"How about I wear this wedding dress and blow your mind?" Lola offered.

That day, Hudson's eyes sparkled as he said affectionately, "Fine. Since you won, the dress is yours."

His explanation to me that day was, "There's no wedding dress now, so let's postpone the ceremony. I'm a man of my word. If I lost the bet, I lost, I can't go back on my promise."

That day, he could have easily reached out and handed me the wedding dress.

That day, I could've become his wife in just one second.

That day was the closest I had ever been to happiness.

Aunt Sandy was still trying to persuade me when the door suddenly opened and Hudson strode in, holding Lola's hand.

"Becca, I lost the bet again. It took me an hour and a minute to find Miss Reed. I'm a man of my word. You won't make things difficult for me, will you?"

"Anyway, the good time for the wedding has passed. Let's move it to another day."

Right in front of Lola, he tore down the wedding photo with his own hand and tossed it into the trash along with the corsage.

The hall was filled with gasps and everyone gave me a disdainful look because of Hudson's disrespectful demeanour.

They never thought the once-proud daughter of the Herreras had fallen so low that her dignity could be trampled at will.

Seeing the smug pride in Lola's eyes, I smiled indifferently.

"Hudson, how about we make a bet and see if you'll lose at the eleventh wedding?" I challenged him.

Hudson looked at me impatiently. "Rebecca, I promised Lola that I would only make this bet with her. Don't get involved."

I slowly raised the ring to my face. "I bet that by the eleventh wedding, your Lenart Corporation will go bankrupt."

Hudson's face darkened instantly as he shoved me hard in the chest. "Rebecca! When did you become so vicious? Just because I didn't marry you, you curse my entire family? No wonder Lola called you a big-boobs idiot who only knows how to blackmail me with favors."

I couldn't control my grief and anger anymore. I staggered, holding onto the table and smiled bitterly as I growled, "If you're sleeping with Lola, then just marry her openly. Stop using these stupid bets to disgust everyone."

Lola immediately blushed. She angrily shouted, "Miss Herrera, why are you so disgusting? Mr. Lenart and I were just trying to lighten the mood between superiors and subordinates. Is it really necessary for you to speak so harshly?

"Fine. Since you're so desperate to marry, next time I'll let Mr. Lenart win the bet."

Then she walked over and took my arm, whispering quickly in my ear, "Rebecca, after being dumped ten times, you still have the nerve to stand here barking? If I were you, I'd cover my face and crawl away. Let me tell you the truth, Hudson's has long since grown tired of you, useless thing. Now, he likes me."

After that, Lola quickly stepped back and said helplessly, "Mr. Lenart, you lost the bet last time and said you wanted to cut Miss Herrera's hair to make a wig for Jojo. But I didn't take it seriously. So, Miss Herrera, why did you have to embarrass him?"

Hudson gave her a doting smile, helplessly taking the scissors and handing them to her. "I accept defeat. Go ahead and cut it. I can't break my word in front of my subordinates."

My heart clenched. I stared at him in disbelief, remembering how he once gazed at me with admiration and said, "Becca, your hair is as smooth and shining as satin. Promise you'll keep it long for me, okay?"

After the kidney transplant, my health gradually declined and I began losing large amounts of hair. Back then, Hudson would boil herbal medicine every day for me to wash my hair and nourish my scalp.

Now he wanted to cut the little hair I had left for Lola's dog.

He placed the scissors in Lola's hand and casually said to me, "Becca, it's just a little hair. Jojo got sick and lost all his fur. Dogs have pride, too. He's depressed now, refusing to eat or drink. Just cut your hair and make him a wig."

Before I could say anything, Lola grabbed my hair with a wicked glint in her eyes. Then she cut a large chunk of hair from my head.

When the blade edge scraped across my scalp, a sharp sting surged through me.

I tried to push her with all my might, but she was stronger than I was. With a few snaps, she had cut off most of my hair.

Lola grasped my hair with hatred in her gaze. "Mr. Lenart, weren't you just complimenting Miss Herrea's hair? How come it looks like dried grass? Even Jojo wouldn't like this style."

As she spoke, she casually tossed the hair into the nearby trash can.

Hudson helplessly patted her hand. "Alright, if you don't like it, we'll buy something better tomorrow."

I gasped as I looked at the two of them. With all my strength, I lunged forward, snatched the scissors from Lola's hand and stabbed her in the chest.

Blood instantly stained my hands crimson.

Lola staggered backward, clutching her chest before collapsing into Hudson's arms.

The hall immediately erupted into chaos.

"Murder! How could Miss Herrera kill someone?"

I was out of breath, trying to stop my body from shaking. "Hudson, I have my pride, too. Are you satisfied with this bet?"

For the first time, Hudson's composure broke and he looked genuinely panicked.

He hugged Lola, kicked me aside and shouted frantically, "Call 911!"

Then, he stared at me coldly. His eyes filled with disdain. "Rebecca Herrera, no wonder your father wanted to beat you to death and your mother had the heart to jump off a building. You're a heartless, vicious woman."

I instantly felt as if I'd fallen into an icy pond, my whole-body shivering with cold. He knew my weak spot, knew exactly how to strike where it hurt most. He was heartbroken over Lola's chest wound, so he bloodily tore open the wound in my heart.

With a mostly bald head, I could no longer support my weak body and slumped miserably onto the ground.

Soon, the doctor arrived and hurriedly carried Lola into the ambulance.

Before leaving, Hudson glanced at me coldly. "Rebecca, you've attacked someone with a knife in public. This matter is far from over."

All the guests shook their heads and sighed as they left and my tenth wedding ended with blood splattered on the spot.

I stood on the stage for a long time until the last person left and the police arrived.

"Are you Rebecca Herrera? Someone reported you for suspected intentional homicide. Please come with us."

I asked indifferently, "Was it Hudson Lenart who called the police?"

The officer nodded in response.

Therefore, I endured the trembling all over my body and swallowed the salty blood in my throat before getting into the police car.

When we got to the interrogation room, the police officer began to ask me in detail about the motive and process of the murder and I told him everything without any emotion.

Seeing my messy bald head and dried bloodstains, a female officer looked at me with a sympathetic expression.

"Miss Herrera, since he's already fallen for someone else, why limit yourself to just one option?" she asked.

I stared at the female officer in a daze. Why?

It's just because he offered me a piece of candy in the sea of suffering.

At that time, my parents' marriage was nothing more than a business arrangement. To rescue his collapsing company, my father abandoned his lover of five years and chose to marry my mother.

Shortly after the wedding, his ex-girlfriend secretly gave birth to his son and by the time my father found out, the boy was already six years old.

Feeling guilty and sense of duty, he began staying between our home and his ex-girlfriend's.

My proud mother quickly started a cold war and even threatened divorce, but the business between the two families was already tangled up and could not be separated at all.

In the end, when I was twelve years old, my mother committed suicide by jumping off a building due to depression and I instantly became a child without a mother.

Half a year later, my father remarried. From then on, they became a happy family of three, while my hatred for my father grew stronger by the day.

When I got caught skipping class to play games at an internet café, my three-year-older brother slapped me across the face and called me uneducated. I immediately picked up a knife, slashed his arm and told him that even though my parents were dead, being "uneducated" was still better than being a bastard like him.

That day, my father tied me up and punished me according to the family rules. He beat me until my body was covered in wounds and then locked me in the basement to "reflect on my behavior."

Once I was on the verge of death, it was Hudson who secretly carried me out. He comforted me, encouraged me and gave me the will to survive.

From that day on, Hudson entered my life and became my only support. My love for him also was not merely romantic affection; it was my sole source of strength.

A long time later, Hudson arrived while supporting Lola.

Facing the police officer's questions, that man looked at me with chilling indifference. "We will not accept mediation. She must be severely punished. She dared to attack people with a knife even when she was a child. If we don't teach her a lesson now, who knows what kind of trouble she'll cause in the future."

Lola also held her head high, her eyes filled with anger.

The police officer looked at me helplessly and called me out. "Miss Herrera, Mr. Lenart is still your fiancé, after all. Just admit your mistake and make amends and this matter will be over."

But when she saw my resolute gaze, she sighed again. "Miss Herrera, if you insist on being stubborn now and they sue you, you could face at least a year in prison. Are you sure you could survive that?"

As I saw the police officer's serious expression, I felt like my heart was being squeezed. Lola Reed, that high-level manipulative woman, was very capable of making that happen.

Expressionless, I followed the officer back into the room with my head down. "I'm sorry, Miss Reed. I acted impulsively. I apologize for what I did. Please forgive me."

Lola looked at me disdainfully and said, "Miss Herrera, it's not that I don't want to forgive you. Someone as narrow-minded and vicious as you, if I don't teach you a lesson, might be able to kill someone in the future."

After a day of torment and stimulation, my stomach began to ache and sweat beads oozed from my face.

Seeing my pained expression, Hudson unexpectedly let me go. "Lola, I'll make her kneel and beg for your forgiveness. Then she'll swear on her mother's soul that if she ever targets you again, she and her mother can rot together in the eighteenth level of hell, burned in oil. Okay?"

He then shouted at me, "Kneel and apologize to Lola until she's satisfied."

The female officer immediately walked up behind me and pushed me hard until I fell to my knees with a thud.

Hudson quickly slammed my head against the floor, once, twice, three times ...

Soon, blood trickled down my forehead into my eyes, blurring my vision.

After countless bows, Lola's disgusted voice cut through the silence. "Enough, Mr. Lenart. I'll let it slide for your sake, but if this happens again, I won't spare her."

Hudson abruptly released me and reached out to support her. "Don't worry, Lola. With me here, I won't let her lay a finger on you again. Let me take you back to the hospital, the doctor said you need more rest. Leave these matters to me."

The two of them finally walked out, while supporting each other.

As they were about to leave, Hudson turned around and said, "Go home and reflect on what you've done. Once you realize your mistake, we'll hold the wedding. I've been working so hard and if you can't help me, at least don't drag me down. Sometimes, you really should learn from Lola's maturity, elegance and wisdom."

I sneered. He'd forgotten that five years ago, I was the one who stood by him through thick and thin, helping Lenart Corporation climb from the bottom to the top.

In those days, I let go of my resentment and begged my father for funding and support, even personally seeking help from my elder brother for an order.

Now, it turns out all of that was just dragging him down.