I turned around. Though I had long grown used to their intimacy, the fresh marks on Sally’s body still made my heart ache involuntarily.

No one knew that I had once briefly loved Leonard. It was during the time I was pregnant.

During that time, Leonard had changed. He no longer treated me with disdain. He would walk over to hug me while I was reading on the sofa, gently kiss the top of my head. He’d bring me beautiful flowers or carefully wrapped gifts on his way home from work. And every night as we fell asleep in each other’s arms, he would murmur, “Mary, let’s live well together from now on.”

I had believed him.

That day, when my water broke, news came from abroad that Sally was having a difficult labor. Leonard panicked and immediately booked a flight with his parents to go overseas, leaving me alone in the hospital to give birth.

Later, Leonard came back, bringing Sally and their... illegitimate daughter.

"Mary? You're coming to the family banquet tonight, right? Mom and Dad definitely have something for you too!" Sally affectionately hooked her arm through mine and a sticky, cloying scent wafted over. I calmly pulled my arm away.

"I'm not going."

"Why? Mary, are you still blaming me and Mom and Dad for what happened in the past?" Her eyes quickly welled up with tears.

Leonard walked out wrapped in a bath towel. When he saw Sally crying, he gave me a displeased glance.

"The past was your own fault for having impure thoughts. No one else is to blame. Tonight is a big night for Sally, it's the Yale Family banquet. As Sally’s younger sister and the second daughter of the Yale Family, you have no reason not to go!"

Hearing that line again, I took a deep breath, an indescribable bitterness welling up in my heart.

"Leonard, do you know what people in the circle are saying about me now?"

The video of me with my right cheek pressed against the floor, tongue out, desperately licking apple pie mixed with vomit had been spreading like wildfire.

"They’re all saying I’m no different from a filthy dog!"

The Yale Family was holding a banquet today and everyone from the circle would be there. If I showed up now, it’d just be giving them more to laugh at.

"And Anne was just discharged today. She hasn’t fully recovered yet. I need to be with her."

Leonard froze for a moment, a complicated look flickering in his eyes.

“What they said might’ve been a bit harsh, but Mary, didn’t you bring this on yourself? If you hadn’t deliberately handed the apple pie to Kylie and caused her allergic reaction, would I have had any reason to come after you? You’ve always been lowly. After all, you even drugged your own future brother-in-law just to get into his bed. Now people are just talking about it a little and you can’t handle it?”

“And really, it was just a mild allergic reaction. Did she really need to stay in the hospital that long? You’re raising that child way too delicately.”

“Anne isn’t being delicate…”

Before I could finish my retort, Leonard cut me off impatiently.

"Enough! I’ll arrange for someone to look after Anne. Tonight is very important for Sally and I won’t allow a single member of the Yale Family to be absent!"

I fell silent.

When the car pulled up at the Yale Family residence, Leonard got out first with Sally. Their daughter, Kylie, came running out in a light green princess dress, smiling brightly.

Leonard bent down and lifted her high into the air, holding Sally’s hand as they walked forward together. They were just like a perfect little family.

I followed behind them in silence.

This was how it was always supposed to be.

Everyone gathered around to greet them. Leonard handled everything with ease and grace, with Sally by his side.

I quietly slipped into a corner, trying my best to make myself invisible. But still, someone noticed me.

"That's Mary? The one who stole her own sister's fiancé and married into the Sutton Family? Did you see that video going around our circle? I can't believe the dignified Mrs. Sutton crawled on the hospital floor like a dog in public."

"And that daughter of hers was wetting and soiling herself? So filthy and disgusting."

"What's so surprising about that? If I were Mr. Sutton, I’d hate her and that bastard child too. The Sutton Family is far too generous to tolerate such a disgrace as a daughter-in-law."

"Come on, it was Mary herself who didn’t use birth control and got pregnant. Do you really think Mr. Sutton, who was so in love with Miss Yale, would’ve married someone else so easily? Especially a scheming woman who manipulated her way into that position?"

These words dragged my thoughts back to that night four years ago. The pain from that torn, helpless night still seemed to linger in my body.

Four years ago, my elder sister Sally was about to marry Leonard, the only son of the Sutton Family and her first lover. As her only sibling, I was brought back from the harsh countryside to the Yale Family as if it were some kinds of gracious favor.

My very first night in the Yale household was far from peaceful. I was jolted awake in the dead of night by a bucket of ice-cold water. As I opened my eyes, I met a gaze filled with disgust.

Then came my sister’s sobs and my parents' scolding and beating. Their voices filled every corner of that room.

As daylight fully broke, my sister decisively pushed the marriage that was originally hers onto me, then left the country alone.

From that moment on, the trajectory of my life changed completely.

Sally saw how pale I looked and came over with fake concern to check on me.

Standing behind her, Leonard's gaze lingered on me with a deeper meaning. Clearly, he had heard the mocking whispers too.

I pushed Sally’s hand away and forced myself to walk into the living room.

My father stood proudly at the center of the room, beaming. “Starting today, I officially hand over all of our Yale Family’s businesses to my daughter, Sally! She may still be young, so I hope everyone will offer her guidance and support in the future.”

The guests burst into applause and raised their glasses in celebration.

Sally held her head high, with a constant smile gracing her lips. “Thank you, Dad. I’ll do my best to manage everything and keep learning.”

Just as the atmosphere reached its peak, the butler suddenly entered and announced loudly, “The matriarch of the Sutton Family, Mrs. Kath Sutton, has arrived with gifts!”

Kath entered the hall with a beaming face.

Leonard stepped forward to open the gift box. It was filled with gold jewelry, along with the deed to a private villa on an island.

“Sally, congratulations! From now on, you are the director of the company.”

Kath affectionately held Sally’s hand and chatted warmly. Leonard stood beside them, his eyes brimming with tenderness as he watched.

While joy overflowed on that side, on this side, the Sutton Family’s butler quietly came over and called me away.

“Madam said that next Saturday’s family banquet is considered part of today’s gathering at the Yale residence and she wants you to return with her to the old estate after the banquet tonight so you can accompany her tomorrow to offer prayers to the ancestors.”

I froze, my hands hanging at my sides trembling slightly.

Just then, someone in the living room called out loudly.

“The Yale and Sutton families have both given gifts to Sally, what about the gift for Mary?”

“Gift? Mary should count herself lucky for not causing trouble!”

“That’s right. If I were a member of the Yale Family, I would’ve struck her name off the family registry after what she did. Sleeping with her future brother-in-law was a disgrace to the whole family!”

I clenched my fists, nearly unable to hold back the truth of what really happened that year.

Leonard’s assistant came out to find me and shoved a box into my hands. “Mr. Sutton said for you to take this inside and present it to Miss Sally.”

I lifted the lid of the box. Inside lay some handwritten apology letters.

"Mr. Sutton said, you have to read this out loud in front of everyone."

After a long pause, I chuckled softly and nodded in agreement.

Leonard wanted me to publicly apologize to Sally for what happened back then. At the same time, he wanted to legitimize Kylie’s identity, so she could rightfully take the surname Sutton.

"Leonard, why bother with all this trouble? Soon, everything will fall back into place anyway."

Ten minutes later, I walked up to Sally, holding the apology letter.

The onlookers whispered among themselves. "Look at her! Is she about to stir up trouble again?"

Sally glanced at me, the smile on her lips deepening.

"Mary, are you here to give me a gift?"

Clearly, she knew what the apology letter was for.

I raised a mocking smile and turned to stand in front of Leonard instead.

"Oh god, what is she trying to do now? Don’t tell me she’s going to ruin her sister’s big day again?"

"I think she will. What is she thinking? I feel like I’m about to break down on behalf of her sister."

Leonard eyed me warily, instinctively stepping back.

But I only stood about a meter in front of him, firm and unmoving.

No one noticed that beneath the apology letter, there were several extra pages.

I took out a pen and held it out toward Leonard.

“Today’s gift is for both you and… my sister. Sign here just as a keepsake.”

He looked at me oddly, but when he saw the apology letter in my hand, his guard relaxed.

While signing, he didn’t pay much attention to the papers, but his voice softened noticeably.

“Originally, you should have apologized four years ago, now consider it made up for.”

He paused, then added, “Don’t worry, with the title of Mrs. Sutton, no one will dare to gossip about you… I’m free for the next few days, after you finish the apology, I’ll take you and Anne out to relax.”

I calmly nodded, my eyes resting on the signature at the end of the letter.

Turning around, I bypassed Sally and began reading the apology letter aloud in front of everyone.

“I, Mary Yale, shamelessly drugged and assaulted my own sister’s fiance four years ago, brazenly stealing him and then forced my already pregnant sister to go abroad…”

I read mechanically, my voice steady and fast, with no emotion on my face.

After finishing, I turned and walked off the stage, ignoring the murmurs behind me and Leonard’s strange gaze. I lifted my skirt as I left the Yale Family’s home.

The villa’s servant was waiting for me and my daughter outside the Yale residence. Taking the car keys, I made up an excuse and drove my daughter straight to the airport.

As the plane took off, I leaned back in my seat, gasping for breath, while my daughter was unusually excited.

“Mom, where are we going?”

“To a faraway place,” I said with a smile.

‘Leonard, from now on, you can focus on Sally and I’ll focus on my daughter. We will never see each other again!’