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.

I don't know how long I lay unconscious in that cold, damp wine cellar.

A heavy, dragging pain throbbed in my abdomen, as if a hand were viciously tearing at my uterus.

I curled up on the moldy carpet, my clothes soaked in cold sweat, my consciousness fading in and out.

Until a click sounded—the lock turning.

Harsh light flooded in, and I instinctively shielded my eyes with my hand.

Standing at the door was Elena.

She was dressed in a bright, glamorous dress, covering her nose and looking at my disheveled state with pure disdain.

"Oh my, sister-in-law, I'm so sorry."

Though she apologized, her eyes danced with malicious glee.

"I was having so much fun these past two days, I accidentally forgot you were down here. Gavin kept thinking you were sulking in your room and refusing to come out for meals."

I struggled to stand up, bracing myself against the wall, the cramping in my lower abdomen making it nearly impossible to straighten my back.

Not wanting to conflict with her again, I weakly pushed past her and stumbled out.

As soon as I reached the living room, I ran into Gavin, who was just about to leave.

Seeing my filthy, pale, and wretched appearance, Gavin's brows instantly knitted together, a flash of surprise and displeasure crossing his eyes.

"Ivy? How did you get like this?"

Before I could speak, Elena, right behind me, rushed forward and clung to Gavin's arm, acting all aggrieved.

"Gavin, don't blame Ivy. She might still be mad at me, so she's been hiding and refusing to show her face for the last two days. It's all my fault."

Gavin's eyes turned cold instantly.

He looked at me and sighed, that familiar expression of disappointment and "tough love" reappearing.

"Ivy, when did you become so manipulative?"

"Have you stopped caring about your own body just to garner sympathy?"

I clutched my stomach, cold sweat dripping from the pain, my voice trembling, "Gavin, I don't feel well... I want to go back to my room and rest..."

"No."

Gavin glanced at his watch, and his previously cold expression suddenly softened.

He walked over, his tone becoming exceptionally gentle, as if coaxing a child: "Come on, my little darling, just hang in there a bit longer, okay?"

"I know you're not feeling well, but today is the appointment to try on wedding dresses. You know how important this is to us. You've been looking forward to this day for so long, haven't you?"

"Be a good girl, don't be willful."

Looking at his tender demeanor, the hardened defenses in my heart traitorously softened once again.

Maybe... he really did care about the wedding, about our future?

I gritted my teeth, enduring the severe pain in my abdomen, and nodded: "Okay, I'll go."

However, when I was led like a puppet to that top-tier luxury bridal shop, all my illusions shattered in an instant.

It wasn't just the two of us.

Kalen and Elena had come along too.

As soon as I stepped into the shop, I felt a bone-chilling cold rise from the soles of my feet.

It turned out that his gentle coaxing and pleading just now weren't for our wedding at all.

It was just to get me, the official fiancée, to be there so Elena could humiliate me to her face and satisfy her vanity.

Elena flitted through the rows of wedding dresses like a social butterfly, while Kalen and Gavin, the twins with supposedly distinct personalities, circled her like two loyal knights, never leaving her side.

"Gavin, do you think this mermaid dress suits me?"

"Kalen, does this one with the veil look good?"

Elena held up haute couture wedding dresses meant for the bride, posing with them one by one.

Gavin stood behind her, his gaze focused and tender. "This one makes your skin look fair. It suits your temperament."

Kalen chimed in from the side, "Our Elena looks good in anything. You'd make the most beautiful bride!"

The shop assistants looked at each other, then surprisingly, all flocked around Elena, serving her attentively.

"This lady really is a natural clothes hanger..."

Meanwhile, I, the actual bride, sat alone on a cold bench in the corner, my face pale as a sheet.

The dragging pain in my belly was getting worse.

No one looked at me.

No one even cared if I tried on a wedding dress.

In their world of three, I was like a superfluous intruder, a prop that existed solely to complete the wedding procedure.

After a long time, a shop assistant finally remembered me.

At Elena's signal, she awkwardly walked over holding a dress.

"Miss... this is what Elena 'hand-picked' for you."

I took it with trembling hands.

It was a bridesmaid dress made of cheap material and a dull color. Even the size was wrong; it was huge, like a sack.

"Are you sure... this is for me?"

"Yes." The assistant dared not meet my eyes. "Elena said your temperament is more simple and you couldn't pull off those elaborate main gowns. This minimalist style... suits you better."

I turned to look not far away.

Gavin was bowing his head to help Elena adjust her skirt hem, his movements careful as if he were holding a rare treasure.

As if sensing my gaze, Gavin looked back.

Seeing the shabby dress in my hands and the dead silence in my eyes, he frowned slightly. He seemed to sense that something was off.

"Ivy..." He hesitated, his tone probing. "If you don't like this one, I can pick another—"

"I love it."

I cut him off, a mocking smile curling on my lips.

I was leaving soon anyway. What did it matter what I wore?

Perhaps, in his heart, the love I had guarded with my life for so many years was just like this cheap dress—ill-fitting and unpresentable.

Holding the rag-like dress, enduring the excruciating pain in my abdomen and the bleeding in my heart, I forced out a smile uglier than crying.

"Fine. Since you chose it, I'll wear it."

After trying on the dresses, they wanted to go choose rings.

I couldn't hold on any longer and used feeling unwell as an excuse to stay in the car.

Gavin didn't insist I stay; he even seemed somewhat relieved. "Then rest in the car. Don't go in and spoil the mood."

Watching the three of them leave, I took out my phone.

Elena's social media had indeed been updated.

[Some things are mine without me even having to fight for them.]

The photo showed the priceless pink diamond ring, "Heart of Eternity," sparkling on her slender finger.

That was the ring Gavin had won at an auction with a high profile, promising it would be my wedding ring.

Now, it had become a toy to make Elena happy.

Back at the estate, Gavin came to my room.

He handed me a blue velvet box.

"This is your ring."

I opened it to find a plain band with only tiny diamond chips.

"Where's the pink diamond?" I asked, knowing the answer.

Gavin looked a bit unnatural but quickly recovered his matter-of-fact tone.

"Elena just got back and needs some jewelry to keep up appearances. That pink diamond is too flashy; it doesn't suit you. Besides, she's not in good health, and being in a good mood helps her condition."

"Ivy, be reasonable." Gavin sat down beside me and wrapped his arm gently around my shoulders, his tone as soft as if he were coaxing a petulant child.

"It’s just a ring. It doesn't prove anything. You know you’re the only one in my heart."

"After the wedding is over, I’ll make it up to you with an even better one. Okay?"

I looked at his face, so full of apparent deep affection, and felt a wave of desolation wash over me.

I used to be so pathetically in love with this gentle side of him. In the past, whenever he softened his stance and spoke in that tone, I would compromise without a second thought, abandoning all my boundaries.

Only now did I realize the truth: he simply didn't care about me.

In his eyes, I was just a plaything he could dismiss with a few sweet words. He thought that as long as he tossed me a piece of candy, I would willingly swallow all the humiliation and do the very things I hated.

"Okay."

I accepted the plain band calmly. "I won't make a fuss."

Gavin touched my head with satisfaction. "I knew you were the most reasonable one."

Just then, his phone rang.

It was Elena.

"Gavin... I had a nightmare... I'm so scared..."

Gavin's face instantly turned anxious, a nervousness I had never elicited from him.

"Don't be scared, I'm coming right over."

He hung up and gave me a hurried glance. "Elena has an emergency. I'll come back later."

With that, he turned and left without a shred of reluctance.

It was late at night.

I took some painkillers and lay in bed, drifting in and out of sleep.

Half-awake, the door was roughly pushed open.

A strong smell of whiskey approached.

Before I could react, a heavy body pressed down on me, hot, rough hands tearing at my pajamas.

"Mmph... let go..."

I struggled desperately but was pinned down by the wrists.

The man buried his face in the crook of my neck, his movements wild and urgent, without a hint of pity, only beastly desire.

"Elena... my Elena..."

He shouted that name in my ear, lost in passion.

*Boom—*

My mind went blank.

By the moonlight outside the window, I saw the face that was identical to Gavin's but twisted with wickedness and drunkenness.

It was Kalen.

He mistook me for Elena.

Or rather...

In the countless nights over these three years, those crazy moments I hadn't noticed, every time he entered my body, he was thinking of Elena!

This was a complete, filthy game of substitution!

To protect Elena's purity, Gavin directed Kalen's lust towards me.

And Kalen used me as a tool to fantasize about Elena!

Disgusting.

An unprecedented nausea almost suffocated me.

I felt the fruit knife under my pillow.

In that moment, I really wanted to kill him.

But the instant the knife tip pressed against his back, I stopped.

No.

Killing him now would be letting them off too easy.

I let go, allowing the knife to slide under the bed.

I lay with my eyes open, staring fixedly at the ceiling.

My tears had run dry, and my heart was completely dead.