Before my wedding, I went to find my fiancé with a pregnancy test in hand, intending to surprise him.

Instead, I overheard a heated argument between two men on the terrace.

"My dear brother, didn't you personally send her to my bed just to get revenge for Elena?"

The man, identical to my fiancé, twirled a USB drive in his hand, a wicked smirk playing on his lips.

I had been with my fiancé for seven years, yet I had no idea he had a twin brother.

What was worse, I never realized that during those passionate nights when I thought my fiancé was finally showing me affection, the man lying beside me was actually his twin.

And all of this happened simply because their "savior" despised me. To repay his debt to her, my fiancé tacitly allowed this humiliation.

It turned out that the love I had cherished for seven years was nothing more than a twisted game of revenge the brothers had orchestrated together, all to please another woman.

On the afternoon I found out I was pregnant, I drove to the Johnson estate in Long Island.

This was where, in just one week, Gavin and I were set to have our wedding of the century.

I clutched the pregnancy test tightly in my hand, picturing the look of surprise on Gavin’s face when he saw those two red lines.

As soon as I stepped onto the second-floor terrace garden, a heated argument made me stop in my tracks.

“Gavin, do you really have to be so boring?”

The voice was flippant and malicious, laced with a cynical laugh.

“Just give this video to the DJ and have it projected on the big screen right when you exchange rings. It’ll be a hell of a show!”

I held my breath and peered through the gap in the French windows.

Two men stood on the terrace.

One wore a dark gray bespoke suit, his back straight as a pine tree. That was Gavin, my fiancé of three years, the man I loved.

The other… had a face identical to Gavin’s!

But this man’s shirt collar was unbuttoned, his expression wicked, and he was twirling a black USB drive in his hand.

Twins?

I had been with Gavin for seven years, yet I never knew he had a twin brother.

Gavin snatched the USB drive from him, his brow furrowed, his tone filled with disappointment, as if scolding a hopeless child.

“Kalen, that’s enough.”

His voice still had that elegant, cello-like quality, but it was cold.

“We can cancel the wedding, we can make her leave, but there’s no need to ruin her reputation with such dirty tactics.”

“That is the bottom line of a gentleman.”

“Gentleman?”

The man called Kalen laughed so hard he leaned back, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

“My dear brother, why are you pretending to be a saint now?”

Kalen leaned back against the railing, lit a cigarette, and looked at Gavin with mocking eyes.

“Didn’t you personally design this whole setup to get back at Ivy for ‘bullying’ Elena back in school? Just to let Elena vent her anger?”

“You were the one who said a hypocritical woman like Ivy doesn’t deserve true love.”

“And you were the one who personally delivered her to my bed.”

Boom—

The thunder outside and Kalen’s words exploded in my mind simultaneously.

I felt all the blood in my body freeze in an instant.

To let Elena vent her anger?

Delivered… to his bed?

“Stop talking,” Gavin interrupted him in a low voice, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face.

“Elena is your childhood friend, too. If she hadn’t risked her life to drag the two of us out of that fire years ago, we would have been nothing but ashes.”

“Ivy shouldn’t have targeted Elena in school, causing Elena’s depression to relapse. That was her biggest mistake.”

“I just wanted to teach Ivy a lesson, to let her know what it feels like to have one’s feelings toyed with.”

Gavin sighed, a look of twisted justice in his eyes.

“I originally just didn't want her competing with Elena for resources anymore. I wanted her to use these seven years of her youth to atone for her sins. But I never intended to ruin her completely!”

Gavin took a deep breath, his tone carrying a hint of inexplicable emotion.

“Besides, after all these years, she’s been punished enough.”

“Anyway, I’ll give her a huge trust fund as compensation. It’ll be enough for her to live a wealthy life in Europe.”

“Provided she disappears from Elena’s and my world forever.”

Upon hearing this, Kalen blew a smoke ring, his lips curling into an amused, mocking smirk. He tilted his head, staring dead at Gavin. “Tsk tsk. Punished enough? And now you want to compensate her?”

“My dear brother, don't tell me you’ve played the part for so long that you’ve actually fallen in love with her?”

Gavin’s back stiffened instantly.

Then came his voice, cold and hard as iron, without a shred of hesitation: “Absolutely not.”

“I would never fall in love with such a manipulative, malicious, and hypocritical woman.”

I clamped my hand over my mouth, stifling any sound.

My nails dug deep into my palm, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.

Absolutely not.

Manipulative. Malicious. Hypocritical.

So, that was how he saw me.

For seven years, he didn't see me when I blistered my hands learning to cook just to cater to his picky appetite.

He didn't see me when I drank until my stomach bled and ended up in the hospital just to help him secure difficult business deals.

We had spent over two thousand days and nights together, and I had laid my bare heart out before him.

Yet, he would rather believe a clumsy lie concocted by someone else years ago than turn back to look at the real me even once.

That overwhelming sense of injustice and despair washed over me like a tidal wave, suffocating me.

It turned out that for the past seven years, what I thought was honey was actually poison.

But... in those years, I was the one being bullied.

I thought Gavin was busy with work, flying to London often, which was why we spent so much time apart.

Turns out, he just didn’t want to face me.

And during those countless nights of passion, the man whispering sweet nothings in my ear, taking me again and again…

Was this wicked-looking rogue in front of me, Kalen.

“Fine, whatever you say, Mr. Philanthropist.”

Kalen shrugged, looking indifferent.

“I’m bored of sleeping with her anyway. Her body is incredible, sure, but that stupid look on her face—crying tears of gratitude over a single word of concern from you—it really makes me sick.”

“Elena, that pure, innocent little flower, is much more lovable.”

“By the way, Elena’s plane lands tomorrow. Are you really planning to propose to her right after revealing the truth?”

Gavin didn’t answer immediately.

He turned around, looking at the flowers and ribbons already set up in the estate.

In those deep eyes, a complex emotion I had never seen before flashed by.

There was satisfaction, relief, and perhaps a hint of… reluctance?

But soon, that reluctance was replaced by cold indifference.

“This is what I owe Elena.”

Gavin adjusted his cuffs, returning to his lofty, elite demeanor.

“Ivy stole Elena’s happiness. Now, it’s time to pay it back.”

I stood in the shadows, looking at the man I loved to the bone.

He was still so handsome, so respectable.

Even when plotting such a heinous deception, he could make it sound so dignified.

To repay a debt, for that so-called “savior” Elena.

He didn’t hesitate to throw my dignity and chastity into the mud to be trampled upon.

I looked down at the crumpled pregnancy test in my hand.

The surprise I had felt earlier had now become the greatest irony.

The child in my belly… I didn’t even know who the father was.

Was it the brother, a beast in human clothing?

Or the cynical, playboy younger brother?

Disgusting.

An unprecedented wave of nausea rose in my throat.

I took one last deep look at the two devils on the terrace.

Silently, I turned and left the estate that was about to become hell.

The rain outside was getting heavier.

I tore the pregnancy test into pieces and threw it into the sewage of the drain.

Just like burying my dead love.

I don’t remember how I managed to drive out of the Johnson estate.

The rain was pouring down, and even with the windshield wipers frantically swaying back and forth, they couldn’t clear the blur in front of my eyes. Kalen’s vicious laughter and Gavin’s cold verdict echoed in my ears like a curse, repeating over and over again.

Elena… that name was like a curse.

Just because she had been injured saving someone in that fire, everything she did was forgiven by Gavin as "trauma response."

But I couldn't forget.

In our years at St. Andrews Private High School, she was the queen reigning from above, while I was the mud beneath her feet.

Just because I refused to help her cheat, she led the cheerleaders to corner me in the locker room, cut up my uniform, and dunked my head into the toilet while flushing it.

She spread rumors that I was the kind of girl who would sleep with anyone for money. She had those rich playboys hide needles in my dance shoes, watching me dance on stage with bloodied feet just for their amusement.

I even thought about ending my life at one point.

Until Gavin appeared.

He wasn’t like those lecherous rich kids. He wore a well-fitted suit, like a true gentleman, and shielded me from all the malice.

When he found out my only family—my grandmother—had severe heart disease and needed expensive medical treatment, he immediately arranged for her to stay in the best private nursing home without saying a word.

Late at night after my part-time job, he would pick me up in his understated black Maybach, hand me a warm cup of Earl Grey tea, gently stroke my head, and say, "Ivy, you are strong. You deserve the best in this world."

Once, when my grandmother had a sudden heart attack, he used his family’s helicopter to snatch her back from the hands of death.

That day, looking at his tired yet gentle profile, I swore in my heart: whether rich or poor, I would love him for the rest of my life.

Thinking back now, those tender moments late at night, those sweet words that made me blush…

They were all Kalen acting.

After enjoying my body, that devil must have been laughing at my stupidity with Gavin, right?

"So stupid, sleeping with her boyfriend's brother for three years without knowing."

"So stupid, actually thinking the heir of the Johnson family would fall in love with a girl from the slums."

I slammed on the brakes, slumped over the steering wheel, and let out a heart-wrenching wail.

So stupid.

Ivy, you really are so stupid.

Just then, my phone rang abruptly. It was the head nurse from the nursing home.

"Mrs. Smith! It's bad! Your grandmother is suddenly having trouble breathing. Her condition is critical! We need to transfer her immediately!"

My mind went blank with a loud buzz.

Like a madwoman, I turned the car around, floored the gas pedal, and rushed toward the nursing home.

However, on the only road leading to the nursing home, a red Ferrari was parked horizontally in the middle of the road, blocking the way.

It was Gavin’s car.

The ambulance carrying my grandmother had been forced onto the shoulder, its sirens wailing piercingly in the void.

I scrambled out of my vehicle and pounded frantically on the Ferrari’s window through the pouring rain.

“Move! Please, move! The ambulance needs to get through!”

But the person in the driver's seat ignored my desperate screams.

“Oops. Bad timing. The car broke down,” the driver drawled through the glass. It was Kalen’s voice.

“Elena sends her regards. Consider this a little lesson for upsetting her.”

“A life is at stake! My grandmother is in there!”

I collapsed onto my knees in the muddy water, screaming until my throat was raw.

“I beg you, move the car! I’ll do anything! Just move it!”

“Anything?”

Kalen’s voice was cold and detached from behind the glass.

“Too bad I’ve lost interest in you. You can wait for the tow truck.”

Then he cranked up the rock music, completely drowning out my pleas.

The ambulance was blocked for a full forty minutes.

By the time I finally arrived at the hospital, the lights in the emergency room had gone out.

The doctor took off his mask and shook his head regretfully, "She arrived too late. If she had been here forty minutes earlier, maybe there would have been hope."

My legs gave way, and I fell to my knees with a thud.

Those aged hands were now cold.

Grandma struggled to open her eyes, her clouded gaze searching the empty hospital room.

"Gavin... Is Gavin here..."

"Grandma wants... wants to thank him in person..."

I took out my phone with trembling hands and dialed Gavin's number over and over again.

No answer.

I sent text messages like crazy.

[Gavin, please answer the phone. Grandma is dying. She wants to see you one last time.]

[As long as you come, I won't hold anything against you. Gavin, please...]

[Gavin...]

Tears blurred my vision, mixing with the rain on the screen, distorting the words.

Even if he just treated me as a plaything, even if this was a scam.

As long as he could appear now, as long as he could let Grandma go peacefully, I could pretend I knew nothing. I could continue to be that fool.

But there was dead silence on the other end of the phone.

The light in Grandma's eyes gradually faded.

She held my hand tightly, using her last bit of strength to say intermittently:

"Ivy... be happy... don't... hate..."

The electrocardiogram turned into a piercing straight line.

"Grandma!!!"

I slumped by the bed, crying my heart out.

The only person in this world who loved me was gone.

That night, I sat alone on the cold bench outside the morgue, handling Grandma's funeral arrangements.

Until 3 AM, my phone screen lit up.

It was a notification for a special follow.

Elena had updated her Instagram.

The picture was a group photo taken in the VIP channel of JFK Airport.

In the photo, Gavin, who was always calm, noble, and unsmiling, was now holding a huge bouquet of champagne roses.

He looked at Elena, his eyes full of the joy of regaining something lost and doting affection.

The caption read: [Welcome Home, My Hero. Turns out no matter how far I go, as long as I look back, you are always there.]

I looked at the timestamp in the lower-left corner of the photo.

It was exactly the moment I was kneeling in the rain begging Kalen to move his car, and the ambulance was blocked.

So that was it.

He was affectionately picking up his "white moonlight" at the airport.

And his good brother, to "vent anger" for this "white moonlight," intercepted the ambulance on the road and killed my grandmother.

Gavin, you don't even know how much blood is on your brother's hands.

You think you are repaying a debt.

Actually, you are committing a sin.

I didn't cry.

I just calmly turned off my phone and completely deleted the photo set as my wallpaper.

The next morning, the rain stopped.

I went to an old church on Fifth Avenue first.

I took off the priceless pink diamond ring Gavin gave me when he proposed, along with all the jewelry he had given me over the past three years, and put them all in the donation box.

The priest looked at me in surprise, "Child, these things are too valuable. Are you sure?"

"These are dirty things."

I looked at Jesus on the cross, my voice calm without a single ripple.

"Exchange them for money and donate it to those in need. Consider it... accumulating some good karma for Gavin."

Walking out of the church, I dialed an international call.

It was the Human Resources Department of the International Red Cross.

"Hello, this is Ivy. Is the application I submitted before still valid?"

The person on the other end seemed surprised, "Dr. Ivy? Of course, it's valid. But didn't you say you were getting married and withdrew the application?"

"I'm not getting married anymore."

I looked at the hypocritical blue sky in the direction of Long Island, my voice cold as ice.

"Please send me to Damascus, or any place on the front line of war."

"The more dangerous, the better. The sooner, the better."

"No problem. There happens to be a medical team leaving next week."

"Good."

Hanging up the phone, I glanced at the calendar.

Next week.

It happened to be the day of my wedding with Gavin.

That’s fine.

I’ll leave on that day.

Considering the unknown dangers of the war zone I was heading to, I decided to bury my grandmother in a cemetery on Long Island.

I bought a sterling silver cremation pendant and placed a lock of Grandma's silver hair along with a small amount of her ashes inside, wearing it close to my heart.

The rest of her ashes were laid to rest underground.

I knelt before the damp tombstone, clutching the pendant tightly in my palm. The cold metal pressed painfully against my skin.

"Grandma, rest easy. I will take your love with me and do something truly meaningful."

"I will live on, for both of us."

It was evening by the time I returned to the Johnson estate.

Before I even entered, I could hear elegant violin music and laughter drifting from the living room.

Gavin was hosting a small family dinner tonight to celebrate Elena's return.

I pushed the door open, bringing the damp chill of the rain and the cemetery with me, looking completely out of place in this warm, luxurious world.

"Ivy, you're back?"

Gavin was standing by the fireplace, holding a wine glass. Seeing my disheveled state, he frowned slightly, as if I had embarrassed him.

He walked over quickly and gentlemanly took my wet coat, though his tone carried a hint of reproach.

"Look at you. Go change your clothes quickly. There are two important people I want you to meet."

I followed his gaze.

On the leather sofa sat the man I hated to my core, Kalen.

And the woman surrounded like a star, Elena.

Even though I knew the truth, seeing that face right in front of me still triggered an uncontrollable physical tremble.

Gavin's voice sounded in my ear, filled with a self-righteous warmth:

"Elena is a childhood friend I grew up with. Kalen is my twin brother. They just got back from Switzerland specifically to attend our wedding."

Elena was wearing an expensive white Chanel couture gown, looking like a proud swan.

Seeing me, she set down her glass and walked over gracefully in her high heels.

"Hi, Ivy."

She smiled sweetly, but her eyes glinted with malice.

"Long time no see. Thanks to your 'care' back then, I've always wanted to thank you in person."

She emphasized the word "care."

As she spoke, she affectionately linked her arm through mine, leaning close to my ear like a best friend.

The cloying scent of her perfume made me want to retch.

"Cat got your tongue? You were pretty loud back in the school bathrooms."

My body went stiff, and I instinctively tried to pull my hand away.

"Don't touch me."

Just as I pulled my hand back.

"Ah!"

Elena suddenly let out a cry.

The red wine in her hand splashed violently all over herself.

The dark red liquid instantly stained the pristine white couture gown, looking shocking, like a winding, bloody scar.

"My dress... Gavin gave this to me as a welcome gift..."

Elena's eyes turned red instantly. Tears swirled in her eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall.

"Ivy, I know you don't like me... but today is my welcome party. Why would you humiliate me like this?"

"Is it because you're jealous that Gavin treats me well? If that's the case, I can leave..."

The surrounding guests fell silent instantly, their gazes piercing me like sharp swords.

Kalen sat on the sofa and whistled, looking like he was enjoying the show. "Tsk tsk, sister-in-law's jealousy really lives up to its reputation."

Gavin's face darkened completely.

He strode over, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over Elena, covering her mess.

Then, he turned to look at me.

In those deep eyes, there was no anger, only a bone-chilling disappointment.

"Ivy."

His voice was low and powerful, carrying an undeniable pressure.

"You need to apologize."

I looked at the three of them.

I saw the smugness at the corner of Elena's mouth, the mockery in Kalen's eyes, and the sanctimonious "I'm doing this for your own good" look on Gavin's face.

In the past, I would have cried and explained, begging him to believe me.

But now, I just found it laughable.

"I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?"

I straightened my back and looked Gavin in the eye coldly.

"She threw it on herself."

"Enough!"

Gavin rubbed his brow, seemingly heartbroken by my "obstinacy."

"Elena is a guest, and she is my savior. As the future mistress of this house, instead of being magnanimous and tolerant, you publicly embarrassed her."

"Ivy, where are your manners?"

"It seems the easy life these past few years has made you forget how to be a decent person."

With that, he grabbed my wrist. His grip was firm but didn't hurt me.

He dragged me all the way to a lounge off the side of the first-floor hall.

It connected to the underground wine cellar and was usually very quiet.

Gavin let go and adjusted my slightly messy collar, his tone returning to that lofty, suffocating gentlemanly demeanor.

"Ivy, you've disappointed me."

"You're too emotional right now to be in the banquet hall. Stay here and calm down."

"Once you've thought it through and learned how to respect Elena, I'll have someone come get you."

He gave me one last deep look filled with "tough love" disappointment, then turned and strode out of the lounge.

The door wasn't locked.

He didn't restrict my freedom; he was just acting like a strict parent punishing an unruly child.

I stood in the empty lounge, listening to his fading footsteps, a sarcastic smile curling on my lips.

That was Gavin.

Even when punishing me, he had to maintain his facade of decency.

However.

Moments after Gavin left, the lounge door was pushed open again.

This time, it was Elena, who had changed into casual clothes.

The grievance and frailty on her face had vanished, replaced by a chilling maliciousness.

"Tsk tsk, Ivy, Gavin sure is 'gentle' with you."

Elena approached step by step, playing with a spare key she had stolen from the butler.

"Just reflecting in the lounge? That's letting you off too easy."

I stepped back warily. "What do you want?"

"I want you to relive some old memories."

Elena smiled eerily and suddenly lunged, shoving the unprepared me toward the side door at the back of the lounge.

It was the entrance to the deep underground wine cellar!

"Get in there!"

Caught off guard, I tumbled into the dark, cold space.

*Bang—!*

The heavy soundproof door slammed shut behind me.

Then came the sound of the lock turning.

"Elena! Open the door!"

I rushed over and pounded frantically on the door, terror drowning me like a tidal wave.

"Gavin only said I had to stay in the lounge! You have no right to lock me in!"

Elena's triumphant laughter came from outside, muffled by the door.

"This *is* Gavin's idea."

She lied without skipping a beat, her tone filled with the thrill of revenge.

"He said the lounge is too comfortable for you to truly reflect."

"He said since your heart is so black, you should stay in a pitch-black place to wash it clean."

"Enjoy yourself, Ivy. I chose this spot specifically because I know you're claustrophobic."

"Don't expect Gavin to save you. Tonight, he'll be in my room, comforting my poor, frightened heart."

The sound of high heels faded away.

The world fell into a dead silence.

This was the second basement level. No windows, no light, only the low hum of the central air conditioning.

The absolute darkness instantly awakened the nightmare buried deep in my heart.

"No... don't go..."

I slid down against the door to the floor, shaking violently.

Breathing became difficult, as if someone was strangling me.

I curled into a ball, clutching the ash pendant against my chest, my nails digging deep into my flesh.

I rushed to brace against the door, my voice cracking with fear.

"I have claustrophobia! You know that! It's too dark... please don't lock the door!"

The memory of being locked in the equipment room by Elena for two whole days back in school was the nightmare of my life.

Since then, I had to sleep with the lights on and couldn't handle closed, dark spaces.

Gavin knew this.

When I told him, he had held me with heartache, promising to be my light.

But now, no one heard my cries for help.

I curled up, gripping the pendant, sinking gradually into despair.