"Hah, listen to you. Who are you trying to scare?"

Sebastian smirked in disdain.

"I almost forgot that you're some big-shot lawyer. Who knows which old woman's bed you crawl out of every day, and then you come here to throw your weight around at ordinary people like us."

A flicker of panic crossed Willa's eyes. She tugged at his sleeve.

"There are so many people here. Don't go too far."

Sebastian shook her off roughly and said unhappily, "What? Do you feel bad for him?

"Am I wrong? He secretly opened our door today. Wasn't it just to get close to you?"

Meredith chipped in too.

"Exactly. Just look at him. He's one of those pretty boys who'll do anything, and he lives off seducing rich women."

The others joined in. Their insults were getting uglier by the second.

What made it even worse was that Sebastian kept insisting this was his house.

The anger in my chest surged violently. My expression darkened as I warned, "According to criminal law, spreading obscene rumors and trespassing can get you one to five years in prison."

If it weren't for Melanie Scott, Willa's mom, being close colleagues with my parents, and the fact that our families had been neighbors for years, I wouldn't have bothered even warning them. I would've called the police already.

"Willa, I don't care why you brought these people into my house. Apologize and get out now. It's not too late yet."

Sebastian burst out laughing like he'd just heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Your house? Keep dreaming.

"Used to being a side piece, aren't you? Now you want to steal my girlfriend and take over the house too? Listen up. She wouldn't marry someone who sleeps around like you even in her next life."

I almost lost control and wanted to hit him with the coat rack, but legally, the one who struck first was in the wrong. I forced myself to hold back and snapped, "I've always kept my hands to myself, unlike you, going through people like it's nothing. Only someone as trashy as Willa suits you.

"I'll say this one more time. This is a house I bought for 220 grand. You don't get to call the shots here."

With that, I retrieved my phone to call the police.

But Willa, who had been avoiding my gaze the whole time, suddenly went crazy. She snatched my phone and hurled it to the ground. She then shouted at me.

"Ryan, don't push your luck!

"What do you mean your house? You clearly gave it to me last month to settle your debt. Don't even think about denying it now!"

Sebastian's eyes went wide instantly.

"Did you just say this house was used to settle a debt?"

His face filled with disgust.

"I don't want some place a guy like him has lived in. Who knows how many old women he brought back here? That's disgusting."

Meredith and the others fanned the flames.

"Willa, are you looking down on Sebastian? Is this house actually second-hand? If you can't give us 100 grand, don't even think about marrying him."

Willa panicked and hurried to explain.

"Mrs. Judd, everyone, it's my fault for not explaining clearly. It's a new house. It's definitely not second-hand. You can check online or even ask the property management. It was just handed over last month."

When she turned to look at me, her eyes were filled with hatred. She said through clenched jaws, "Ryan, no matter how much you make a scene, it's pointless. I would never fall for trash like you.

"If you're really that desperate for a woman, Sebastian's aunt just happens to be single. Since we grew up together, I'll be nice enough to introduce you to her."

Eve Judd, Sebastian's aunt, immediately lit up with excitement.

"Sure, I don't mind his messy past."

She reached out and tried to grab me.

"Come on, let's find somewhere private so you can show me how you charm women."

Her words triggered another burst of laughter.

Seeing Willa laughing along with that disgusting expression, the rage in my chest finally let loose.

I stepped forward and slapped Willa hard across the face.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Taking over my house and slandering me? Get ready for a lawsuit," I yelled.

Willa covered her face. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.

"You're a grown man. How could you hit me?" Willa asked.

I was trembling with rage, but I forced myself to stay calm as I argued.

"You brought over a dozen people to occupy my property and refused to leave. On top of that, you led wave after wave of verbal abuse against me and even encouraged others to lay their hands on me. I had no choice but to defend myself."

Sebastian's expression turned furious when he heard this. He lifted his foot and tried to kick me.

"Ryan, how dare you hurt my woman? You have a death wish!"

Since I dodged quickly, he missed and crashed hard onto the ground. He screamed in pain.

That completely set things off.

Meredith led her group of relatives and chased after me while trying to hit me.

"You filthy man! We're nobodies if we don't beat you to death today!"

To avoid getting cornered and outnumbered, I sprinted down the stairs as fast as I could while shouting in panic.

"Fire! Someone help! There's a fire!"

It worked. People who were out walking in the neighborhood quickly gathered around.

I immediately changed what I was saying.

"No, someone's trying to kill me! They're trying to take over my house and kill me!"

Right then, Meredith and the others came running down with kitchen knives and mops in hand. When they saw me hiding behind a group of neighbors, they grew even more furious.

"You filthy man! In the blink of an eye, you've already found more women to protect you? If you've got guts, come over here!"

The neighbors, both men and women, instantly got involved. They argued back and confronted them.

I lowered my voice and said, "Please call the police. They smashed my phone."

Just as I finished speaking, Willa arrived. She was supporting Sebastian. Seeing the situation, she immediately put on the act of a victim and explained to the neighbors, "Everyone, here's what happened. He owes me 290 grand. He used this house, worth 220 grand, to settle part of the debt. Now he's shamelessly trying to take it back.

"I have a written transfer agreement with his name, Ryan Harris, clearly on it."

With that, she pulled out a stack of documents and showed them to the crowd.

The neighbors stepped closer. After reading, they turned to me.

"Are you Ryan?"

A bad feeling crept over me.

"That agreement is definitely fake. I never signed anything."

The moment I said that, the way they looked at me changed. They seemed more wary of me.

Sebastian then shouted indignantly.

"He's a liar through and through. Stay away from him. Next thing you know, he'll seduce your wives.

"If I hadn't been home today, he would've stripped naked and thrown himself at my girlfriend. He's truly shameless!

"When that didn't work, he tried to set the house on fire to threaten us. Tell me, doesn't someone like him deserve a beating?"

Under his shameless slander, the neighbors instantly turned against me. They began hurling insults.

"We almost got fooled into defending the wrong person. He's despicable!"

One of Sebastian's relatives blended into the crowd and shouted, "Exactly! People like him need a good beating so he learns his lesson and never dares to seduce someone else's wife again!"

That single sentence stirred the crowd. With their fists clenched, they looked ready to attack me.

I quickly tried to explain, but before I could, Sebastian suddenly attacked me from behind with a kick.

"You were the one who tried starting a fire earlier. What if it actually happened? Do you have any idea how much property damage that would cause? It's not your stuff, so you don't care, do you?"

His tone sounded righteous. It was convincing to those who didn't know the truth, but the smugness in his eyes gave him away.

Willa chimed in, "My boyfriend is absolutely right. I've known this man since we were kids. He's a compulsive liar and addicted to gambling. For money, who knows how many old women he's been with. Everyone, you'd better watch out for losers like him."

She even put on a look of pain and disappointment, and that made me seem all the more disgusting.

Pain shot through me. Sweat formed on my forehead as I clutched my stomach and struggled to stand.

"Willa, you are legally responsible for everything you say.

"Someone please call property management. I've never made any ownership transfer. One check will prove everything."

Willa smiled when she heard this.

"Go ahead and make the call. I'm not scared. Only liars feel guilty," she said.

The property manager soon arrived.

Seeing more than thirty people surrounding me, he immediately realized how serious the situation was and quickly asked what had happened.

"The registered owner of this unit is Ms. Willa Scott."

The property manager looked me up and down.

"I think I've seen you more than once. You were going in and out with different female owners."

That single sentence set the crowd into an uproar.

The neighbors, who were influenced by constant embellishment from several of the Judd family relatives, all started seeing me as some disgraceful homewrecker.

"Shameless jerk. No wonder he ran straight into the group of women earlier. He's clearly a repeat offender."

"Exactly. This is outrageous. As residents, we should stick together and deal with jerks like him."

The insults and curses came wave after wave. The crowd grew more and more agitated. The situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

No matter how hard I tried to explain, no one would listen.

From the corner of my eye, I caught the property manager and Willa exchanging a knowing smirk.

That's when it hit me.

Back when I bought this place, Willa had strongly recommended this neighborhood. It seemed she had planned to take over my property all along. She's truly shameless.

"Everyone, please listen to me–"

I shouted with all the strength I had left, only to be met with a mouthful of spit from an old man.

"Jerk, why are you still trying to argue? Stop playing tricks. We're not falling for your act."

The stench hit me full force. I nearly gagged and had to step back, only to be groped by Eve from behind.

"Exactly. This jerk is great at pretending to be pitiful and scamming people. A few days ago, he even told me he had no money to eat. He said for just 30 bucks, he'd keep me company for two hours. I'm already over fifty. How could I handle a young man like him flirting with me? It was terrifying."

Eve pretended to be an outraged resident. She shoved me repeatedly while taking the opportunity to grope me all over.

Fury surged through me. I shoved her hard and sent her crashing to the ground.

"That's slander. I'm going to sue–"

Before I could finish my sentence, her expression changed instantly as she lunged at me.

I dodged, but two of the Judd relatives grabbed me from behind. They twisted my arms back and pinned me in place.

She slapped me twice in rapid succession. My lips cracked immediately, and blood seeped out.

Willa clapped her hands in delight.

"Nice! Jerks like him deserve a good lesson. Everyone, line up and give him a slap."

When they heard her, Meredith and her relatives took the lead. One slap after another landed on my face.

Sebastian stood nearby and grinned smugly as he shouted, "Serves you right, you filthy jerk. This is what happens when you seduce someone else's woman."

After hearing what he said, Willa leaned in and kissed him in front of everyone.

"I'm so lucky I have a boyfriend like you to protect me."

My face burned with pain. It was swollen and throbbing. I kept struggling and insisting that the property transfer document was fake, but no one listened.

"Willa! I have the property deed for this house. Do you?"

When Willa heard me shouting angrily, she immediately told them to stop.

"Everyone, please stop for a moment. This man still won't give up. He insists on bringing out his property deed to prove me wrong.

"What do you all think? Should we give him one more chance?"

The people led by Sebastian were clearly reluctant, but under my desperate explanations and a few neighbors' insistence, Willa finally made a show of goodwill and called my parents.

About thirty minutes later, my parents arrived with Melanie. Before they even spoke to me, they quickly retrieved the property deed.

The moment it was flipped open, everyone was taken by surprise.

"Let's see how you're going to deny it now!"

Willa and Sebastian exchanged a glance. Both of them were wearing triumphant smiles.

"Ryan, we've already been more than kind. We gave you more than one chance. Even your parents brought this deed. What else do you have to say?"