I pointed my phone camera right at the woman's face. "Everyone watching, meet the self-proclaimed true love of Jerome. She wants my mother-in-law and me to kneel before her."

The livestream comments instantly shifted from anger to an overwhelming flood of ridicule.

"Kneel? Has she lost her mind? She's asking Noelle and her mother-in-law to kneel to her?"

"LOL! Where does this wannabe queen come from? True love, my ass. Does Mr. Callen even know about this?"

Kylie spoke up too. "Miss, the power you get from a man disappears the moment the wind picks up."

The woman's face twisted into a furious scowl. She grabbed a bottle. "You old hag! Don't lecture me!"

I instinctively pulled Kylie behind me.

The bottle slammed hard into my back with a heavy bang. The wine soaked through my dress, and glass shards tore my skin.

I stifled a groan and dropped to my knees.

"Noelle!" Kylie cried out, panic in her voice.

The woman pointed at me and shouted at the security guards surrounding us, "What are you staring at? Hold this crazy wench down! And the old hag, too! Tie them both up!"

The guards approached us, looking fierce and menacing.

"Wait!" Kylie shouted. She pulled out her phone to call Jerome and placed it on speaker.

Just before the call cut off, Jerome's annoyed voice came through, with a woman laughing in the background. "What is it, Mom? I'm busy."

"Jerome, Noelle and I are at your new bar. She got hit with a wine bottle protecting me and is bleeding badly," Kylie said anxiously.

Jerome replied dismissively, "Why did you two go there? I'm stuck at a very important dinner engagement. I really can't leave. Take Noelle to the hospital first, and let Cassidy handle it. I'll come by later and cover the medical bills. Later, okay?"

With that, he hung up. The line went dead, followed by a series of beeps.

So that woman's name was Cassidy.

Kylie's hand trembled as she gripped the phone.

"Did you hear that? Jerome doesn't care about you one bit." Cassidy waved her hand and proudly said, "Security! What are you waiting for? Drag them out!"

The guards closed in again.

"You just heard your boss. He's just too busy to come. But if any of you touch us, I promise you'll regret it."

I shielded Kylie behind me and forced my voice to remain calm. "By the way, I'm still live-streaming this. If this goes public, let's see if your bar can still stay in business!"

My words clearly hit a nerve. The security guards exchanged looks and suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Cassidy screamed in frustration, "What are you afraid of? It's just some stupid livestream! If anything happens, Jerome will take the blame! Get them!"

But no one moved a muscle.

Left with no choice, Cassidy called Jerome and put the call on speaker. The call was answered almost instantly.

"Cassie? What's wrong? Didn't I tell you to stop being so willful? I'm busy right now."

She broke down, crying into the phone. "Jerome! Someone's causing trouble at your bar! They even hit me! You have to come now!"

Jerome's tone shifted immediately. "What? Are you hurt? Don't be scared. I'm on my way! Wait for me!"

With that, he hung up in a rush.

I felt like I'd been dropped into an ice bath.

Just minutes earlier, Kylie had told him that I'd been hit in the head with a wine bottle trying to protect her, and he had told us to go to the hospital ourselves.

Cassidy ended the call and barked at the guards, "You heard him! Jerome's coming! Tie those two madwomen up right now! When Jerome arrives, I want you to know who truly has his favor!"

Kylie looked at me worriedly, but I gave her a reassuring smile. Then, I walked right up to Cassidy and slapped her hard across the face.

"Did you just slap me?" Cassidy screamed, clutching her cheek.

She raised her hand to strike me, but froze when she caught sight of the watch on her wrist.

"You care about this watch, don't you?"

As she shook the watch, my heart skipped a beat as an ominous feeling rose within me.

She smiled, smoothly unfastened the strap, and held the watch high. "You say Jerome loves you, but he gave me your token of love. I heard that this watch is priceless. I wonder if it's still worth anything if it's broken."

After saying that, she slammed it down hard onto the floor.

"No!" I screamed, lunging forward.

With a sharp crack, the sapphire crystal face shattered instantly, sending delicate parts flying everywhere.

My heart shattered along with it.

Even my livestream followers were stunned by her madness. The chat went completely silent at that moment.

"See that? That's how much you mean to him. Worthless!" Cassidy laughed like a maniac while grinding the broken watch face beneath her sharp stiletto heel. "Why do you treasure this worthless piece of junk so much?"

"I'll kill you!" I charged at her, tackled her to the ground, and rained down punches.

"Ah!" Cassidy screamed nonstop.

Finally, the head of security behind her snapped out of shock.

"Get her off! Now! Tie up this crazy woman!" he shouted to his men.

They dragged me away.

"Yeah! Tie her up and beat her! I want her bedridden for the rest of her life!" Cassidy then shouted at the crowd, "When Jerome gets here, he'll be on my side! Get them!"

Two burly security guards held me tight. Kylie grabbed my hand and, in a trembling voice, assured me, "Noelle, it's going to be okay."

"Come on! Keep hitting me! Why did you stop?" Cassidy got up from the floor, her eyes full of venom. She asked me, "Do you think hitting me will make those broken pieces whole again?"

She kicked the shattered remnants of the watch with her heel.

"Noelle, don't worry. I'll keep the pieces. We can get it fixed." Kylie stepped toward the pile of fragments, trying to pick up whatever parts she could still recognize.

Cassidy kicked her away and then mercilessly stomped on the little pile Kylie had gathered with her sharp stiletto heels.

She barked, "Old hag, you want to fix it? I'll grind it all into dust today!" As she crushed the pieces, her eyes locked onto me. "See that? That's how you and your treasure look beneath my feet."

"Kylie!"

As I watched Kylie fall to the ground, something inside me snapped. I broke free from the guards' grip.

"I'm going to kill you!"

I grabbed an empty wine bottle off the nearest table and charged at Cassidy.

She screamed in terror. The head of security reacted instantly, kicking me away hard.

"Ms. Lorne, are you okay?" he asked Cassidy as he grabbed my hair and shoved me back down.

"Teach her a lesson! Rip that nasty mouth apart!" Cassidy screamed wildly, clutching her chest.

"I'm not just Jerome's wife. I'm the heiress to Linton Group! Don't you dare touch me!" I shouted.

The guards hesitated, shaken by my fierce demeanor.

"So what if you're Linton Group's heiress? You're still lying under Jerome! But…" Cassidy had a mad look in her eyes as she continued, "I guess he doesn't even want to touch you anymore!" She broke out into hysterical laughter.

Her words pierced me deeply. It was true that Jerome and I hadn't been intimate for a long time.

"What's going on here?" Jerome appeared, flanked by two assistants. He frowned at the chaotic scene around us.

I froze and raised my head.

But almost at the same moment, a more commanding voice rang through the room.

"Noelle!"

The crowd parted as a tall, imposing man strode quickly toward me.