Inside the shop, I could see him daydreaming. Cherry handed him a spoonful of mint ice cream, smiling.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked.

Lewis shook his head, his eyes distant, and then pointed toward the alley beside the old elm.

“You remember this place?”

I shivered at the memory. When he was younger, he had that reckless streak—always running too fast, trusting the wrong timing. One afternoon, as he raced home, a car lost control at the corner of that alley. Tires screeched. He froze, and before he could react, I lunged forward, pushing him out of the way just in time. The impact scraped my arms raw, the sound of the crash echoing in my ears.

I stayed with him until the ambulance arrived, holding his hand, whispering reassurances. But that same day, my grandmother fell gravely ill, and I had no choice but to leave the hospital to help her.

When I returned hours later, hoping to check on him, I froze outside the hospital room. Inside, Cherry’s voice floated through the door.

“I was the one who saved you,” she said, smiling at Lewis as he blinked in gratitude.

My stomach dropped. My courage faltered. I couldn’t argue, couldn’t reveal the truth. I had no choice but to turn away, to go home, swallowed by a hollow ache.

Lewis’s eyes softened, the memory of that day forever misattributed, and I… I became invisible. The girl who had risked herself to save him… erased, while Cherry smiled as if it had been her all along.

***

I came back home in silence, pretending I didn’t know anything.

Over the next week, I threw myself into work. I donated all my assets to start a charity foundation. I helped set up the team, attended every public event, made speeches, smiled for the cameras. But my body was falling apart. One day I even fainted on the office floor.

Lewis wanted to rush me to the hospital, but I stopped him. The doctor said it was normal given my condition. I’d be fine after the heart surgery at the end of the month.

He held my hand like I was fragile glass. “Addy, I’ve been too busy lately. After your surgery, I’ll quit everything and take care of you. Tomorrow, at the foundation ceremony, I’ll be there early.”

I looked at him, the long hair that wasn’t mine brushing his collar, the white shirt tucked perfectly. I nodded slightly. Inside, I told myself it didn’t matter anymore.

The next day, I dragged my swollen, tired body into my dress for the last time. I stood on the stage, ribbon ready, while applause roared around me. Then a sharp cry cut through the air.

People parted. A pregnant woman was sitting on the floor, clutching her belly. She lifted her head. Cherry.

I froze. My scalp tingled like electricity. She had dodged me for years, hiding like a shadow, but now she was here, kneeling with her forehead bloody.

“I’m sorry, Addison… I never meant to disappear back then. They… they threatened me. Told me I’d be killed if I testified. I’ve lived in guilt every day for five years. If it wasn’t for Mr. Hamilton protecting me, I… I don’t know if I’d even be alive after your parents died. I know I’m wrong. I’m not asking for forgiveness… just a chance to make things right.”

Reporters swarmed, cameras flashing. When they saw Lewis, they handed him a mic.

“Mr. Hamilton, she said you protected her… what does that mean? Is that your child?”

Lewis’s eyes went cold. He didn’t answer. He turned to his bodyguards and told them to clear the hall. Minutes later, it was just Cherry and me in the wide, empty room.

Lewis bent toward her instinctively, like he wanted to help her up, but then he stopped, pulled his hand back. When he looked at me, the blame in his gaze was sharp.

“Addy, why let her kneel?”

I looked down at Cherry, my voice calm. “If you’ve been hiding for five years, why are you here now?”

Cherry froze. Her voice shook. “I heard you started a foundation, and everyone was looking for me. I’ve been hiding for five years, I’m barely holding on… Please, Addison, spare the children in my belly. Let them live. They're already pitiful without a father. I’ll work off my sins however you want… like a servant, a slave… anything.”

I swallowed hard, looking at her, at the babies she carried, at everything that had gone wrong in my life. All the lies, all the betrayals, the man I married, the life I lost. And I had to decide what I would do next.

I sank low in the back seat, letting my body slump against the leather. Every part of me ached. My chest burned, my limbs felt like lead, but I had to keep some control. I couldn’t let anyone see me break.

Lewis’s voice still echoed in my head from earlier.

“Addy, I looked into it. None of it was her fault. Cherry was just a kid getting used, she’s been living with guilt for five years. Stop holding onto all this anger and move on.”

Move on? How could I move on when it was Cherry who indirectly destroyed my parents, who slept with my husband behind my back, who ruined the foundation I spent all my energy building, and now, who kneels in front of me demanding forgiveness?

I clenched my hands so tight and straightened my back and turned toward the door. I left the banquet hall alone.

It wasn’t until the car door shut that I let myself collapse. Eyes closed, tears sliding down my cheeks. But in my mind I still saw him. Lewis bent down to wipe Cherry’s forehead, helping her like I didn’t even exist in the room.

My phone rang. I answered on reflex. The voice on the other end shredded me.

“You liar! Pretending to do good with your filthy money. Your parents deserved to die! You let a pregnant woman kneel to you? You’ll pay for this! Everyone knows what a bully you were since you were a kid. You should die too!”

I hung up, but the notifications didn’t stop. Texts, calls, messages… all screaming accusations. I didn’t even understand until the driver handed me my phone. Headlines screaming that I, Addison, had forced a pregnant woman to kneel at my foundation, that my parents were fraudsters who stole billions, and that I had bullied Cherry through school.

My fingers turned white around the phone. Every message, every photo, every comment tore me apart. Even supposed old classmates confirmed the lies about me.

I tried typing an explanation, shaking so badly my words barely formed. I hit send, and the comment vanished.

The driver’s voice broke through my panic.

“Madam, more than ten cars are on us! They don’t even have plates, and the people are armed with iron bars.”

I turned, and through the rearview mirror, I saw them. Faces hidden, weapons ready, racing closer. My heart thundered. I dialed Lewis frantically, watching the danger closing in.

Meanwhile, somewhere else, he was watching the same chaos online. Lewis frowned as he called his assistant to control the rumors. Cherry pressed into him, tears soaking his hand, and he gripped her shoulder with that dangerous calm of his.

“Tell me, is any of that online stuff true?” His voice was low, cutting.

Cherry buried herself against him.

“Lewis, please don’t think about it. The past is past. Don’t blame Addison. She didn’t do it on purpose. She’s the reason I’m alive. If she asked me to die today, I couldn’t refuse.”

He hugged her tighter.

Then BANG!

A crash came out of nowhere. The car flipped hard, metal screeching, and I was thrown against the seat. Before I could even catch my breath, the door ripped open. Strong hands yanked me out, and I hit the ground hard.

I tried to push myself up and felt a foot press into my back.

“Ever think about what it’s like to get crushed when you’ve hurt others?” one of them sneered. “Your life’s been lucky so far, but today you’re going to feel real pain.”

“I… I didn’t…” I barely managed to say, but a hard slap cut the words off. Blood ran from my mouth, and my head spun.

They tied my wrists to the back of the car. The engine roared, and suddenly I was dragged across the road. Gravel tore through my clothes, my skin, my already weak body. I screamed, but my voice was raw, hoarse, useless. My arms burned where the rope pulled, my knees scraped, my heart pounding with fear and helplessness. The people in the car laughed, filming everything like it was some twisted show.

I don’t know how long it lasted. My body was shredded, my consciousness slipping, pain barely registering. When the car finally stopped, they untied me and left me crumpled on the ground.

When I woke up, the world was quiet.

Moonlight glinted off countless gravestones. I should have been terrified, but there was no one dead more frightening than the living. I got up, unsteady, and made my way to the main road.

By the time dawn came, my last bit of strength gave out and I collapsed completely at the roadside.

“Are you awake? Any pain anywhere?”

I groaned and opened my eyes to a nurse adjusting my IV. Every movement felt like needles stabbing through me.

“You were brought in for emergency care. I can’t reach your family. We have to do the hospitalization procedures, pay the fees, and monitor your condition…”

“I know,” I whispered, cutting her off. I pulled the patient gown over my scars, hiding the damage.

She offered a wheelchair, but I refused. Every step outside the ward was agony, like walking over broken glass. I didn’t go back all night. Lewis never asked.

I remembered when I was first diagnosed with heart disease, sitting alone at my parent’s grave, lost for two hours. The world had erupted online with my supposed disappearance, black-and-white headlines screaming my failures. When Lewis found me back then, his tears fell on my shoulders as he held me. Was any of that real?

Now, his eyes were full of Cherry. Whether I lived or died, it didn’t matter.

I stood quietly at the hospital payment line. A voice made me freeze.

“Lewis babe, I’m fine now. You don’t have to worry so much,” Cherry said, playful but soft.

I stiffened and didn’t look back. Of all places, she was here.

Lewis’s voice cut through, gentle but sharp.

“The doctor says you’re showing signs of a miscarriage. You have to be careful.”

Cherry interrupted. “I’m used to it. I understand, Addison. Yesterday… It was my fault. I was reckless.”

I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles ached. I turned to leave and saw Lewis staring at me, shock in his eyes.

“Addison?”

Shock turned to anger quickly. Cherry crouched behind him, trembling.

“Please, Addison. I didn’t do anything wrong online. Don’t scare me anymore. I’m in late-stage pregnancy. The doctor said I can’t be upset like this.”

“After I give birth, you can punish me however you want. I’ll accept it.”

Lewis planted himself between us. Cold. “I’m here to make her pay for what she did. She nearly lost the baby yesterday because of your recklessness.”

I opened my mouth, wanting to scream, to show him my scars, my pain, my nearly broken body. But the disgust in his eyes stopped me. My voice caught, gone.

Cherry bent over, pale. “Lewis, my stomach… it hurts so much.”

He didn’t hesitate. He scooped her up and ran toward the doctor’s department. His shoulder slammed into me. I fell, my elbow hitting the marble hard. He didn’t even look back.

I stayed on the floor for a long time, watching them disappear. People stared. I pushed myself up slowly, numb, and shuffled back into the line. Every step burned, but I couldn’t stop. I had nowhere to go, no one to notice me.

When it was my turn, I just signed the discharge papers without a word. The nurse looked at my medical records and frowned.

"If you leave now, you could die any moment," she said softly. "Honestly… three days at most. Your condition’s gotten worse.”

I almost smiled at her. Three days. That’s more than enough. Living another day felt like torture. I didn’t even answer her and just walked out, leaving her words hanging in the air.

Outside the hospital, I called the funeral home. My voice was calm, steady, like nothing could touch me.

“Schedule it for three days from now.”

Three days. Maybe then I could finally be with my parents and grandpa. Maybe then I could go dressed the way I wanted, and meet them properly, beautifully.

I stopped by the cemetery one last time, whispered my goodbyes, and then took a taxi to the mall. I wandered past all the designer stores, but nothing caught my interest.

For years as Mrs. Hamilton, I’d been taught to care about status, to match every dress to Lewis’s ties, to wear diamonds that shouted wealth, to be elegant and untouchable. I almost forgot what I actually liked. Lewis never cared what I wanted. He bought the newest things each season, piled them into my closet, telling me that besides the stars, he’d give me anything I wanted. But all I’d ever wanted was sincerity.

My eyes landed on a white dress. Simple, clean, just a thin silver line at the waist catching the light. I imagined wearing it, walking into the sea, feeling my parents and grandpa’s hands in mine, their smiles steady and warm. I smiled softly.

I’ll take this one. Swipe the card.

Before the card even left my hand, the dress was yanked away. I grabbed the counter to keep from falling.

“I really like this dress. I’m buying it!” I said, voice shaking.

And then I saw her. Cherry. Standing in front of me, holding the dress, head high, eyes sharp and proud. Not the timid girl I’d once known.

The saleswoman whispered to her, trying to calm things. “This dress… the lady over there wanted it first. Only one left. I can call the other store to reserve another—”

Cherry cut her off with a scoff. “Me? Are you kidding me?” Then she turned to me, eyes flashing. “You really think you can compete with me? Do you even have the right?”

I froze. I knew this was coming. She hated me. She wanted to destroy me.

I stared at her and tried to reason. “Cherry, I don’t think I ever did anything to hurt you. My mother sponsored your education and even gave you a job. Did we… hurt your pride instead?”

She laughed, bitter and loud. “Your mother threw money at me like scraps for a stray dog, expecting me to be grateful. But why? Why do you get everything while I’m always beneath you? You as the princess and me, as a slave! Always mocked, always suffering? You owe me everything!”

My voice shook. “So… you set up my parents to take me down? To ruin our lives?”

Her smile turned cruel, sharp. She leaned in close. “That fraud case… I planned it from the start. Your parents trusted me too much and gave me the company seal. Everything you’ve built… your husband, your fortune, your pride? it’s all mine soon. And you… you’ll always be remembered as the bully, the forger’s daughter. Time for you to taste my world.”

I froze, rage and disbelief mixing in my chest, stiffening every muscle in my body. My hands shook, but I refused to look away. This… this was what five years of being used and abandoned had led to. I couldn’t let her see me break.

I watched Cherry’s smug face and felt my chest tighten. That snake in human skin, finally showing herself.

“You’re going to pay for this,” I said slowly, each word heavy.

She froze for a second, “Well, let's see.” Then she suddenly flung her skirt to the ground and fell, screaming like a child.

“No! I don’t want to! Addison, please, don’t hit me!”

Before I could even react, Lewis appeared at the store entrance. Cherry instantly twisted herself into that pitiful pose, eyes red, voice trembling.

“Lewis, I just tripped, okay? Not her fault. I wasn’t pushed. And she brought me here nicely to buy clothes, but everyone’s saying I hurted her. And that her parents’ deaths are my fault? I didn’t do any of it, please, can you explain for me?”

Lewis’s gaze landed on me, frozen, sharp as ice.

“And what did you do to her this time?” His voice didn’t waver.

I knew he wouldn’t believe a word I said. All he would ever see is Cherry. I looked away, trying to hide the tears sliding down my cheeks.

People were gathering, holding phones, whispering, pointing.

“Hey, isn’t that the woman who forced pregnant women to kneel? And bullied others in school?”

“Vicious! She just pushed a pregnant woman again! If anything happened, tree lives would be gone!”

Cherry clung to Lewis, explaining quickly. “It’s just a bad day. When she’s calm, Addison is actually kind to me. Really!”

Then a middle-aged woman charged out from the crowd, pointing and shouting at me.

“My daughter died because of people like you! Bullies like you deserve—”

Before she could finish, someone threw a drink at me. The milk tea splashed over my face, sticky and cold, dripping onto the floor. I tried to speak, to explain, but no one listened. Every word was drowned out by curses and shouts.

Things started flying at me, and my body tensed, bracing for impact. Cherry, at least, was shielded by Lewis.

“Come on,” he said, pulling her away. He didn’t even glance at me again, just kept her safe from the crowd.

I was left behind. Shoved to the ground, fists and feet pounding me like rain. Every inch of me screamed in pain, bones and skin trembling under the blows.

“Kill her! Teach her a lesson for bullying!”

“Revenge the victims!”

Their voices were like knives as I curled up, hugging my head, whispering, “I didn’t…” over and over.