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.

Through the chaos, I saw the white dress I had loved trampled into the ground, the fabric ruined, stained beyond repair. My vision blurred, my body trembling from the beating and the horror.

Somehow, a mall security guard finally broke through the crowd and started to disperse them.

I barely noticed Lewis driving past later, seeing the chaos through the rearview mirror, hesitating for a second.

“Addison has bodyguards. She’ll be safe,” he muttered.

Cherry curled up beside him in pain.

“My stomach… It hurts so much. I don’t know if it’s because I fell…”

Lewis slammed the accelerator and tore out of the mall, heading straight for the hospital.

I stayed on the edge of consciousness, soaked in pain and humiliation, and all I could think was how alone I really was.

***

I got home from the mall alone, every inch of my body aching, bruised, and scraped. I didn’t call the police, I didn't go to the hospital. I couldn’t bring myself to care. Before leaving, I had picked up the white dress that had been trampled on the ground, stained and ruined, and tucked it away.

For two days, I just lay in bed, counting down the hours like my life was already over. Lewis didn’t show up. No calls, no messages. Nothing. It was like I didn’t even exist.

On the third morning, though, something weird happened. I felt… a little energy stirring inside me. I pulled the dress out of the closet and put on light makeup. Today, I decided, I would finally keep my promise to myself—no regrets, no looking back.

As I slid into the backseat of the car, my phone buzzed. It was Lewis. His voice was cold, and firm.

“Come over now, or I’ll send someone to drag you there. Your choice.”

I glanced at the location he sent. My chest tightened, but I understood. I had no real choice. At least… it was my last day anyway.

The driver took us to a hotel. The moment I stepped out, flashing lights hit me like a storm. I flinched, ready to dive back into the car, but Lewis’s hand caught my wrist, strong, unyielding. Without a word, he dragged me inside.

Inside the hall, Cherry was sitting in the front row. More than ten rows of media behind her, cameras, microphones, even a live broadcast. My stomach sank when I saw the three huge red characters on the screen: apology meeting.

Lewis pushed me onto the stage. Every step felt like sinking into cotton. A microphone was pressed into my hand, and he leaned close, voice low.

“Say sorry to Cherry. Right here, in front of everyone.”

I looked at Cherry. Her pink maternity dress hung loose, her smile faint but victorious. As the cameras scanned her, she went back to that scared, fragile pose she always played.

I straightened my back and said firmly, “I have nothing to apologize for.”

Lewis’s eyes narrowed. “Addy, don’t test me.”

He shoved the microphone closer. “Cherry’s been through hell. She’s almost lost her babies because of your actions. You humiliated her, bullied her, put her through fear she shouldn’t have felt. Don’t you think you owe her an apology?”

I froze, listening to his so-called fairness. It was all a show. His apology arrangement was just a way to hand Cherry the spotlight, make her children legitimate, and leave me stripped of everything that mattered.

I swallowed the bitterness and forced my voice out. “And what gives you the right to stand up for her over me? Lewis, you’re my husband, but you’re always thinking about her. Even the rumors online… Did you ever stop to ask me what was true? Should I even trust the babies in her belly aren't yours?”

His face paled, and he grabbed my arm, anger flashing. “Addison, this is your last warning. After this, the hospital can take the heart surgery off the table. Your choice.”

I let out a dry laugh.

His jaw tightened, then his voice lowered, steady, unshakable. “Addison Coleman, apologize.”

I gripped the microphone, and the cameras flashing like stars stabbing into my eyes. I looked out at Cherry below the stage, her hands brushing over her belly.

I clenched my jaw and held onto the dress I had chosen, thinking of the promise I made to myself. I had to get through this, for me.

I looked at Cherry and forced my voice to stay calm, steady. “I didn’t do anything wrong. She’s the one who destroyed everything. Cherry’s the killer.”

Lewis’s face twisted, anger so sharp it felt like he could crush me with a glance. My heart froze for a second, but I tore my hand free from his grip and kept my gaze cold, distant.

“My parents weren’t frauds. I’m not a bully. The only thing I regretted was letting my mother helping Cherry. Everything that came after… my family, my life… she ruined it all.”

The crowd erupted. Cameras clicked nonstop, reporters shouting over each other. Cherry’s face froze, then she forced that pitiful act back into place.

She stumbled toward the stage, voice trembling. “Addison, why are you doing this? I know you hate me, but lies like that can ruin my life and my babie’s life!”

I didn’t say a word. My eyes stayed icy, fixed on her.

Then, before I could even react, she lunged at me. I tried to block her instinctively.

“Ah!”

Her belly slammed into the edge of the table. She bent over, pale, shaking. Blood soaked her white skirt in seconds.

“My babies!” she gasped.

Lewis’s eyes went sharp, and he was suddenly in front of her. He shoved me aside and scooped her up in one motion.

“If anything happens to Cherry and her children, I swear you’ll pay with your life,” he spat, and without another glance at me, he stormed out.

The flashes from the reporters burned into my eyes. My mouth felt dry. I wanted to leave, but two of his bodyguards grabbed me.

“Mr. Hamilton says you’re coming with him. You’re going to the hospital.”

I didn’t fight. I let them lead me to the car, numb, exhausted.

In the hospital corridor, Cherry’s sobs shook the windows. “My babies! If something happens to them, I can’t live alone! Lewis, our twins are almost here. They're our twins… It's all my fault. Please, let me stay with them!”

Eventually, the ward quieted down.

The door opened, and Lewis walked out. His face was different, colder than anything I’d seen.

“Addison.”

I swallowed hard.

“I didn’t know you could be this cruel. Go outside. Kneel. Atone for the babies in Cherry’s belly. After that, you’ll get your punishment.”

My lips felt numb. I shivered. I was only in a thin white dress. The chill bit through me, straight up to my knees.

Before I could even process, the bodyguards grabbed me and dragged me outside. I hit the ground, knees pressed into the cold stone. I didn’t resist.