Every word stung Natalie so much that she ached deeply.

A chain, huh?

It turned out that their marriage was suffocating him.

Sitting beside her, Yvonne held her hand. Her eyes were filled with concern.

Natalie shook her head. Her gaze fell on Lester's hand, carefully holding the hems of Irene's gown, and her lips curved into a self-deprecating smile.

Actually, their marriage was nothing less than a chain to her too.

She already knew their love for each other had expired, but she ignored that fact, trying to deceive herself and others into believing otherwise.

Thankfully, they would both be free from the chain of marriage after a month.

The ceremony soon began.

When the Best Female Lead award was about to be announced, Natalie's palm became sweaty.

She had thought "Before the End" would be her last movie, so she poured endless effort into portraying her role.

If she could win the award tonight, it would mark the perfect end to her acting career in Caledon.

Namelist in hand, the host purposefully swept his gaze across the hall before he slowly announced, "The Best Female Lead of the Golden Frame Award goes to…Irene Sterling!"

A thunderous applause ensued.

Smiling, Irene pecked Lester's cheek before going to the stage to take her trophy.

Though disappointed, Natalie quickly regained her composure.

Peeved, Yvonne leaned closer to her. She muttered, "Nat, I've been asking around, and it seems the judges gave overwhelmingly positive feedback on your role in the movie. You were supposed to win the award. Could Mr. Garrison have bribed the—"

Before she could finish, Natalie instinctively retorted, "No, he wouldn't."

Lester wasn't someone who would sacrifice his principles for personal gain, and neither would he pull dirty tricks like that.

Even when they were deeply in love, he'd never used his connections to help her.

She continued, "New talents emerge every day and may someday surpass those before them. Perhaps her acting resonated better with the judges."

Yvonne was still displeased. "How could her role in that commercial film possibly win against yours?"

Natalie patted her arm, trying to calm her down.

"It doesn't matter anymore—I'll be heading to Echalon next month."

Yvonne's eyes widened in surprise. Her voice was laced with excitement. "Echalon? To work with Allen, the same director who'd approached you many times?"

Natalie nodded, smiling.

"That's wonderful! Allen is a world-renowned director! Don't forget me when you become an international film star!"

Natalie had to assure Yvonne she would never forget her before Yvonne finally left to attend to other matters.

After the Best Female Lead award was announced, Natalie no longer needed to stay. She got up to leave.

As she walked past the backstage area, she spotted Lester standing beside the stage with a bouquet of red roses.

Her fingers curled reflexively. Pretending she didn't see him, she turned to leave.

Then, she heard a voice speaking in an ingratiating tone. "Mr. Garrison, we've done as you instructed and presented the Best Female Lead award to Ms. Sterling. Do you need anything else?"

Natalie halted in her tracks.

Lester then said nonchalantly, "Just keep it to yourself. Irene doesn't have to know that Nat was the one who originally won the award."

Lester's words hit Natalie like a stroke of lightning. Did she…actually win the Best Female Lead award?

Lester was still talking to the other person.

Natalie's gaze fell on the bouquet he was holding, thinking how sarcastic it all was.

She confidently guaranteed that Lester wouldn't betray his principles for the sake of personal matters, yet reality proved her painfully wrong.

Her stare might've been too intense, so much so that Lester noticed her.

When their eyes met, a flustered look crossed Lester's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

Walking over with the bouquet, he said in a resigned tone, "Nat, let Rene have the award for Best Female Lead this time. Keep this a secret, okay?"

Natalie couldn't believe his audacity to request that of her.

"Lester Garrison, the honor was originally mine. Why should I let her have it?"

Lester tugged on his necktie. He sounded slightly impatient as he said, "You're not even acting anymore. Why would you still need the title? Besides, if you hadn't commented on my tweet and made her angry, I wouldn't have to come up with this idea to please her."

His hurtful remark brought tears to Natalie's eyes. With a trembled voice, she asked, "Are you saying I deserve having that award snatched from me?"

Lester seldom saw Natalie in such a fragile state. He stepped forward and put an arm around her shoulders.

In a softened tone, he coaxed, "Nat, I don't mean it that way. It's just that I'm still interested in Rene, so of course I have to be nice to her. When my interest in her falters, I'll immediately take back the trophy and return it to you.

"Don't worry. I know who my wife is. I'm just being nice to Irene on the surface, so don't let it get to you."

For the past two years, Natalie had heard similar excuses more times than she could count, until she no longer felt anything when he said that.

He'd say he was only fooling around, that she would still be his wife, and that everything he did was just a pretense.

From his point of view, there was nothing wrong with what he was doing. However, if Natalie—his wife—acted out over it, she would be considered petty and insensible.

Natalie broke free from his hold and forced her tears back.

"There's no need, Mr. Garrison. I won't want a tainted trophy."

She didn't want a tainted husband too.

With that, she staggered out of the event venue without even looking to see what expression he had and went home.

The next day, she woke up early and started packing her belongings.

Except for the daily necessities she'd need to bring to Echalon, she packed and threw away the rest as trash, including items she'd shared with Lester.

The photo album that contained photos of them from when they were dating until they got married, the large wedding photo that they spent a fortune on, her favorite hydrangeas in the yard that Lester planted himself…

They dated for four years and were married for another three. All told, they'd been living in this house for seven years, and every corner of the house held shared memories.

Natalie spent a fortnight gradually getting rid of all the objects that were tied to so many memories.

Eventually, the once-cozy home was returned to its state from seven years earlier—a mansion devoid of warmth.

During those two weeks, Lester never came home.

Natalie knew where he was, though.

According to what he'd done in the past, he'd accompany his new lover for at least one month whenever he started a new affair.

Besides, Irene was never one to keep a low profile. She shared their affectionate moments on Twitter almost every day.

The day before, Lester took her out to sea for fishing and personally cooked for her.

Yesterday, he visited her on set and dotingly massaged her calves.

Perhaps clearing the mansion of their shared memories had helped cool down Natalie's feelings for him. When she saw Irene's posts, she merely paused momentarily before scrolling to the next.

After she was done packing, she drove to the mall. The filming duration for a movie was usually lengthy. She'd be in Echalon for at least two years and would need more clothes.

She shopped all afternoon and filled the trunk of her car with shopping bags. Closing the trunk, she opened the door to get into the car, ready to leave.

She had barely placed her foot in the driver's seat when a strong force grabbed and pulled her out.

Caught off guard, she fell heavily to the ground. Her arm was badly scraped, and blood trickled down it.

Enduring the pain, she propped her body up and saw that it was a group of young girls.

But she didn't know them.

"Who are you?"

The girls glared at her with contempt.

One of them stepped forward and grabbed her hair. She scolded, "It's all because of this bitch! If she had just given up her title as Mr. Garrison's wife, Reenie and Mr. Garrison could already have been together long ago!

"Now, they're already divorced, yet she has the audacity to spend Mr. Garrison's money on shopping! How shameless!"

A sharp pain tore across Natalie's scalp.

Only then did she realize that these were Irene's fans.

But Natalie was the wife, and Irene was the mistress. Yet somehow, to them, Natalie was the one at fault.

Besides, she had paid for everything today with her own card. Lester had nothing to do with it.

Fighting through the pain, Natalie forced herself to speak, attempting to reason with them. "I didn't spend a single dollar of Lester's money. Let me go. You're committing a crime, you know?"

The young lady in front of her smirked. "Still lying. Girls, let's help Reenie teach this shameless woman a lesson!"

The moment those words fell, they surged forward and began hitting Natalie. Fists, feet, and elbows struck her from every direction, each of them using all their strength.

Natalie was completely outnumbered. Faced with so many people, she had no way to fight back and could only endure the beating.

She had parked in a relatively secluded area, and no one else passed by.

With no one around to stop them, the fans grew bolder, hurling insults as they continued their assault.

"You old woman. How dare you compete with Reenie for a man? We'll make sure you remember this."

"Best actress, huh? I bet you climbed your way up through your skills in bed. Mr. Garrison must've been blind back then. Good thing Reenie saved him."

Natalie could feel her hair being ripped out in handfuls, and the pain throughout her body was so intense it felt as though her organs had shifted.

"What are you ladies doing?"

The blows landing on her stopped immediately.

Natalie struggled to open her eyes and saw several security guards running toward her. At that point, she could no longer hold on and lost consciousness.

…

When she woke up again, Natalie was already in the hospital.

Lester, whom she hadn't seen for half a month, was sitting by the bed, holding her hand.

When he saw that she was awake, he asked with concern, "Nat, how are you feeling? Better?"

Natalie pulled her hand back and looked out the window. "Have the people who hit me been caught? I want to sue them."

Seeing the woman on the hospital bed, covered in injuries, a trace of distress appeared in Lester's eyes.

"The mall security called the police on the spot. Those people are already being held at the station. I—"

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the ward was pushed open.

Irene walked in and naturally hooked her arm through Lester's. "Oh? Les, I didn't know Natalie was awake."

With that, she turned toward Natalie and uttered apologetically, "Natalie, I'm really sorry my fans caused you trouble. They were just trying to help me. They thought you were standing in the way of my happiness with Les, so they lost their temper and went after you."

Though Irene apologized, the smugness in her eyes and the mockery in her words revealed her true feelings. She clearly took pleasure in seeing Natalie beaten.

Anger rose in Natalie's chest. If she hadn't desperately protected her face, she might've been disfigured already.

As an actress, if her face were ruined, her career would be over.

"Irene, since you can't keep your fans in check, I'll do it for you. I won't let things slide. I'm suing them," Natalie said.

Irene immediately defended her fans. "Natalie, I've already apologized to you. Why are you still pressing the issue? I won't let you harm my fans!"

Her eyes reddened as she looked up at Lester, tears welling. "Les, I'm your girlfriend, and Natalie is your ex-wife. Who are you siding with?"

Lester saw her tearful eyes and immediately pulled her into his arms. "Obviously, I'm on your side, Rene. Don't worry. I'll get your fans out of there."

Natalie's mind went black. She stared at him, disbelief written across her face. "Lester, are you seriously siding with your mistress? Those people almost ruined my face!"

Irene frowned and shot back, "Natalie, I've treated you with nothing but respect, but that doesn't give you the right to smear me. I only got together with Lester after your divorce. I've never been his mistress."

Natalie found it ridiculous. As the saying went, it took two to tango. If Irene had genuinely kept her distance before the divorce, Lester would never have pursued her so persistently for two months, given his pride.

It was clear that Irene wanted Lester's support and standing, yet she refused to be branded as nothing more than a mistress.

Lester reached out and gently stroked Irene's hair, then looked back at Natalie, his tone firm.

"But you're not disfigured, are you? How much compensation do you want? Name a price."