Patrick was the one who had triggered Mom's stroke.

Back then, during my wedding to my ex-girlfriend, he had deliberately blasted their sex tapes for everyone to see before running off with her, leaving me to become the ultimate laughingstock.

The shock and rage had caused Mom to suffer a massive stroke that left her paralyzed.

To get her the best medical care, I had moved to Seabrook, where I crossed paths with Ariel, a neurosurgeon.

Over the course of Mom's treatment, we had slowly grown closer and fallen in love.

Arthur's words were a veiled threat. The Booker family controlled the best medical resources in the city. If I ruined the wedding today and humiliated them, Mom would be kicked out of their hospital immediately.

"Dad!"

Ariel cut him off before turning to me with a softened tone. "Caleb, please. For the sake of what I did for your mom, just stop making a scene today."

I clenched my fists. "Ariel, do you really not know that makeup artist? He just whispered in my ear that you were the one who told him to make me look like a clown to help him vent."

The moment the words left my mouth, the judgmental glares from the surrounding guests shifted into looks of pity.

Ariel's lips twitched, but she quickly forced a smile. "He's talking nonsense. He's just jealous that you're marrying up. I swear, if I actually have anything going on with him, or if I ever betray you, may I get hit by a car and die. We can get a divorce."

She raised her hand, taking the vow right in front of everyone.

I looked down and remained silent. Since this was what she wanted, I would give it to her.

…

Once I was in the banquet hall, I tapped my phone, broadcasting the dressing room's live security feed directly onto the massive LED screen.

On the screen, Ariel—who had claimed she was going to fix her makeup—was currently wrapped tightly in Patrick's arms. The skirt of her wedding dress was hitched up all the way to her waist.

"Patrick, I'm so sorry. I hate seeing you suffer like this," she murmured, her voice dripping with affection as she cupped his face. "Once the wedding is over, I promise I'll make it up to you."

Patrick's eyes were red, but his hand was already aggressively sliding inside her tube top. "Ariel, I can't wait anymore. I need you right now."

The next second, the two tangled together like octopuses, tearing at each other's lips as their clothes piled onto the floor.

The banquet hall fell dead silent.

Every single eye was glued to the big screen, watching the bride wrap herself around the makeup artist like a snake.

Arthur's glass crashed to the floor. While rushing toward the sound booth, he roared, "Turn it off! Turn the fucking thing off!"

But the footage kept playing.

Patrick flipped Ariel around, pressed her against the mirror, and drove into her from behind.

She threw her head back, letting out a sharp gasp of pure satisfaction.

Thanks to the hotel's surround-sound system, her voice echoed crisply into every single corner of the venue.

Isabel screamed and bolted toward the dressing room, with Arthur hot on her heels.

The moment the door was kicked open, Patrick was still buried deep inside Ariel's body.

An explosion of whispers erupted from the hallway.

"Oh my god! Isn't that guy the makeup artist from this morning?"

"Looks like Caleb was telling the truth after all…"

Isabel's face flushed bright red with sheer humiliation and rage. "Ariel Booker! Look at what you've done!"

Arthur rushed forward, violently pulling Patrick away. "It has to be you! You drugged my daughter, didn't you? Sweetheart, tell me that's what happened! We're calling the cops and throwing this piece of trash in prison!"

Terrified, Patrick's eyes welled with tears as he shrank back into Ariel's embrace.

"Enough!" Ariel barked, shielding Patrick fiercely.

She raised her head, her eyes locking onto mine through the crowd. There wasn't a single trace of panic or guilt in her gaze.

"Caleb, we need to talk."

Arthur and Isabel cleared everyone out of the room, leaving only the three of us inside.

Ariel looked at me, her eyes pooling with tears. "Caleb, the wedding is still on. We'll just tell everyone I was treating Patrick for a medical emergency. That way, our family's reputation will remain intact."

I caught Patrick flashing me a smug grin. Then, I looked back at the glaring smear of red on Ariel's wedding dress, and my eyes stung with tears.

"And what if I refuse?"

Fury instantly flashed across Ariel's face. "If you refuse, don't blame me for being heartless when I throw your mom out of the hospital!"

Looking at this woman who now felt like a complete stranger, I couldn't help but ask, "I have never done anything to hurt you. Why are you doing this to me?"

Ariel's voice turned ice-cold. "You haven't done anything to hurt me, but you ruined Patrick."

I froze.

She let out a sneer. "You pretended to be his best friend while systematically stealing 99 of his girlfriends. You even coached them on bedroom positions and filmed them. Don't you find yourself absolutely disgusting?"

She glared at me, her eyes filled with nothing but pure revulsion. "I'm a clean freak. I can't stomach what you did. But because I love you, I will still marry you. I just won't sleep with you."

My entire body went numb.

"Patrick will take care of my physical needs. He's a virgin. He's clean. I'm going to have his children too. Consider it paying off your debt to him. You can be the kids' second dad, which is honestly more than you deserve."

Patrick's eyes welled with tears as he chimed in, adding fuel to the fire, "Caleb, I don't blame you. But you shouldn't have blasted those videos at my wedding. The shock gave my dad a brain hemorrhage. He almost died on the operating table."

My mind reeled.

He was the one who stole my girlfriends. He was the one who gave Mom a stroke.

Seething with rage, I lunged forward, but Ariel shoved me back forcefully and shielded Patrick. "Enough! Even now, you're still trying to bully him?"

I shook uncontrollably, tears slamming onto the floor. "I didn't do it! I never did any of that! Ariel, he's the one who did all of it!"

She slapped me hard across the face. "You still won't admit it? Caleb, I never realized you could be so utterly shameless!"

She turned and shouted to the guards, "Take him to our hospital and lock him in the decontamination room! Sanitize him thoroughly! God knows what kind of disgusting diseases he's carrying!"

…

Once in the hospital, the guards threw me inside the decontamination room and locked the door from the outside.

The overhead nozzles blasted open, drenching me from head to toe in a pungent chemical solution.

I couldn't open my eyes or breathe. My lungs felt like they were on fire.

"Let me out!"

No one answered.

The chemical mist grew thicker and more suffocating. I collapsed onto the floor, and my consciousness started to slip away.

I didn't know how much time passed, but just as I was on the verge of suffocating, the door finally swung open.

Ariel froze, momentarily taken aback by the sight of me curled up on the floor. A flicker of panic crossed her eyes.

But that panic was quickly swallowed by disgust.

She stood over me, looking down at me with utter contempt. "Caleb, I knew you were sick, but I didn't know you were evil. You actually hired someone to run his father over just to get back at Patrick? Since that's the case, let's do an eye for an eye."

I snapped my head up, my mind spinning with confusion. "I didn't! I've been locked in here the entire time! I didn't do anything!"

Ignoring me entirely, she gave a slight nod to the guards. "Bring her in."

My eyes went wide as two men wheeled in my critically ill mother.

"Ariel! What the hell are you doing?"

I struggled to claw my way up, but the guards pinned me back down with brutal force.

"I told you. An eye for an eye."

She pointed toward the industrial meat grinder sitting at the far end of the hallway.

"No!"

I thrashed like a madman, trying to break free, but the two guards slammed me hard against the ground.

My face was pressed against the ice-cold tiles. I watched in absolute horror as they began pushing the hospital bed toward the machine.

"Ariel! I beg you! Please, I'm begging you! I'll get down on my knees! I'll do whatever you want! Kill me instead! Just kill me!"

She stood nearby, watching coldly. "Did you think about the consequences when you hired that hit on Patrick's dad?"

Patrick shrank into her arms, whimpering and wiping away fake tears. "Caleb, you're truly a monster. It wasn't enough that you put my dad in the hospital, but you actually hired a hit on him?"

Feeling for him, Ariel held him close and waved her hand.

They lifted Mom up toward the mouth of the grinder.

I closed my eyes in utter despair.

Right then, a commanding voice echoed down the hall. "Stop right there! No one touches my grandson!"

Before the words even faded, dozens of armed soldiers swarmed the corridor, locking the entire place down.