In the middle of the night, half-awake, I caught a glimpse of shadows by the door.

“Jessie needs a transfusion. The hospital is out of Rh-negative blood, so we have to take Ashlyn over right now.” Grant’s voice was tense with urgency as he ordered the people behind him to take me away.

I wanted to fight back, but my body was limp. I did not have an ounce of strength.

Were they really going to go this far for Jessie?

They knew perfectly well that if they forced another blood draw from me, it could kill me.

“There’s another thing. Dad called just now. He and Mom are coming by the hospital to see Ashlyn. We won’t be able to keep this under wraps with them around,” Grant said with a frown.

Jeremy stayed silent for a while. Then, as if he had made up his mind on something, he said, “Tomorrow morning, I’ll release the video. We’ll say Ashlyn cheated on you with multiple men, and the baby was lost because of the strain. I’ve taken care of everything else. Once that hits, Mom and Dad won’t have the time or energy to question anything. This is what she owes Jessie anyway.”

With that, Jeremy stepped aside. The doctors came in and took me away.

I felt the cold needle pierce my skin and blood drain out together with my life.

My consciousness started to fade. A bone-deep chill spread through me.

“Dr. Sanders, we can’t keep going. Miss Ashlyn just had her bone marrow extracted. If we keep pushing, she could die,” the doctor said with a trace of pity in his voice.

Grant, however, barely spared me a glance. “Keep going. This isn’t nearly enough. I’m a doctor. I know exactly where the line is.”

I lay there motionless. I was unable to tell if I was even still alive.

But if I were already dead, why would my heart still ache?

This was the man I once loved, the man who swore he would love me until death and take care of me when he married me.

If I had known it would come to this, I would have been better off letting Jessie kill me back when she used to bully me.

Jeremy’s voice was low and heavy. “Back when our family’s business was in trouble, it was Jessie who drank herself into a stomach hemorrhage just to secure a deal. And when you nearly drowned, it was Jessie who jumped in without hesitation and pulled you out. We owe her too much.”

I felt like every last drop of blood had drained from my body. Tears streamed down my face, but I was also laughing at myself for being so pathetic.

When our family was in crisis, it was me who went door to door begging on my knees for someone to give us a chance and was nearly assaulted in the process. Yet somehow, all that credit went to Jessie.

And I was the one who jumped into the ocean to save Grant. We nearly died out there. Ever since, I have been terrified of the sea.

Yet in their version of the story, every good deed belonged to Jessie.

How ridiculous. The last shred of hope I had been holding onto was completely shattered.

Maybe it would not be so bad if I just died like this.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the same ward.

Jeremy’s eyes were bloodshot, like he had not slept all night. He gently wiped away my tears with concern, as if I were the person he cared about the most in this world. “Ashlyn, you started bleeding last night. I was so scared. I thought I’d lost you. Don’t worry. No matter what it costs, I’ll find you the best doctors.”

I forced a weak smile, but I could not utter a word.

I thought, “My dear brother, I started bleeding? Wasn’t it because you and Grant drained me dry for Jessie?”

Suddenly, loud voices echoed in the hallway. The door burst open, and a familiar figure stormed in. The next thing I felt was a hard slap across my face.

The sting hit me before I even knew what was going on. Half my face went numb with pain and swelled up instantly.

“You’re a disgrace! What did our family do to deserve this? Ashlyn, how could you do something so nasty? You should’ve just died out there. You shouldn’t have come back!” Mrs. Sanders’ voice exploded in my ears, a mix of sobs and fury.

She pointed at me with trembling hands. Her eyes were bloodshot and full of hate. If someone had not held her back, she would have tried to kill me there and then.

Everyone was staring at me. The place buzzed with judgmental whispers and sneering remarks.

“So that is the young madam of the Sanders family? I heard she comes from a prestigious background. Who would’ve thought her private life would be so nasty.”

“Pregnant and still doing that. You have to admit, though, her figure’s incredible. Bet she’s wild in bed.”

“I watched that video. Tsk, never would’ve imagined... I heard her uterus was removed.”

“Look at her, she’s miserable. You think she’ll still be doing more disgraceful stuff?”

Mrs. Sanders grew increasingly furious. She pointed at Grant and snapped. “Divorce her. You have to divorce her!”

I was getting agitated. I tried to struggle up and tell Mrs. Sanders that it was not the truth, that I had not done any of those things, and that those people were saying nonsense, but I did not get the chance.

My resistance was quickly subdued by Jeremy, who held me down and shouted at Mrs. Sanders with rage, “What nonsense are you talking about? I know exactly what kind of person my sister is. I’m warning you, if you dare lay another finger on her, I’ll make you pay for it! And the rest of you, say one more word, and I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your lives!”

Grant stepped in front of me too. His gaze was firm as he said, “Mom, I believe in Ashlyn. I will never divorce her. Mom, please don’t disturb Ashlyn again. If you’re going to force me to divorce her, you’ll lose me as your son.”

Mrs. Sanders was so furious that her eyes rolled back. She nearly fainted on the spot.

I let out a silent, bitter laugh. Such noble words. Such a touching show of loyalty.

This was clearly part of their plan. They were the ones who ruined me, who made the whole world spit on me and call me a shameless woman.

This way, even if people found out that Jessie’s baby was actually Grant’s, no one would blame them.

This was the man I loved, and this was how far he was ready to go to destroy me.

Neither he nor my brother stopped to consider even for a second if what they were doing would break my heart.

Just as they wanted, I became the woman everyone pointed at in disgust. At last, I was no longer standing in Jessie’s way.

Tears rolled down my face, but I could not even begin to explain the weight of the injustice I felt.

The violent struggle tore my wound open again. Blood quickly soaked the pristine white sheets.

“Ashlyn! Ashlyn!” someone was shouting in a panic. It was Jeremy. He was shouting like a madman and calling for a doctor.

“Hurry! Where’s the doctor? My sister’s bleeding out. If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll hold all of you responsible!”

“She’s better off dead! A woman like her doesn’t deserve to live!” Mrs. Sanders spat out, but someone quickly dragged her out of the room.

My mind went blank. My whole body throbbed in agony.

It hurt so much I could barely breathe.

When I woke again, there was no one by my side.

Through the thin walls, I vaguely heard a doctor speaking. It was then that I realized that they had arranged for Jessie to stay in the room right next to mine.

With great effort, I managed to find my phone. The internet was flooded with vicious attacks aimed at me and waves of sympathy for Grant.

I forced myself to look away.

Instead, I reached out to a number I had saved but never messaged before. [I’ve made up my mind. I’d like to be one of the first test subjects.]

The reply came almost instantly. [Don’t you still have family? Are they okay with this? You know the drug is still in early development. It’s never been tested on humans.]

I did not hesitate. [All you need to know is that I consent. You said that if I agreed, you’d fulfill one wish of mine. I want you to fake my death. Make it look like an accident.]

This time, it took a long while before a message came back.

[Deal.]

The scandal made national headlines. The person I contacted had probably caught wind of it too, but I was the perfect candidate for a drug trial, so I was not worried he would say no.

While I was deleting the messages, my eyes landed on the photo on my phone screen. It made a wave of bitterness surge in my heart.

Grant and I had grown up together. We had gone to the same school, fallen in love, and become the picture-perfect couple.

Jeremy was two years older than me and adored me. Anything I wanted, he got it for me.

All of that changed the moment Jessie entered our lives.

She came from the countryside and was beautiful, sweet, and the complete opposite of me.

She was like a wildflower pushing up through a crack in the rocks, resilient and untamed. Just like that, all eyes turned to her, including those of Jeremy and Grant.

Only I knew the truth. Jessie was not who she pretended to be. She and her friends once cornered me in a bathroom, tore off my clothes, and took many photos. She threatened to release them if I ever dared to speak out.

Then she walked out with crocodile tears in her eyes and claimed that I had bullied her.

With no evidence to prove what really happened, I had no way to defend myself.

After all, how could anyone believe that a poor girl from the countryside had bullied me, the pampered daughter of the influential Wirkola family?

Since no one joined my side, Jessie got bolder, and her cruelty escalated. She burned me with cigarette butts and left scars all over my body. She sneered as she did it. “Blame yourself for being lucky. Why should someone like you get to be born into a life like that, and not me?”

The torment broke me. I sank into depression and had to take a leave from school.

However, Jessie played the victim so well that she won everyone’s sympathy.

Neither my brother nor Grant believed me.

They stayed close to her behind my back and even destroyed my life just to protect hers.

Just then, the door to my ward creaked open.

It was not who I thought it would be. It was neither Jeremy nor Grant.

It was Jessie. She looked pale, but there was a smug smile on her face. She was mocking me, the loser.

Sensing he should not stay, the doctor behind her quietly closed the door and left. With no one else around, Jessie dropped the act. “Ashlyn, it hurts, doesn’t it? Your brother and your husband, the people you love most, love me more now.

“After all these years, you’re still as pathetic as ever. If I were you, I’d have jumped out the window by now. Don’t you think that’d be easier? Watching your husband and your brother do all this for me, even going so far as to send people to assault you, doesn’t that just shatter your heart? Poor thing. And that brat in your belly served his purpose of existence to save my life.”

Jessie grabbed my wrist and yanked me off the bed. Before she could do anything more, footsteps echoed outside.

She instantly let go of me and slapped herself twice. Then she tangled her hair, tore her clothes, and started crying out in a pitiful voice, “Ashlyn, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault! I’ll leave right away! I promise I’ll never show up in front of them again.”

The door burst open with a loud crash. Jeremy rushed in and pulled Jessie into his arms. His face twisted with fury. “Ashlyn, how can you still be so cruel? You never learn, do you? Someone, take her home and lock her up! No food, nothing! Not until she learns her lesson!”

A group of people stormed in and tried to drag me out. That was when I saw them. Among those people, there were some of the men who had assaulted me.

The terrifying memories slammed into me like a tidal wave. My body began to tremble uncontrollably, and I screamed, “No! No, stay away from me! Stay away from me!”

However, no one cared about my terror. Jeremy did not even look back as he walked away with Jessie in his arms.

The men closed in on me with disgusting smiles twisting their faces.

“Give it up. Miss Webb told us to take good care of you.”

I was cornered. All my resistance was useless. I was taken away.

In the ward, Jessie leaned weakly against Grant’s shoulder with an expression full of sadness. “It’s my fault. I just wanted to see Ashlyn. No matter what she’s done to me before, she’s still just a young girl.”

Grant had heard what happened and was visibly furious. “This isn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself. It’s us. We spoiled Ashlyn rotten.”

“But her body hasn’t fully recovered.” Jessie sniffled again.

Grant gently patted her head. “Don’t worry, we’re just going to scare her a little. We’re not really going to keep her locked up. Besides, all those people work for the Wirkola family. They won’t actually hurt her. Her birthday’s next week. We’re planning a surprise for her. We’ll make it up to her then.”

Jessie smiled, but a flicker of hatred flashed in her eyes. Still, she kept her tone light and cheerful. “That’s wonderful. I’m going to prepare a really nice gift for Ashlyn.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Grant’s phone rang. The voice on the other end was anxious. “Mr. Sanders, something’s happened. We just got a call. A car was hit and knocked off the bridge into the sea. We confirmed that it was… It was the vehicle Mrs. Sanders was in. Her body is nowhere to be found. All that’s left at the scene is her phone.”