Lennon didn't spare Mabel a single glance.

"Lennon, what if Mabel gets hurt?" Jessie asked softly, her voice full of concern. "She's kind of pitiful too."

Two seconds later, Mabel heard Lennon answer, his voice flat and emotionless, "She grew up like that. This is nothing for her. You're different. You're a rich heiress. Those rough people shouldn't even touch you."

He pulled Jessie closer into his arms, making sure the crowd couldn't get near her. "As Mrs. Shepard, this is something she should endure."

His voice faded along with his departing figure.

Mabel lay on the ground like a criminal, getting cursed and beaten by the crowd. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes. "Hahaha! This is what I should endure? Lennon, you really never disappoint."

She had never been good at cooking. Once, when Lennon had gastric pain, she cooked for him and accidentally nicked her finger.

Lennon grabbed her hand in panic, looking as if he might call a doctor immediately.

She laughed at him then, saying she was a doctor herself and that it was just a tiny cut.

Lennon replied, "Mabel, you're the person I love the most. Forget a cut—I worry even when you clip your nails."

The man who once claimed she was the one he loved the most had now pushed her into the storm himself.

She laughed and cried at the same time, looking almost unhinged.

Seeing her like that, the patient's family members were afraid something might happen, so they left while muttering curses.

Just after they were gone, security arrived. Mabel refused their help and dragged her injured body to the inpatient ward to see Gisselle.

She needed to pack everything and complete the discharge paperwork.

Once everything was ready, Mabel sent Alex a message.

She leaned down and kissed Gisselle's forehead gently. "Mom, wait for me. I'll meet you in Mythara soon."

"What are you going to Mythara for?" Lennon's voice rang out behind her like a nightmare, making her freeze.

Mabel stood up calmly. "A friend's getting married and invited me to the wedding."

Lennon looked at her suspiciously. She simply held out her phone for him to see.

Luckily, she had already prepared a set of fake chat messages.

After reading them, Lennon snorted and tossed the phone onto the bed.

If Mabel hadn't caught it in time, it would have landed right on Gisselle's stomach.

The movement pulled at the wound on her arm, making her suck in a sharp breath from the pain.

Lennon acted like he didn't notice. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward the door. "Come with me to Jessie's office."

"I'm not going," Mabel said. "Lennon, let go of me. You wanted me to sign the agreement, and I did it. What more do you want?"

Lennon replied, "Jessie needs to publish a paper. Give her yours."

Mabel had become a surgeon through years of hard work, publishing paper after paper from her own research and experiments. Why should she hand it over?

She lowered her head and bit down hard on Lennon's arm. "I'm not going."

She had barely taken a step away before he grabbed the back of her neck.

He looked at her with a cold smile. "Mabel, when will you learn to listen? Jessie couldn't become my wife because of you. This is the least you can do to make it up to her."

It was that line again. A deep sense of exhaustion washed over Mabel. "Lennon, let's break up. Then you can make her your wife."

Lennon froze at her words. Then he let out a mocking laugh. "Break up? We're married. Mabel, you know someone with my status can't get divorced. And besides…"

He tightened his grip around her neck and pulled her closer, forcing her to look up at him. A faint smile spread across his lips. "Mabel, could you really leave me? You're the one who gave up your chance to study abroad for me. You said it yourself that becoming my wife was an honor."

The day they registered their marriage, Mabel thought she was the happiest woman alive. Now she realized she had simply been the most foolish.

She didn't say a word. In a great mood, Lennon hummed to himself as he dragged her to Jessie's office.

The Sterling family was in the medical equipment business. After graduation, Jessie had gone overseas to get a medical license, then was placed directly at a top hospital as chief physician.

Mabel, on the other hand, had climbed her way up step by step.

"Mabel, I'm really sorry about this. But Lennon said what's yours is mine now, so I shouldn't feel bad about it."

Standing in front of the desk, Jessie waved at Mabel. "Come on, upload your paper to the computer. There's also a case that needs to be handled."

Lennon sat there with his legs crossed and his arms resting on his knees, watching her like a superior.

Meanwhile, Jessie stood beside him, leaning slightly against him as she whispered from time to time.

Mabel sat in Jessie's chair. On the computer screen was a photo of Jessie and Lennon kissing. The date showed it had been taken a year ago.

"Ugh!" A wave of disgust rose in her chest. Her hand tightened around the mouse.

"Ah!" Jessie exclaimed, rushing over when she saw what Mabel had done. "Mabel, you deleted the files on my desktop!"

Her expression fell as she turned toward Lennon pitifully. "Lennon, what do I do? The data for the hospital is gone. Am I going to get punished?"

"Mabel, I know you're jealous, but you shouldn't mess with data." Jessie sniffed, framing Mabel with every word.

Mabel almost laughed. "Ms. Sterling, have you ever even stepped inside a lab? Do you really have any data?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Lennon's hand struck her. He glared at her, his voice as cold as ice. "Mabel Judson! Apologize."

Mabel stared back stubbornly. "Lennon, are you dumb? If I deleted the files, you could just restore them from the recycle bin. You didn't even check before slapping me. You're just that protective of her."

Before Lennon could respond, Jessie spoke first. "The recycle bin can be emptied too. Mabel, I know you're jealous. Don't worry. I'll keep my distance from Lennon in the future."

"No need," Lennon said, pressing a hand on Jessie's shoulder.

His sharp eyes locked onto Mabel as he parted his lips. "She needs to learn her lesson."

After saying that, he patted Jessie's shoulder, then strode over to Mabel. He grabbed her wrist roughly and dragged her toward the door.

Mabel was locked in a lab.

Lennon said that since she had deleted Jessie's data, she'd better recreate it there.

"Recreate it before 8:00 pm tomorrow. Don't disappoint me, Mabel."

With that, he closed the lab door and strode out with Jessie.

Mabel spent the whole day in the lab. The equipment was familiar, but she had no idea which experiment Jessie meant or what data was needed. This was clearly just an excuse to make her suffer.

And of course, Lennon trusted Jessie.

Mabel let out a bitter laugh. What a failure she was.

With only a few days left before her escape, she couldn't afford more trouble. She pushed down her nausea and prepared to put together a makeshift experiment just to satisfy them.

Her hand hovered over a test tube when something at the bottom caught her eye. Her pupils dilated. She tried to pull back, but it was too late.

Her scream and an explosion rang out at the same time. The lab door blew open. Mabel managed to dodge, but shards of glass tore across her face, arms, and thighs.

She fell into a gap between cabinets. Smoke spread rapidly around her.

Mabel couldn't stop coughing. Her leg had been hit, and it hurt badly, so she had to use both her hands and feet to crawl out while coughing.

Every few steps drained all her strength. By the time she reached the door, she couldn't go any further. Desperately, she reached out her hand for help.

"Help… me…"

She raised her head weakly and saw Lennon's cold expression.

He held Jessie gently in his arms. When he felt a tug at his pant leg, he cast an indifferent glance at Mabel, who lay bleeding on the floor.

Jessie whimpered, and Lennon quickly patted her back.

"It's okay," he said softly, then kicked Mabel away with brutal force.

His eyes burned with anger. "Look at what you've done! Mabel, I'm beyond disappointed in you."

With that, he carried Jessie away, striding toward the emergency room.

Mabel already didn't have any strength left. The kick knocked her unconscious. Through a blur, she watched Lennon's figure vanish.

When she woke, she was in a ward with bandages on her face.

Lennon sat across the room with his arms crossed. As she stirred, he glanced up lazily. "You're awake? Come on. Time to apologize."

A string of question marks flashed through Mabel's mind.

But Lennon had no intention of explaining. He yanked the IV from her hand and, ignoring the bleeding puncture, roughly pulled her off the bed.

"Ah!" Mabel cried out. "Lennon, what are you doing? I'm a patient!"

He dragged her out of the ward without even letting her put on her shoes. "A patient? Mabel, you intentionally caused that accident just to hurt Jessie. Any injuries you have now, you brought them on yourself."

Mabel stumbled along behind him. Her bare feet ached against the floor, but nothing hurt as much as what Lennon had done to her.

He actually believed she had set off an explosion just because she was jealous.