Zion had known she was coming and prepared a lavish spread for dinner.

When she was little, she and Joshua had been sent to the countryside to toughen up. Zion didn't just teach them martial arts—he took them to catch fish in the river, pulled weeds with them in the fields.

So many beautiful childhood memories were tied to him.

After dinner, Ada claimed the best guest room first.

The one Zion had prepared for Lily.

"It's fine." Lily smiled at her master. "It's getting late—you should rest. The three of us can sort things out ourselves."

Zion had always kept a regular schedule. He wished them goodnight and headed to his room.

Lily yanked Ada out of the guest room. "Miss Swanson, there are no extra rooms. You and Joshua can share."

Ada's expression stiffened, then a smile crept across her face. "Sure. Sweet dreams, Miss Gilbert."

Joshua froze. Lily was letting Ada stay in the same room with him—wasn't she jealous? Or was this her way of showing her displeasure?

"Let's go."

In the end, he didn't ask. Ada pulled him away.

Night fell.

Lily had just drifted off when a scream ripped through the air.

"Help! Don't—don't rape me!"

She rushed out and found Zion standing in the moonlit yard, utterly baffled.

Ada stood there clutching her chest, looking violated.

The moment she spotted Lily, she lunged toward her like she'd found a lifeline.

"Miss Gilbert, your master tried to rape me! I came out to use the bathroom and he started groping me!"

Lily knew her master. He would never do something like this.

Joshua's face darkened. He draped his jacket over Ada and fixed Zion with an icy stare.

"Master, I didn't expect that at your age, you still can't control yourself."

Zion's face flushed crimson. "I didn't! She saw me and started screaming! I think she's mentally ill!"

"Joshua." Lily's voice was steel. "You know exactly what kind of person Zion is."

Her master had never been slandered like this in his life. He turned to her. "Lily, believe me."

She stepped in front of him, shielding him.

"Ada Swanson, how many times are you going to pull this self-directed stunt?"

Ada's face crumpled, tears streaming down. "The Swanson family isn't someone you can bully! I can have your master rotting in prison if I want!"

Lily nearly lost her mind. "You wouldn't dare!"

Ada's eyebrow arched. "If you want this to go away, cripple your master's martial arts. Otherwise—prison."

Joshua looked between Lily and Zion, his expression unreadable.

He lifted Ada into his arms. Moonlight gilded his tall frame in silver.

"I've called people from another martial arts school. Master owes Miss Swanson an explanation for tonight."

Footsteps thundered toward them.

Joshua's voice cut through the night. "Whoever cripples Zion Gilbert's martial arts gets five million."

"Joshua Vance! Did a dog eat your conscience?!"

His only answer was his retreating back.

Dozens of men in black swarmed in. Lily had no choice but to fight.

Within minutes, she'd taken over a dozen hits. The pain was blinding.

But then she saw them surround Zion on the ground—punching, kicking, slashing a knife across his hand tendons.

She stopped feeling the pain. Like a woman possessed, she grabbed an iron rod and threw herself into the fray.

Even the most vicious men fear someone with nothing left to lose.

They stopped. Retreated.

With shaking hands, Lily called an ambulance. Then the police.

Looking at Zion's unconscious body, she broke down sobbing.

If she hadn't insisted on visiting him. If she hadn't said too much. He wouldn't have suffered this.

The next day, Zion woke.

She rushed to his side. "Master, does anything else hurt?"

He patted her head gently. "My Lily is almost more capable than her master now."

Her eyes burned. She tilted her head back, forcing the tears to stay put.

"Master, I'm leaving Capital City. I didn't marry Joshua."

"I chose again—someone who loves me. Really, truly loves me."

Zion smiled, as if he'd expected it all along. "No matter who you marry, the premise is that you must make yourself happy."

"Lily, you really should go out and see the world."

Before Lily could speak, Joshua stormed in, his face dark as a thundercloud.

"Lily! Did you post this online?!"

She stood, instinctively shielding the hospital bed behind her.

"Joshua, let's talk outside."

In the hallway, his eyes were black as ink. Once, when he looked at her, there'd been a quiet dependence there. But somewhere along the way, that warmth had frozen over. Now there was only cold.

It didn't matter anymore.

"What do you want to say?"

He froze. He'd expected mockery, self-righteousness. Not this eerie calm.

Something twisted in his chest.

His tone softened without him meaning it to. "Lily, I acted impulsively first—I know that. But you shouldn't have taken this online. I can handle a PR storm. Ada can't."

"She has too much pride. When she saw the backlash today, she tried to kill herself."

"To fix this, you need to record a clarification video."

Lily stared at him. He wanted her to publicly call her mentor a rapist? That would destroy her more than anything.

"Joshua, he's your mentor too!"

His fingers twitched, but the image of Ada dragging a razor across her wrist hardened his resolve. "If you won't do it willingly, then wait for your bed photos from when you were eighteen to leak."

Her mind went blank. Ice shot from her feet to the crown of her head, freezing her from the inside out.

When she was eighteen, she'd given herself to Joshua as a gift.

He'd been so nervous his ears turned red. He kept her up the whole night, insatiable, and at the end, he'd asked to record it.

I want to capture our first time. It means everything.

What was once beautiful had become a blade aimed at her throat.

"You'd really go that far, Joshua?" Her voice cracked. "I regret ever giving myself to you."

She brushed past him. His hand shot out, grabbing her wrist.

"Lily—"

She wrenched free, her voice frozen solid. "Making me do something that vile? Impossible."

He watched her walk away, her spine straight and unyielding. A hollow ache spread through his chest.

It was fine. Once he calmed Ada down, he'd end things with her. Lily was easier to soothe. A little coaxing, like before, and they'd go back to normal.

That same day, photos tied to Lily's name shot to the top trending spot.

The online mob pivoted instantly—from Ada to Lily.

But strangely, thirty seconds later, the trend vanished. Scrubbed from every platform.

The name Lily Gilbert sank like a stone dropped in a lake—one ripple, then gone. As if it had never existed.

When Lily stepped out of the hospital, a jet-black Maybach waited by the curb. She hesitated, then pulled open the door.

"Thank you."

Sean stubbed out his cigarette and reached over to pinch her cheek.

"Saying thank you? So formal."

She lowered her eyes. The rumors online—didn't he care?

He seemed to read her mind. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "I only wish I'd found you sooner. But from now on, you're mine."

"Come on. Let me show you our home."

She nodded, resting her head against the window, watching the city blur past.

Before leaving, she'd given Joshua a parting gift.

She wondered what he'd think when he discovered the seven birthmarks on Ada's back were tattooed on.

After parting on bad terms with Lily at the hospital, Joshua was furious. He had someone leak Lily's bed photos online, then headed to the hotel where Ada was staying.

With the scandal blowing up, Ada had barricaded herself inside, too afraid to show her face. Joshua arrived with bags of her favorite snacks, and after coaxing her through the door for what felt like an eternity, she finally let him in.

The overnight storm had stripped away her usual radiance. Her eyes were swollen and red—a rain-battered rose, carrying a different kind of messy beauty.

"She still won't record a clarification video?" Ada's voice came out thick and nasal.

Joshua frowned, spotted the phone clutched in her hand, and snatched it away.

"I'm confiscating this. Leave it to me."

Ada fell silent for a long moment. She stared at his finely sculpted face, and felt something in her chest soften.

Suddenly, she didn't care about the online hate anymore. Let them call her a homewrecker, a manipulative snake, a scheming bitch. None of that mattered—as long as Joshua didn't believe it. As long as he stood by her, unconditionally, that was enough.

She yanked his tie, rose onto her toes, and kissed him.

Joshua stiffened. Lily's face flashed through his mind unbidden, but the soft, sticky warmth on his lips made it impossible to push Ada away.

Her hands wandered, lighting fires. Joshua's pupils trembled as heat pooled in his lower abdomen.

He grabbed the back of her head and took control.

Time blurred. When he finally released her, Ada was gasping for breath.

The room temperature had climbed. An intoxicating tension hung between them as they both fought to steady their breathing.

Ada smiled—radiant, devastating—a rose finally touched by sunlight. "You know, Joshua... I've liked you for a very, very long time."

"So let me truly have you. Just once. Please?"

She reached for his shirt buttons, her intentions unmistakable.

It was like a feather brushing against Joshua's heart—not quite ticklish, but enough to shatter his reason.

His hands found her waist. He bent down and claimed her lips again.

From the bedroom came the sound of fabric tearing and a muffled groan.

There was no stopping it now.

Lost in the moment, Joshua pressed kisses along the seven crimson marks on Ada's back.

His voice came out wrecked: "Ada... why is your waist so thin..."

Three hours later, it was over.

Joshua carried Ada to the bathroom and cleaned her up. One hand toweled off his damp hair while the other reached for his phone.

He'd silenced it earlier—wanting nothing to interrupt his descent into depravity with Ada.

The screen lit up. Lily had sent him over a dozen messages.

His fingers froze.

Something cold coiled in his chest. Panic, maybe.

He glanced at Ada, already passed out from exhaustion, and quietly got dressed. He left a note on the nightstand.

"We've crossed every line there was to cross. Let's end this here."

Deep down, Lily still weighed far heavier on his heart than Ada ever could.

He opened Lily's message thread.

What he saw stopped him dead.

Photos. Ada walking into a tattoo parlor.

And a video—Ada meeting with The Prophet. From three years ago.

A sickening realization formed in his mind.

He'd been set up.

Before he could process it, his phone rang. His father.

"Prepare a pair of jade bracelets worth fifty million as Lily's wedding gift."

"Ten days from now, you and I will attend her wedding together."

Joshua thought he'd heard wrong. He forced down the panic rising in his chest. "Dad, what are you talking about? Lily and I haven't officially gotten our marriage license yet. The last wedding was ruined, but it also let everyone in Capital City know how I feel about her. How could she possibly marry someone else!"

It was absurd.

But his father's next words made his heart lurch. "Lily didn't tell you she's marrying Sean James?"