4

Ayana’s POV

By the time night fell, I staggered back home.

Stellan’s cruelty had already sealed my resolve. I would have my revenge.

Over the years, I had built some connections within the Breitbart Corporation. They might not look like much on the surface, but sometimes, the information they gathered could be fatal.

With that thought in mind, I began laying out a plan for revenge to be carried out six days later.

One by one, messages were sent out.

Then, unexpectedly, a girl on the inside hesitated before sending me something.

[Mrs. Breitbart, I don’t know if this news is true or not, but I think you should take a look.]

The next second, a file came through—an auction listing.

And among the items for sale… were private photos of me!

My hand clenched around my phone. My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at the screen.

Another notification popped up. This time, it was from Zella.

Her tone was still as playful as ever, but her words cut like poison.

[Bestie, for the sake of old times, I’ll give you a little reminder. Your private photos are now being openly auctioned across several houses. If you want to buy them back, you’d better withdraw the lawsuit. Honestly, though, I think it might already be too late.]

At the end of her message was a cheeky, tongue-out emoji.

My blood ran cold. I nearly blacked out on the spot.

I quickly dispatched people to different auction houses while I myself rushed straight to the largest one.

By the time I arrived, they were already auctioning off my photos.

To prove authenticity, a massive screen displayed one of me in a swimsuit—my neck still marked all over with the bruises Stellan had left behind.

That photo… had been taken by Stellan himself!

My entire body trembled with rage. I tried to rush forward, but security blocked my path.

From the audience, a man smirked at me, his voice laced with mockery.

“Who would’ve thought Stellan’s wife had such a figure? To be so bold, putting her private photos up for sale—oh, this is going to be interesting.”

Another laughed loudly.

“I just wonder if, after tonight, she will go home to Stellan, breaking her legs or kicking her out. If that happens, I wouldn’t mind taking her off his hands for a little fun.”

Their words, their stares… They were sharp as arrows, piercing straight through my chest.

And at that moment, I understood. All these photos… had been given out by Stellan.

With trembling hands, I raised my bidding paddle again and again, desperate to reclaim even a shred of my dignity.

At last, after pushing the price higher and higher without care, I managed to win them back.

But just as I prepared to leave, staff members blocked my way. Polite smiles thinly veiled their disdain.

“Ma’am, this card has an empty balance.”

My heart thundered painfully in my chest.

So this was how far Stellan was willing to go. Was he truly determined to destroy me?

Hands shaking, I pulled out another card. These were all accounts he had given me after our marriage. I rarely touched them—since I had my own income—but I knew they should contain money.

The card reader beeped twice. The staff’s eyes grew even more disdainful as they handed it back.

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I dialed Stellan.

“Stellan, did you take all the money out of my cards?”

On the other end came the sound of heavy breathing. Behind him, faint and clear, was Zella’s coquettish laughter.

I didn’t need anyone to explain what they were doing.

Fury blazed through me, hot enough to burn them both to ash.

Stellan’s voice came, smooth yet impatient.

“Darling, I told you—the company’s in trouble. I figured you didn’t need the money, so I withdrew it. I had no idea Zella would put your photos out there. Don’t worry—as long as you agree to withdraw the lawsuit, even if the company collapses, I’ll still buy those pictures back for you.”

I was about to speak, but suddenly his breathing grew sharper, quicker, rushed.

“Ayana, I’m still working hard for your brother’s case here. Think it over, or borrow money from someone if you must. I’ll hang up now.”

He ended the call in haste, eager to lose himself again in Zella’s embrace.

Moments later, Zella sent me dozens of photos of her and Stellan together, accompanied by all the taunts she had thrown at me before.

I saved them—every single one.

The man I was staring at… was no longer the Stellan I once knew.

Or perhaps, I had never truly seen him for who he was.

My nails dug into my palms until blood seeped out, my gaze fixed on the photos being returned to the auction platform.

Below, the men jeered at me before resuming their bids as if nothing had happened.

My contacts who had gone to other auction houses also called, their voices heavy with guilt.

Because Stellan had frozen my accounts, they hadn’t managed to buy a single photo.

I stood frozen in place, watching as the images were purchased by a mysterious buyer.

And in that moment, I felt a strange relief.

As long as those photos didn’t end up in the hands of those filthy men, I could finally breathe again.

As for everything else… I no longer cared.

5

Ayana’s POV

When I returned to the villa, the weight of everything that had happened in the past few days crashed down on me.

I buried myself under the blankets and cried until my chest ached.

Only when the storm of tears finally subsided did I drag myself upright.

Now was not the time to wallow in grief. My younger brother and my mother were still waiting for me.

I would never let Stellan and Zella get away with what they had done. I would make them pay, no matter what!

I gathered my documents, stuffed two changes of clothes into a bag, and then picked up a hammer as I made my way to the living room.

The next moment, the hammer came crashing down on the wedding portrait hanging on the wall.

One by one, I destroyed everything completely: the handmade crafts Stellan and I had once put together, the porcelain figurines he had given me as symbols of our love, the jewelry and gifts from each anniversary, even the countless paper cranes he had folded for me.

I reduced every last token of our so-called love to dust and shards.

By the time I finally stopped, the villa was nothing more than a wreck.

That was when Stellan came home.

He froze in the doorway, his brows knitting together at the sight of the chaos. And then, when his eyes landed on me standing in the middle of the ruin, his expression softened with what looked like heartache.

He stepped forward without hesitation and pulled me into his arms.

“Ayana,” he murmured, “I know you’re hurting. Cry in my arms if you must. It’s my fault. I don’t even know when those photos were leaked, but if you refuse to withdraw the lawsuit, Zella might use even harsher methods. I’m so sorry.”

The scent that clung to him made bile rise in my throat.

That faint perfume wasn’t mine. It was Zella’s! Worse—it was the limited-edition fragrance I had given her as a birthday gift!

And on the back of his neck, I could see it clearly: the fresh, unmistakable marks of another woman’s kisses.

They thought I was a fool. They had been playing me for a very long time.

Disgust boiled up inside me, and I shoved him away with all my strength.

My voice dripped with scorn as I said, “So there’s actually someone in Alabama with more power than you? If I’d known you were this useless, I would never have married you in the first place! At least then I wouldn’t have ended up like this. You’re pathetic, Stellan!”

I spat out each word slowly and deliberately.

His face darkened at once, his features twisting in shame and anger.

Seeing him squirm in pain brought me a bitter thrill. After all, every cruel thing that had happened was orchestrated by him and Zella together.

And yet he still dared to put on an act in front of me, pretending to be innocent!

To say he was disgusting was even an understatement.

I opened my mouth to say more, but his phone rang. The moment he saw the caller ID, his eyes lit up, and without a second thought, he answered.

It was Zella.

He didn’t even bother to lower his voice as he spoke with her. Then, without sparing me another glance, he turned toward the door.

“Ayana,” he said coldly, “calm down. Contact me again when you’re ready to withdraw the lawsuit. Otherwise, who knows what might happen in four days? You don’t want more private photos being leaked, do you?”

His words were laced with threat. And with that, he walked away straight back to Zella.

Before he reached the front door, my voice broke into a scream.

“Stellan! If you leave now, I’ll never forgive you! I’ll hate you for the rest of my life!”

His body stiffened for a moment at the doorway. But still, he left without hesitation.

I couldn’t help but chase after him.

But just as I stepped outside, a masked figure rushed at me.

“Stellan!” I cried, calling his name in desperation.

But he left without looking back.

The last thing I saw before the world went dark was his retreating, cold and unfeeling.

6

Ayana’s POV

When I opened my eyes again, I was already tied up inside an abandoned factory.

The masked man from earlier stood with his back to me, speaking into his phone.

From the other end came a voice I knew all too well—Stellan’s.

“President Breitbart, we’ve done exactly as you asked. The woman’s here. Don’t forget to transfer the five million to our account.”

Stellan’s reply was cold and cutting.

“I already wired you the money. Remember this—if she refuses to withdraw the lawsuit or record a clarification video in advance, keep her there for three days. I’m taking Zella on a trip. During that time, you can do whatever you want with Ayana.”

Without hesitation, he hung up after saying that.

In an instant, my vision blurred red with rage.

All for Zella… Stellan was willing to drive me into a corner without mercy, as if determined to destroy me.

I began to struggle, twisting against the ropes, desperate to free my bound hands.

Just then, footsteps sounded at the door.

The next second, Zella herself strolled in—brazen and unhurried.

She glanced at my pitiful state, and then she smiled in delight.

With mock pity, she reached out and brushed my cheek.

“Ayana, my dear best friend, how did you let yourself become such a mess? You must have heard everything just now, haven’t you? The one who ordered your kidnapping… was your husband. Or rather, the man who’s been covering me up all along has always been Stellan.”

She leaned closer, her voice dripping with cruelty. “He’s the one who gave me the power, the confidence to torment you without restraint. If you still refuse to withdraw the lawsuit, I can’t guarantee what will happen to you, your brother… or that comatose mother of yours.”

Her laughter was sharp and unhinged.

“Why are you doing this?” I glared at her, hatred searing through me.

I had truly believed once that she and I were close, that we had shared something real.

At my words, her expression twisted hideously. Suddenly, she struck me hard across the face.

“At the start, I only wanted Stellan to toy with you a little. I never meant for him to take you seriously! But he fell for you! And you—how dare you two get married? How dare you carry his child? Stellan is mine. Mine! Don’t you understand?”

Her eyes burned with poisonous jealousy, as if every fault in her life belonged to me.

She stared at my pained reaction, and suddenly, she burst into another cruel laugh.

“Oh, that’s right. There’s something you still don’t know, isn't there?”

“Do you know why Stellan married you back then?” She bent down, her lips brushing close to my ear. “Because I casually told him not to pester me anymore. And the reason he stayed with you afterwards? Because that wretched mother of yours overheard our conversation.”

She sneered, her tone gleeful and mocking. “She was about to run off and tell you everything, so I slammed down the accelerator and sent her flying! I didn’t expect her to survive, though. Tough woman, your mother.”

I froze, eyes wide, unable to breathe. The truth I had never known… finally revealed.

Zella’s gaze glittered with wicked delight.

“After I hit your mother, Stellan handled all the cleanup. Everything he’s done for you since? It wasn’t for you at all. It was for me. Ayana, look at yourself. Know your place. Withdraw the lawsuit. Record the clarification video. Then leave Stellan. That’s the only chance you’ll ever have to walk away alive.”

She tapped my cheek again and again, as though I were nothing but a toy in her hands.

My eyes burned.

So that was it. From the very beginning, I had been nothing but Zella’s chosen plaything!

My love, my marriage—everything I thought precious—was nothing more than mud under their feet, something to be trampled and defiled!

The fury in me boiled over. With a sudden snarl, I lunged forward and sank my teeth into her finger.

My gaze locked onto hers, feral, my growl echoing like that of a cornered wolf.

Zella shrieked in shock, thrashing as pain coursed through her hand.

“Damn you, Ayana! You filthy animal!”

The next instant, she kicked me away with all her strength.