He pulled me up from the ground and gently brushed the dust off my clothes.

Dazed from the onset of my condition, my mind tricked me into thinking I had gone back to those happy days. My hand trembled as I reached out to touch Luther's face.

However, Luther flinched away, making my weak body stagger from the rejection.

In that brief moment when he instinctively caught me, he seemed startled by how thin I had become. Every bone in my body must have jabbed into him like needles.

But they all said that she ...

Before he could process it, I snapped back to awareness and pushed his hand away without a word.

He handed the contract over to Juliette and turned to leave, but she called after me.

"Jenna, I'm short a stand-in actor. Could you help me out just this once?"

"The character used to be in a mental hospital. Since you've actually been there, it'll be easier for you to act the part."

Those three simple words hit like a whip, tearing my old wound wide open. I stood frozen, pale, my thin frame shaking uncontrollably.

Juliette pressed on, her voice soft and coaxing, "Don't worry. With my connections, even as a stand-in, I'll make sure you're paid like a lead actress."

Money.

I needed a lot of money to cure my daughter's heart disease.

After a long pause, I finally forced the words out with a hoarse voice. "...Okay."

Under the glare of the spotlight, I stood amidst a crowd of actors playing mental patients. They grabbed my hair and slapped me across the face.

"You lazy bitch! Why do we have to work while you get to sit around doing nothing?"

Staring at my face, his sharp nails scraped across my skin, "With a face like yours, no wonder the director can't stop drooling over you."

I shut my eyes in despair. The humiliation and terror I had buried deep clawed their way back into my mind.

The lights shifted and a group of doctors in white coats walked in.

"You're acting up again today. How will you ever learn to behave if you don't suffer a little?"

They took out bottles of pills, seized my face roughly and forced the bitter medicine down my throat. I choked and instinctively tried to spit it out.

However, that only irritated them even further. Their faces were clouded with displeasure.

"Talking back now? I guess you've decided you don't want to get better and leave this place."

They all laughed mockingly as hands reached for me from every direction.

I screamed and whimpered, but after three years of being broken into obedience, I did not dare to resist.

The next second, my whole body froze in horror.

A hot stream trickled down my legs. Under the harsh flash of lights, it was impossible to hide.

"Oh my God… Jenna Hawthorne, who was once so high and mighty, actually…"

The mocking laughter echoed around me.

Surrounded by the crowd, I did not dare lift my eyes to meet anyone's gaze, especially not Luther's, who stood not far away. I shut my eyes in despair.

Three years ago, I was still proud and headstrong, cutting through the elite circles of the business world with sharp precision and unshakable confidence.

But now… I was reduced to a woman suffering from mental illness, humiliated and branded as insane in front of everyone. Shame overwhelmed me as I bit down on my tongue with all my strength and only when the sharp tang of blood filled my mouth did I finally come back to my senses.

I could not die.

If I died… what would happen to Anna?

Then, a man's cold voice cut through the chaos.

"Get out."

A coat was draped over my shoulders. It still held the lingering warmth of the man who had placed it there and it made my frozen body feel just a little less cold.

Everyone on set saw the dark cloud over Luther's face, scattered in fear.

Juliette reached out to take his arm gently, trying to speak. However, he shook her off without hesitation. "You get out too."

In the blink of an eye, only the two of us remained on the set.

Luther turned to face me with bloodshot eyes. "Are you really that desperate for money? You let them humiliate you like that for what? A few bills? You weren't like this before."

Just when I had felt the faintest warmth returning to my chest, his words dragged me back into the cold pit. I could feel tears slipping silently from the corners of my eyes.

But I was no longer the same Jenna Hale.

I replied with biting sarcasm, "That's right. All I care about now is money. The past? I don't want it anymore. I only recognize money."

A flicker of pain crossed his face. He sneered, then turned toward the door and ordered the bodyguards outside.

"Bring everyone back. Continue filming."

I was painfully and humiliatingly filming a scene set in a mental hospital. Not far from me, Juliette was acting coquettish in a bed scene with Luther.

The moment I finished filming, my hands were trembling. I just wanted to leave.

But then I heard his low, possessive voice. "Juliette, since you're so insistent on doing intimate scenes, then do them with me."

After saying that, he turned to look at me.

"We only need one more person on set as a cameraman. Since Jenna is so desperate for money, let her do it."

My face turned pale. I knew this man too well. I could tell from every word that this was revenge.

Still, I did not flinch. I turned back around and walked steadily onto the set.

I picked up the camera and began recording as the two of them acted out the intimate scene on the bed. Her sweet, coy voice and his relentless advances echoed in my ears.

The camera only caught suggestive angles. Nothing really happened, but the way they touched was enough to make my chest tighten.

Finally, he let out a low growl and the scene ended.

My heart felt numb from the pain. I raised a hand to my face and was startled to find it wet with tears.

I wiped them away quickly and walked over, handing the camera to Luther. "Take a look. If you're not satisfied, we can reshoot."

He smiled, but there was no warmth in it.

I stepped forward and turned to look at the two of them with steady indifference.

"Pay me my wage. I'm quite satisfied with this job. If needed, I can be your stand-in again."

Luther's expression was cold and distant when he tossed a card in front of me. "Fifteen thousand dollars. Is that enough? Considering what you just cleaned up, it's not a bad wage."

I crouched down and picked up the card in silence, then numbly began cleaning the mess they left behind on the bed.

From outside the set, the staff watched every second of my humiliation. Once, they had shown me some respect, wary of my identity as the adopted daughter of the Hawthorne Family. But now that they had seen how much Luther despised me, that respect vanished.

They swaggered over without hesitation. Juliette's assistant tossed a pile of clothes at me.

"Wash these for our treasure Juliette Monroe. Make sure they're dry-cleaned properly."

The photographer strolled up after her. "Pick up some mushroom chicken soup for me from that place in the south of the city."

They dropped a few bills and coins on the floor like breadcrumbs. I knelt down without a word and picked them up one by one.

I smoothed the crumpled notes. The humiliation stung, but they were not wrong. Indeed, I was here for the money. As long as I could save enough to replace Anna's heart, none of this would matter. I could die in peace.

In the next life, if such a thing existed, I never wanted to cross paths with Luther again.

From a distance, I caught a glimpse of him.

He was holding a cup of warm brown sugar water, gently offering it to Juliette with such gentle care.

"You're in a sensitive period. Let the stand-in do the river scene in the winter next time. It's too cold for you."

The sweet atmosphere was so thick. People around them watched with envy, their gazes full of longing.

Luther had poured an outrageous amount of money into Juliette's drama. For her alone, he had air conditioners installed across the entire set, replaced every chair with cowhide sofas and even hired a Michelin chef to cook fresh meals on-site just because she mentioned her appetite had not been great lately.

The others whispered with admiration, "Oh my God, the love of a good-looking couple is like a fairy tale. So glad I never got involved with that incestuous freak."

Hearing them mention me, I looked up.

My mind drifted back to when he had been a teenager. He was scared out of his mind when he saw me lying in a pool of blood.

Luther, who had always been proud and untouchable, cried for the first time.

He thought I had some kind of illness and he clung to me, trembling, saying that if I died, he would follow me. That we would be together forever.

I smiled through the tears.

But now… I was the one dying inside. He hated me so much that he probably would not even bother showing up to my grave.

From across the set, Juliette approached, the sequins on her tube top glittering under the light. Her gaze was sharp and cold when it landed on me.

"I didn't think Luther would go as far as picking you up from the mental hospital. And to think he let you bring home an ugly child."

I said nothing. I simply turned to walk away.

Juliette yanked me back by the arm, her well-maintained face twisted with hatred. "Why didn't you die in that hellhole when you gave birth to that little bitch? How are you still alive after everything?"

"Forbidden love is supposed to be his bottom line, so why does he still care about you? Why can't he let you go?"

I suddenly looked up at her.

How did Juliette know I had had a difficult labor?

At that moment, I realized something about this woman whom I used to call my best friend felt deeply unsettling, almost terrifying.

Hatred twisted across her face. She could no longer hide it. Without warning, she grabbed my hand and yanked it toward her chest, forcing it against her tube top. Then, with a violent motion, she threw it to the floor.

A second later, tears streamed down her cheeks. She stood there in nothing but her bra and shorts, her voice trembling as she sobbed dramatically.

"Jenna, are you still blaming me?"

I had not even processed what she had done when a powerful force knocked me aside.

Luther rushed to take off his coat and wrapped it around Juliette with an expression full of distress.

Meanwhile, I crashed against the edge of a camera. The sharp metal cracked into my forehead. Blood poured down, painting my gaze in red.

Before I could move, a hand clamped tightly around my face, forcing it upward.

Luther's voice was filled with fury as he demanded, "Jenna, why would you do this? Isn't the past already over? I was your brother. Wasn't I good enough for you? Then why would you treat your future sister-in-law like this?"

I swallowed the blood pooling in my mouth. Through the blur of crimson tears, I smiled bitterly.

Why did everyone say the past was over?

I had already lost everything.

Juliette clung timidly to his arm, eyes swollen from weeping.

"Luther, Jenna used such cruel means against me. I… I don't have the face to stay in the entertainment industry anymore."

Pity flickered across his face. He was silent for a long time. When he opened his eyes again, only clarity remained.

"Jenna, I taught you to treat others as you want to be treated. Maybe if you experience what Juliette felt, you'll finally learn what it means to show respect to your elders."

I looked up in shock.

He… he wanted to strip me in front of everyone to satisfy Juliette's wounded pride?

After seeing my stubborn gaze, Luther said in a casual tone, "If you don't admit your mistake, then your filthy child will grow up just like you. She won't learn anything good from a mother like you. Send her away."