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.