a moment.

She immediately played the victim and turned to Cole’s parents.

“Mr. Griffin, Mrs. Griffin, she’s a bar girl. Who knows how many men she’s slept with? I’m just worried Cole might catch something from her.

“I may be blunt, but I’m only saying this for his own good.”

At that moment, Cole Griffin looked at me with a hint of doubt.

My heart sank. I quickly reached for his hand.

“Cole, we’ve been together for so long. Don’t you know what kind of person I am?”

Cole’s gaze wavered.

He glanced at Quilla and said quietly, “Quilla, this isn’t something to joke about. If you’re wrong about Sophia, you need to apologize to her.”

He paused, then added, “I want to believe you, but Quilla isn’t the kind of person who would make something like this up.

“If you did it, just admit it now. I won’t hold it against you.”

I froze. For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.

The moment he said that, his parents’ faces darkened.

“Cole, what are you talking about? If she really is what Quilla says she is, we absolutely won’t allow you to be with someone like that.

“The evidence is right here. To us, she’s clearly lying. There’s no way this is just a coincidence.”

From the very beginning, Cole’s parents had never treated me well.

They dropped hints that I was from the countryside and beneath him. They never thought we were a good match. They even said they had no idea what kind of spell I had cast on him to make him so determined to be with me.

That New Year’s Eve, he brought me home without telling them.

It was true that my parents had spent their whole lives working the land.

They scrimped and sacrificed everything to put me through college.

After graduation, I found my grounding.

I started from the bottom and worked my way up, step by step.

To avoid making Cole feel pressured about my background, I had always downplayed it by saying I was just a low-ranking civil servant.

I had planned to use that dinner to finally tell him the truth and even propose.

I never expected his parents to behave like this.

I froze. My lips quivered.

“Mr. Griffin, Mrs. Griffin, my family isn’t rich, but what does that have to do with character?

“You may look down on me, but don’t insult my parents.”

After I said that, they finally went quiet.

Just as I was about to sit back down, Quilla poured red wine all over me.

“Sophia, Cole already gave you a chance. You’re just too proud to admit it.”

“Fine! I’ll bring out the hard evidence right now. Let’s see how you explain yourself then!”

The next second, Quilla pulled a stack of photos from her pocket.

She slammed them onto the table in front of everyone.

“Parents who raised a shameless piece of trash like you can’t be any good either.”

…

The moment I saw the photos, my blood ran cold.

In them, I was naked and crouching in a hotel hallway.

Several bar girls and male customers stood nearby. It looked exactly like a police raid on a bar.

Quilla’s smile widened.

“My friend told me that when they caught Sophia, she was so scared she forgot to put her underwear back on.

“She knelt on the floor and kept begging the officers not to call her family.”

She turned to me with a mocking look.

“Sophia, didn’t you say the innocent have nothing to fear? Go on. Keep denying it.”

Anger surged through me.

Quilla had prepared this from the very beginning.

She wanted to ruin my reputation in front of everyone.

I raised my head and met Cole’s furious gaze.

I had just opened my mouth to speak when he slapped me hard across the face.

“Sophia, I was still giving you the benefit of the doubt. The evidence is sitting right in front of us. Are you still going to deny it?”

His parents stood up and pointed at me as they shouted.

“What a disgrace! Get out of here right now! Don’t dirty our house!”

My chest felt tight, and I could barely breathe.

It took me a long time to steady myself.

I knew any explanation would be useless.

I wiped the wine off my face and picked up my phone to make a call.

I had been transferred here the previous month. Owen Clark, the local station chief, had personally received me.

If he came forward, everything would be cleared up.

But I called several times, and Owen did not answer.

My flustered behavior only made everyone more suspicious.

Quilla walked over and snatched my phone.

“Sophia, stop pretending. Who do you think will come here to lie for you?”

She kicked me in the chest.

I fell to the floor, and my vision went dark.

When my sight cleared, Quilla was already in Cole’s arms.

She looked down at me with contempt.

“Cole, I did warn you. Women like her may look innocent, but who knows how dirty they are behind the scenes. You finally believe me, don’t you?”

My eyes were teary as I looked at Cole.

His expression had turned completely cold.

I staggered to my feet.

I frowned and stared straight at Quilla.

“What exactly do you want?”

Hearing me, Quilla snorted.

“What do I want? I want you to pay for what you’ve done.”

After that, she took out her phone and made a call.

Soon, several of Quilla’s men appeared at the door.

Before I could do anything, they forced me to the floor.

I tried to struggle, but they kicked me hard several times.

My vision swam with stars. They tore off my coat and my pants and dragged me outside.

It was still snowing.

Only my underclothes were left on my body. I shivered from the cold.

When I looked up at Cole, there was not a trace of sympathy on his face. There was only cold indifference.

“Sophia, if you weren’t somewhat good-looking and obedient, do you think I would have dated you?

“My parents won’t stop pressuring me to get married. That’s why I brought you home today to deal with them. But you embarrassed me in front of everyone.”

Hearing this, my heart twisted with pain.

So the only reason he stayed with me was that I would always come when he called and do whatever he wanted. I was nothing more than a pretty face.

Before long, a crowd gathered outside the Griffin house to watch the scene.

Quilla only made things worse. She shouted on purpose.

“Everyone, come take a look! This shameless woman hid the fact that she used to be a bar girl and tried to marry into a rich family. Now that she has been exposed, she still refuses to admit it.”

“Tell me, how do you teach someone as filthy and shameless as her a lesson?”

…

I huddled in the snow. My body was covered in bruises.

The neighbors whispered and sneered among themselves. Some mocked me, some laughed.

“This girl looks so proper, but behind the scenes, she’s completely shameless.”

“Griffin’s son is such a good man. How could he fall for someone like her?”

In all the noise, I felt someone spit right on my face.

I was freezing, and my teeth chattered, but my heart felt even colder.

Cole watched me being humiliated.

He did not look sorry. He looked satisfied.

I forced my teeth to stop chattering and mustered all my remaining strength to speak.

“Cole, aren’t you even willing to hear my side of this story? Are you just going to take her word for it?”

Cole sneered.

“What’s there to explain? Sophia, I don’t want to hear any of your lies.”

His eyes were full of disgust.

“You only disgust me. The thought of being with you makes me sick. Once this is over, the first thing I’ll do is get a full medical check.

“If I’ve caught any filthy disease from you, I’ll make sure you pay for it.”

Quilla patted his back gently to comfort him.

“Cole, don’t get angry over something like this. Getting sick over it isn’t worth it.”

I curled up on the ground. My face was blue from the cold.

Every breath felt like sharp thorns scratching my throat.

I forced out a few words.

“Quilla, am I the shameless one, or are you the one turning everything upside down?

“I’m giving you one last chance. If you don’t tell everyone the truth now, you’ll never have another chance to make it right.”

Quilla flew into a rage when she heard that.

“Sophia! After all this, you still have the nerve to threaten me?”

She bared her teeth and cursed.

She ran toward me, lifted her foot, and aimed it at my head.

When she almost hit me, Cole grabbed her just in time.

“Quilla, stop!”

His voice was low but urgent.

My heart skipped a beat.

I thought maybe Cole still cared for me.

But what he said next was colder than the winter snow.

“Stay away from her. A girl from a nightclub could carry all kinds of diseases. Don’t get your shoes dirty.”

The last bit of hope I had died the moment he spoke.

I could no longer feel the cold. All that was left was a numb emptiness.

Quilla pulled her foot back. She had a wicked smile on her face.

“Cole, I can’t believe you wasted time on her. This filthy liar tricked you for so long and still won’t admit it. It makes me furious. I almost want to kill her myself!”

She looked at her men and gave a nod.

“Tie her up tight. I don’t want her acting out later.”

The men rushed forward. They ignored my struggles and bound my hands with a rough rope.

I stared at them in panic. A bad feeling rose in my chest.

“Quilla… what are you doing? Hurting someone on purpose is a crime. Even if I’ve done something wrong, you have no right to abuse me!”

Quilla laughed like she had heard the funniest joke.

She crouched down and leaned toward me. Her face was full of excitement.

“Dealing with shameless trash like you is not abuse. It’s protecting everyone else.”

Before I could process her words, she raised her foot.

This time, she did not hesitate.

Her heel smashed into my face.

Bright sparks shot across my vision. Blood poured from my nose.

The metallic taste filled my mouth.

I did not even have time to cry out before darkness swallowed me.