This was no accident—it was a scheme aimed at me. As Xavier and Aaron angrily stared me down, I felt like a beached fish that was about to die from dehydration.

"Julia, I'm begging you at this point. Stop hurting Sophia!" Xavier's gaze was frigid.

"If you really want to hold us accountable, I'm willing to be engaged to you again. We can just follow our original plan to get married."

I covered the back of my hand. "I'm not marrying you.

"Since the ring and rosary are now in pieces, I hope that my ties with both of you end here. Let's never meet again."

"I hope so too." He sneered.

Their expressions were filled with hatred. Suddenly, pain and shame blurred my mind.

I turned around and left, enduring the pain in the back of my hand. I couldn't bear staying here any longer. After leaving the hospital, I went to see my colleague, Emily Reed.

Emily comforted me and told me that I was blessed, so those scumbags don't deserve me and the family I would marry into would be good. Then, she said she would take me to an outdoor restaurant to eat and clear my mind. However, we ran into Sophia.

"Sophia, you just got better, so don't eat anything too heavy. The Ferris family is one of this restaurant's investors, so tell me what you want. I'll ask the chef to make it for you."

"I remember that Sophia loves steak, so how about we get her the best of the best—Wagyu steak?"

"But…" Sophia turned and pointed at my table. "I want to eat what Julie is eating."

"She just wouldn't leave us alone." I heard Aaron sigh.

Emily immediately stood up. "You're the ones who wouldn't leave her alone!

"I can't believe we're getting mocked even when we're just having a meal. You look like a decent person, so why is your mouth so foul?"

I quickly pulled her back into her seat. Although Aaron was religious, the Carter family's power could not be underestimated. I couldn't drag her down with me.

In the second half of our meal, none of our dishes showed up. Plate after plate kept landing on Sophia’s table, even the huge round table could barely hold them.

"Forget it. I'm not putting up with this anymore. We're leaving!"

Emily pulled me to the exit. But when she turned around, she knocked into a waiter, who dropped the hot soup he was holding. I quickly shielded her from it.

"Julie, are you okay? Julie!"

Pain spread through my arm, and the sudden shock made my throat seize. My airways constricted, and I started to pant.

When Xavier, who was nearby, turned to look in my direction, Sophia grabbed his sleeve. "Xavi, can you help me cut this steak?"

In the end, Emily took me to the hospital. She wanted to stay with me a little longer, but I told her I had to rush to try on my wedding dress later.

The people from the Lowell family had just sent me the address to the bridal boutique. The wedding dress was beautiful and elegant. I knew they must have spent a lot of effort on it, so I couldn't let it go to waste.

By the time they finished bandaging my wound, it was already evening. I went home to get my car. When I entered the parking lot, I saw Isaac talking to someone.

His gaze was affectionate, and his voice was warm. I had never heard him speak with so much love.

"I'm sorry that you had to suffer for so many years. Once Julia leaves this house, I'll let you into our family and change your last name.

"Of course. My little princess will have everything in the Wright family. If you want the moon, I'll even steal it for you…"

My eyes widened in surprise. I rushed forward in disbelief. What I saw was a face I was very familiar with.

"Julie?" Sophia paled in shock. Next to her were Xavier and Aaron, who had accompanied her home.

My hands started to tremble. "Dad, what is the meaning of this?"

Isaac sighed. "Calm down, Julia. I never told you because I was worried you'd do something rash and irreversible."

Suddenly, everything clicked inside my mind. No wonder he rarely came home and stopped playing with me after Dorothy passed away. I thought he was just too sad to face anything related to Dorothy, including me.

When he brought Sophia home, I didn't suspect anything at all. Instead, I was glad he still cared about me and loved me. How ridiculous.

"Mr. Wright, we've cleared out your wife's memorial space. Take a look at it. If nothing's wrong, we'll change the space into a bright game room according to your requests."

When he fell silent, a worker walked out of the room. They were holding shovels with fresh dirt on them.

Tears rolled down my cheeks and into my messy hair. I ran into Dorothy's memorial space like a madwoman.

As expected, the whole space had been cleared out. All I saw was gravel and sand. The sight cut into my eyes like a knife.

"Where's Mom? Where did you move Mom's urn?"

"The basement, of course," Sophia said with a smile.

After her return to the Wright family was confirmed, she finally stopped acting like a frail and gentle lady in front of me. "I guess you're my sister now, Julie.

"Mrs. Wright passed away so long ago. It's about time she moves to another resting place. Don't be so sensitive about it."

I felt like I was being torn apart. Growing up, no one ever sided with me. The one who always had my back was my mother.

After she passed away, I drifted through life like a ghost. Now, even my only support pillar had to be insulted!

I was livid. I shouted, "Dad, you know I have claustrophobia!

"I can't even enter the basement without throwing up! Besides, how can Mom be comfortable in a dark and humid place like that? Dad… I always called you that since I was born, but have you ever seen me as your daughter?"

Isaac stood still and remained silent. Sophia laughed.

"Julie, no one lives by old-fashioned rules anymore. All we did was move her urn. Why are you so—"

"Get lost! Who gave you the right to speak?"

I slapped Sophia. This was the only time I raised my hand at her since our childhood.

But just before my hand hit her, Xavier stepped forward. "Calm down, Julia."

He grabbed my hand hesitantly, but his hesitation quickly turned into admonition. "I already told you I'd marry you as long as you don't hurt Sophia. Stop making a fuss here like some lunatic!"

Aaron also looked at me warily, standing nearby. The room fell silent. Then, my phone buzzed.

"Ms. Wright, are you coming out? I'm the driver Mr. Lowell sent to pick you up.

"I'm waiting for you at the door. If you need help, feel free to come out and get us."

I looked up and laughed until I cried. Despite being 25 years old, the only people that I could escape to were the Lowell family, whom I had never even met before. What a joke.

"You didn't show up at the bridal boutique. Mr. Lowell was worried that something had happened to you, so he sent me here to check up on you.

"I'll drive you there first. He'll arrive very soon."

In the car, the driver did everything he could to comfort me. I wiped my tears away and followed him into the bridal boutique. I told myself to calm down and stop crying because I needed the Lowell family's support to fight back against Isaac and Sophia.

"Ms. Wright is here, so hurry up and bring out the wedding dress. We spent four months on it.

"Every part of the dress was made to fit you perfectly. Mr. Lowell put a lot of thought into the wedding!"

I tried on the wedding dress. Just like what the store clerk said, the dress fit my body perfectly. Now, all I had to do was wait for the heir of the Lowell family to arrive and see how we looked together.

I quietly sat still. After five minutes, my phone lit up with two messages.

They read, "Julie, after you left, your mutt scratched me.

"Dad said that since Fluffy was getting old anyway, we might as well cremate it."

She also attached a picture of a pet crematorium. My hands started to tremble, and then my entire body followed.

If I didn't have Fluffy by my side after Dorothy passed away, I might have died long ago. Not only was destroying Dorothy's memorial space not enough for Sophia, but she also refused to let go of the dog I raised since I was a kid. That monster!

I didn't even have time to change out of the wedding dress. I just lifted the long skirt of the dress and rushed outside.

"Where are you going, Ms. Wright? Mr. Lowell is arriving in four minutes—"

"I'm going to the pet crematorium!" I begged hoarsely. "Please drive me to the pet crematorium as fast as you can!"

It usually took 30 minutes, but the driver got me there in ten. After rushing into the pet crematorium, I saw Sophia holding my dog's leash. Xavier and Aaron stood by her side.

"Julie, why are you dressed like this? Are you okay?" Sophia acted the same as usual in front of Xavier and Aaron.

"Both of your weddings have already been canceled, so why are you still wearing a wedding dress? Have you gone insane from the shock? You're scaring me, Julie."

"Give Fluffy back to me!" I shoved her aside.

Xavier immediately grabbed me. I couldn't break out of his hold because he was too strong.

"As expected, the dog learns from its master. You're fiercer than the mutt you raise. It hurt Sophia just now, so it's only right for us to teach it a lesson."

I looked down at Fluffy. She whined and licked my hand. Her tail looked like it had been burned.

I knew it. In the past 15 years, she had never attacked an outsider out of the blue. If Sophia hadn't hurt her in the first place…

I barely recognized my voice when I said, "Sophia, if you send Fluffy to be cremated today, I'll make sure to cut you into pieces and burn them all down along with the house.

"I'm basically an orphan now anyway. I don't have anything to live for anymore, so I might as well drag you down with me!"

Frightened, Sophia let go of the leash. Fluffy immediately ran to me.

Trembling, I held her in my arms. "Good girl. I'm here now, so don't be scared."

"Julie, how could you threaten your sister over some mutt? You really have gone mad!

"Besides, why are you in a wedding dress? So what if Aaron doesn't want to marry you? Did I say I was going to cancel our marriage?"

Xavier looked at me. "How about this?

"Apologize to Sophia and stay in your house's basement for one day as a show of your sincerity. Then, I'll marry you."

Shock and hatred filled my mind. They knew I had severe claustrophobia. Entering the basement was basically torture to me.

And yet Xavier and Aaron still acted as if they were doing a favor for me. Everything was a joke to them.

"Xavier, who said I wanted to marry you?" My nails dug into my palms until they bled.

"Stop joking around. Besides me, who would marry you?

"Forget it. I'll give you two weeks to consider it. Don't make a choice you'll regret."

After he finished his sentence, a black Maybach stopped at the door of the pet crematorium. Several bodyguards exited the car.

"Get your hands off of Mrs. Lowell!"