"Melanie, what are you doing here?"

As soon as he saw her, Spencer's expression softened. He glanced at me, still sprawled on the floor, and quickly raised his hand to shield Melanie's eyes. "Don't look. You're pregnant, and you shouldn't stress yourself. I don't want you having nightmares tonight."

"That's not very nice. You might hurt Lorelei's feelings."

Spencer smiled indulgently. "I'm just being honest. Lorelei looks a little frightening like this, doesn't she?"

Melanie giggled while covering her mouth, unable to stop laughing.

"Lorelei, this is Rowena's ashes."

I shakily took the small urn from her, and for a moment, it felt like Rowena was standing before me again, tugging at my sleeve, calling out to me in her sweet, innocent voice.

Then, the image shifted. Rowena was lying under the wheels of the truck, covered in blood, reaching out to me with desperate cries. "Mom… it hurts…"

The child I had carried for nine months and raised myself was now reduced to a small urn. I never even got to see her one last time…

A metallic taste flooded my mouth, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Lorelei!" Spencer finally noticed the blood soaking my legs and rushed to lift me up. "I'll call the doctor!"

After he left the room, Melanie's smile vanished. She tilted her head, her eyes gleaming with mockery. "Lorelei, you really haven't changed, have you?"

She reached out and pressed her hand firmly against my legs, relishing the sound of my scream.

"Think carefully about what you should and shouldn't say."

For a moment, I was transported back to those terrifying school days, to the filthy, dreadful bathroom where Melanie had stood in front of me, smirking. "Lorelei, I don't know whether you heard, but the new building at school was sponsored by my dad.

"The teacher will have a talk with you tomorrow. There'll be reporters there too. If you still want to attend school here, think carefully about what you should and shouldn't say."

Fear spread through me, and I could feel my teeth chattering.

Right then, the door to the hospital room suddenly swung open, and Spencer's mother, Courtney Ford, stormed in with an air of authority.

"Lorelei, I'm telling you right now—I don't approve of your marriage to Spencer!

"You're not worthy of my son! I only tolerated you for Rowena's sake, but now that she's gone, you can forget about becoming Mrs. Ford!"

She hurled insults at me, then grabbed Melanie by the arm. "Melanie, how are things going with Tyrone? Any good news?"

Tyrone Ford was her younger son, Spencer's brother.

Melanie rubbed her belly, blushing as she nodded. "I'm two months along…"

Courtney's face lit up with joy. "Really? That's wonderful! Melanie, I'm sure you'll be a great mom, unlike someone…"

She cast a disdainful glance at me. "You shouldn't spend too much time with a woman like her. She couldn't even keep her child alive. She's probably got some bad karma; maybe that's why her daughter ended up dead!"

"Mom!"

Spencer walked in just as Courtney finished speaking.

"Lorelei is the woman I've chosen. I love her, and that doesn't change even if she can't walk again!"

Courtney, furious at his words, nearly collapsed in disbelief. She couldn't do anything about it, so she stormed out with Melanie, fuming.

Now, it was just Spencer and me in the room. He took a ring from his pocket and slipped it onto my finger.

"Lorelei, don't worry. Our wedding won't be canceled. When your sins are forgiven, we'll move to Myrathia, leave this sad place behind, and never look back."

As Spencer whispered those words, I could no longer hold back the pain that had been building inside me.

He hated me for bullying Melanie, constantly demanding that I atone for my actions. But the person who had been bullied all along had always been me.

-

The wedding was happening in three days. To make it in time for the rescheduled ceremony, I discharged myself from the hospital as soon as I felt a little better.

Spencer drove to pick me up. On the way home, he kept trying to cheer me up. "Think on the bright side, Lorelei. Even though Rowena is gone, we're still young. After we're married, we'll have more children."

No, we wouldn't. Spencer and I would never have children again.

The night I found out the truth, I had already booked a flight abroad.

This twisted relationship had to end.

I held the urn in my hands and turned my head to look out the window. For a moment, it almost seemed like Rowena was waving at me.

The car drove all the way to the Ford family's mansion, where Melanie was already waiting at the door.

As soon as she saw Spencer, she pouted and playfully complained, "What took you so long? Courtney and I have been waiting for you forever."

Spencer affectionately rubbed her head and promised her several sets of expensive jewelry, which made her smile brightly.

Spencer and Melanie laughed and talked as they made their way to the villa, leaving me behind with my broken legs. Only the cleaning staff, pitying me, helped me into the wheelchair.

At dinner, Melanie, still rubbing her belly, suddenly spoke up. "Spencer, I'd like Lorelei to be the baby's godmother. Is that okay?"

Before I could say anything, Courtney snorted. "The baby in your belly will lead the Ford family someday. How could someone like her be its godmother?"

Courtney had never liked me. After Rowena's death, she became convinced that my bad luck had caused my daughter's death, and that her son might be affected by it too. Her hostility toward me turned unbearable.

"But her daughter died so tragically… I just don't want her to get too upset."

Melanie looked at the urn I was still gripping tightly and fell silent.

Courtney's face immediately hardened. "Lorelei, why are you still holding that urn? If you upset Melanie and affect the baby, you'll be sorry! Someone get rid of that thing!"

Spencer frowned. "Rowena's gone. You should bury her and let her rest in peace."

I bit my lip and shook my head, choosing to retreat to my room with the urn.

Spencer followed me. "Lorelei, my mom doesn't mean to target you. It's just… Melanie's pregnant, and seeing the urn might upset her."

The pain in my heart was unbearable. Rowena was his flesh and blood, yet in his eyes, she had become something he didn't want people to see.

I couldn't bear to hear any more. Slamming the door behind me, I locked myself in my room.

My phone buzzed with a new message, the sound sharp and intrusive. I opened the message, and a video began to play.

The moment I saw it, my heart stopped. Rowena's screams filled the room, and I froze, unable to move.

In the video, my three-year-old daughter lay in a pool of blood, her tiny body marked with the terrible, cruel lashings she had endured. She looked directly into the camera, her lips trembling as she whispered, "Mommy... save me..."

The message that followed felt like a slap to the face.

[I'm guessing you didn’t know your daughter wasn't dead when the accident happened. Spencer gave her to me and let me do whatever I wanted to her to get back at you.

[So I locked her in the basement and tortured her for three whole days. She begged me to stop up until the second she died.]

"Lorelei, your daughter's just like you—useless and pathetic."

I spun around at the sound of Melanie's voice, her smug smile burning into me. "Do you know why Spencer was so eager to have the body cremated? Because your daughter was tortured to death. He didn't want you to see the scars and target me.

"Five years ago, you were my defeated enemy. Five years later, you're still nothing more than a loser."

"Ahhh!!" I screamed, a guttural cry of rage clouding all my senses. One thought consumed me—Melanie had to pay for what she had done to Rowena.

Seeing the stairs behind her, I surged forward, using every ounce of strength I had to charge at her. But just before I reached her, she flashed me a smile and, without hesitation, stepped backward, falling.

My heart lurched as a terrible feeling washed over me.

Then, Spencer's voice rang out from behind me, full of fury.

"Lorelei!"

He rushed over in an instant, kicking me hard in the chest.

"If anything happens to Melanie or the baby, I won't forgive you!"

He scooped up Melanie, who was still moaning in pain after falling down the stairs, and hurried out of the room to head to the hospital.

I collapsed to the floor, clutching my chest in agony.

With the entire Ford family gone to the hospital, the vast mansion felt eerily empty.

Unable to walk, I used my arms to drag myself back to my room, inch by painful inch.

As night fell outside, the door to my room opened. Spencer entered, his expression solemn.

"Melanie lost the baby," he said through clenched teeth. "Lorelei, you bullied Melanie in school—you made her fail her exams and pushed her to the brink of suicide. Now you've caused the death of her baby!"

It was the first time he had confronted me about the bullying directly.

"I didn't bully her," I replied, my voice calm despite the fury burning inside.

Before I could say anything else, he threw a diary at me.

I picked it up, and a single glance was enough to recognize it—it was a diary I'd kept in high school.

Every word inside it was a record of the abuse Melanie had subjected me to.

But now, the cover of the diary had her name written across it.

"Open your eyes. Every word in this diary is proof of your cruelty! I never imagined that beneath your gentle exterior, you could harbor such a vicious heart.

"You hid it so well. Despite knowing your sins, I still couldn't help but fall in love with you... You deserve to die."

He was so close now that I could see the veins on his forehead throbbing with rage.

"I was going to give you a chance to atone, but now it's clear—you're beyond redemption."

His hand raised, and for a moment, I thought he would strike me.

Suddenly, I was transported back to the years of torment Melanie had put me through. The fear and the pain I'd tried to escape from flashed through my mind.

His eyes softened when he saw my terrified reaction.

"Spencer, you have to avenge my baby!"

Melanie burst into the room, tears streaming down her face. "Don't you remember what she did to me? She stripped clothes off me, dragged me to the bathroom, and beat me senseless! Have you forgotten?

"Now it's her turn, and you feel sorry for her? What about the pain I’ve gone through?"

Her voice broke with emotion as she stormed to the window, as if preparing to jump. "If you've fallen for her, I might as well die!"

"Melanie!"

Spencer took a deep breath, finally speaking up. He stepped forward, grabbing her before she could make any rash moves.

He turned his gaze to me, silence stretching between us before he spoke.

"Lorelei, when you do wrong, you have to face the consequences."

His eyes briefly lingered on my legs, and his voice dropped low. "The wedding's tomorrow. She can kneel in the guest house until morning to repent."

Melanie was furious. "But she killed my baby! One night of kneeling isn't enough! I want her to pay with her life!"

"Melanie!" Spencer's voice grew harsh, and he turned to her, his tone commanding. "Don't say such things again. She's going to be my wife..."

He softened his voice as he glanced at Melanie's reddened eyes. "I promise you, once the wedding is over, I'll let you do what you want with her. But you can't kill her."

I lowered my head, a cold smirk tugging at the corner of my lips.

She wouldn't get to do anything to me because I would be gone tomorrow.

I clutched the USB in my hand—my wedding gift to Spencer.

Inside it, I had recorded everything Melanie had done to me in high school: the beatings, the insults, everything.

I wondered if, when Spencer finally knew the truth, he would regret what he had done to me.

-

The day of the wedding came, and Spencer ordered someone to pick Lorelei up early.

He had spent the entire night thinking it through, and finally, he had made up his mind.

He loved Lorelei.

Even though he had orchestrated their first meeting with a hidden agenda, after five years of being together, Lorelei's name had become permanently etched in his heart.

So, despite Lorelei's mistakes, he believed she had paid for them in full. Once they were married, Spencer planned to take Lorelei away and start a new life, just the two of them.

Having made up his mind, Spencer wanted to look for Lorelei.

But Courtney stopped him. "There's no rush. You'll see her at the wedding."

Spencer hesitated for a moment, then relented, deciding to go to the venue first.

He took in the decorations, nodding in approval at the wheelchair covered in flowers that he had specifically arranged.

As he saw the red roses and white ribbon twisted together, his mind flashed back to that day, to the sight of Lorelei covered in blood.

Even though he was behind the accident that broke Lorelei's legs, he still wanted to see her happy.

Guests began arriving, and the large screen began showing pictures of Spencer and Lorelei from the past five years.

He watched the photos with a small smile tugging at his lips.

He couldn't wait to see Lorelei's reaction when she saw those memories, wondering if she would cry.

But just then, his phone rang.

"Spencer, I have bad news! Lorelei... Lorelei's dead!"