The shop assistant brought a bowl of fresh pierogi. Allison took one bite, then frowned and pushed it aside.

“These pierogi are not even fully cooked. How can they be eaten?”

The assistant quickly replaced it with another bowl. She complained again, saying it was not the shepherd’s purse filling she wanted.

The third time, she mixed the soup and was still not pleased, still very picky.

Zariah knew she had come on purpose to trouble her, so the fourth time she handled it herself.

She did not plan to speak, but as she turned, Allison stopped her.

“Zariah, do you know? The one not loved is the mistress. Now you are that mistress. When do you plan to step aside and leave space for me? I am not the kind to accept another woman besides Denzel.”

Zariah did not look back and only said in a calm voice, “Then I hope you get what you want.”

Those words made Allison smile with even more pride.

“You probably still don’t know, right? Before, Denzel fell for me the moment he saw me. To ask me to be with him, he was willing to give up everything. And you? What do you have? From the start until now, you are just someone he easily let go. Really pitiful.”

Zariah’s lips formed a slight cold smile. Her voice stayed steady and cold. “I don’t know what way you used to win him. I just hope you look after yourself.”

After speaking, she turned around and left, without looking at Allison again.

Behind her, the sound of plates and bowls breaking followed.

Zariah kept walking. Only her fingers holding her apron became a little tighter.

They were only unimportant people and matters. Not worth it.

That afternoon, the diner was busy. The door was suddenly pushed open.

Denzel came in front of her. His voice was tense and mad.

“Zariah, why do you add medicine to the pierogi? Allison eats your pierogi, and now her throat is poisoned, and she loses her voice!”

Zariah had not yet reacted when she was pulled to the diner entrance and made to kneel on the ground.

A part of the stone tile at the doorway stuck up. Her knees hit it hard. Small pieces went into her skin, and the pain made her sight turn dark.

But Denzel did not notice at all. When he saw she did not lift her head, he thought she was acting out again, and his anger grew stronger.

“Kneel and bow to Allison and say sorry. She has an event today. You make her lose her voice, so she cannot go on stage.”

Before, when she once hurt her hand while fixing flowers, Denzel would feel pain for her every time. He would put medicine on it, wrap it, and act like a child feeling upset.

Now her blood stained her clothes red. No matter how clear it was, he did not see it.

Forget it. Zariah’s lips formed a faint mocking smile. She no longer hoped he would care.

But before she could speak, Allison gently pulled the man’s sleeve and handed him her phone.

On the screen was a line: [Let’s forget it, Denzel, I didn’t think it through. I shouldn’t let Miss Ambrose say sorry in public. I’m fine… It’s just this event is very important to me…]

After he read it, Denzel spoke in a lower voice, his tone heavy in a way never heard before.

“You should know how much it hurts to lose your voice from poison, yet you make Allison go through it once? How can you do that?!”

“Allison is thinking about you with all her heart, but since you refuse like this, don’t blame me.”

At that moment, Zariah felt completely stunned. She lifted her head and looked at him in shock.

In his eyes, there was no sign of love, only dislike and displeasure toward her.

“Hold her, make her bow three times to Allison.”

With one command, two bodyguards held her arms from behind, forced her head down, and made her bow three times.

Allison still looked unsatisfied, her face showing no emotion.

Seeing this, Zariah was pushed down again, forced to bow again and again.

More and more people gathered around, many pointed at her and spoke for Allison.

Her pride was crushed, low like dust.

Zariah slowly became numb until the ninety-ninth time. Allison suddenly smiled and signaled the bodyguards to stop.

A severe pain suddenly hit her forehead. Warm blood ran down her face and blurred her view.

Denzel crouched down. His fingers brushed her wound softly, and his voice was calm. “Do not do this kind of thing again.”

There was no warmth in his tone. This was the man she had loved for years.

After he spoke, he stood up. He casually held Allison next to him and left.

Her knees stayed on the floor until they lost feeling, like many needles poking her. Zariah tried again and again to stand, but failed.

The eyes around her felt hot, like fire burning her.

Flashes kept shining. Phones aimed at her. Some people laughed, some whispered, but no one came to help.

She bit her teeth and used all her strength. Slowly, she pushed herself up and stood.

Her legs shook so badly she almost fell again. She held the wall and slowly walked back into the shop.

The diner became empty, no people remained for a long time, leaving only a lifeless quiet.

She looked at the disorder and emptiness, suddenly gave a low laugh, the sound dry and lonely.

She raised her hand and slowly shut the door of the shop.

Sealing all the shame and staring looks outside along with it.

As she leaned against the counter to calm her breathing, Zariah had not even cleaned the blood on her forehead when the door was suddenly pushed open hard.

The person spoke with a cold tone, directly saying, “Someone reported your shop does not meet hygiene standards, immediately close and suspend business.”

Her heart tightened. Using her weak body, she stepped forward wanting to explain, but before any words came out, she was suddenly pushed.

Her body fell back without control, crashing hard into the door, the wound on her forehead pulling into sharp pain.

She awkwardly lifted her head, but through the glass door, her eyes met a cold person.

It was Denzel’s personal assistant.

No more words were needed; that look had already explained everything.

It was Denzel’s order.

She had not yet climbed out of shame when he himself completely broke her last support.

Truly impressive!

Dragging her hurt body back to the house, the wounds still faintly aching, Zariah seemed to feel nothing and took out all the papers from the drawer.

The already prepared food safety inspection certificate, the recording of when she was forced to kneel, the unclear video taken by others when she knocked her head…

One by one, piece by piece, she arranged everything neatly in order.

Every word and line carried the shame she had gone through.

Zariah did not pause; she directly handed all the proof under her real name to the proper offices.

What belonged to her, she would slowly take back with her own hands.

After finishing all this, she lifted her eyes to look at the eye-catching wedding photo on the wall.

The two people in the picture smiled falsely and sweetly.

In the next second, she grabbed the frame and threw it hard onto the ground.

The glass broke and scattered, and the photo was stepped on until it could no longer be recognized.

As if the feelings held in for too long finally burst out, her eyes red, she wildly smashed everything in the house that could be broken.

Ornaments, tables, curtains…

In the end, she lit a fire to those things that proved they had once cared for each other.

The flames rose, coloring the whole room red.

The thick smoke made Zariah cough hard, but she did not move, only watched those memories burn into ash, her eyes empty and still.

When she finally lost her strength, she slowly went back to the room, fell onto the bed, and drifted to sleep.

Inside her dream, everything felt mixed; many old scenes passed by, pulling her step by step into deeper darkness.

Until early morning came, and loud knocking woke her.

As soon as she opened the door, Allison stood there, her face full of anger.

“Why did you expose me? Now everyone knows everything, they are all blaming me!”

Zariah coldly laughed. Her voice stayed calm, almost scary. “This is what you deserve.”

When Allison heard this, she lost control and rushed at her like mad.

She lifted her hand and slapped her hard. The mark showed clearly.

Allison was stunned by the hit. She was about to fight back when the sound of a car came from outside.

In the next moment, she suddenly changed. With a thud, she dropped to her knees in front of Zariah. Tears kept falling like rain.

“Miss Ambrose, I am wrong. I will not go near Denzel again. Please let me go. I cannot lose my radio job…”

Zariah said nothing. She only watched her coldly.

She wanted to see how long Allison would keep acting.

But Allison had already planned it. She knew Denzel had come back, so she cried even harder and kept bowing her head to beg.

Before Zariah could speak, the man rushed in quickly. He pulled Allison behind him and looked at Zariah with cold eyes.

“You want to push her to death before you feel satisfied? Allison does nothing wrong. How can you be so cruel?”

At that moment, Zariah suddenly laughed, and tears fell at the same time.

Yes, Allison did nothing wrong. The one who was wrong was always her.

She did not explain. Her voice was rough as she said, “Leave. Take your people and leave.”

He snorted and held Allison by the waist and walked out of the house.

After they left, Zariah fell to the floor. Her face looked pale and lifeless.

She thought everything ended there.

But at midnight, a bucket of cold water was poured over her head. She woke up at once.

The cold soaked her whole body. Her wounds hurt even more, and her body shook from the pain.

Before she could react, someone pulled her up roughly. They covered her head and took her into a car.

In the dark, a phone suddenly rang loudly. Someone held the phone in front of her.

As soon as the call connected, Denzel’s cold voice came through.

“Are you happy now? Because of your report, Allison cannot stay at the station anymore. Her host job is gone. She cannot face people for the rest of her life… Zariah, you are really cruel.”

Zariah leaned against the car window. Her body was wet, but her voice stayed calm and clear.

“She did many wrong things. She set me up and shamed me. This is what she deserves. I only showed the truth. What is wrong?”

“Ridiculous.” The man’s voice carried anger. He seemed to hate her deeply. “Since you do not admit your fault, go to the detention center and think about it.”

After the call ended, the car stopped in front of the detention center.

No one explained anything. No one asked her. She was pushed inside.

The days were dark, with no light.

Because of Denzel’s order, the people inside either hit her or cursed at her. Food often did not reach her.

At night, there was no bed. She could only curl up on the cold floor.

Her wounds swelled and hurt. Her whole body ached. Hunger and cold kept troubling her day and night.

One day, two days, three days… every moment felt like a year.

On the sixth day, she was released.

The bright sunlight hit her face. She narrowed her eyes without thinking.

Under the light, a man stood there. His presence felt strong.

He looked at her messy and wounded state, then slowly spoke.

His tone carried a little teasing and a little confidence. “I did not expect you to become like this.”

He paused, looking into her empty yet firm eyes, and gave a light smile.

“Now, I help you take back everything that belongs to you. What do you think?”