But now, Juno was dotingly telling Quinn, “So what if it’s expensive? Just wear it without worry. I’ll keep you safe. Quinn, you deserve the best!”

Sasha bit her lip, a sharp pain piercing her heart.

Her parents used to say, “Love follows where the money goes,” and she had dismissed it as shallow. Now, she finally understood. Juno thought the same.

He didn’t love her. That’s why he believed she wasn’t worthy of nice things and gave all the best to Quinn.

Sasha didn’t want to watch any longer. She turned to leave, only to see a man holding a glass of wine stumbling toward her.

Even though she had dodged in time, the man seemed to do it on purpose, spilling a full glass of red wine onto her chest.

The fabric of her dress was very thin and when it got wet, it clung to her body, revealing her curves and faintly showing some skin.

Sasha only staggered back a little, not making a big movement, but the hem of the dress she was wearing suddenly split open.

Her white thighs, along with her underwear, were exposed.

Sasha tried to cover herself with her hands, but if she covered her chest, she couldn't cover her lower body, making her extremely embarrassed.

Not far away, the man was exchanging malicious glances with Quinn.

Sasha immediately understood. The dress had been tampered with and the man had colluded with Quinn.

Their plan was clear. They wanted to humiliate her in front of everyone.

“How did you end up like this?”

Seeing the commotion, Juno strode over, quickly taking off his suit jacket without hesitation.

In her helpless panic, Sasha blurted out, “There’s something wrong with the dress and that man…”

However, the chatter of the wealthy ladies behind her cut off Sasha’s words.

“This waitress sure has some nerve. She deliberately made the dress tear to draw attention to herself.”

“Exactly! And she purposely bumped into that man, showing off her figure while pretending to be pitiful. No wonder Mr. Marlow felt sorry for her.”

“Quinn, you’re engaged to Mr. Marlow. Are you just going to let this woman seduce him like that?”

Quinn, feigning grievance but appearing magnanimous, spoke softly, “It’s fine. I saw what happened too, but Juno is my everything. Whoever he chooses to care about or whatever he decides to do, I won’t object.”

Juno felt a buzzing in his head. It turned out that Sasha was shameless. She tried to twist the truth and falsely accuse Quinn.

One used underhanded tricks, while the other was so understanding.

The balance in Juno’s heart completely tipped. He pulled back his jacket and, with his other hand, shoved Sasha forcefully to the ground.

“On a day meant for family celebration, you just have to use such disgraceful tricks to get my attention? Can’t you learn from Quinn?” he scolded harshly, towering over her.

“Forget it. Quinn is a wealthy heiress. Her manners and grace aren’t something an orphan like you, who was raised without proper guidance, could ever match!”

Sasha’s injured palm scraped against the ground, reopening the wounds and sending sharp, searing pain through her hand.

But what hurt her more was her heart.

After three years of companionship, all she earned was such cruel words from Juno.

Even though she had already decided to leave, the pain in her chest was unbearable.

“What’s with that look?”

Seeing her tears welling up, Juno’s tone softened.

“If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t even bother. I only say this because I care about you. Isn’t that enough for you?”

Sasha smiled bitterly. So, was stabbing someone in the heart what he called "caring"?

She would rather not have such care.

She didn't want to show her weakness, but tears still flowed uncontrollably.

"What are you crying for on New Year's? So unlucky," Quinn frowned and muttered.

Juno’s expression darkened even more. "Who are you trying to curse? Stop making a fool of yourself here!"

Quinn quickly called over a bodyguard. "Get this woman out of here!"

Juno opened his mouth as if to stop it, but seeing Sasha’s defiant expression, he swallowed his words.

She was so out of control, so she needed to face some consequences and learn a lesson.

Sasha was tossed out by the bodyguards.

The room had the heater on, but outside was freezing cold. She only had a wet and drafty dress on, making her shiver so hard that her teeth chattered.

She hugged herself tightly and ran outside.

Suddenly, a firework exploded in the sky, dazzlingly beautiful.

Sasha couldn’t help but look back, only to see Juno and Quinn cuddling on the villa’s terrace under the fireworks.

They both looked up at the sky and Quinn smiled so happily.

Sasha vaguely remembered the past three years when Juno would always take her to watch fireworks.

He gently said, "You love fireworks the most, so every year, I’ll be with you to watch them."

Sasha was surprised at the time. She had never said she liked fireworks, yet he knew.

She had thought it was a shared understanding, but it turned out that it was actually Quinn who loved them.

The biting cold wind pierced through her body, creeping deep into her heart.

The fireworks this year were so beautiful, yet Sasha suddenly found she didn’t like them anymore.

She would never love either fireworks and this man again.

When Sasha walked back to the factory, the clock struck twelve.

The new year had arrived.

At a time meant for family reunion and celebration, she was alone in her dorm, hugging herself and crying in frustration.

She felt so lonely and homesick.

After changing into some clothes, Sasha lay down, but the cold had already gotten to her and she came down with a fever.

She had hoped to rest and recover on the first day of the new year, but early in the morning, as she slept deeply, the blanket was suddenly ripped away and a biting chill rushed in.

Sasha struggled to open her heavy eyelids, only to see Juno's dark face staring down at her.

“Quinn said you’re pretending to be sick. I didn’t believe it at first, but now I see it’s true! Even though it's a holiday, the construction can’t stop. I already told you about the shift schedule. You’re skipping work!”

Sasha felt a chill all over her body and she weakly spoke, "What shift schedule?"

Seeing her clueless expression, Juno glanced at Quinn.

Quinn’s eyes instantly reddened. "Sasha, even if you have a problem with me, you can't twist the facts! I clearly confirmed with you. You have no family here, so I asked you to work during the holiday. You'll get overtime pay for it."

Sasha realized she had been set up once again, but her dizziness left her with no strength to argue.

"I’m really sick... I can’t work. I’m just so tired..."

Unable to hold on any longer, she lay back down.

Juno hesitated for only a second before the anger in his eyes flared, fueled by memories of her past actions.

He grabbed the nearby thermos and poured the water over her.

"Still refusing to learn? Addicted to lying, huh? Does this wake you up?"

Caught off guard, Sasha couldn't dodge in time. Her upper body was completely soaked and the bed was drenched as well.

Thankfully, she hadn’t gone to fetch hot water yesterday after being dragged away by Juno. The water in the thermos was now lukewarm, not scalding.

Otherwise, she would have been burned.

Sasha felt both relieved and deeply saddened.

Was it because he didn’t love her? Was it because she was just a stand-in? Did that give him the right to treat her so cruelly, with no regard for her well-being?

But Juno was the factory manager, holding all the power here. She knew that resisting further would only provoke him to greater extremes.

Left with no choice, she forced herself to head to the workshop despite her fever and weakness.

The workshop supervisor felt both distressed and angry seeing Sasha so ill yet still reporting for work.

"How did Mr. Marlow become like this?" she muttered in frustration.

She handed Sasha some fever medicine and let her rest in the workshop for the morning.

"That’s enough. I’ll take responsibility. You’ve done your shift. Go back and rest now," the supervisor said firmly.

With a pale face, Sasha softly murmured, "Thank you.”

Then she slowly made her way back to the dormitory.

As Sasha passed by the scenic lake, she was stopped by Quinn.

"Yesterday, Juno gave me a diamond ring. You must have seen it. Now, look at the ring he gave you—it’s pathetic!"

Sasha found it hard to understand Quinn’s spiteful tone. In just a few days, she had fully realized that she meant nothing to Juno.

Why did Quinn have to treat her like a thorn in her side despite knowing she was just a stand-in?

"I’ll step back. I won’t bother you anymore," Sasha said quietly.

But Quinn snorted coldly. "Then throw that ring away. Throw it into the lake. You don’t deserve to wear something Juno gave you."

Sasha lowered her head and took off the ring. Once something she treasured dearly, never wanting to part with it, she now tossed it into the lake without hesitation.

She thought this would finally put Quinn’s mind at ease, but to her surprise, Quinn, with a sobbing tone, cried out.

"Why did you throw away my diamond ring?"

Quinn rushed into Juno’s arms, crying uncontrollably.

"That was a gift from Juno! No matter how jealous you are, you can’t just throw it away! You’re trying to take my life! No, I’m going to get the ring back!"

Juno steadied Quinn and turned to Sasha, asking coldly, “Did you throw the ring away?”

His tone was harsh, but beneath the coldness, there was a hint of hidden satisfaction.

He was pleased that no matter how cruelly he treated her, Sasha still loved him so much and felt jealous over him.

Sasha wanted to deny it, but knowing no one would believe her, she simply pressed her lips together tightly.

The smile in Juno’s eyes widened.

“If you really like it…”

He paused, waiting for Sasha to give in.

As long as she promised not to be so arrogant in the future and apologized sincerely to Quinn, he would buy her one too.

He could even buy something bigger and better.

But under his burning gaze, Sasha simply replied in a soft voice, "I don't like it."

If she loved someone, even the simplest silver ring would be a treasure to her. But if she didn't love him anymore, even if he gave her the stars and the moon, she wouldn't want them.

Seeing her refusal to take the opportunity, Juno’s eyes turned icy cold.

“Ungrateful! Since that’s the case, you should pay the price for your jealousy!”

Juno pushed Sasha with both hands and she fell into the lake.

"Don't come up until you find the ring!"

The lake was only a meter deep, but Sasha was so weak. The biting cold water soaked through her clothes, flooding her body through the collar.

In an instant, her limbs stiffened from the cold. She struggled desperately, choking on large mouthfuls of water, suffocating in pain.

The feeling of nearing death overwhelmed her and her vision faded into darkness.

When Sasha woke up, Juno let out a sigh of relief, but his face quickly hardened again.

"I told you I'd explain, so why did you keep provoking her? What is your status, trying to challenge a young lady from a wealthy family? You're simply out of your league!"

"Go kneel and apologize to her properly, do you hear me? She’s so kind, she’ll definitely forgive you."

Sasha was deeply saddened, but no tears came. She softly asked one last time, "If I say I didn’t do anything, would you still want me to apologize?"