“You’re always so thoughtful.”

The woman lowered her head with a sly smile before shifting her sharp gaze toward me.

“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard Drew talk about you plenty. I thought you’d be different from the usual lowlifes, but turns out you’re just a poorly-skilled liar. Such a devoted daughter, huh? Now that you’ve got your money back, feel free to drop the act. Go ahead, resurrect your mom, though be careful. Saying unlucky things too often might just make them come true.”

Her mocking tone and contemptuous smirk ignited the fury I’d buried deep inside.

Say whatever you want about me, but not my mom.

Without thinking, my fist shot out and connected hard with her face. Before Drew could even scream in rage, she was already crumpled on the floor.

“Anya, are you insane?! Do you lose it the moment someone hits your sore spot? Do you even know who you’re hitting?”

Did it matter who she was anymore? I had nothing left to lose.

Ignoring his threats, I grabbed her roughly and slapped her again, hard.

But before I could let out all the anger I held, several burly men dressed in black stormed in and forced me down to the floor.

The woman scrambled to her feet, tears streaming as she threw herself into Drew’s arms.

“I’m fine, brother. I provoked her on purpose! I caught her hitting me on a hidden camera. I’ll sue her right away!”

Pinned to the floor, unable to move, I could only grit my teeth and lock eyes with her.

She pulled a tiny micro-camera from her collar, flashing me a cruel smile.

“I’ve got everything I need now. She hit me. Brother, you have to avenge me!”

Drew’s gaze shifted to me. Without hesitation, he slipped off his shoe and slammed it across my face, and then his hand followed with a brutal slap.

The sting landed perfectly, a fierce blow that instantly blurred my vision with tears.

For a flicker of a moment, guilt crossed his features, but it vanished quickly, replaced by cold disappointment.

“I never thought it’d come to this. You were so close to passing my test. But at the last second, you showed your true colors.”

“I really did love you all those years. This slap is just payback for what you did to Briar. Let’s end this cleanly, you and I were never meant to walk the same path.”

The woman, still holding back, sneered as she spoke.

“Drew, you’re way too soft. That’s how this gold-digging woman fooled you so easily. Look at her, no regret at all. If she ever learned who you really are, I bet she’d come crawling back, begging.”

Drew looked down on me with a pitiful gaze, as if mourning the misfortune of my life.

But in the two years we were together, he had never once given me a gift. I, on the other hand, poured everything I had into meeting his endless demands.

Maybe that was part of his so-called “test,” but in the end, I owed him nothing.

I met his eyes with a cold, steady voice.

“Is playing with someone’s true feelings really that entertaining for you? I never wronged you in this relationship. Maybe I wasn’t enough for a wealthy heir like you, but that doesn’t give you the right to insult me.”

“From start to finish, the only one who owes anything is you.”

No sooner had the words left my lips than a furious slap struck me across the face.

“I owe you?! I wasted two years on you! Do you think those cheap things you gave me make up for my youth? Since you know I’m a rich heir, do you even grasp how valuable my time is? Someone like you could never understand!”

His face flushed red with rage, while the woman beside him, Briar, burst into cruel laughter as if watching a twisted spectacle.

“See, Drew? I told you. People like her never repent. You try to treat her with dignity, and she only fights back harder.”

“She still needed a proper lesson, once fear crept in and she realized her mistakes, an apology would follow naturally.”

Briar leaned in close, her voice sharp and deliberate.

“Miss Dutiful Daughter, your apology alone won’t cut it. I want you to drag your lying mother out here, too, and make her apologize to Drew. Don’t wait for me to step in, when things turn ugly, a simple sorry won’t fix a thing.”

Drew sneered coldly.

“That’s right. Since you refuse to show your face, I won’t give you mine either.”

“When you mess up, you own it. Even if it’s your mother, an elder, she’s no exception. I treated her with genuine respect, but who would’ve guessed she was part of your scheme? Like mother, like daughter.”

“Didn’t she teach you that old trick? Using a pregnancy to manipulate me? Thinking I’d be scared of the child you carried, forced to obey your every whim?”

His eyes burned red with anger as he spat the words. “And you still dare say you owe me nothing?”

I was consumed by fury, unable to hold back any longer. Summoning every ounce of strength, I broke free from the bodyguards and grabbed Briar by the collar.

Insults and blows. I could bear them. But trusting the wrong person? That was my deepest regret.

But my mother had done nothing wrong. I wouldn’t let anyone insult her.

My fists flew wildly, barely under my control.

The bodyguards reacted quickly, shoving me hard to the ground.

But they hadn’t expected to topple the cabinet; my mother’s portrait and the urn crashed to the floor.

The photo frame shattered with a sharp crack, and the metal urn’s lid popped off, scattering her ashes like dust across the floor.

Everyone froze, especially Drew.

He stared blankly at the wreckage, muttering in disbelief, “This… this can’t be real… Briar looked into it, your mom wasn’t really sick. How can there be ashes and a memorial photo?”

His hands trembled as he looked at me. “How… how is this possible?”