On my wedding day, Nolan Fox personally sent me to prison.

The next time I saw him was at a construction site, ten years later.

His longtime secretary recognized me immediately, barely containing her excitement:

"Ms. Harding, everyone's been waiting for you two to reconcile!"

The words had barely left her mouth when Nolan stepped out of a black Jeep.

One look from him, and everyone on site instinctively lowered their heads.

His eyes lingered on me for a long moment, as if he had a thousand things to say.

But in the end, all that came out was a mild greeting:

"Corinne. It's been a while."

I shifted the bag of sand on my shoulder. My expression didn't change.

Back then, the exam papers in my custody had been swapped.

Twelve students lost their futures. Three took their own lives.

Grief-stricken parents set fire to my home—and burned half my face with it.

My parents were so furious they coughed up blood in their sickbeds, swearing to disown me.

No one knew I'd been framed.

And no one knew that the man who forced me to take the fall, who pushed me into that abyss with his own hands—

—was the devoted ex-husband standing right in front of me.

——

Edward Whitney, the site foreman, hurried over to Nolan, rubbing his hands together obsequiously:

"Principal Fox! Having you visit our little site is truly an honor!"

When he spotted me crouching on the ground laying bricks, he shouted in my direction:

"Corinne Harding! Get over here and greet Principal Fox!"

"This man runs the best private academy in the city—you should count yourself lucky to even see him!"

My grip on the brick tightened. My nails dug into my palm, but I didn't look up.

The county reporters who'd come with Nolan swarmed around me, microphones practically shoved in my face:

"Ms. Harding, you were once the youngest teacher to win a teaching excellence award. Now you're hauling bricks at a construction site. Do you feel wronged?"

"We've heard that Principal Fox kept your position at the private middle school open for ten years, and postponed his wedding to Ms. Cobb three times. Any comment?"

I ignored the barbed questions and kept laying bricks, but my fingers wouldn't stop trembling.

I knew Nolan's tactics all too well.

His gentleness had always been poison wrapped in sugar.

All I wanted was to stay as far from him as possible.

The standoff stretched on—until Nolan suddenly walked over and blocked the cameras with his tall frame.

"Our personal matters are none of your business. Back off."

He turned to me, his eyes churning with emotions I couldn't read:

"Corinne."

A pause. Then, again:

"It's been a while."

That familiar voice drove into my chest like a needle.

My hand slipped. The brick hit the ground with a clang.

Shards of debris sliced into my calf. Blood seeped through.

Nolan crouched down immediately, reaching for my wound. "How could you be so careless?"

I jerked back, scrambled to my feet, and turned to Edward.

"Sorry, boss. I'll clean this up. I'll pay for any damaged materials."

Just then, a soft, delicate voice drifted from the black Jeep:

"Nolan, why are you spending so much time talking to some worker? The school's waiting for us to start the meeting!"

Christine Cobb stepped out in a pale blue dress, naturally looping her arm through Nolan's and resting her head on his shoulder.

She was the one who'd swapped the exams ten years ago—the real culprit behind those students' deaths.

And now, she was the woman constantly at Nolan's side.

Behind her stood my parents—the same ones who'd cut me off a decade ago.

Christine looked me over, a mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips:

"Ms. Harding, I never imagined you'd end up like this."

"Oh, by the way—Isaac Harding and Victoria Dickerson have taken me in as their goddaughter now. So technically, I should be calling you 'big sister.'"

I looked at my parents. They had aged so much in ten years.

My father's back was no longer straight, and my mother's hair had gone completely white.

A dull ache spread through my chest.

If they knew that their precious goddaughter was the one who destroyed everything I had—what would they do?

My father stared at me coldly.

"We only have one daughter, and that's Christine. A criminal like you, someone who got a student killed—I can't even stand to look at you."

My mother's voice dripped with venom.

"Principal Fox, why are you wasting your time on this piece of trash?"

"Let her rot on that construction site for all I care!"

The workers around us had stopped what they were doing. I could feel their stares crawling over me.

I turned away, forcing the tears back. I couldn't look at my parents anymore.

Nolan sighed.

"Don't blame them. What happened back then—it broke them."

He held out a bank card.

"I owe you. I'll make it up to you over time. There's enough in here to get you by for a while."

I took the card and shoved it into my work pants without a second glance.

I wasn't accepting his compensation. I just didn't want to make a scene in front of everyone.

I didn't believe for a second that he'd shown up here by coincidence. And I wanted nothing more to do with him.

But three days later, I got a call from Edward.

"Corinne, don't bother coming in tomorrow."

"I didn't know you used to be a teacher. A little site like ours can't handle someone with your kind of education."

Before I could ask what was going on, he hung up.

When I tried calling back, the number had been disconnected.

At the same time, a text came through confirming my wages had been deposited—five hundred dollars more than we'd agreed on. The note read:

Consider this severance. Please don't come back. We can't afford to cross Principal Fox's people.

I understood immediately. Nolan had made this happen.

Sure enough, his call came through moments later.

"Corinne, what happened back then is a closed case. I can't change that. But I can make things right in other ways."

"Construction work is too hard on you. I've already handled your resignation. I bought you an apartment in Riverton—you can move in whenever you're ready."

"Christine is managing archives at the school, but she's still learning the ropes. You could help her out."

My fists clenched so hard my knuckles cracked.

How dare he?

How dare he push me into hell, turn everyone I loved against me, and then swoop back in like some kind of savior to destroy the only peace I'd managed to find?

How dare he think he could just rearrange my life like pieces on a board?

I forced my voice to stay level. "Thank you for your concern, Principal Fox, but I'm happy with my life as it is. Please don't contact me again."

Silence on the other end. Then his voice came back, threaded with something harder.

"Corinne. Still as stubborn as ever."

"Someone with a record like yours can only survive in the city. I'm offering you the best possible terms. What more could you want?"

"If you won't agree... I'll have to try other methods."

After I hung up, the unease in my chest grew heavier by the hour.

That afternoon, I found out exactly what his "other methods" looked like.

With the construction job gone, I went into Riverton to look for work—restaurants, textile factories, anything.

But no matter how desperate they were for help, the moment I gave my name, every single employer shook their head.

Out of options, I made my way back to the corrugated tin shack I'd been renting.

Alvin James was waiting by the door, his eyes rimmed with red.

He was a kind old man. When I'd first arrived with nowhere to go, he let me stay for free for two weeks. He'd even brought me steamed buns when I had nothing to eat.

"Corinne... you need to find somewhere else."

His voice trembled.

"Principal Fox's people came by. They said if I keep letting you stay here, my grandson won't be able to finish school in peace."

"I can't do anything. I'm sorry."

I patted his shoulder without a word and packed my bags that same night.

So this was Nolan's idea of compensation.

First destroy everything I had, then toss me scraps like some kind of charity case.

Disgusting.

The day I moved out of the corrugated tin shack, Nolan's car appeared on the Riverton highway.

He watched me through the window.

There was a hint of exhaustion in his eyes, though his refined composure remained intact.

He waved, and several attendants immediately stepped forward to help with my battered suitcase.

As if we'd never fallen out. As if he was simply here to bring me home.

At the house in Riverton, he poured me a cup of hot tea.

"You always liked this after grading papers. Said it helped you focus."

I took the cup. My fingertips touched the warm ceramic, but my whole body felt cold.

I knew better.

Every gesture of care from Nolan was warmth on the surface, calculation underneath.

I set the cup down and looked him straight in the eye.

"I don't want to talk about the past. If you really want to make things right, stay out of my life."

Nolan frowned. Something dark flickered across his face.

"Corinne, I know you're bitter. But don't be stubborn."

"I'll have the school reinstate your teaching credentials. Stay with me, and no one will dare touch you."

"If Christine bothers you, I'll keep her away. Just rest here for now."

His tone left no room for argument. He clearly intended to keep me under his thumb.

But Christine was never one to stay in her lane.

The day after I moved in, she showed up with a pack of reporters.

"Corinne! You're back and you didn't even tell me?"

"The exam scandal—yes, you had your part in it, but you've already paid the price."

"On behalf of everyone, welcome back to Riverton!"

She was the real culprit, yet here she was playing the gracious peacemaker for the cameras.

Then she handed me a necklace with a jade pendant.

"Just a little gift. If you ever need money or help, come to me anytime!"

Her performance fooled everyone.

That night, the local tabloids were plastered with headlines:

EXAM SCANDAL CONVICT RETURNS TO RIVERTON—PRINCIPAL FOX TAKES HER IN OUT OF LOYALTY!

VICTIMS' FAMILIES OUTRAGED: WHY DOES THE CRIMINAL GET TO LIVE WELL?

Overnight, Nolan became the noble principal who stood by his people. Christine became the generous, virtuous girlfriend.

And me? I was thrown back into the spotlight, drowning in hatred all over again.

Whether by accident or design, Christine leaked the address.

After that, families of the victims gathered outside every day, holding signs and shouting. Some threw rocks through the windows.

Less than a week later, my parents showed up.

It was the first time in ten years they'd come to see me.

When I saw them standing at the door, something small and fragile stirred in my chest.

"Mom, Dad, you—"

Before I could finish, my father spat at my feet.

"Don't call us that! We don't have a criminal for a daughter!"

My mother gripped his arm, her voice like ice.

"Corinne, you killed all those students. You should be rotting in some hole, not clinging to Principal Fox and Christine."

"Christine's too polite to say it herself, so we're saying it for her."

"Get out of here. Or we'll have someone drag you out."