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."

I swallowed the bitterness lodged in my throat, forcing out a single word through clenched teeth. "Okay."

Under the harsh, scrutinizing eyes of everyone on set, I loosened my skirt.

It slipped to the floor. The once-pristine skin I used to be proud of was now marred by angry red scars and cigarette burns.

The studio was warm, but I felt cold all over. My body trembled, my heart numb with pain.

I used to think physical torment was the worst. I had not expected this kind of humiliation to be worse and painful.

I caught a glimpse of Luther's complicated expression, but I did not look up. I simply put on my clothes in silence, wiped away my tears and walked out of the studio.

That night, I finished my part-time job and went home.

At that moment, the lights at the Hawthorne Family estate were all on and I had a bad feeling about this.

As soon as I stepped inside, I saw Luther holding Anna. Her face was flushed red. I panicked that my voice trembled, "Is Anna having a fever again?"

Luther sneered, "Since you gave birth to her, take proper responsibility. The doctor just came. Her heart condition caused the fever. She's had her medicine."

I looked at my daughter's thin, fragile body. My heart ached as I reached out to hold her.

However, Anna turned away and clung tightly to Luther instead. Feverish and half-conscious, she murmured, "Daddy, don't leave me and Mommy…"

"Daddy, Anna loves you."

The expressions of everyone in the room changed instantly upon witnessing this, especially Juliette, whose cold gaze pierced right through me.

Luther's face, which had been stiff and distant, softened at the sound of the child's tender voice. A faint smile touched his lips as he carried Anna in his arms and personally took her to the children's room.

I stood there in shock.

I had thought he would flare up with rage, haunted by memories of the past. I had not expected the bond of blood to be this strong.

Off to the side, Wilma whispered in surprise, "You know… the daughter Miss Jenna brought back looks exactly like Mr. Luther."

Luther's steps faltered. Something flashed across his face and he turned slightly as if to say something.

But Juliette cut in coldly, "Wilma, stop with the nonsense. The timing of her birth doesn't match."

Startled, Wilma quickly covered her mouth and said with a forced laugh, "Yes, yes. Look at me, speaking without thinking."

I ignored their voices completely. Quietly, I walked into the children's room to care for my daughter.

Holding her small, burning body in my arms, I made a silent vow. I had to speed up the heart transplant as her health was getting worse by the day.

I stayed up with her all night and only when her fever broke in the early morning did I finally breathe a little easier.

But when I stepped out of the room, I saw Luther slumped alone at the wine table, surrounded by empty bottles of strong liquor.

Sensing footsteps behind, he looked up at me. "Jenna, I want to drink the hangover soup you used to make."

The warmth in his tone made me freeze for a moment.

It felt like a flashback to the sweeter days we once had.

But everything had changed.

Still, I made the soup for Luther and brought it to him.

Luther suddenly looked up and gripped my hand tightly. His voice was rough, almost pleading.

"Jenna… was there something you didn't tell me about that drug you gave me back then?"

"Just say the word. Tell me and I'll believe you."

I looked at him silently.

What was the point of saying anything now?

He was going to marry the woman he loved and live a happy life.

Meanwhile, I was just a dying woman branded with the sin of incest. I was nothing but a stain in his perfect world.

I gently pulled my hand away and checked my watch. It was almost time for my part-time shift. Without another word, I turned and went to my room to gather my things. When I opened the door to leave, he was already standing there, staring with bloodshot eyes.

He was completely sober now. His gaze pierced through me, sharp and searching.

"I've asked my assistant to send mine and Anna's hair for testing. We'll know soon enough if she's mine."

I froze where I stood, completely dazed.

So, it was Wilma's words that planted suspicion in his mind.

No matter what, I did not want Anna to get dragged into any of this. I could only swallow the bitterness rising in my chest and force a sarcastic smile.

"Dear brother, do you really want a child with me? Do you still love me?"

I kept my face expressionless as I met his stubborn gaze. "Anna is the child of someone I loved. If you really don't mind, I can let her call you 'Daddy.'"

Sure enough, my words hit him like a thunderclap.

His eyes turned red in an instant and then, with a gust of rage, his fist flew past my face and slammed hard into the wall beside me.

He roared with pain and disbelief.

"Jenna Hale! Do you think I'm heartless? I'm still a human being. I can feel. I can get hurt!"

I tried to suppress the sadness surged within. With a forced smile, I reached up, brushed my hair behind my ear and leaned in close, lifting his chin with a finger.

"If you love kids that much, I could have another one with you."

His eyes filled with anguish. A tear slipped down his cheek, but his voice turned cold.

"Fine, Jenna, you win. The one thing I regret most in this life… is the fact that I ever loved you."

He pulled back his bloodied hand and walked away without looking back.

As soon as he disappeared from sight, the strength I had forced myself to hold onto crumbled as I dropped to the ground. My tears fell silently, soaking the cold floor beneath me.

I could not hold on any longer; the pain in my chest was suffocating and I could not breathe.

I was barely holding on when my phone rang.

"Jenna, we're short a stand-in on set. Can you come and fill in? Don't worry, I'll pay you."

I stayed silent for a few seconds and then said yes.

Even if this was just another setup by Juliette to humiliate me, I did not care anymore. I had nothing left to lose since I only needed the money for Anna's surgery.

I took a taxi to the set. As soon as I arrived, Juliette greeted me with a warm smile and started explaining the scene.

It was a dramatic one. Her character, the heroine, would be taken hostage by a gangster, stabbed and then fall off a cliff.

Her assistant seemed clearly nervous, saying in a worried tone, "Juliette, Mr. Hawthorne cares about you so much. If anything happens to you, the whole crew will be in trouble. Please, don't risk it. Just let the stand-in do it."

She glanced at me meaningfully when she said that.

I gave her a pale, tired smile.

So that was what this was about. She wanted me to witness Luther's love for her with my own eyes.

However, Juliette surprised everyone. She stayed in character and even scolded her assistant with professional conviction.

"No. I owe it to the audience to perform this scene myself. This is my responsibility as an actress. Don't bring it up again."

Even the director and the other crew members tried to persuade her, but she insisted on doing it. Her dedication earned her everyone's admiration.

She then turned to me and took my hand in hers.

"Jenna, you'll be playing one of the gangsters. In this scene, all you need to do is stab me. Don't worry. It's a fake knife."

She handed me the prop and even demonstrated how to use it.

After Juliette finished changing into her costume, the lights came on and the scene officially began filming.

I followed the script, but just as I moved to stab Juliette with the dagger, something unexpected happened.

She suddenly gave me a cold smile. Then, without warning, she grabbed my hand, tightened her grip around the knife and forced it down hard.

The sharp blade plunged into her chest. Blood gushed out in an instant, spilling across the floor in a terrifying pool.

Screams erupted all around me. People ran in every direction.

"Murder! She killed her!"

"This vicious woman switched the dagger and stabbed her own sister-in-law!"

I stood there frozen, horrified by what had just happened. My face went pale. I stumbled back, barely believing what I saw. My hands trembled as I pulled out my phone to call 911.

But before I could press the button, a strong force knocked me to the ground.

Luther rushed past me, cradling Juliette tightly in his arms. He ordered his assistant to call an ambulance, his hands frantically working to stop the bleeding.

Juliette's face was ghostly pale, her voice weak and shaking.

"Luther… don't blame Jenna. She didn't mean to… She only did something foolish because she was jealous of your love for me…"

The way she begged for me, even while coughing up blood, only made Luther's eyes burn deeper with pain.

He turned to me, cold and silent, picked up the blood-stained dagger from the ground and then stood tall, looking down at me with undisguised hatred.

"I kept telling myself that as long as we lived quietly, I could forget everything and let the past go. But why did you have to destroy everything I built? If I had never met you… things would've been better."

His words felt like sharp knives.

I felt like I had fallen into a pit of ice. I forced a desperate smile.

"Luther, no matter what I say, you won't believe me. But I… I'm just as wronged as your mother was back then."

The moment I mentioned that name, his expression twisted. His eyes turned red, hatred and sorrow crashing inside him like a tidal wave.

He shouted hoarsely, breaking down. "Don't bring her up!"

The image of those two pale bodies entangled on the bed rose before him again.

The bitter memories formed chaos in his mind.

The mother he respected more than anyone… had betrayed him.

I whispered bitterly, "Why won't anyone believe us?"

His fury snapped loose. Like a man driven mad, he lifted the dagger and lunged at me!

The dagger aimed straight at my heart.