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?"

I slid the bracelet off my wrist, the one I had always worn.

The day James came to ask for my hand, he slipped the bracelet onto my wrist himself. He told me it was a cherished Clark family heirloom, passed down to new brides.

When Sean caught a glimpse of the bracelet, his face twisted with even more fury. "Ella, you're such a liar!" he spat. "Flaunting a knockoff and claiming it's a Clark family treasure?

"My own mother never laid hands on it. What makes you think you're worthy? Where'd you get this fake?"

The house was already buzzing with guests, but Sean's outburst drew an even larger crowd.

"Disgraceful woman," someone hissed.

"She steals and then has the gall to fake a family heirloom, trying to worm her way into marriage. She's an embarrassment to us all."

The crowd, sensing a scandal, eagerly piled on.

Their words grew wilder, and the pain in my body mounted until my hands shook.

"I'm no thief."

Anyone paying attention could see the fury I was fighting to contain.

Mandy, however, was having none of it. Gone was any pretense of weakness, her eyes gleamed with malice.

"Got the nerve to steal but not to confess, Ella?" she taunted. "I'll teach you a lesson for Sean's uncle."

She swung at me, but I caught her wrist and slammed it down, ignoring the pain shooting through my other hand. I shot a defiant look at the onlookers.

"Think I'm a thief? James will clear things up when he gets here."

Panic flickered in their eyes, but Sean was unfazed. "Quit your act. My uncle is getting married today. He's got no time for your theatrics."

Mandy was out for blood, determined to see me humiliated.

As she maliciously picked off the diamonds from my wedding gown, everyone braced for her next cruel jab. However, her face suddenly registered shock.

"My God, they're real diamonds."

Sean looked on, puzzled, his gaze fixed on me.

He gave his friends a covert nod, and they lunged at me like predators.

I shrank back into a corner, my voice trembling as I said, "Sean, what are you doing? I'm your uncle's bride! What do you want with me?

"Don't touch me. Back off, all of you, just back off!

"Sean, do you really want to make a fool of your uncle?"

With a harsh slap, Sean pinned me to the ground.

"Shut up, Ella. Guys, strip her, take pictures for the press. She'll learn what it means to mess with my uncle's reputation."

At Sean's command, they swarmed me, their intentions clear and vile.

"She's hot. I can hardly help myself."

"I'm first, let me at her..."

Their greedy eyes swept over me, hands daring to grope. In the turmoil, someone's hands snaked under my skirt.

"Sean, get off, don't touch me!"

My wedding dress was no match for their numbers. Stripped of it, I huddled, vulnerable.

"Serves you right," they jeered, indistinguishable from one another.

Tears streamed down as I pleaded, "Please, don't, I'm begging you..."

However, my cries only fueled their frenzy.

As they were about to force my hands apart, James's icy voice cut through the church.