The car's engine revved to life. Celeste's mind was a mess, and she was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open. All she wanted to do was breathe and rest now that she'd finally found a moment of peace.

Suddenly, the roar of the engine jolted her upright. It was too late by the time she opened her eyes, realizing that something was afoot.

The driver put the pedal to the metal, and the car shot off. Celeste's blood ran cold when she met his gaze in the rearview mirror. She said hoarsely, "You're not my driver. Who are you?"

The driver lowered his eyes, looking menacing. "A devil who's going to teach you a lesson."

The car raced ahead, speeding along the road and deep into the mountains, out of the range of the surveillance cameras that dotted the streets.

Celeste opened the door and tried to make a run for it as soon as the car stopped, but the driver grabbed her by her hair and dragged her back, gagging her. Then, he sliced her skin open with a glass shard, making the blood rush to her head from the pain.

That was far from the end. He followed up with a second slash, a third slash… It went on.

Celeste struggled with all her might, but the driver pinned her down, rendering her unable to move. She couldn't even ask any questions. All she could do was lie there and endure the pain.

The forest echoed with her muffled, ragged sobs. She bled everywhere, and her brain turned fuzzy. Just as she thought she was going to die, the driver stopped and carelessly flung her aside.

He got into the car and turned on the headlights, slowly driving in her direction.

Celeste could only hear her weak breathing. She watched as the car made its way toward her, wanting to crush her to death. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure dashing toward her. She passed out before she could make out who it was.

…

Celeste found herself in the hospital again when she woke up. She was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, and her body felt like it wasn't hers. A single movement sent pain shooting through her, and she hissed.

"Don't move. You're too badly injured—you'll tear open your wounds if you move. I'll get a doctor, so rest," Terence said.

Shortly after he left, she heard her phone buzz nonstop from where it had been placed on the bedside table. She couldn't move, so she figured she would wait until Terence returned and answered it for her. Unexpectedly, the person on the other end of the line was relentless. They kept calling when she didn't answer.

The buzzing gave her a headache, so she asked a nurse for help. The call was from a number that wasn't saved in her contacts. She frowned and answered it, only to be greeted by a video. It played, showing a recording of what had happened at the earlier boxing match.

"Winona, stop crying. I'm sure Terence will get back at Celeste for you! He'll kill me if he comes back and sees you crying like this!"

Winona's eyes were red, and her voice shook as she said, "I was kind enough to back down so that she wouldn't be too humiliated. How could she do that to me? She took things too far!"

She buried her face in her hands as she wept. It made for a pitiful sight. No one knew how to comfort her, and nobody dared to touch her for fear of Terence ripping their arms off. They stood there helplessly until he finally returned.

Winona threw herself into his arms as soon as he was back. "You have to avenge me, Terence! Look at what she did to me! I'm covered in wine, and my legs are bleeding! They hurt so badly!

"You've treated me like a princess since childhood, and I can't take this lying down! You have to get back at her for me, or I'll leave the country right now and never come back!"

Terence hastily tried to pacify her. "How do you want to get back at her?"

Winona's eyes flashed. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned close to him, whispering, "I'm not someone who takes a hit without biting back. She slashed me once, so I want you to do it to her 99 times."

His expression shifted at that, and he looked slightly conflicted. He parted his lips to speak, but she didn't give him the chance to. She lifted the hem of her gown to show the faint scratch on her leg before turning on the charm, looking aggrieved.

He caved almost reflexively. "Alright. I'll get even for you."

Winona curled up in Terence's arms at the end of the video. "It hurts."

Heartache filled his gaze as he carefully tended to her wound. Then, he rubbed her head with restraint and said, "It's my fault for not protecting you."

They were so intimate that everyone could tell how much she meant to him. Offscreen, someone clucked and said, "They really do share the same surname, don't they? They're both ruthless to the core. Well, Celeste can only blame herself for being unlucky."

Celeste's hand loosened, and her phone clattered to the floor. Blood rushed to her head, sending pain shooting through her. She felt like she was going through the ordeal of being slashed again.

So, Terence was the one who'd hired that man to do that to her so that he could get even on Winona's behalf.

Celeste's lashes trembled, and her heart twisted painfully. She could barely breathe through the agony. She sobbed in earnest before drifting off into a restless sleep.

She didn't know how much time had passed before Winona's voice awakened her. The latter cried, "Didn't you say you would get back at her for me, Terence? Why are you mad now? You left me at the banquet hall last night because of her, and you're being so fierce to me now! Do you not love me anymore?"

This time, Terence didn't coax her tenderly. He said, "I promised to get even for you, but I didn't say anything about killing her! Don't you know why I'm mad? It's because you told the driver to run Celeste over!"

He still couldn't shake the image of Celeste lying on the ground with her face ashen as the car slowly crept toward her to crush her. She'd almost died there, and his heart had stopped at that moment.

He remembered her being soaked in blood as he'd lifted her into his arms. He'd rushed her to the hospital and watched as her heart rate dropped so low that it almost evened out. Her face had been devoid of color, and it was almost as if she would never wake up to disturb him anymore.

He'd panicked in that moment, and his mind had been blank as he'd stood outside the ER.

Winona looked at Terence indignantly, biting her lip in fury when she saw the emotions swirling in his eyes. She couldn't read them, nor did she dare to delve deeper into them. All she knew was that she had to act quickly.

She said, "Alright, alright. I know I went too far. I was too impulsive. I heard that Celeste's bodyguards are investigating what happened yesterday. Will she know that I—"

Terence's anger dissipated when he heard her backing down and humbling herself. Before she could finish, he cut her off and said, "She won't. She won't find out anything with me around."

Winona smiled in earnest. "We'll leave it at that, then. Didn't you say you would fake your death and take me away? Do you have everything planned?"

He said, "The corpses have already been transported here. It'll be Celeste's birthday in a week, and there will be a party. That's when we leave."

She relaxed at his words. She dried her tears and clung to him, saying that she wanted to visit a chapel in Astora and pray for their plan to work out.

Terence glanced at Celeste's hospital ward hesitantly, but all Winona had to do was whine softly. He turned back to her and immediately agreed. They left the hospital.

Inside the room, emotions swirled in Celeste's eyes. She bit her lip and called her secretary, saying, "Speed things up at the company. If there are things that can't be dealt with yet, set them aside for now. Buy me a ticket for a flight out of here in five days."

After hanging up, she shut her eyes and tried to stop her chest from heaving. Terence had everything planned out… except for her. She wasn't something he could control. Since he was keeping such a "surprise" from her, she would just ensure that she left before he could.

She didn't want to stay here and deal with the fallout of their impulsiveness.

…

Celeste spent five days in the hospital. She received two pieces of good news on the day she was discharged.

The first was that her company headquarters transfer was complete, and the second was that her immigration application had been approved. She was free to leave.

Her eyes prickled with tears as she listened to Hayden's excited voice on the other end of the line. She wiped her tears, catching sight of her wedding ring out of the corner of her eye.

Her gaze darkened. After a brief pause, she took the ring off and threw it down a drain.

It was all over now.

At the airport, Celeste collected her boarding pass and made her way to the boarding gate. As she looked around casually, she happened to see Terence and Winona walking side by side while holding hands. They wore matching dark-colored coats, and their outstanding appearances attracted attention.

Celeste watched them calmly until they disappeared from her line of sight. Then, she blocked Terence's number everywhere before removing her SIM card and snapping it in half. She threw it into a trash can and turned around.

It was time for her to board her flight.