To help Sean pay off his high-interest loans, I sold my house. He hugged me tightly, crying, and promised to marry me on next year's Valentine's Day.

It happened to be Valentine's Day when I paid off the last of his debt. However, what I saw shattered me—he was in bed with another woman.

He arrogantly mocked me: "What are you staring at? You're not much different from her, are you? Go buy some rubbers for us."

That's when it hit me—he had lied to me.

Later, I agreed to marry the man my parents had chosen for me before they passed away.

On the wedding day, Sean and his friends came to mock me:

"Ella, do you think that I'll marry you if you just wear a wedding dress and follow me around? You're so shameless!"

However, everything changed when the priest announced the exchange of rings. At that moment, as Sean's uncle knelt and placed the ring on my finger, I saw a flash of fear in Sean's eyes.

"You're downright shameless, Ella! Really, you're stalking me?

"You think slipping into a wedding gown means I'll say 'I do'?"

The priest was right there, ready to start the ring exchange, but the mocking voices cut through the air.

Sean Foster, all dapper in his suit, pointed at me with a smug grin. "Take a good look at yourself, Ella. You think you're in my league? Honestly, if you hadn't offered to bail me out, I wouldn't have given you the time of day.

"Who'd want you? You think I'd settle for you?"

The guys flanking him snickered, their faces twisted with scorn as they piled on.

"Isn't this Ella who sold her house, her car, and who knows what else for my buddy? What's wrong? Got dumped and now you're looking for my friend to clean up your mess?"

"She sold her body? Disgusting."

"She's got some nerve, showing up on the day Sean's uncle's getting hitched."

Their taunts hit me like a barrage, each word a heavy stone on my heart.

I was clueless about Sean's debts to the sharks when we started dating. Six months in, I would still have been in the dark if his creditors had not come knocking.

He was the one who pleaded with me, swore I was his one and only, his future wife. Even when I knew he was just after my money, I never bad-mouthed him.

Alas, there I was, being called a tramp, a lowlife…

The wedding was winding down, and I did not want my once-in-a-lifetime moment ruined by these memories. I bit back the curses and faced him, my voice steady but firm.

"Sean, I never stalked you, and marrying you is the last thing on my mind. After all, today's my wedding day."

Their laughter erupted. Even Sean, caught off-guard, joined in after a beat.

"You, getting married? Who'd marry a plain Jane like you?"

Sean's voice dripped with scorn. "You must've picked today to corner me into marriage. You're not even fit to carry my shoes."

His friends, always eager for drama, chimed in with their own jabs. "Come on, don't be so harsh," one of them laughed. "She has a fine body. Turn off the lights, and nobody can tell the difference."

I had been with Sean for three years, and I had hoped he would defend me. However, the look in his eyes was pure revulsion, as if I were nothing more than a virus to him.

The priest, unable to bear the scene any longer, cleared his throat loudly. "Quiet down, everyone. James will have the ring shortly." The room fell silent at his words, but only for a moment before Sean's friends erupted into mocking laughter.

Sean's face, however, turned serious as he lunged at the priest, grabbing his robe. "You're just a priest. You have no right to use my uncle's name."

"The whole town of Riverton knows my uncle is marrying the love of his life today. What's she doing here?" he sneered, gesturing at me.

Initially, I was clueless about Sean's background. I thought he was just some guy in over his head with debt. It was only after our breakup that I learned he was the scion of Riverton's influential Foster family.

To teach him independence, his family had cut him off financially. Of course, make no mistake, the Fosters ruled Riverton.

The priest shook with fear under Sean's glare, his bible slipping from his hands to the floor. He looked desperately at me for help.

Before I could utter a word, Sean yanked the tiara from my head. "My uncle designed this, Ella. Did you think you could just steal it?"

The tiara's jewels dug into my scalp, drawing blood.

I remember the time I was hauling bricks on a job site just to help him pay off his debts, and I ended up getting hurt. During the operation, they found out I was allergic to the anesthesia. I had no choice but to grit my teeth and bear it. The pain was like a diamond slicing through my skull.

Fighting through the throbbing in my head, I realized Sean was James's nephew.

"Sean, your uncle gave this to me. I didn't steal it—"

I could not even get the words out before he snapped. His hands tangled in my hair, he sneered, "Ella, who do you think you are? My uncle would never fall for someone like you. Do you have any clue who calls the shots in the Foster family? He does! How dare you even touch him?

"If you don't want to end up dead, you better get out of here, fast."

He yanked so hard on my hair that I thought my neck might snap. My necklace fell free and clattered to the floor.

Tears fell, splashing on the necklace as I picked it up, my hands shaking. Inside was a picture of my parents. My mother's biggest regret was not seeing me married with kids. Wearing that necklace felt like carrying a part of them with me.

Rage boiled inside me.

"Stop talking nonsense. You're just a bad woman trying to steal Sean from me…

"Today is Sean's uncle's big day, and here you are, clutching a picture of the dead. Are you trying to put a curse on their marriage?"

The voice belonged to Mandy Lewis, the woman who had been on the bed together with Sean last Valentine's Day.

She looked at me with a smug grin. "Oh, so you're the one who, five years ago, wanted to eat cake so badly that it led to your parents' fatal car crash? You're a jinx, you know that? You killed your own parents. Sean did the right thing dumping you.

"What's next? Planning to off his uncle too?"

Her words cut through me like a blade, the pain so intense that I could not catch my breath.

Instinctively, I reached to grab her, but before I could, she tumbled to the ground, her face the picture of innocence, tears pouring like they were free. "I didn't say anything wrong, did I? You offed your parents, and now you're after my baby?

"Sean, it hurts so much. Our baby..."

Sean froze, his eyes darting to Mandy's stomach.

Mandy glanced back at me, her face twisted in a victorious smirk. I knew right then she was playing me.

"Mandy, you better cut the crap—ah!"

I did not see it coming. Sean's slap landed hard, my face swelling instantly, the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

He scooped up Mandy with a gentleness I had never seen, his eyes filled with worry.

He crushed my hand, the one clutching my necklace, under his foot, his eyes blazing with fury. "Ella, you ruined my uncle's wedding, and now you're trying to hurt my child. You like that necklace so much? Well, I'll just destroy it."

Sean's foot came down on my hand repeatedly, rendering my hand a bloody pulp.

Despite the pain, I would not let go. After making sure Mandy was okay, he crouched down, his gaze filled with contempt. "Let's see how much more you can take, Ella."

"Sean, please, no more..."

He ignored my words, gripping my swollen cheek with a rough hand, his gaze shifting to the unbruised side of my face, his eyes chilling and hard.

With a sharp slap, my ears rang, the world going silent.

In a desperate move, I bit down on his hand, refusing to let go.

Pain contorted his face as he yanked his hand free.

"If you don't finish me off today, you're going to regret it, Sean," I spat out.

"You're not even worth the effort," he sneered, cradling his injured hand and scanning the area.

Once he was gone, I looked at my palm. The necklace lay there, bloodied but whole.

Out of nowhere, Sean appeared with a dagger, advancing toward me.

Panic surged, and I screamed, "Sean, stop! You can't do this to me..."

However, I was powerless. He ripped the necklace from my grasp.

"Ella, apologize for what you did to the child, and maybe I'll give this back," he taunted, the blade dancing over the necklace's pendant.

"Ella, you've got one minute to say you're sorry, or forget about any old times," he added with a cruel smile.

Mandy and his cronies goaded him on, "She's a danger to your kid, Sean! You need to stand up to her..."

"Sean, my stomach... it hurts so bad... is our baby dying?"

As I stood defiant, Mandy's cries of pain pushed Sean over the edge. The knife moved, and the pendant's glass shattered.

A tiny photo fell out—the picture of my parents.

Tears streamed down as I clutched my wedding dress, my voice like a whisper, "Mr. Foster, I'm sorry for the trouble with your child. Please, just give me the photo back."

However, my plea did nothing to cool his fury. He brandished the photo of my parents and threatened, "Ella, you owe Mandy an apology!"

In that instant, what little dignity I had left was shattered.

Struggling, I approached Mandy and bowed deeply. "Ms. Lewis, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have touched you or your child. Please, I'm begging for your forgiveness..."

With that, I turned to Sean, hope flickering in my eyes. "Will you give it back now?"

Sean, clutching the photo, sauntered over and stopped just a breath away, his gaze piercing me. "You want this?"

"Yes, please, please give it back..." I nodded frantically, my hand outstretched for the cherished photo.

Sean then smirked.

He dropped the photo into a wine glass, tipped it out, and started grinding it under his shoe.

I let out a gut-wrenching scream and collapsed at his feet, yanking at his leg in a fury. "Sean, you jerk! I did what you wanted, so why are you still doing this to me? What did they ever do to deserve this?"

Sean's eyes lingered on my tear-streaked face for a moment before his mocking smile returned. "Now let's talk about you stealing the tiara from my uncle, Ella.

"Do you even know who my uncle is? You thought you could get close to him, did you?

"He's the king of Riverton, and you're nothing but a toad, not fit to even touch his shoes!"

I looked at the face I once knew so well and fell silent.

I was nothing but a gold digger in his eyes.

Yet when I first knew him, he was just a guy eating cheap food on the street corner.

"Sean, you claim I stole the tiara, but do you even recognize this?"