I curled up in the snow, my body black and blue from bruises.

The neighbors whispered among themselves as they sneered and jested.

"The guy looks all proper, but who would've thought he'd be so shameless in secret?"

"Jennifer is an outstanding young woman. She must have been blind to choose someone like this!"

Amid the commotion, someone spat on my face.

Though I was so cold that my body was turning purple and my teeth were chattering uncontrollably, nothing felt colder than my heart at the moment.

While I was humiliated by the crowd, Jennifer didn't look the least bit sympathetic. She even looked a little pleased.

I summoned all my strength to suppress my shivers and speak. "Jennifer, you really won't even hear my side of the story? You're just going to believe whatever he says and think I'd do something like that?"

Jennifer let out a scoff upon hearing that. "What more is there to explain? I don't want to hear a single word of your lies, Nicholas."

The disgust in her eyes was impossible to ignore. "I only feel disgusted by you now. Just thinking about being with you makes me sick. Once this is over, the first thing I'm doing is getting a full check-up at the hospital. If you've infected me with a disease, I'll make sure you pay for it!"

Duncan lowered his head and patted her back gently, his tone soothing. "Don't get worked up over a guy like him, Jenny. Ruining your health over this isn't worth it."

My face turned purple from the cold as I curled into myself even more. Every breath I took felt like sharp thorns scraping my throat.

With all the strength I had left, I managed to squeeze out, "Duncan, tell me… Am I the immoral one, or are you the one flipping the truth on its head? I'll give you one last chance. If you don't come clean to everyone now, you're going to regret missing this chance…"

Hearing this, Duncan flew into a rage on the spot. "Damn it! After all this, and you still dare to threaten me?"

Grinding out a curse, he charged at me, lifting his foot as if to strike my head.

Just as the blow was about to land, Jennifer grabbed him. "Duncan, stop!"

She spoke in a measured, slightly urgent voice. My heart skipped a beat. I thought that maybe she finally couldn't bear to see me being treated like this anymore.

But the words that came next cut colder than the midwinter snow. "Stay away from him. A guy like that could be carrying all sorts of diseases and bad luck. You shouldn't dirty your shoes."

The last bit of hope I had died the instant she finished speaking. My body no longer felt cold. I simply felt numb and hollow inside.

Duncan withdrew his foot, grinning wickedly. "Jenny, I'm just angry on your behalf. This guy's been lying to you all this time, and yet he's still refusing to come clean. It makes me so mad that I just want to kill him!"

As he spoke, he signaled to his men. "Tie him up properly. We wouldn't want him to get unruly later."

Several of his men immediately stepped forward to bind my hands behind my back with hemp rope, despite my struggles.

I watched in horror, a sinking feeling clawing at me. "Duncan, what are you trying to do? Intentionally causing harm is a crime. Even if I did do something wrong, you have no right to take the law into your own hands!"

Duncan laughed like I'd said something funny.

He crouched down close, his excitement clear on his face. "I'm not taking the law into my own hands. When it comes to dealing with scum like you, this is simply called doing society a favor."

Right as he said that, he lifted his foot again, only this time, he didn't hesitate.

He kicked me squarely in the face. I saw stars, and my nose started bleeding like crazy. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Before I could even cry out in pain, everything went black. I didn't know how long I was out, but when I woke, I felt the freezing wind slashing at my mostly bare body.

The pain brought me back to my senses. Only then did I realize I was hanging from a tree.

My feet were off the ground, and the rope was digging deep into my flesh. Duncan was standing in front of me with his phone raised, the camera pointed straight at my face.

The live stream viewer count shot up as comments came in like a flood.

"What the heck is happening?"

"What do they think they're doing when the new year has just kicked off?"

"What did this guy even do? Why is he hanging from a tree? Is this some kind of stunt?"

"Explain already!"

Seeing the questions roll in only got Duncan more hyped. He held up the public security administrative penalty notice and the photos for the camera.

The tone of the comments shifted instantly. "Trash who can't keep it in his pants deserves worse than being put on display for public shaming."

"I support the streamer. People like this deserve to be exposed and socially ruined."

"This is so satisfying. Well done!"

"Scum like this don't deserve mercy! Go all out on him!"

The screen was filled with curses and cheers.

Watching the numbers surge, Duncan was practically grinning ear to ear. He moved the camera closer, deliberately giving a close-up of my swollen, bruised face.

Gathering the last bit of strength I had, I forced out the words, "Duncan, you're insane… I can't believe you're willing to go this far to ruin me. Did you not even consider the consequences if the truth comes out?"

Instead of getting angry, Duncan laughed. Picking up a frozen tree branch from the ground, he swung it hard against my body. "Even when you're about to be done for, you still won't come clean?"

A few hard strikes later, my body was covered in fresh wounds. Nonetheless, I could barely feel the pain because of how numb I was from the cold.

He struck me more than a dozen times. Still, I didn't make a sound.

Seeing that he couldn't break me, Duncan walked over to Jennifer, panting. Putting on a pitiful act, he complained, "He's just going to be stubborn to the end, Jenny. Seems like teaching him a lesson like this isn't going to be enough."

As she stared at the bloody wounds on my body, she froze for a moment. Then, the last trace of hesitation in her eyes was replaced by ruthless resolve.

She took a deep breath, her voice sharp as she said, "Since he has no shame and refuses to repent, we might as well brand the word 'whore' on his face so everyone knows exactly what he is."

At those words, my blood ran cold. The woman I once cherished, the one I wanted to spend my life with, could actually say something so vicious so casually.

It felt as if my chest had been hollowed out, allowing cold wind to fill it. In no time, Duncan came back with the tools.

He thrust a red-hot branding iron in front of my face threateningly. "I'll give you one last minute, Nicholas. Admit everything now, and maybe I'll go easy on you."

While he waved the glowing tip back and forth, I stared straight into the phone camera and used all my strength to say, "I will never admit to something I didn't do, even if it kills me. As for you, you will undoubtedly pay for what you've done today."

Duncan became so furious that his face turned dark red.

With a hard glint in his eyes, he brought the glowing iron toward my face. "Fine! I'll grant your wish and make sure you can never hold your head up again for the rest of your life!"

Just as the iron was about to touch me, the sound of police sirens pierced the air, stilling Duncan's movements.

Moments later, several police cars screeched to a stop nearby. Multiple officers hopped out and dashed over as fast as they could.

Leading them was Captain Carter. Shoving through the crowd, he looked around frantically until he spotted me hanging from the tree, covered in wounds.

His face went deathly pale, and he immediately roared, "You've got some nerve! Do you have any idea who he is? Get him down. Now!"