As soon as I entered the room, I smelled in the air the scent left after intimacy.

Elliana lifted the lace underwear and cast a flirtatious look at Hector.

“It’s all because Hector got my skirt wet and caused you trouble.”

Watching her behave like the rightful girlfriend, my heart hurt. I took the cash I had just taken from the bank out of my bag and said decisively, “Hector, let’s break up.”

The man laughed, reached out, and pulled me into his arms.

“What nonsense, are you jealous?”

“Didn’t I already say, Elliana divorced her ex-husband. Only by joining the lady test together can she make her ex-husband give up on getting back together. It is all just an act.”

I broke free from his arms and lowered my eyes to hide the sadness.

Last year, Grandma was burned by a leaking electric water heater, her whole arm scalded until the skin split and flesh was torn.

I held her and rushed past three blocks before I flagged down a cab. The operation cost came to eighty thousand, and after checking every account, I had only five thousand.

Even though Hector was the Montana crown heir, I feared he might think I loved luxury, so I hardly took his costly presents and almost never used his help to cut corners.

That was the first moment I broke down in front of Hector, asking him to lend me money, promising I would repay him somehow later.

But he said Veena, you must learn independence. The Rivas family did not support lazy people.

About a month earlier, I had stayed awake without rest to finish the sample gown, and I passed out from low blood sugar, then learned my heart was beating too fast.

The doctor said if I waited any longer, I might need to have a pacemaker put in.

If Hector had just lifted a hand, he could have set up the best operation for me.

But he did not, and only said I was still young with a strong body, so resting for two days would be enough.

He then turned away and reserved a whole level of a private hospital, arranging a full checkup for Elliana, who only had a cold.

For Elliana, Hector never gave up anything; for me, nothing mattered.

"Hector, I am serious—"

"Young master," the butler suddenly opened the door and stepped inside, with a man walking in behind him.

"This Mr. Lozano says he wants to meet Miss Elliana."

The moment Dalton Lozano walked in, he fell to his knees before Elliana, crying with tears and snot streaming down.

“Elliana, I was wrong. I was not in my right mind and cheated. Can you forgive me?”

My blood seemed to turn cold, and I felt nauseous, unable to stop vomiting.

Seven years earlier, I had gone to Maryland alone for a trip.

In a narrow alley, Dalton had pulled me into a dark spot and ripped my clothes.

I fought back desperately and used broken glass to cut his arm before I managed to escape.

I broke down and called Hector.

He rushed back overnight, held me in his arms, and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

I had thought Dalton ended up in jail.

Yet now he was kneeling properly in front of us, Elliana’s former husband.

So the “take care of it,” Hector said back then, meant protecting Elliana’s marriage and hiding everything!

My body trembled uncontrollably, my teeth knocking together.

Dalton turned toward me and pointed.

“Elliana, it was all because this woman tempted me back then and caused my first mistake. After that, I couldn’t stop cheating again, it’s all because of her!”

Tears filled Elliana’s eyes instantly. “Veena, the one who seduced my husband before was actually you?”

She seemed afraid and leaned into Hector’s arms.

“Brother Hector, I had been hoping for this marriage… I believed in him so deeply…”

Hector’s face grew cold.

“Veena, say sorry to Elliana!”

I laughed in anger, laughing until tears fell.

Seven years ago, to protect Elliana’s marriage, he covered up her husband’s wrongdoing and chose to deceive me.

Seven years later, to help Elliana fully break free from her ex-husband, he arranged for people to join the lady test together.

“Hector, you really are a good older brother!”

I shoved that bundle of money hard into his arms, turned around, and walked away.

But before I could reach the door, the butler stepped in and blocked my path.

Elliana nestled into Hector’s arms, pretending to comfort me.

“Veena, I don’t blame you. At that time, when Hector suddenly sent my ex-husband home, I thought it was some shameless woman who had lured him.”

“Although I know my ex-husband is a womanizer, without someone taking the initiative, he would not have dared attach himself to others.”

I did not want to respond to her insinuations and looked at Hector coldly.

“The money has been returned to you; we are even now. Why won’t you let me leave?”

Hector frowned deeply and replied, “What do you mean, even? You have not apologized to Elliana. How can the future lady of the Rivas family be so petty and unwilling to admit her mistakes?”

“If you had not worn such a short skirt that day, it would not have stirred this man’s dirty thoughts and ruined Elliana’s marriage.”

I stared at the man before me in shock, as though I were meeting him for the first time.

Dalton suddenly kneeled to me.

“Just admit you tempted me. Do you really want my family to break apart before you feel satisfied?”

Fear made my whole body shake.

Hector seemed unable to tolerate it and ordered someone to pull Dalton away.

The room grew quiet for a while, but then Elliana handed me a glass of wine and said, “Veena, if you drink this, we will pretend nothing happened and live peacefully like sisters, okay?”

Her actions seemed gentle but carried hidden strength. I only pushed her slightly, yet the wine ended up spilling across her body.

Very pitiful.

Hector carefully wiped away the wine from Elliana and rebuked me with a dark expression.

“Veena, must you push things to this point?”

A chill spread through my body, and I clearly saw the in pride in Elliana’s eyes.

She had planned this on purpose, bringing her ex-husband here to act out the scene.

She twisted the pain I once suffered and made it seem like my wrongdoing.

Elliana slowly rubbed the diamond ring worth hundreds of billions on her finger.

I bit down on my lower lip, my heart aching as if something was biting into it.

On every anniversary of our relationship, Hector would let me look at that ring once.

He would kiss me deeply and briefly place the ring on my finger.

“When we get married, this ring will be yours.”

The taste of blood filled my mouth as I pulled off the rope ring he had casually braided for me and worn on my finger.

“Have you said enough? Hector, we have broken up. You have no right to order me.”

Hector looked at the rope ring, the corner of his lips lifting slightly, his eyes dark.

“Elliana is right. You only care about wealth. You came close to me because of my money.”

“I allowed her to use the ring; it was only the last check for you. If you showed no concern, it meant you truly loved me. Tomorrow, I will bring you to file our marriage and place your name in the Rivas family record.”

“But you made the wrong choice.”

I felt no remorse at all; I only thought my seven years had been too painful.

Hector gave me plastic earrings, yet went to a sale to get emerald earrings for Elliana.

He handed me a bag that was already old from ten years ago, yet he bought Elliana the newest custom handbag.

In his view, I was only fit for low-quality items.

If I liked luxury, what was it that I wanted?

Elliana lifted her lips, then her voice broke as she removed the ring, ready to pass it to me.

“Sorry, Veena, I was the one who caused your confusion. I will give it back to you now.”

From a side Hector could not notice, Elliana pressed the ring base, and the pointed tips dug hard into my hand.

I pulled back in pain, and Elliana released it with the motion.

The diamond ring dropped to the floor; the stone flew off somewhere, and the band bent out of shape.

Elliana covered her lips.

“Veena, even if you feel upset, you should not throw the ring.”

“This is the rare pink diamond the Rivas family bought, meant to pass to the next lady of the house.”

My hand had a deep, long cut.

I answered with anger.

“It was clearly you…”

“Veena, do you still think you can speak to me about ending things now?”

Hector grabbed my jaw hard, anger burning in his eyes.

“This ring costs a hundred billion. Can you pay for it?”

Before I could respond, he motioned to the guards to push me down, hold me in the bathroom, force me to kneel on the floor, and throw several buckets of cold water over me.

The cold winter water chilled me until my whole body shook, and my knees hurt deep to the bone.

He pulled out his phone and called the hospital in front of me, planning to stop my grandfather’s oxygen.

“Since you show no thanks, then use your family to pay for it, so you can wake up!”

When I heard what Hector was about to do, I lost control.

I struggled hard to break free from the bodyguards’ grip, my knees scraping against the ground.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong. I know I was wrong. I will pay for the ring, no matter how much it costs, I will pay!”

“Grandpa is in the ICU getting treatment. He doesn’t have much time left! Please don’t let him die with his eyes open. I’m begging you, Hector!”

Hector’s gaze trembled for a second, showing a slight sign of hesitation.

He knew that I was raised by Grandpa and Grandma, and that I shared a very deep bond with them.

Elliana then cried softly at the right time.

“Brother Hector, my hand hurts so much. It seems like it’s injured…”

Seeing the miserable state of his adopted younger sister, Hector suddenly pushed me away coldly.

I lost my balance and hit the washbasin, feeling a rush of dizziness.

“If I don’t teach you a lesson, you will never learn your limits.”

Hector spoke into the phone, his voice cold.

“Didn’t you hear what I said? Turn off the oxygen supply now!”

Soon, a long, flat tone from the machine echoed through the speaker, and my whole body went cold along with that sound.

I could not help but remember the past, when Hector first came home with me.

The proud young master, dressed in costly clothes, had squatted in the leaking kitchen, helping Grandma pick vegetable stems.

He stayed with me at the hospital, read aloud from a paper for Grandpa, cooled the oatmeal bit by bit, and fed him.

Grandpa’s weak hand held onto him, his dim eyes filled with tears, saying Veena has suffered, you must be kind to her.

Hector made a promise by the sickbed, saying he would give me a place to belong, would treat Grandpa, and let him witness my grand wedding.

A liar.

Hector, all along, had been a liar.

To teach me a lesson, he ordered the butler to have people throw me into the cold room and seal the door.

The freezing temperature of minus eighteen degrees sank into my bones. I huddled in the corner, my teeth trembling, my mind slowly slipping away.

The butler laughed coldly outside the door.

“Miss Holloway, you really think some lady’s check is real? You don’t know this is all just a trick on you, right?”

“Mr. Rivas decides who he marries with one word. What test or no test?”

I only felt extremely cold, so cold, and I did not know if my body or my heart felt colder.

Elliana sent me a message to provoke me.

“I should thank you instead. I can easily marry my brother.”

She wore the bridal gown I had made over three years, lay in the wedding room I prepared with Hector, her collarbone covered with unclear and bright red marks.

Soon, someone posted that Hector was about to hold an engagement ceremony with Elliana.

The comments were all full of mockery toward me.

They laughed at me for taking that matriarch test for seven years, only to end up with nothing.

They mocked me for trying so hard to get close to Hector, only for him to grow tired of me anyway.

It was as if they had finally witnessed my humiliation, and they happily pressed on my pain.

Hector then sent me a message, as if being kind.

“Elliana’s ex-husband has been bothering her. The engagement ceremony is just for show.”

“After her ex-husband goes abroad, I will formally marry you.”

I stared at those few lines on the screen as tears fell uncontrollably.

Why?

Why was I always the one chosen last?

Hector, why did you believe I would remain here, still waiting for you?

Quick footsteps echoed outside the door. Grandma rushed to the cold storage and hit the lock with her cane in panic.

Her hands shook as she opened it. She saw my body, cold and purple, my fingers stuck in midair, and she did not dare reach out.

I held back my tears and grasped Grandma’s hand.

“I broke up with him and gave him all the money.”

Grandma, who had always been composed, cried deeply at that moment. Her hot tears fell onto the back of my hand.

Sorry, Grandma. From then on, I would not let you feel such sorrow again.

I hurriedly took Grandma to the hospital. Grandpa was still holding onto his last breath.

When his cloudy eyes saw me, they lit up at once. His branch-like hand held mine, his voice thin and weak.

“Veena, you and your Grandma must be happy……”

The monitor stretched into a long tone.

I broke down and cried out loud, while Grandma held back her grief and pulled me into her arms.

The next day, Hector and Elliana held a grand and public engagement.

Grandma and I packed up the few things we had at home. Holding Grandpa’s urn, we walked hand in hand toward the airport.

I deleted everything related to Hector, snapped the SIM card, and threw it into the airport trash can.

Hector, I would not stay in this game with you anymore.

I would not love you anymore.