I once loved Logan with a foolish, fearless devotion.

But just because I accidentally broke a necklace belonging to his precious childhood sweetheart, he expelled me from Nashville without a second thought.

In the worst days that followed, I slept under bridges, picked through garbage, and served drinks in shady bars just to survive.

Later, we met again—inside a shoe boutique.

He had come to buy a lavish birthday gift for his childhood sweetheart.

A wealthy, extravagant VIP.

And I... was nothing more than a shop assistant in a cheap uniform.

He looked at me with that cold, detached gaze, as if he had never once felt anything for me.

Until I knelt on the floor to help his sweetheart try on shoes.

Logan let out a mocking laugh. "Shirley, is this what you've turned yourself into after leaving me?"

I kept my head lowered and said nothing.

He continued, pretending to be magnanimous. "As long as you kneel here and sincerely apologize to Jillian, I'll let you return as my fiancée. How about that?"

I shook my head.

No need.

Once, I received this month's salary and paid for my dog's treatment... I planned to die.

I had late-stage breast cancer. No one wanted me anymore—not even life itself.

——

The moment I refused, everyone in the boutique froze.

Even Logan's little sweetheart, Jillian, stared at me.

Logan's eyes grew dangerously cold.

But I didn't delude myself into thinking he was angry for my sake. After all, he had pushed me step by step into this ruin—all for another woman.

Sensing the tension, someone tried to mediate. "Shirley, just give in. It's only an apology—it won't kill you!"

Because Jillian wasn't done trying on shoes, I was still kneeling in humiliation.

The cold floor dug sharply into my knees. Despite that, my voice remained stubborn. "But I really didn't do those things."

The air grew heavy again.

Jillian lifted her innocent little face and softly tugged Logan's sleeve.

"Logan, I really don't mind," she murmured. "Don't make things harder for Shirley."

Then she turned to me, her tone dripping with false kindness. "Shirley, even if you wanted Logan's sympathy, you didn't need to make yourself look this miserable."

"Look at you—a spoiled rich young lady—working as a shop assistant?"

"Be good. Just apologize and come home with us, hmm?"

Just like before, she twisted everything, pushing all blame onto me... And making Logan hate me even more.

And like always, it worked.

Logan's anger deepened. His handsome brows knotted as he glared at me with disgust. "You're still defending her."

"If she hadn't deliberately broken your father's keepsake, how would you have been so devastated that your heart condition still hasn't recovered?"

"She should be kneeling and knocking her head on the floor a hundred times for you!"

His eyes narrowed dangerously. Then he pointed at the rows of shoes on the shelf. "Since you're so stubborn, do your job properly."

"All of these—bring them for Jillian to try."

Seeing Logan like this, Jillian's friends chimed in excitedly, "Well, since the famous Miss Gomez is personally serving us—bring me a couple pairs too!"

"And remember, I want kneeling service!"

"Hahaha, if we're doing kneeling service, I want to try some too."

"If you do it well, I'll tip you."

"How about a thousand?"

Their mockery made a sharp pain bloom in my chest.

But... a thousand dollars.

With a thousand, I could finally treat my little dog's pancreatitis.

Then I would finally be able to die with no lingering attachments.

Just as Logan wished, I knelt on the floor and tried shoes for Jillian and her friends, pair after pair.

Yet somehow, the more obedient I acted, the angrier he seemed. But now, I no longer had the strength or the will to care about his emotions.

All I wanted was to finish the task, earn that one thousand dollar tip, and get my dog treated.

Late-stage cancer hurts so much.

So, so much.

I just wanted to gather enough money to save my little Lucky... and then leave this world without regrets.

But there were so many shoes.

To humiliate me further, Jillian's friends deliberately chose the most complicated designs—buckles, straps, laces, all meant to make kneeling harder.

I didn't know how long I had been kneeling. My knees were swollen and red, raw from grinding against the cold floor.

My body, barely held up by painkillers, began to sway.

Finally—just as I felt I might faint—every last pair on the floor had been tried.

I lifted my face with a tired smile at the young man who had promised me one thousand dollars.

"Thank you for your patronage. Please settle the one-thousand-dollar tip."

My smile seemed to stun him. He hesitated, then scrambled awkwardly to grab his wallet. But before he could take out a single bill, Logan snatched the wallet away and slammed it into my face.

"You want money? Did I say you could?"

"And who said you're done? You think trying these few pairs earns you a tip?"

He jabbed a finger toward the shoe shelves. "Go. Bring twenty more pairs for Jillian to try."

"Shirley, I'll make sure you understand—cross me, and you will never have a good day again."

My exhausted body finally collapsed.

As consciousness slipped away, I seemed to see the Logan from six years ago. His eyes were filled with the same icy disdain.

"If you're so stubborn and refuse to apologize to Jillian..."

"Then get out."

"But remember this—offending me, Logan Martin, will never end well for you."

Back then, how naïve I had been. I thought he was just angry, just talking harshly.

What could he really do? Kill me?

Only later did I understand—offending him was a fate worse than death.

Even though I was educated and capable, not a single company dared hire me.

Because of him.

Worse, afraid of crossing Logan—and always biased toward my older sister—my parents announced publicly that they were disowning me.

Just like that, I left Nashville like a wandering ghost. Drifting from place to place, struggling to survive.

In the darkest times, I sold drinks at bars. Stood on the streets handing out flyers, then I finally managed to secure this job at the shoe store.

Life was beginning to stabilize... But then, I was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer.

The doctor said with proper treatment, I might live another year or two. But I didn't want to.

Living was too hard. Too painful.

It felt like I had never once, in my entire life, been truly loved.

As a child, my parents favored my sister, never me.

After growing up, I fell for Logan—a man everyone said was cold-faced and cold-hearted. But I didn't believe it.

I loved him recklessly, wholeheartedly.

When he casually said he wanted to see snow, I took an overnight flight north, scooped the first snowfall of winter, and brought it back for him—carefully vacuum-sealed.

When he mentioned craving roast duck from an old shop in the north of the city, I tracked down the retired chef and paid a high price to learn how to make it myself.

Later... when he looked at the snow and roast duck I brought him, it felt like the frost in his eyes was slowly, slowly melting.

Logan began to accept me. He even learned to say he loved me.

And when he discovered my parents favored my sister and disliked me, he would say he felt sorry for me.

I thought I had truly entered his heart. I never imagined there was already someone else living there—his childhood sweetheart, the girl born with congenital heart disease.

Because of her clumsy little performances, he made me back down again and again.

He always said, "Shirley, Jillian's father died saving me. And she has a heart condition. Can't you just give in to her?"

So for Logan's sake, I yielded.

Over and over.

But Jillian was never satisfied.

The final straw came during our engagement banquet.

In front of everyone, Jillian accused me of stealing her father's keepsake—a pearl necklace.

And sure enough, it was "found" in my handbag.

Except when they took it out, it had already been broken.

Pearls scattered across the floor like evidence of a crime.

Right on cue, Jillian clutched her chest and had a heart attack, sobbing that she was about to die.

That was the first time Logan hit me.

Without saying a word, he slapped me. Hard.

Then he ordered coldly, "Shirley, apologize."

"It's one thing for you to be jealous normally, but the one thing you should never touch is Jillian's father's keepsake."

"You're truly a vicious monster. No wonder your parents don't like you."

"Today, you will kneel and apologize to Jillian—until she chooses to forgive you."

That was the moment my heart froze.

Eyes burning red, I screamed, "I won't apologize, Logan!"

"Because I didn't do it."

"If you don't believe me, check the surveillance cameras."

For a moment, I saw hesitation flicker across his face. But Jillian's cries of pain grew louder.

Panicked, Logan lifted her into his arms—and completely forgot about the surveillance footage.

He looked at me with deep disappointment. "Shirley, you really are hopeless."

"You could've ended this with a simple apology, and instead you choose this?"

"I think the Martin and Gomez family union needs to be reconsidered. And there's no need for an engagement banquet anymore..."

My heart went cold. Completely cold.

Only then did I finally realize—Logan had never loved me.

Between me and Jillian, he never once chose me.

Just like my parents. Between me and my sister, they always chose her.

I heard myself say, "Then let's break off the engagement!"

Logan froze. He stared at me for a long time, then suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Fine."

"Remember, this is your choice."

"But Shirley—if you did something wrong, you must apologize. Otherwise, I'll make sure you learn what it means to offend me, Logan Martin."

His words sounded like a curse.

But back then, I was young and arrogant. I didn't understand the weight of those words. I thought—I have hands, I have feet, I have an education. How bad could life be after leaving him?

I never knew... It could be that bad.

Once I was kicked out of the Gomez family, stripped of my status as the daughter of the Gomez family and the future daughter-in-law of the Martin family... I could barely take a single step.

And with Logan spreading the word that he'd "teach me a lesson," forget finding a job—I couldn't even find a place to stay.

During that time, just to survive, I ended up selling drinks in bars.

And Logan made sure I saw everything.

He publicly declared his love for Jillian on social media, announcing that she was the future young madam of the Martin family.

He handed her endless resources—lifting a girl who couldn't even recite a full line of dialogue... and turning her into an award-winning actress.