Faris chuckled, offering Blaine a cigarette. "Relax, will you? I'm about to get engaged to Elle. Even if I roughed up her brother a bit over a misunderstanding, it just proves how much I love her. In any case, she'll forgive me!"

Blaine took a drag from his cigarette and nodded. "Fair enough."

It didn't take long for them to find my ID. Faris snatched it, took one look, and burst into laughter. "See? I told you this little bastard was lying!"

Blaine leaned over his shoulder and slowly read my name. "Ash Bennett."

He moved on to my graduation certificate. "Ash Bennett. He really is an impostor. Mr. Brown's name is Noel Brown. On top of that, the country he went to wasn't Kessland; it was Eisenwald."

My heart plummeted straight into my stomach. Following the incident, Noelle had completely removed me from the family registry and secretly changed my name to my mother's maiden name. To ensure I'd never fall victim to another kidnapping, she didn't utter a word about this to a single soul.

Did she lie to everyone about where I actually went just to keep me safe? "Oh, Noelle… Your secrecy is going to be the death of me!" I panicked inwardly.

Blaine's gaze turned ice-cold. "This little bastard actually had the nerve to masquerade as Mr. Brown. Beat him to a pulp!"

I was held in place and brutally beaten, the impact knocking my phone right out of my pocket. The moment the screen lit up, the lock screen caught Blaine's eye. His expression changed drastically. "Hold on!"

It was a selfie of Noelle and me. With trembling hands, Blaine picked it up and inquired, "Is this phone yours?"

I nodded frantically. Faris curled his lip. "It's just a photo, Blaine. For all we know, the kid photoshopped it beforehand!"

I puckered my lips, gesturing for Blaine to unlock my phone and look inside. Reading my mind, he held my phone up to my face to unlock it and pulled up my chat history with Noelle. "Holy shit, he actually has the Boss saved as 'Sis'!" he gasped.

Faris snatched my phone away from him. "He's a scheming boy toy. Of course, he calls her sis. How else do you think they smooth-talk their sugar mummies? Don't fall for his tricks!"

He scrolled up a few lines, and his face instantly contorted with rage. "Would you look at that? Not only did she buy you a villa, but she even calls you 'honey' and says she never wants to be apart from you again?"

I desperately wanted to explain, but the slightest movement of my jaw flared the wounds inside my mouth, stripping away my ability to speak. Noelle and I only had each other; she hated having me so far away overseas.

Growing up, no one had ever dared to lay a single finger on me. Yet here I was, beaten to a bloody pulp by her fiance, unable to even utter a word. Even her subordinate failed to recognize me.

"Noelle, it hurts so much!" I thought to myself. I began to weep silently, causing Blaine to knit his brows. "This kid's personality actually is quite similar to Mr. Brown's. He can't handle the slightest bit of mistreatment, and he's a crybaby. Maybe we should look into this a bit more. Boss spoils Mr. Brown rotten. If this kid turns out to be the real deal, we're going to be in deep shit!"

Faris nodded. "Fine. Let me make a quick call. If he's the real deal, I'll own up to it and take the blame. But if he's not…"

His expression instantly twisted into something hideous and cruel. "I'll make this little pretty boy regret ever being born into this world!"

He ordered his men to gag me before dialing Noelle's number. "Hello? Didn't you mention a few days ago that your brother's flying back for our engagement party? When will he be arriving, exactly? I wanted to pick out a nice welcome gift for him ahead of time, so I figured I'd ask."

Noelle's joyful voice came through the line. "That's so sweet of you! He told me he'll be landing tomorrow night."

My blood ran cold. "I'm done for," I cursed inwardly. Because I had wanted to give Noelle a surprise, I had deliberately changed my flight to today.

Faris's eyes narrowed, his gaze turning venomous as he stared down at me. If he hung up the phone now, I'd be a dead man.

I opened my mouth and bit down on the hand covering my mouth with all my might. The giant holding me down grunted and released his grip.

"Noelle, save me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, pouring every ounce of my remaining strength into it.

Faris' expression changed drastically. He rushed over, kicking me violently to the floor and slamming his boot down onto my bloody mouth.

Noelle sounded confused. "Did someone just shout for me to save them?"

Faris forced a smile before responding, "Oh, it's just the television in the background. Since your brother will be back tomorrow, I've got to run and get his welcome gift ready. I'll talk to you later!"

He hung up, leaving me in total, suffocating despair. Blinding pain exploded from my mouth as Faris dug his weight into his boot. "How dare you lie to my face, you little bastard? You almost had me fooled!"

Tears streamed down my face from the agonizing pressure of his boot, but it did nothing to cool his temper. Staring down at my tear-stained face, a dark, intense jealousy surged in Faris' eyes. "You wrapped Elle around your little finger with this face of yours, didn't you? She already agreed to get engaged to me, yet she still went out of her way to buy a massive villa for you!"

One of the giants behind him tried to reason with him. "To be fair, it's not all that surprising. Powerhouses like Boss always keep a side piece on the low. Since she's so fond of him, shouldn't we just let him go? You're the one she's actually marrying anyway. Why not just turn a blind eye and let it go?"

Blaine chimed in as well. "He's right. At the end of the day, you're the official spouse. He'll never be able to compete with you anyway."

Faris' gaze softened slightly as he fell into deep thought.

An overwhelming sense of grievance and indignation welled up from the bottom of my heart. I was Noelle's biological younger brother, but here I was, taking a savage beating because her men mistook me for her secret lover.

Noelle's taste in men was absolute garbage. The moment I set eyes on her, I would make damn sure she called off this entire engagement.

Faris noticed the resentment burning in my eyes, and any doubt he had just seconds ago was completely incinerated by a fresh wave of anger. "How dare you glare at me, you piece of trash? Even if I don't take your life today, I'm going to cripple you!"

After withdrawing his boot, he pulled out a knife from his breast pocket and brought the blade down on my face.

"Don't!" I screamed as the cold steel bit into my skin.

Faris, however, only sped up his movements. "Once you turn into an ugly freak, the person Elle loves most is bound to be me!"

Wave after wave of blinding pain tore through me, and I came incredibly close to blacking out. Noelle had spent a literal fortune hiring professional plastic surgeons, taking three grueling years of surgeries to perfect this face of mine.

Now, it was utterly ruined. Noelle would never, ever let him get away with this.

"You just wait… You're a dead man walking…" I gritted out.

Faris snapped, "You piece of shit, you're still running your mouth?"

He drove the blade across my lips. "Let's see you talk now! Come on, say that again!"

My lips went completely numb with a searing, white-hot pain. I couldn't form another syllable.

Faris raised his knife to continue his assault, but the sharp, echoing click of high heels on the floorboards made everyone freeze.

"Boss, what are you doing here?"

It was Noelle. Noelle was here! I thrashed around, desperately attempting to pull myself up, but a sickening crack resonated from the back of my knees. Faris had slammed his iron rod right into my hamstrings, causing my legs to instantly give out.

Blaine's face went completely pale. He urged Faris to hide me. "If Boss sees this, she's bound to lose her temper. Quick, hide him!"

Faris and two of his men hauled me across the floor and threw me into the kitchen. The sliding doors had just clicked shut when Noelle stepped into the room. "I thought I told you to get a move on with furnishing this place, Bee. What's the holdup?"

"I literally just got here, Boss. Everything's still in the car. I'll get the guys to haul everything in right now." Blaine led the remaining two men outside to unload the goods.

The rhythmic click of Noelle's high heels echoed outside as she inspected the layout. "The renovation's well done. He'll definitely be pleased with it. Is this the kitchen?" she asked the designer, raising her hand to slide the door open.

Watching her silhouette against the frosted glass door, my tears blurred my vision. "Noelle, please... just open the door and save me!" I prayed silently.

The door was slowly pushed open by Noelle. The moment she realized Faris was standing over me and my broken body on the floor, the color completely drained from her face.

"Ris, what are you doing here? Who is he? Why is his face completely covered in blood?" Noelle's brows drew together as she pointed at me.

"Noelle, it's me! Hurry up and recognize me!" I pleaded inwardly. My body was bound tightly; all I could do was squirm and wriggle toward Noelle.

Faris stomped on my face. "Stay still!"

The impact left my head spinning and my vision blurred, but I still mumbled out Noelle's name, "Noelle… Noelle…"

Faris flew off the handle. He kicked me in the mouth a second time. "How dare you call out her name in front of me, you piece of shit?"

Noelle shuddered when she heard my voice. She crouched down, scrutinizing my face.

Before she could figure out who I was, Faris said, "Honey, look, you don't have to explain. He's the boy toy you've been keeping overseas, right? I know you bought this villa for him.

"Honestly, I don't have a problem with it. You're such a successful businesswoman. It's only natural for you to keep a little secret lover on the side." Tears welled up in his eyes, and his voice cracked. "I only came here because I wanted to know what you see in him. I can learn, and I can act just like him... if it means you'll love me just a little bit more..."

Noelle was visibly moved by his tears. She rose to her feet and drew him into her arms. "What are you on about? I told you that you're the only one I love. If not, I wouldn't be getting engaged to you.

"I bought this villa for Noel, you silly boy. He's coming home tomorrow, remember? I wanted to surprise him, so I didn't tell anyone. That is to say, you've got it all wrong.

"By the way, you still haven't told me who this guy is! I can assure you I'm not keeping anyone on the side." Noelle asked again, pointing at me.

The puzzle pieces finally landed into place in Faris' mind, and every ounce of color instantly drained from his face. "He… He's just some punk who crossed me. Blaine and I were just teaching him a lesson..."

Noelle grimaced. "He crossed you? He had it coming then. But you shouldn't have brought him into Noel's villa!"

After hearing that, Faris' voice trembled. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'll have someone drag this kid out and clean up the mess right now, and I'll invite a priest to bless the villa. Tomorrow, I'll personally apologize to Noel. He won't hold a grudge against me, will he, honey?"

Noelle beamed. "Noel's a sweetheart. He definitely won't hold it against you!"

My heart hammered against my ribs in pure, unadulterated terror as a burly man hoisted me up and carried me outside. Faris was definitely going to silence me for good. He had clearly figured out who I was. He simply couldn't risk it, so he had to make sure there were no loose ends.

Horrified by the thought, I thrashed against my captors. My resistance earned me another ringing blow to the cheek. "This is what happens when you step on my toes, brat. Get him out of here, now!" Faris urged.

Just then, Blaine walked back in. Noticing the dark expression on Noelle's face, he put on his best brown-nosing smile and approached Noelle. "Cheer up, Boss! We honestly didn't mean to draw blood from this pretty boy, but the guy actually had the nerve to masquerade as your little brother...

Faris wanted to shut him up, but he was a split second too late. Noelle instantly caught on and asked icily, "What did you just say? He was posing as Noel?"

Blaine nodded eagerly. "That's right! This punk didn't even do his homework. We searched him, and his IDs don't have Mr. Brown's name on them at all!" Right after saying that, he obsequiously handed all of my documents to Noelle.

Looking at my identity card, Noelle's face turned stark, ghostly white. "How could this be?"