Preston went still for a second.

He thought he'd heard Katherine wrong. He'd never once imagined she would speak to him that way.

"So you're perfectly fine after all," Preston said with a cold laugh as he stepped closer and pointed at Katherine. "You really had everyone fooled with that dying act of yours."

Katherine didn't respond. She only looked at him quietly.

Her head was heavily wrapped in gauze, and fresh blood had already seeped through the bandages.

One of her legs was suspended in a cast.

A heart monitor beside the bed kept sounding at steady intervals, while an oxygen tube rested beneath her nose.

Even seeing her like this, Preston still believed she was pretending.

It wasn't just that he was coldhearted. He simply refused to see her suffering at all.

Standing beside him, Emily let tears gather in her eyes at just the right moment. She lightly tugged on Preston's sleeve. "Katherine, this is all because of me. I shouldn't have upset you. Maybe I should apologize to you."

As she spoke, she stepped forward.

Preston wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. Concern filled his face. "Emily, what are you doing? You've done nothing wrong. She isn't worth apologizing to."

He shot Katherine a dark look, his tone turning harsher with every word. "Katherine, I'm only saying this once more. Apologize to Emily right now, or I won't marry you!"

The room went completely quiet.

Only the rhythmic beeping from the heart monitor filled the silence.

Preston lifted his chin and waited confidently for Katherine to panic, burst into tears, and beg him not to leave her like she always did.

Every time he threatened not to marry her, she'd become so desperate that she'd throw away every bit of pride she had.

Katherine kept her eyes on the ceiling, breathing slowly. "Alright."

Preston stared at her. "What did you say?"

Since childhood, Katherine had followed the three boys everywhere, doing whatever they wanted without hesitation. Yet now, when he said he wouldn't marry her, she was okay with it?

"So you're saying you don't want to marry me anymore?" he asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

Preston went completely still, and even Emily stiffened in his arms.

Katherine lay motionless on the hospital bed, staring at the pale ceiling above her.

The heart inside her chest had already been worn empty by everything those three men had done to her.

They'd forced her to give blood, locked her inside a dog cage, and even shoved her toward the truck without hesitation.

How many lives would it take before their cruelty finally ended?

From now on, she only wanted to live for herself.

Preston finally came back to his senses. Agitated, he dragged a hand through his hair and pointed at her again. "Cut the act already! Even if you're trying to make me angry, what about Carson and Tyler? Last time you had a fever, you kept talking in your sleep about wanting to marry one of us. So what's with this attitude now?"

"I'm not marrying any of you." Katherine shut her eyes tightly. She felt disgusted the moment she looked at him.

Those three only cared about Emily. Anyone who married them would spend the rest of their life serving Emily and being treated like nothing more than a blood donor.

Preston opened his mouth to keep arguing, but the door suddenly swung open.

The nurse walked in carrying a tray of medicine and frowned at them. "Why are you making so much noise? This is the ICU. If you want to fight, do it outside."

Emily's eyes turned red with tears. "But I'm injured too. My ankle still hurts so badly..."

"So a sprained ankle is enough to land someone in the ICU now?" The nurse rolled her eyes as she smoothly adjusted Katherine's IV. "With an injury that minor, you should've been discharged ages ago. Why are you still here? If something's wrong with your brain, the Neurology Department is on the third floor to the left. Off you go."

The sharp words left Emily stunned. Her face flushed bright red while tears rolled down her cheeks in embarrassment.

Preston's expression darkened. He wrapped an arm around Emily and pulled her toward the door.

"Fine! Katherine, stay here forever for all I care. Don't expect anyone to pick you up until you're ready to apologize to Emily properly!"

Two weeks later, the Holt family's car stopped outside the in-patient building.

Katherine still had a cast on her leg. Sitting in a wheelchair, she was pushed out through the lobby by the driver, Ricky Chapman.

The moment they reached the car, they saw Preston and Emily.

Emily clasped her hands together nervously and looked at Katherine with an uneasy expression. "Katherine, I'm really sorry. Preston didn't know you'd also be discharged today. The car's too crowded, so we'll need to drop me off first."

Preston crossed his arms and glanced down at Katherine in her wheelchair. His voice carried the same arrogant tone as always. "Take this as a lesson. Katherine, once you're willing to apologize to Emily, I'll send someone to come get you."

Katherine rested her fingers lightly on the wheelchair armrest.

Three years ago, she'd returned home full of excitement, believing she would finally reunite with the family she missed. Instead, she discovered someone else had already taken her place.

The Holt family's heiress had become the villain everyone hated, while the housekeeper's daughter had become the apple of their eye.

Ricky stood nearby, looking uneasy as he rubbed his hands together.

He'd come to pick Katherine up today, yet Preston and Emily insisted on taking the car instead.

In the past, Katherine would've quietly stepped aside and called another ride home just to keep them happy.

Seeing Ricky hesitate, Preston lost patience. "What are you standing around for? Drive already! Emily still needs to get home and take her medicine."

Ricky lowered his head awkwardly. "But Ms. Holt hasn't gotten into the car yet..."

"So what if she hasn't?" Preston snapped before turning toward Katherine. "Have you made enough of a scene? Are you really going to keep Emily standing here waiting for you?"

Katherine slowly lifted her eyes and looked past him at Ricky. "Ricky, help me into the car."

Ricky hurried over and pushed the wheelchair to the door.

He carefully helped Katherine into the back seat before settling her comfortably inside.

"Ms. Holt, should we leave now?" Ricky asked as he moved toward the driver's seat.

Katherine looked at Preston and Emily, who had already seated themselves beside her.

"Not yet," she replied calmly.

"Katherine, what are you waiting for now? Don't test my patience." Preston's voice turned sharper with irritation.

Katherine leaned quietly against the leather seat and looked past him at Emily.

Emily tightened her grip on Preston's shirt and hid farther behind him.

Katherine's mother had taken in the three boys, including Preston, and raised them with every advantage possible.

They'd given them the best schools, shares in the company, and a future most people could only dream about. All of it had been for one reason—the three of them would stand by Katherine and protect her.

But now, every bit of that care and privilege had been poured onto Emily instead.

Emily was only the daughter of the housekeeper, yet she lived the life that should've belonged to Katherine.

A luxury car picked her up everywhere she went, and sometimes, even Katherine had to surrender her own seat to her.

Katherine slowly looked back at Preston. "I'm obviously waiting for something," she said evenly.

Preston lifted a hand to shield Emily from the sunlight, impatience written all over his face. "Katherine, letting you ride in the car is already enough kindness from me. What else are you complaining about?"

Without another word, Katherine reached over and pressed the window switch.

The car window slid upward and trapped Preston's arm tightly against the door frame.

Preston let out a sharp cry and jerked his hand back at once.

"Because the two of you are still in my car," Katherine said coldly. Then she looked toward the front seat. "Ricky, get them out."

Ricky unfastened his seatbelt, stepped out of the car, and walked to the back door.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Preston by the arm and pulled him away from the vehicle.

Preston wasn't prepared for it. He lost his balance and slammed hard against the guardrail by the road.

Emily gasped and hurried toward him, but the heel beneath her foot twisted awkwardly, sending her crashing onto the pavement.

Ricky turned back to the car, opened the opposite door, picked up the designer handbag Emily had left behind, and tossed it onto the ground beside her.

Then he closed the doors, jogged back to the driver's seat, shifted gears, and stepped on the accelerator.

The engine growled loudly as the car shot forward. A burst of gray white exhaust blew straight into Preston's face.

He waved the smoke away with a cough, his expression darkening as he stared at the taillights disappearing into the distance.

What was wrong with Katherine today?

Normally, she would've gone silent the moment he looked displeased.

Today, she had actually ordered the driver to throw him out of the car.

Did she seriously think acting this way would make him pay more attention to her?

Emily gently rubbed her ankle and looked at Preston with watery eyes. "Katherine isn't really angry with me, is she?"

Preston lowered his gaze to her tearful face and helped her to her feet.

"She wouldn't dare," he said with a dismissive laugh. "She's just making a scene. Give it a few days and she'll come begging us to forgive her."

He brushed the dust from his sleeves before taking Emily's hand.

The hospital was a private facility built halfway up the mountain, and taxis never came this far. To leave, they had no choice but to walk all the way down to the main road at the bottom of the hill.

On top of that, the Holt family's hillside estate didn't allow outside vehicles inside the property, which meant they still had a long way to go.

Back at the Holt residence, Katherine sat quietly on the porch and watched the two exhausted figures slowly make their way up the slope toward the house.

Preston's shirt was drenched with sweat and stuck tightly to his back.

Emily looked even more miserable. She carried her broken heels in one hand and walked barefoot across the pavement, wincing with every step she took.

"Katherine, do you even have a conscience?" Preston shouted before he even reached the front door.

He strode up the steps in anger, his tall frame blocking the sunlight in front of Katherine.

"A conscience?" Katherine lifted her eyes to him. "That car belongs to the Holt family, and I'm the only heiress. Why should I feel guilty for riding in my own car?"

Preston was stunned for a second. Then he pulled Emily in front of him and pointed at the scrapes on her toes.

"Look at what Emily went through because of you. And you're sitting here watching like none of it concerns you. Hand over the design drafts you prepared for the competition and let Emily use them as compensation. If you do that, we'll let today's matter go."

Katherine almost laughed at how ridiculous he sounded. "Why should I give them to her?"

Preston fell silent again.

Katherine had never spoken to him in that tone before.

In his memories, no matter what he asked for, she would always hand it over willingly, even if it was something precious to her.

"Because..." Preston stumbled over his words for a long moment before finally forcing out an answer. "If you really cared about us, you'd give them to Emily."

Katherine understood very well why they were acting like this.

Seven years ago, the three became adults. They spent almost six months searching for Emily and her mother, Judith Wilson.

Katherine had only been fifteen then. She'd foolishly believed they were helping someone in need, so she'd eagerly joined them in the search.

Later, she learned that Judith had once worked as a caregiver at the orphanage where the three grew up.

A fire caused by an electrical short circuit had broken out there years ago. Judith had rushed into the flames and carried the three of them to safety, burning her hands badly in the process and leaving permanent scars behind.

The three had carried that gratitude with them ever since.

Once they finally found Judith and Emily, they brought them both into the Holt household.

Everything they needed was provided according to the Holt family's standards, while the responsibility of repaying that debt slowly became Katherine's burden instead.

It was true that Judith had saved the three boys back then.

But it was also the Holt family that had raised them, paid for their elite education, and given them shares in the company.

Katherine had once believed they understood the difference between gratitude and obligation. Now she realized they either couldn't tell the difference... or simply didn't care to.

"I said no," Katherine replied firmly.

Preston stared at her, suddenly feeling like the person before him was a stranger. The irritation building inside him only grew stronger.

For the first time, he realized Katherine had truly changed.