My dear friend Faye Stewart invited me to an auction the next day.

We had just settled into our seats when I saw Julius walk in with Carly.

I easily caught a glimpse of a hickey on Carly's fair neck.

It looked fresh.

I didn't even have to guess. It was clearly his doing.

A sharp pain flared in my chest.

When Julius saw me, a flicker of surprise crossed his face, but then he acted as if I were invisible, taking a seat before me.

The auction officially began.

I had been zoning out the whole time, until Faye said, "Danielle, wasn't that emerald necklace your mother's keepsake? It went missing by accident and you've been searching for it ever since. Who would've thought it would turn up at this auction?"

I was overwhelmed when I saw the emerald necklace.

That necklace was a keepsake from my mother. To me, it was priceless.

I was determined to win it back, no matter what.

Carly heard our conversation and smiled a little, "Uncle, this emerald necklace is gorgeous. I want it."

"I'll get you anything you want," Julius replied gently.

I bit my lip and spoke, "Julius, this emerald necklace is my mother's keepsake. I've been looking for it. Please don't compete with me."

Julius's voice was icy. "So what?"

His words chilled me to the bone.

He knew perfectly well that the necklace was a precious keepsake from my late mother, something deeply important to me.

Yet, just because Carly expressed a fleeting desire, he was willing to fight me for it.

My chest felt tight. He only saw Carly in his eyes and didn't take me to heart at all.

This auction became a battle between Julius and me.

The moment I placed a bid, Julius immediately followed.

Until the auction price reached its peak, Julius finally won the emerald necklace.

"Carly, anything you want, I'll give you. No other man can offer you this. Do you still want to run?"

"I just want freedom," Carly said faintly.

My best friend Faye indignantly said, "Danielle, what exactly does that jerk, Julius, mean? He's actually flirting with his adopted niece right under your nose! You're his wife, how could he treat you like this?"

I gave a bitter smile.

I looked down at the hemp rope bracelet on my wrist, a freebie that came with a high-end watch Julius had bought.

He had casually intended to throw it away, but I had asked for it. I had worn it constantly for years.

Now, I took the hemp rope bracelet off my wrist.

Faye was a little shocked. "Carly, isn't this bracelet your most treasured possession? You wouldn't even take it off when you showered."

I said softly, "I don't want it anymore."

I also threw away my feelings for Julius over the past few years.

After the auction ended, a small party was held next to the swimming pool.

Hoping to persuade Julius to change his mind and give me my mother's keepsake, I didn't leave but joined the party.

Carly approached me, with Julius following close behind.

She asked, "Danielle, do you really want that emerald necklace?"

"Yes," I said. "It was my mother's. It means everything to me. If you're willing to return it, I'll do whatever you ask."

"Oh, then get on your knees and beg me. If you kneel, I'll give it to you."

I knew Carly was deliberately trying to humiliate me in public.

I raised my eyes to Julius, only to see a deep, calm indifference in his gaze. He had no intention of intervening.

After hesitating for a long time, I still chose to kneel down to Carly. I wanted to get back the keepsake my mother had left me.

The moment I knelt, the smile on Carly's lips deepened.

"Carly, keep your promise and give me the necklace."

"Alright."

Carly held the emerald necklace before me and tossed it into the swimming pool.

"If you want it, go get it yourself."

A surge of anger welled up within me. Without the slightest hesitation, I jumped into the pool.

The instant I entered the water, an icy chill enveloped my entire body, reaching my core.

Still, I couldn't care less. I dove down, searching for the necklace.

After searching around, I finally found the fallen gemstone necklace.

My lips were pale and cold when I climbed out of the pool. I shivered uncontrollably.

Then, I heard Carly say, "Uncle, the weather is so chilly. Aren't you worried about Danielle? She is your wife, after all."

"A wife in name only. The only one I care about is you. Danielle is just a disposable tool in my eyes."

A tightness gripped my chest.

So, I was merely a tool for their flirtatious games.

A surge of anger propelled me forward and I pushed Carly into the pool.

I also wanted her to experience the biting cold of the winter pool.

"Ahhh, help! I can't swim!"

Carly's terrified screams immediately echoed from the pool.

"Danielle, you've gone too far!"

Julius's eyes were full of rage. He kicked me to the ground and then jumped into the swimming pool to rescue Carly.

After he kicked me like that, I fell to the ground and my waist hit the sharp edge of the swimming pool.

The severe pain in my stomach and waist almost made me faint.

After helping Carly ashore, Julius's icy voice rang out again.

"Danielle, if anything happens to Carly, I will make you pay with your life!"

I was left alone by the edge of the pool.

The persistent pain in my waist made it difficult even to stand.

I could only call for emergency medical help.

After the doctor examined me and applied medication at the hospital, I received a video from Carly.

In the video, Julius was washing Carly's feet as if treating a rare treasure.

Despite his severe germaphobia, he washed them with rapt attention, his expression devout as he lovingly kissed her toes.

The scene pierced my heart like a sharp blade.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Carly Leonard.

"Danielle, wasn't that video I sent you wonderful? Do you know why Julius has never touched you? It's because I said I found you dirty, so he kept himself pure for me."

"Julius has always belonged to me, but you stole him from my grasp. So, you deserve to pay a painful price."

I had thought Carly resented Julius's domineering control, treating her like a caged bird. It turned out this was just a tactic of feigned refusal.

I replied coldly, "Hmm, you two are a perfect match. Trash belongs in the trash can."

"Say that again, if you dare," Carly growled.

My expression was cold and I hung up the phone.

After a while, Julius stormed into my ward angrily.

"What did you say to Carly? She has severe depression and is threatening to kill herself!"

"I didn't say anything," I stated coldly.

"You need to go apologize to her right now," Julius's voice brooked no argument.

"I won't apologize."

I wasn't in the wrong. Carly was the one who came looking for trouble.

My words infuriated Julius. He didn't care and dragged me out of the ward.

His rough actions caused my injured waist to slam into the corner of the wall again.

"Julius, that really hurts."

Tears welled up in my eyes from the pain.

"This little bit of pain is nothing. Do you have to be so dramatic?"

His words made my expression turn cold.

He dragged me to Carly's ward. "Apologize to Carly, now."

"Uncle, if she doesn't want to apologize, just let it go. I know I'm hard to like."

"Well, at least you're self-aware," I replied bluntly.

Carly's eyes reddened upon hearing this, her face full of grievance.

Julius snarled, "Danielle, how could you become such a vicious woman? It makes me sick."

I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Now I had become a vicious woman, huh?

Julius continued, "Carly will be staying with us for a while. The doctor said her condition is unstable and she needs someone to take care of her. You'll be the one looking after her. Consider it your compensation to her."

After her discharge from the hospital, we sat at the same dining table for dinner.

When I was scooping the smoking broth with a spoon, Carly deliberately came closer.

As expected, her wrist was splashed with the hot broth.

She let out a sharp, piercing scream.

Julius rushed to her side.

Tears streamed down Carly's face as she cried, "Uncle, my wrist hurts so much! Please don't blame her. I don't think she did it on purpose."

Julius's eyes were filled with heartache.

Then, he raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.

I was stunned by the sudden blow.

I felt a searing pain in my cheek and a ringing sound echoed in my ears.

I looked at him in disbelief.

"Get lost."

I felt as if my heart had been hollowed out.

He didn't even give me a chance to explain, immediately passing a death sentence on me.

I turned and left, too drained to explain myself to him.

I wandered aimlessly outside for a very long time.

It wasn't until night that I gradually fell asleep and returned to the villa.

When I passed the door of Julius's room, I heard a heavy gasp.

The door wasn't closed properly. I saw Julius and Carly's figures intertwined on the bed through the crack.

My face was ashen and my heart felt like it was cut open by a knife, with a bloody pain.

I had barely been gone and he couldn't wait to get with her.

Yet, in the entire year we had been married, he had never touched me.

Even when I stood naked in front of him, he didn't react. He just told me coldly, "Put your clothes back on. You'll catch a cold."

Another time, he kissed me forcefully when he was drunk and just because I called his name out of control, his eyes suddenly sobered up. Then, he pushed me away.

I had absolutely no appeal to him.

But Carly was like opium, intoxicating him to the core.

Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face.

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. I wouldn't want that loser, Julius Jacklin.

My world could exist without him. I could live an extraordinary life on my own.

The next morning, I handed Julius the villa's maintenance, water and electricity bills to sign.

Julius signed without even looking at them.

He didn't know I had slipped the divorce agreement in among the bills.

He had already signed the divorce agreement.

After returning the documents, I asked the question lingering in my mind, "Julius, have you ever loved me, even just a little bit?"

Julius was silent. He didn't answer.

I let out a bitter laugh. I knew what his silence meant.

My marriage to Julius had been a one-woman show.

After a long pause, Julius frowned. "Danielle, I had my reasons for marrying you. You're already my wife. Isn't that enough for you?"

He still held that superior attitude, as if marrying me was some great favour.

I turned and went upstairs, back to my room.

When I returned home from shopping in the afternoon, I saw Carly barging into my room. She was standing in front of my wardrobe, trying on my clothes.

I was instantly furious.

Carly had absolutely no manners, even touching my personal belongings.

"Carly, are you seriously this shameless? You're even trying to take my clothes? Do you have no pride?"

"Tsk, I just want to try it on. What does it matter? No matter what I want in this villa, Julius will give it to me, not to mention the clothes in your closet."

I just found her shameless.

"Get out of here! If you ever break into my room again, I won't let you off easily."

Only then did Carly turn and leave.

When it was time for dinner, I was about to leave my room and go downstairs to eat.

As soon as my feet stepped into the slippers, I couldn't help but scream loudly.

A piercing pain shot up from the soles of my feet, making my face pale and my whole body tremble.

I lifted my foot and saw a sharp nail sticking out of the slipper.

As soon as I stepped in, the sharp nails were completely embedded in the soles of my feet and crimson blood oozed out.

"Danielle, what the hell are you screaming about?" Carly walked up to me with a gloating expression.

"Did you put a nail in my slipper?"

"That's right, I did it. What can you do to me?" Carly admitted directly.

I grabbed a wine bottle from the table, smashed it against the wall and held the sharp glass against her cheek.

"Uncle, help! Danielle's gone crazy! She's trying to ruin my face with a bottle!"

Carly dropped her earlier arrogant demeanour, putting on a weak and frightened look as she appealed to the suddenly appearing Julius for help.

Julius immediately snatched the broken bottle from my hand and slapped me hard across the face.

"Danielle, I'm warning you, Carly is my bottom line. If you dare to hurt her even a little bit, I'll make you pay a hundred, a thousand times over!"

I felt a burning pain on my cheek and a ringing sound echoed in my ears again.

The grievances in my heart surged like a raging tide, but I desperately tried to restrain myself.

I roared, "Julius, do you know what Carly did to me? And you just hit me without even finding out what happened?"

Julius was momentarily stunned when he saw the tears welling in my eyes and heard my resentful accusation.

The intense pain in the soles of my feet continued. Suddenly, my vision went black and I collapsed to the ground.

Julius saw me faint and the pool of bright red blood remaining where I had been standing.

A hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

"Danielle, Carly has told me everything exactly as it happened. I'm apologizing to you on her behalf. She's always been playful and hasn't always thought things through."

I said coldly, "I want her to apologize to me in person. Otherwise, I won't let her off."

"Don't push your luck."

"Julius, are you always going to protect her like this? Anyone who didn't know better would think she was your wife."

"What nonsense are you spouting? I advise you to know when to stop. I won't coax you a second time."

He threw those cold words down and turned to leave the ward.

Was that what he called coaxing?

It's more like coercion! Why should I accept his apology?

At that moment, my chest heaved with anger.

Luckily, my injuries were all superficial. I was discharged from the hospital after staying for a day.

Back home, I took out my drawing board and sat down, ready to paint a landscape.

For so long, I'd been trying to please Julius that I'd forgotten the things I once loved. I couldn't even remember the last time I held a paintbrush.

I painted mountains and green rivers on the drawing paper, with layers of mountain ranges. The entire painting conveys a sense of grandeur and a transcendent, enlightening atmosphere.

That's when Carly barged in again.

She glanced at my landscape painting and sneered, "Danielle, I didn't expect you to have some skill. Your painting is actually quite good."

"But if you think you can use this to please Julius, you're wasting your effort. In this lifetime, he will only love me."

I was too lazy to deal with her and remained silent momentarily.

Then, Carly took out a lighter. She deliberately set the painting I had just finished on fire.

In no time, the landscape painting was entirely consumed by the flames.

An intense anger rose in my chest. Carly's actions were undoubtedly stepping into my minefield.

I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

She hissed in fury, "You bitch! How dare you hit me? Fine, very good. This time, I will definitely kill you! That way, no one will stand in the way of my relationship with Julius."

As she spoke, she deliberately used the lighter to set the curtains in the room on fire!

"Go to hell!"

The flames spread rapidly. Within just a minute, the fire in the room was terrifying and thick black smoke billowed out.

I stared at her in disbelief. "Carly, are you crazy?"

Carly's face was somewhat ferocious. "From the moment I knew Julius would marry you, I went completely crazy."

"Danielle, do you know how much I hate you? I hate seeing you around him, hate that you two live under the same roof and I hate you even more for stealing my man."

"It would be best if you just died today! That way, no one will compete with me for him anymore!"

I didn't want to stay with this madwoman any longer, afraid of what other terrible things she might do.

Just as I was about to flee the room engulfed in flames and thick smoke, Carly swiftly locked the door from the inside.

My pupils widened in shock. "Carly, do you realize how insane this is? If this goes on, we'll both burn to death!"

A smug smile crept onto Carly's lips. "The only one who will die today is you. Julius wouldn't let anything happen to me."

Just then, a commotion came from outside.

"Fire! Help! Someone, come quick and put out the fire!"

Then, Julius' worried voice came from outside the door. "Danielle, are you still inside?"

Hearing his voice, my eyes couldn't help but turn red. I was about to speak, but Carly beat me to it.

"Uncle, I'm trapped inside! Please, come and save me!"

His voice was filled with panic. "Don't worry, Carly. I won't let anything happen to you!"

A second later, the door burst open and he rushed inside.

The flames inside the room raged uncontrollably like a wild beast, thick smoke filling the air.

"Uncle, it was Danielle who set the fire on purpose. She even locked the door, trying to kill me. Thank goodness you came."

Carly threw herself into Julius' arms.

His eyes darkened instantly. "Danielle, you've gone too far; this is utterly vicious and cruel. I've told you before, Carly is my bottom line. If anything had happened to her, I wouldn't have let you live."

My eyes couldn't help but turn icy cold.

At this critical moment, he showed no concern for my life or death, but was instead still seeking justice for Carly.

My voice was a little hoarse. "Julius, in your eyes, what exactly am I to you? Did you ever love me, even just a little?"

Just as I finished speaking, the ceiling chandelier crashed to the ground.

"Watch out!"

Julius subconsciously chose to protect Carly, pulling her to a safe spot.

Because I couldn't react in time, the chandelier hit my shoulder.

I collapsed to the ground in pain. A sharp, intense ache radiated from my shoulder, almost making me faint.

"Danielle, are you alright?"

Julius gasped, asking coldly.

"Uncle, I'm so scared. It's so dangerous here. I feel like I can't breathe properly. Please, take me away quickly."

Julius frowned, his expression cold. "But she … "

Carly's small face scrunched up in distress. "Uncle, I'm in so much pain! I might have choked on the smoke. Every time I breathe, my chest hurts so badly."

Julius frowned tightly as he scooped Carly into his arms and carried her away.

I watched their retreating figures, my heart aching as if sliced by razor blades, the pain unbearable.

Driven by sheer survival instinct, I dragged myself forward with great effort, crawling out of the fiery wreckage.

Before I completely fainted, I saw Julius returning. His expression seemed to hold a hint of anxiety and unease.

When I woke again, I found myself lying on the large bed in the room.

"You're finally awake. The injury to your shoulder is serious, but luckily, it's just a flesh wound. It'll get better after a few days of rest."

I was about to sit up, but suddenly my head throbbed painfully, accompanied by a wave of dizziness.

"Rest for now. You're still very weak; you just donated 800cc of blood. Carly was injured and has a coagulation disorder, so we had to use your blood."

My eyes burned with fury. "Julius, you took my blood for Carly without my consent? Do you even see me as a human being?"

"I'll make it up to you. Didn't you want that new designer bag from SQ? I'll buy it for you."

A cold smile couldn't help but appear on my lips.

So, he always knew I liked that bag, but he never bought it for me because he didn't want to put any thought or effort into me.

My eyes turned icy. "Save it. Buy it for Carly. I don't need it."

"Danielle, who do you think you are to sulk at me? The fact that I haven't already held you accountable for deliberately setting that fire shows how generous I am."

I laughed bitterly. "So I should thank you? For leaving me to die in that fire while you rescued your precious Carly?"

"You … "

Julius suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

"Please leave. I want to rest."

Only then did Julius turn and leave.

When he went out, he didn't close the door properly and I overheard his conversation with Carly at the door.

"Uncle, was Danielle just throwing a tantrum at you? Do you want to go and coax her again?"

"No need. Danielle has only one good point, which is that she's very easy to coax. I don't even need to coax her every time and she immediately comes crawling back."

Carly's voice dripped with mockery. "Is that so?"

My expression froze over completely.

They were overthinking. I wasn't as easily manipulated as before. This time, I wouldn't forgive him again.