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.”