My cousin treated me especially well.

He married my rich and beautiful fiancée, then told me the richer a woman was, the more twisted she became, said she would suck a man dry. So, he offered to suffer in my place to save me from ruin.

He sold his wife’s unused villa, claiming I used it to keep a mistress.

He maxed out her secondary credit card, saying it was to help me pay off gambling debts.

He had an affair with her pregnant best friend, which caused a miscarriage and he blamed me. Said I’d tried to assault her. Said I was the reason she lost the baby.

In the end, his wife sent me to northern Mexico to make amends for sins I never committed.

To shut me up, he had someone rip out my kidney and torture me until I died.

When I opened my eyes again, it was the very day he had that affair, the day the miscarriage happened.

——

Whenever Ronan Slade had a secret rendezvous, he would tell his wife Liora March it was because of me.

Sometimes he said I was having an affair with a married woman and had gotten beaten up, that I needed comfort. Other times, he claimed I was being chased by loan sharks and needed help. He even told her I was hospitalized with a venereal disease and needed someone to stay with me.

If Liora hadn’t confronted me in my past life, furiously listing out all my so-called sins, I wouldn’t have known that my life had been so eventful.

Right now, Liora’s calls keep flooding my phone.

The moment I answered, her sharp voice exploded in my ear. “Evren Sawyer, it’s the middle of the night and you still have Ronan at your place?”

“I’ve had enough of you. Ronan is your cousin, not your father! You’re a grown man, can’t you stop leeching off him?”

“Ronan and I are trying to have a baby. Can you have a little shame and stop bothering him every single day? You’re unbelievably annoying!”

“Is this because I dumped you back then? Are you holding a grudge and trying to ruin my marriage on purpose? Ronan is so pure. If you keep using him like this, don’t blame me for what I’ll do. Get him back here now!”

Liora seemed to have reached her breaking point, yelling furiously, her voice so loud it made my ears ring.

When I was dating her, I believed she was gentle, considerate, sweet, nothing like a spoiled rich girl.

But Ronan always said the more well-behaved a woman appeared, the more twisted she was underneath.

Whenever Liora treated me kindly, he would insist she’d already been satisfied by some other man and was only being nice to cover her guilt.

During a rough patch in my relationship with her, Ronan slid in, gentle, attentive, the perfect emotional confidant.

While defending her, he also fed her subtle lies about me, slipping poison behind his smiles.

With Ronan stirring the pot, Liora and I drifted further apart.

Suppose I hadn’t accidentally seen Ronan’s underwear in her home. In that case, I might still have been grateful, thinking I had a cousin wise in the ways of women, helping me spot a “toxic girlfriend.”

Not long after, he married her.

From that moment on, I kept my distance.

But Liora didn’t see it that way.

Every few days, she hounded me about Ronan’s whereabouts.

My life was reduced to working and explaining where Ronan was.

The truth was that I had no idea what he was doing.

I could only go along with the reasons he had prepared in advance, enduring the pressure and trying to brush it off.

Until one day, Liora stormed into my home in a fury, gave me a fierce scolding and had someone stuff me into a sack and send me off to northern Mexico.

I only realized I had been the scapegoat, a sacrificial pawn.

Thinking back on Liora’s revenge in the last life and Ronan’s silencing tactics, a nameless rage surged inside me.

Liora, today I would make you see with your own eyes what kind of person your so-called pure husband really was!

The corners of my mouth curled into a cold smile and I said into the phone, "Ronan is unclogging a drain. He’s busy, won’t be back anytime soon!"

After I spoke, my expression turned cold. I hung up and switched off the phone.

I didn’t want to say another word to Liora.

But soon, there was a knock at the door.

As soon as I unlocked it, a powerful force slammed it open, shoving me back.

Before I could react, several bodyguards pinned me down.

Then Liora stepped into my home in high heels, quickly searching for Ronan.

She turned the two-bedroom apartment upside down, but she found nothing.

"Didn’t you say Ronan was unclogging a drain? Where is he?"

She marched up to me, her face cold, her voice full of anger.

Seeing how furious she looked, a slow surge of revenge rose in my chest.

I raised an eyebrow and said slowly, "I only said he was unclogging a drain. I didn’t say it was at my place. Maybe he’s unclogging one at your best friend’s place. Why don’t you go check?"

Liora’s brows pulled together. She stepped forward and grabbed my collar.

She shouted sharply, "Cut the crap! I’ll ask you one last time: where the hell are you hiding, Ronan?"

Ronan always kept his whereabouts secret. I was just his scapegoat. How could I possibly know where he was?

I said bluntly, “He’s a grown man with arms and legs. How am I supposed to control where he goes? I’m not his dad!”

Not getting the answer she wanted, Liora’s eyes instantly turned cold.

She slapped me hard across the face.

Her long fingernails left deep, bloody scratches on my cheek.

Rage surged through me.

But at the same time, I was looking forward to it.

Already this angry? There’s still a whole lot more anger waiting for you.

Seeing my defiant expression, Liora began rhythmically slapping me as she gritted her teeth and said, “You think if you keep your mouth shut, I can’t do anything to you?”

As she spoke, she pulled my phone from my pocket, turned it on, scanned my face to unlock it and started going through my contacts.

When she saw my emergency contact, a cold smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

She made the call.

“Hubby, what’s wrong?”

My wife, Rhea Monroe, answered in her usual gentle voice.

I was just about to speak when one of the bodyguards suddenly clamped a hand over my mouth, silencing me completely.

“You’re Evren’s wife, right?”

Liora spoke coldly, her tone laced with disdain.

“Who are you?”

Hearing an unfamiliar voice on the other end, Rhea’s tone instantly rose, clearly anxious.

Facing me directly, Liora continued with deliberate provocation.

“I’m Evren’s ex. But don’t worry, I’m married now. I have zero interest in him.”

Rhea went silent for two seconds, then asked, “Then why are you calling me with his phone?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to tell you a few things about your dear husband.”

“He’s a mess. His private life is a complete disaster. When he was with me, he was always sneaking around and cheating.”

“I found it disgusting, so I dumped him.”

“All these years, he’s been living off my husband, leeching off him to survive. Borrowed our villa to house his mistress, got addicted to gambling, maxed out my secondary credit card so my husband could pay his debts.”

“Maybe you don’t even know that your husband got another woman pregnant.”

“Not long ago, he even went to the hospital to treat a venereal disease. I suggest you get yourself checked out, too.”

“Marrying such a filthy man, don’t you feel ashamed?”

“Women like you are just pathetic, treating a stinking pile of rotten cabbage like it’s a treasure. Disgusting. If I were you, I’d have killed yourself already.”

Liora unleashed a barrage of insults, dragging me through the dirt.

On the other end of the line, Rhea fell into a long silence.

Since our marriage, our relationship has always been strong. She was kind, generous, gentle and soft-spoken.

No matter how badly we argued, she always remained patient and tried to talk things through.

She never gave me the cold shoulder, never lashed out.

But this time, it seemed Liora had pushed her past the edge. She didn’t say a single word.

Liora hung up and looked at me with a smug expression.

“So? Still not going to tell me where Ronan is?”

The bodyguard finally removed his hand from my mouth.

“You broke into my house, restrained and assaulted me, slandered me; these are all illegal.”

I glared at Liora, rage burning through me. I wanted nothing more than to tear this woman apart.

Seeing me still hold firm, Liora’s fury deepened.

“Illegal? Then I’ll show you what real illegality looks like!”

She gave orders to the other bodyguards. “Smash up his house!”

At her command, the bodyguards began tearing my home apart in a frenzy.

The once clean and tidy apartment was reduced to a wasteland within minutes.

Not a single item was left intact.

I gritted my teeth and said, “Liora, you’re acting so lawlessly, aren’t you afraid of legal consequences?”

Liora sneered, her face full of disdain. “The law punishes disgusting, morally bankrupt men like you. Messing around is one thing, but do you even know how much money you’ve drained from Ronan over the years? Everything in your home, what wasn’t paid for with Ronan’s money? I’m smashing my own stuff. What’s the problem?”

Every word out of her mouth was forceful and self-righteous.

As if she weren’t committing a crime, but delivering justice to someone who deserved it.

I glanced at the time, less than half an hour left until her best friend’s miscarriage.

The show was about to begin.

Suppressing my rage, I looked at Liora with a mocking smile and said, “Why not wait a little longer? Your husband will be contacting you very soon.”

Seeing my calm expression, Liora snapped.

“Still acting tough, huh? Then today I’ll make sure you’re completely ruined!”

“Take him away!”

The bodyguards immediately dragged me toward the residential complex gate.

Such a scene quickly attracted the attention of nearby residents.

Seeing the growing crowd, Liora began airing my “crimes” in public on purpose.

In no time, people were pointing fingers at me.

“This is way too much. At his age, still leeching off his cousin like that, he’s obviously just hurting people! That cousin of his must be too kind. If it were me, I’d have kicked him out long ago!”

“This is the classic blood-sucking relative. Jealous of the rich, contemptuous of the poor, lazy, greedy and good-for-nothing. Just leeches off everyone around him. My husband’s cousin screwed him over so badly he ended up bankrupt and paralyzed!”

“This guy’s just a parasite. Whoever he clings to ends up miserable!”

“Worst part is he’s filthy, always messing around with women. Just living in the same complex as him grosses me out.”

The insults came like bullets, one after another, as if I were some kind of monster.

Liora looked down at me with disdain and taunted, “So? Still not ready to give in?”

She thought she had her hand on my throat, just waiting for me to beg.

I let out a cold laugh and said indifferently, “This is your big move? A crowd of neighbors yelling at me? So what? I’ll just move out and it’s over. If you really want to ruin me, you should’ve invited some internet influencers for a livestream. That way, maybe I’d be completely disgraced and infamous.”

Liora’s face darkened. She gritted her teeth and snapped, “Fine, I’ll give you what you want!”

With that, she made another call.

Inside, I grew more eager.

Let it blow up. The bigger the scene, the better.

Let the whole world see what her wonderful husband had really been up to.

Liora had a lot of influence. In no time, a swarm of internet influencers and streamers arrived on the scene, each holding up their phones to livestream me.

“Hey everyone, just got a huge scoop! Don’t be fooled by how refined this man looks on the outside. He’s rotten to the core!”

“For years, he’s lived off his cousin like a leech. Whenever he runs out of money, he runs crying to his cousin. Even though his cousin is married and trying to have a baby, this guy uses him like a servant, makes him run errands, drinks with him and even drags him home when he’s blackout drunk.”

“His cousin treats him so well and not only is he ungrateful, but he spends like a king and makes his cousin pay for everything. He even borrowed his cousin’s wife’s unused villa to fake being rich and keep a mistress, who knows how many desperate young girls he’s tricked!”

“And the worst part? His private life is a total disaster. He’s married, but still sleeping around women in the villa, women outside, he never stops. He even had an affair with a married woman and got beaten up by her husband. The list of women he’s been with is endless!”

“I heard he even caught an STD. Only went to the hospital when it got bad and didn’t dare tell anyone, just dragged his cousin along for treatment. Who knows how many women he infected before that?”

“Everyone, remember this face. If you’re strong enough, beat the crap out of him. If not, just stay far away. Don’t risk catching something from this walking disease.”

The streamers vividly piled on every made-up accusation.

Wild exaggerations.

Lies stacked on lies.

Soon, every major livestream platform was flooded with curses aimed at me.

“Holy crap, that poor cousin and his wife, getting stuck with such a disgusting leech of a man!”

“This makes me so mad, this guy is a walking tumor!”

“Exactly. People like this are a hazard to society!”

Public opinion snowballed and my photos shot to the top of the trending searches.

“Vampire,” “Toxic Cousin,” and “Clap-Guy” were all kinds of labels that were now attached to my name.

With the streamers fanning the flames, the crowd’s emotions spiraled.

People began hurling eggs and rotten vegetables at me.

Some diners nearby even tossed beer bottles at my feet.

I stood there like a criminal awaiting execution, buried in trash, drowning in insults.

Just then, Rhea stepped through the crowd toward me.

The moment I saw that familiar face, my frozen heart felt as if it had been wrapped in warm sunlight.

Rhea was like the sun in my life.

She loved me, believed in me and no matter what happened, she was always gentle and patient.

She wasn’t just my wife. She was the warmest harbor I’d ever known.

At that moment, I desperately wanted a hug from her.

I didn’t hesitate, lowered every defense and opened my arms to walk toward her.

But the moment I touched her, she pushed me away, ruthlessly.

Caught off guard, I lost my balance and crashed to the ground.

Shattered glass from the beer bottles scattered across the pavement pierced deep into my palms and thighs.

The searing pain shot through my nerves, but what tore through me worse was the ache in my chest.

Even Rhea didn’t believe in me anymore?

“Evren, I never thought you were this kind of person.”

Rhea spoke with reddened eyes, her voice full of disappointment and hurt.

“All these years, I trusted you completely. I cared for you in every way. I never once lost my temper.”

“Knowing your work was stressful, I kept my pain and illnesses to myself, just so I wouldn’t burden you, so you wouldn’t worry.”

“I knew your stomach was weak, so I learned to cook food that would be easy on you, always doing my best to keep you healthy.”

“And you? Your so-called work was just you bleeding your cousin dry!”

“Your so-called efforts for our family were spent supporting other women!”

“The body I worked so hard to nurture, you destroyed it through your own filthy indulgence!”

“Evren, you’re not just destroying yourself. You’re trampling our marriage into the ground!”

The always gentle Rhea was, for the first time, completely out of control.

Her voice was hoarse from yelling, every word laced with bitter disappointment.

Seeing her like that broke my heart.

I endured the pain and stood up, trying to explain.

“Rhea, I—”

Before I could finish, Rhea slapped me hard across the face.

With hatred in her voice, she shouted, “Shut up! Don’t call my name, you’re not worthy!”

Then she hurled her wedding ring at my face with all her strength.

“Let’s get a divorce!”

Her words pierced straight into my heart.

That slap shattered all the beliefs I’d been holding on to.

I stood frozen, as if my soul had been torn from my body.

Liora seized the moment to mock me.

“Evren, now you know what it feels like to be utterly ruined? A greedy, morally corrupt piece of trash like you doesn’t deserve love, let alone the kindness Ronan gave you.”

“Thank goodness I saw through you early on and distanced myself. Thinking about having ever dated you makes me sick.”

“The only useful thing you’ve ever done in your life was bringing Ronan to me. From now on, just be a rat in the gutter, despised by all. I’ll never let Ronan associate with you again. Let’s see how you survive without him.”

Liora’s dramatic speech stirred the crowd.

In that moment, the bullet screen comments, the onlookers and the streamers all erupted into a fresh wave of scolding.

The power of mass condemnation was terrifying.

Even though I had mentally prepared myself, I still couldn’t stop myself from breaking down a little.

Just then, Liora’s phone rang.

The caller was none other than Ronan.

The moment she picked up, his trembling, panicked voice came through. “Wife, your… your best friend had a miscarriage.”

At his words, Liora’s brows furrowed instantly in worry.

“What happened?” she asked anxiously.

Ronan stammered, “It was Evren. He tried to assault your best friend. She resisted and in a fit of rage, he hit her and caused the miscarriage!”

Hearing Ronan’s words, right at the height of the chaos, I let out a long breath.

Everything was finally about to end.