I lay in the ICU, unconscious for a full day.

When I woke up, my throat burned like I had swallowed a handful of razor blades.

Gavin sat by the bed, suited up and looking as dignified as ever. Seeing me wake up, he reached out to hold my hand, his face wearing just the right amount of concern.

"Ivy, you're finally awake. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

I snatched my hand back as if I'd been electrocuted and closed my eyes, refusing to look at his hypocritical face.

Gavin didn't get angry. He patiently tucked the quilt around me, a hint of helpless explanation in his tone.

"Ivy, I know you're angry with me. But the situation was critical. Elena has a history of asthma; if we didn't medicate her immediately, lives would be at risk."

"And you... you're a doctor. I knew you understood how to save yourself, and your physical constitution is better than hers. I thought you were just acting that severely to spite me."

"We're getting married soon; we're a team with shared interests. You should understand my difficulties, right?"

At that moment, Kalen leaned against the doorframe, twirling his car keys, his slouching posture and tone full of mockery.

"Yeah, sister-in-law, my brother had no choice. Who told you to always be so jealous? If you hadn't put on that show, we wouldn't have misjudged the situation."

My hands clenched tightly under the covers, nails nearly breaking.

Listen to them.

They almost killed me, stole my life-saving medicine to save someone faking illness, and in their mouths, *I* became the one who was insensible and ignored the big picture.

I felt sick at heart, but I didn't argue anymore.

"I want to rest."

Seeing my attitude soften, Gavin let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, get some good rest. I'm going to check on Elena. She's fine physically, but she was terrified."

Only when their footsteps completely faded did I snap my eyes open.

I quickly pulled my phone out from under the pillow and dialed a number. "Hello, is this 'Truth Livestream Studio'? I want to book a global livestream order for next week... Yes, the Johnson family wedding."

Hanging up, I subconsciously reached for my chest.

It was empty.

My heart stopped.

The silver pendant necklace containing Grandma's hair and ashes was gone!

That was the only memento Grandma left me!

I panicked instantly, ignoring my physical weakness, rummaging frantically through the bed and under the pillow like a madwoman.

Just then, my phone vibrated.

It was a WeChat message from Elena.

A video.

The background was the hospital's luxury VIP bathroom.

Elena's manicured hand was holding my necklace, hovering over the toilet bowl.

The lid of the pendant had been unscrewed.

"Oops, are these the old hag's ashes? They look so dirty."

With her malicious laugh, she tilted her wrist.

The gray-white powder drifted down into the swirling water of the toilet, instantly swallowed by the flow and disappearing without a trace.

The video ended with the loud roar of the toilet flushing and Elena's smug voiceover:

[Want to find your grandma? Go look in the sewer.]

"Ah—!!!"

I stared at the screen and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Overwhelming anger and despair made my vision go black. I ripped the IV needle from the back of my hand and rushed out of the ward barefoot.

I ran all the way to the VIP ward upstairs.

The door was ajar.

I pushed it open and saw Elena touching up her makeup in the mirror by the sink, still toying with the now-empty silver pendant.

"Elena! How could you!"

I roared and lunged at her, trying to snatch back the pendant.

Elena saw me through the mirror.

She didn't dodge; instead, the corners of her mouth curled into an eerie smile.

Just as my hand was about to touch her, she suddenly screamed and threw herself backward violently, slamming into the sink.

"Ah! Ivy, don't hit me!"

At the same time, the door behind me was pushed open with force.

"Ivy! What are you doing!"

Gavin's commanding roar rang out.

Immediately after, a powerful hand clamped down on my wrist. He didn't hit me, but the immense resistance made it impossible for me to move an inch.

Gavin forcibly pulled me away, shielding Elena behind him.

Kalen rushed over to help the "trembling" Elena up, looking nervous. "Elena, are you okay?"

Elena shrank into Kalen's arms, weeping like a pear blossom bathed in rain, still clutching the empty pendant tightly.

"Gavin... I just wanted to return the necklace I found to Ivy... but she started cursing me as soon as she came in and tried to push me..."

"I don't know what I did wrong... Is it because of me that you guys left her at the restaurant? Is she blaming me..."

What a perfect victim.

I trembled with rage, pointing at Elena's hand, my voice so hoarse it was unrecognizable.

"She's lying! Gavin, she is lying!"

"She poured Grandma's ashes into the toilet! She flushed Grandma's ashes away!!"

I cried and shouted, trying to rush over to show Gavin the empty pendant, trying to take out my phone to show him the video.

"Enough!"

Gavin grabbed my shoulders, pinning me firmly to the spot.

He looked down at me, his deep eyes now filled with disappointment and disgust.

"Ivy, haven't you made enough of a scene?"

"Ashes? That is clearly just an ordinary decorative necklace! To frame Elena, you'd even make up such a vicious lie...and even use your grandmother to make such a sick joke? "

I froze.

Trembling, I took out my phone. "I have a video... she sent it to me..."

I opened the chat window.

It was blank.

Retracted.

Elena had retracted that video long ago.

"What video?" Gavin glanced at my phone screen and sneered. "It's blank. Ivy, are you hallucinating?"

"No... it's not..."

I looked at him in despair. "Gavin, believe me just this once... it really was her..."

"Gavin, don't blame Ivy..."

Before I could say a word, Elena, hiding behind them, suddenly interrupted. Her rims were red, and her voice dripped with grievance.

"Actually, I can understand her. She's just jealous of the bond we share from growing up together, jealous that you treat me so well. She feels like I stole your attention, that's why she hates me so much. She'd even go as far as fabricating such terrible things to slander me..."

"But I really didn't..."

What terrible acting. What obvious manipulation.

I stared dead at Gavin, waiting for his rebuttal, waiting for him to defend me like he used to.

Even if it was just one sentence: "Ivy isn't that kind of person."

But there was nothing.

Gavin stood there in silence. He didn't stop Elena's accusations, nor did he refute a single word.

He just looked at me quietly with those deep eyes that had once professed love to me.

There was no trust in that gaze, only a silent acquiescence and disappointment.

"Sister-in-law, making up such lies just to fight for favor, cursing your own grandmother's ashes, and even trying to hit someone. Your heart... tsk tsk."

I looked at these two men in front of me.

One was the fiancé I had loved for seven years, speaking of morals and justice but stabbing me with every word.

The other was the devil who had possessed my body for three years, full of mockery, kicking me while I was down.

And the real murderer, Elena, was hiding behind them, flashing me a triumphant, vicious smile.

In that moment, I felt the blood in my body turn ice cold.

I stopped explaining, and I stopped crying.

I just stared fixedly at the empty pendant, stared at Elena's face.

"Fine."

I heard myself say in a dry voice.

"I saw it wrong. It was my jealousy acting up."

"I apologize."

Gavin let out a sigh of relief, the knot in his brow finally loosening.

He stepped closer and gently smoothed my messy hair. His tone softened, oozing with a performative "kindness."

"I'm glad you've finally come to your senses, Ivy."

"Elena truly has a good heart. She never intended to come between us. You both mean the world to me, and I really hope you can let go of your prejudice and just get along with her. Okay?"

"Be a good girl. Stop being so difficult."

"Kalen, take her back. Find two nurses to watch her; don't let her run around again."

I was taken back to that cage filled with the smell of disinfectant.

This time, I didn't struggle.

After lying in the hospital for just half a day, Gavin came.

He was dressed in a casual, British-style equestrian outfit, looking handsome and upright, completely out of place in the pale, sterile hospital room.

"Ivy, get ready. Come with us to the private hunting grounds on the North Shore of Long Island."

I leaned against the headboard, my body still weak, and shook my head feebly. "I don't want to go... I want to rest..."

"Stop throwing a tantrum."

Gavin interrupted me, his brow furrowed as if he were looking at an unreasonable child who only knew how to act out.

"Elena specifically suggested going horse riding to relax and ease the tension. She said she doesn't mind your previous 'misunderstanding' and wants to use this opportunity to reconcile with you."

"Ivy, you've changed."

He looked at me, his eyes filled with a complicated mix of regret and accusation.

"You were never like this before."

"This is your best chance to apologize to Elena and repair your relationship. As the future mistress of the Johnson family, you must learn to be magnanimous and sociable. Don't disappoint me again."

Apologize?

Apologize to the murderer who flushed my grandmother's ashes down the toilet?

I looked at Gavin's hypocritically righteous face and found it utterly absurd.

But I had no strength to resist, nor did I want to argue anymore.

Because I knew that in this man's heart, right and wrong had long been twisted by his bias.

Like a soulless doll, I was forcibly taken from the hospital and stuffed into the car.

In the hunting grounds, the deep autumn red leaves covered the mountains, creating a picturesque scene.

Elena, dressed in a red riding outfit, sat atop a snow-white warmblood horse, looking valiant and heroic. Where was the frail appearance of someone who had "just returned from death's door"?

Kalen rode a black horse, guarding her left side, the two of them chatting and laughing.

Seeing me being led over by Gavin, Elena immediately flashed a sweet smile.

"Ivy, are you feeling better? I specifically asked the stable to save the gentlest mare for you, so don't be afraid."

I watched her performance coldly, saying nothing.

Gavin helped me onto the horse, whispering a warning in my ear, "Behave yourself later. Don't wear that funeral face; it's bad luck."

The group headed deeper into the forest.

Gavin and Kalen flanked Elena, the three of them chatting happily, reminiscing about childhood events.

I followed behind, like a superfluous ghost.

As we reached a steep slope, Elena suddenly reined in her horse and looked back at me, a strange glint flashing in her eyes.

"Ivy, your horse seems a bit agitated. Don't get too close to me..."

Before she finished speaking.

Using her body as cover, she secretly flicked a coin with her fingers, hitting her own horse right in the eye.

"Neigh—!"

The originally quiet white horse, in pain, reared up in fright and neighed frantically.

"Ah—! Help!"

Elena screamed, letting go of the reins and tumbling off the horse's back, landing heavily on the grass.

"Elena!"

Gavin and Kalen jumped off their horses almost simultaneously and rushed over like madmen.

"My leg... it hurts so much..." Elena clutched her ankle, pointing at me with teary eyes. "Ivy... I know you hate me... but how could you throw a stone at my horse..."

If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext.

I was at least five meters away from her, my hands tightly gripping the reins the entire time. I hadn't moved a muscle.

"I didn't," I said calmly, my voice flat.

"You still dare to deny it!"

Kalen roared, rushing over to drag me off the horse and shoving me hard onto the ground.

"I saw you raise your hand with my own eyes! You're just jealous of Elena and want to kill her!"

Gavin checked Elena's ankle and only sighed in relief after confirming it was just a sprain.

Then, he stood up and walked toward me step by step.

In those deep eyes, there was no longer helplessness, only cold judgment and disgust.

"Ivy, I gave you countless chances along the way."

"I thought you would reflect and apologize. I didn't expect your heart to be this vicious."

He looked around the desolate, dense forest and made a decision.

"Since you like such barbaric behavior, then stay here and experience the cruelty of nature properly."

"Tonight, you stay in this deep mountain camp. No tent, no sleeping bag. Reflect on your actions."

Kalen immediately understood, grinning maliciously as he threw all the spare camping gear from the car back into the trunk, leaving me only a bottle of water.

"Gavin! This is deep in the mountains! There will be wolves at night! And I'm afraid of the dark!"

Although my heart was dead, physiological fear still made me tremble.

"It's dangerous here..." My voice trembled as I made one last desperate attempt.

"Gavin, after all, Ivy is a girl. Leaving her alone out here in the middle of nowhere... isn't that too cruel? What if something happens to her?"

Elena leaned against Kalen's chest, looking up weakly, her eyes brimming with kindness and compassion.

"How about... I stay with her? Maybe I can talk to her, help her work through her issues."

Hearing this, Gavin's gaze toward Elena softened even more, filled with tenderness and pity.

But when he turned to look at me, that tenderness instantly morphed into utter disappointment.

"Look at Elena. Even after you hurt her like this, she's still looking out for you."

"And you? You're still making excuses for yourself."

He scoffed, his heart hardening completely.

"No. She needs to be alone to truly reflect on what she's done."

"She brought this on herself."

Gavin's voice was as cold and hard as iron, leaving no room for negotiation.

But as he turned to get in the car, his gaze swept over my pale, deathly still face, devoid of even a single word of defense.

In that instant, his steps paused.

A sudden, unexplained sting pricked his heart.

The old me would cry, make a scene, and argue vehemently that I was wrongly accused when aggrieved.

But the current me just stood quietly in the wind, like a husk drained of its soul, looking at him with hollow eyes as if looking at a stranger.

This dead silence panicked him more than any hysteria ever could.

"Gavin, hurry up and drive, my foot hurts..." Elena moaned at the right moment, interrupting his thoughts.

The hesitation in Gavin's eyes vanished instantly.

"Let's go."

The engine roared.

The off-road vehicle kicked up dust and mercilessly disappeared at the end of the forest path.

I was abandoned.

In the primeval forest as night fell.

I didn't cry, nor did I shout.

I just hugged my knees, leaned against a dead tree, and watched the sky turn completely black bit by bit.

That night, the cold wind bit to the bone, and the howls of unknown beasts came from the distance.

But I felt no fear.

Because my heart had already died with Grandma the moment I saw that video of her ashes being flushed away.

Until the next morning.

It wasn't Gavin who came to pick me up, but a ranger from the hunting grounds.

"The young master said if you've reflected enough, you can leave on your own. The convoy has already returned to the city."

"The Master Kalen said that if you've finished reflecting, you can leave on your own. The convoy has already returned to the city."

The ranger didn't even offer me a ride; he just drove away after delivering the order.

Dragging my frozen legs, I moved down the mountain step by step.

I walked for four whole hours, blisters forming on my feet, my shoes soaked with mud, before I finally returned to the city.

I stood on the bustling street, looking at this prosperous, indifferent world.

I didn't go back to the estate, nor did I go to the hospital.

There were no longer any family or loved ones for me there.

I walked into a roadside internet cafe and opened that familiar email inbox.

Lying quietly inside was a final confirmation letter from the International Red Cross:

[Dr. Ivy, your transfer order has been approved. The medical charter plane to Damascus will take off in three days. Please confirm if you will report on time.]

Three days later.

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

I looked at that date, and my originally numb heart finally beat once.

I tapped the keyboard and replied with one word:

[Confirmed.]

It was the final day before the wedding.

I had to return to the Johnson estate to retrieve my passport and ID.

As I reached the top of the spiral staircase, Elena blocked my path like a phantom.

At that moment, Gavin and Kalen were downstairs in the study discussing the wedding flow, leaving the hallway deserted.

Elena dropped her facade of fragility. She crossed her arms, looking down at me with a smirk full of malice.

"Ivy, how do you even have the face to come back?"

I clenched my fists and stared at her coldly. "None of your business. Move."

"Tsk, still so tough?"

Elena leaned in a step closer, lowering her voice to a whisper filled with provocation.

"I'll let you in on a secret. That day in the forest? Gavin knew I was faking my injury the whole time. But he still chose to take me away and leave you there like a dog."

"Oh, and about those ashes... I didn't actually flush them down the toilet. I mixed them into the dog food for the estate's mastiff. I watched that dog lick the bowl clean."

*Boom—*

The last string of my sanity snapped.

"You vicious bitch!"

My eyes turned red, and I lunged at her, losing all control.

However, Elena was prepared.

She side-stepped and shoved me hard.

"Go to hell!"

My body was already weak. My foot slipped, and I lost my balance instantly.

"Ah—!"

With a short scream, I tumbled down the high spiral staircase.

The world spun.

The steps acted like blunt weapons, battering my spine and limbs over and over.

Finally, I landed heavily on the marble floor of the first floor.

A tearing pain ripped through my abdomen, as if something was being forcibly stripped from my body.

A stream of warm liquid flowed down my legs, staining the expensive carpet red.

Blood.

So much blood.

"What happened?!"

The study door burst open, and Gavin and Kalen rushed out.

Seeing me lying in a pool of blood, Gavin's pupils constricted violently.

"Ivy!"

He rushed over, intending to pick me up.

"Ah! Gavin... I'm so scared..."

At the top of the stairs, Elena covered her mouth, her body trembling as she let out a terrified cry.

"It was Ivy... she suddenly went crazy and tried to push me... but she lost her footing and fell... so much blood... I'm so scared..."

Gavin paused mid-motion.

He looked up at the "traumatized" Elena, a flash of heartache in his eyes.

Kalen frowned, his tone actually carrying blame:

"Sister-in-law, can't you just behave? The wedding is tomorrow, and you have to cause a bloodbath? Are you trying to curse us?"

I couldn't speak from the pain. I could only grip his collar tightly, tears mixing with cold sweat streaming down my face.

" The baby... save the baby..."

Gavin froze, his gaze finally landing on my blood-soaked dress.

Realization dawned on him. His face changed color, and he scooped me up, rushing toward the door.

Kalen stayed behind to comfort Elena. "Don't be afraid, I'm here. That crazy woman brought this on herself; it has nothing to do with you."

---

When I woke up from the anesthesia and was wheeled back to the ward, my belly felt empty, and there was a gaping hole in my heart.

The doctor held the medical chart, shaking his head regretfully. "You arrived too late. Plus, your body had suffered from extreme cold and emotional stress recently. We couldn't save the baby. It was a formed boy."

I lay on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, dry-eyed.

The door opened.

Gavin walked in.

"Awake?"

He placed a food container on the bedside table, a look of pity on his face.

"I've settled the medical bills. This is a nutritious meal from the hospital cafeteria. Eat it while it's hot; you need to recover."

"The doctor said you miscarried. Since the child is gone, just focus on getting your health back."

"We... are still young. We can have children later."

"Where is Elena?" I asked, my voice raspy.

Gavin adjusted his cuffs, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world:

"She was terrified. She's on an IV in the ward next door. Kalen is with her."

"She kept crying earlier, saying it was her fault and that she shouldn't have argued with you. Look, Ivy, how kind she is."

"You can't fully blame her for this. It... it was just an accident."

I looked at the man in front of me.

He was still so handsome, so gentlemanly.

He even thoughtfully opened the food container for me and placed the spoon by my hand.

"Eat. The wedding will proceed as planned tomorrow. I'll make it up to you after we're married."

I didn't take the spoon.

I turned my head and looked through the half-open door to the hallway opposite.

Elena was sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed out by Kalen for some fresh air.

Seeing I wasn't eating, Gavin assumed I was throwing a tantrum again. He sighed, turned around, and walked out.

He walked toward Elena.

He crouched down, gently holding Elena's hand and wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

He looked so careful, so tender, as if Elena was the one who had just miscarried and lost a child.

"Don't cry, it's not your fault."

Gavin's voice was gentle enough to drip water. Even across the hallway, I could hear every word clearly.

"Ivy has a strong constitution; she'll be fine in a couple of days. But you, your health is fragile. Don't hurt yourself over such a small matter."

"Gavin... the baby..."

"It doesn't matter." Gavin stroked her head. "As long as *you* are okay."

*As long as you are okay.*

I watched that scene.

I watched the harmonious picture of the three of them. I watched Gavin completely disregard my child just to comfort that murderer.

Suddenly, I felt the last trace of pain vanish from my body.

What remained was an endless numbness.

The greatest grief is a silent, dead heart.

So this is what that feels like.

I slowly turned my head back, refusing to look at them for even another second.

I picked up the spoon and ate the lukewarm meal, mouthful by mouthful.

Mechanical chewing. Mechanical swallowing.

I needed strength.

I needed to survive.

Gavin didn't know.

Along with the departure of that child, the Ivy who loved him died completely in this cold afternoon.