Laura didn't have a chance to explain.

Before she could react, Darren directly tore the application form to pieces. The shreds of paper scattered down like fallen leaves, as if he had personally torn apart her dreams.

Brenda arrived at the door, breaking the tense silence inside with a timely knock.

"Mr. Bill, Miss Rush is looking for you."

Melanie appeared from behind Brenda dressed in a red dress with her voluminous waves of hair casually draped over her shoulders. She leaned against the doorframe, a charming smile on her lips.

"Alright, Darren, why does the family have to argue like this? It's well known that Laura likes you, how could she bear to leave? She just wants you to pay a little more attention to her."

She walked in with a smile, but when she saw Laura, she paused for a moment. A fleeting understanding flashed in her eyes before she quickly regained her smile.

"Darren, women understand women the most," Melanie said with a smile. "Laura is twenty-four this year, right? Let me have a heart-to-heart with her. It's raining outside, could you find me a change of clothes?"

Darren, who had been looking for an excuse to leave, nodded in agreement and turned to walk out.

The room was left with only Melanie and Laura.

The two of them exchanged a glance.

What had felt unreal in the dimly lit private room now stood before her, in the flesh.

Laura froze for a moment, surprised.

She realized that Melanie seemed to share a resemblance to her, maybe three or four points similar.

"Laura, you and I look a bit alike," Melanie said with a casual smile. "No wonder... Darren is so reluctant to let you go."

She walked slowly to Laura's side, picking up some application papers and chuckled softly.

"Are you using this to catch a man? You think he’ll panic because you’re about to leave? Laura, your mother really was a hostess back then, wasn’t she? Such lowly methods."

Laura didn’t like the way she spoke. She frowned and urged her to leave. "I have nothing to say to you. Please leave."

"Leave?" Melanie's tone was laced with mockery. "Laura, are you embarrassed now? Who doesn’t know that every year, you’ve been saying you want to be Darren’s wife? What a young, shameless girl, thinking about becoming your own uncle’s wife."

She casually tossed the papers aside, then picked up a nearby ornament, a rather ugly chubby doll.

"As expected, a pheasant can never become a phoenix. You rose to your position because of your mother’s body and you’re still keeping such trash!"

"Give it back to me! Melanie, get out! You’re not welcome here!" Laura's voice was sharp and cold.

"It’s pouring rain outside and the one who should leave is you," Melanie said, her voice dripping with disdain. "Go cleanse your filthy mind. You were just a substitute and now the real deal is back. Why haven’t you left yet? Do you really need to be kicked out like a stray dog before you’re willing to go?"

Melanie could clearly see the flicker of concern in Laura's eyes.

She seemed to be afraid that the clay doll would be harmed.

Step by step, Melanie retreated, until half of her body was outside the door. She then raised the doll high in her hand.

"What are you doing? Melanie! Stop it!" Laura shouted, panic rising in her voice.

The chubby doll had been a toy made by her mother before she married into the Bill Family and it had always been her emotional support.

"Sorry, but I’m going to destroy everything you care about," Melanie sneered, her voice cold. "Your man, your dreams..."

Melanie let out a soft laugh and smashed the doll onto the ground without hesitation.

The doll shattered instantly, the yellow clay mixed with broken grass turning into dust and debris.

Laura's hand was still suspended in the air, as if trying to stop it, but she could only watch helplessly as the doll was destroyed.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up at Melanie. How could she go so far, destroying something so important, just to provoke someone?

"Ugh, things made by a worthless person are just like her. It's destined for an unhappy end." Melanie continued to provoke her, the mocking smile still hanging on her lips.

Laura's gaze was as silent as death. She slowly reached for the vase beside her and hurled it directly at Melanie's head.

Melanie didn't expect her to actually take action. Startled, she dodged, but the vase still grazed her arm, crashing loudly onto the floor.

"You’re crazy! Laura, it's just a broken doll! What... what are you doing?” Melanie was shouting, but suddenly her words faltered. She trembled in fear.

All Melanie could see was Laura, her eyes bloodshot, slowly advancing toward her with a chilling, intense gaze.

Laura seemed to go mad. She threw herself at Melanie, knocking her to the ground.

She punched her on the nose, then pulled her hair and pressed her body.

Laura kept hitting her face, punching and kicking her.

"Why? Why did you take away the last thing I had, Melanie? You shouldn't have touched my things!"

Melanie was now filled with fear. She desperately hugged her head and struggled, shouting, "Help! Darren! Help me! Please help me!"

Upon hearing this, Darren rushed over, only to witness the scene. "Laura! Let go! Are you trying to kill her?”

Darren roared in anger, wanting to separate them but not knowing where to start.

In his moment of desperation, he grabbed Laura's arm and forcibly pulled her away. However, the force was too strong, causing her to fall to the ground, her back crashing onto the broken pieces of the vase.

Laura ignored the pain in her waist as she crawled forward, mixing with the glass shards and desperately clutching the last doll's body.

The glass fragments, mixed with dirt, pierced into her palms.

She didn't feel the pain. Her hands pressed tightly against the doll, holding it to her chest as she wailed uncontrollably.

Darren stood frozen, staring at the doll that had fallen to the ground, a flicker of panic passing through his eyes.

"La... Laura..."

He reached out, just about to touch her, but was stopped when Melanie grabbed his hand.

She threw herself into Darren's arms, crying uncontrollably. Her face streaked with tears as if she could hardly breathe.

"Darren, it hurts so much... She's trying to kill me... She's gone completely crazy, I’m going to sue her!"

Darren's earlier panic and guilt melted away when he saw Melanie in such a pitiful state.

Melanie had a congenital heart condition and psychological issues; she couldn't be under any stress. Moreover, if this really ended up on record, Laura would probably...

His face hardened as he kicked the shards in front of her aside and commanded, "Laura, apologize to Melanie!"

Laura's heart ached beyond words.

She lifted her head, her face drenched in tears, screaming in agony.

"Apologize? Why should I apologize? She is the one who is wrong! Yes, I am going to kill you, Melanie! Why don't you just die!"

"Laura, enough! Apologize to her, or get out of the Bill Family!"

Darren's expression darkened as he stood before her, towering over her with an overwhelming sense of authority.

But Laura was not afraid. She lifted her head and stared directly at him, speaking each word slowly.

"I won't apologize... I did nothing wrong!" Laura's eyes were bloodshot, filled with seething hatred.

The rain outside grew heavier, accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder. It illuminated the deep coldness in her gaze.

Her heart was filled with hatred for Melanie and for Darren.

Meanwhile, Darren was pierced by the intensity of her gaze.

"Darren, what should we do..." Melanie grabbed his shirt and collapsed weakly, gasping for breath.

"I... I feel so unwell, my heart hurts... Darren, I'm scared..."

After saying that, Melanie fainted in his arms.

"Melanie!" Darren panickedly lifted her up and quickly started walking toward the door.

As he took a step, his peripheral vision caught sight of Laura, who stood silently and a surge of unexplained anger rose in his chest.

Then he ordered the servant, "Get someone to take her out and have her kneel and reflect! She can come back only when she admits her mistake!"

As he passed by, noticing the others hadn’t moved, he frowned and scolded, "This is the Bill Family! If you don't want to work, then leave!"

The other servants dared not breathe, fearful of causing trouble.

Two male servants quickly dragged Laura outside.

The blood on her palms was dragged all the way and no matter how she struggled, the servants were indifferent. In the end, she could only roar and curse in pain.

"I'm not wrong! I won't go! Darren! I hate you!"

Darren trembled while holding Melanie's body. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't stop. Instead, he held Melanie and rushed into the rain, getting into the car.

Laura was pressed down by two servants, forced to kneel in the rain. The large raindrops poured down relentlessly, hitting her body.

Her knees sank into the cold rainwater as she lowered her head, staring at the doll in her hands.

The last bit of dirt, soaked by the rain, had turned into a yellowish mud. It slipped through her fingers and carried away the final remnants of her hope.

Laura knelt in the muddy water, her eyes hollow and devoid of emotion, not even hatred remained.

She simply stared blankly at the car disappearing from her view, neither crying nor making a scene. Her body slowly sank lower and lower.

The servant beside her couldn't bear to watch any longer and kindly tried to persuade her.

"Miss Marsh, it's too cold out here. Just admit your mistake and go back. If you kneel for so long, how can your body handle it?"

The rain soaked her hair and her clothes clung tightly to her body.

Her eyes were vacant and lifeless, repeatedly muttering to herself, "I'm not wrong... I won't admit my mistake, why should I admit my mistake?"

"But... in the past, when something went wrong, you would admit your mistake first. Miss, don't be so stubborn. Just apologize, like you used to. Wait for Mr. Bill to come back, everything will be fine. There's no lingering grudge between you two."

Laura lowered her head, reflecting on everything from the past.

Every time she and Darren argued, it was always her who softened first, even though those things weren’t her fault.

But she felt that her conversations with her mother had made Darren insecure about love.

So, she was willing to be the one to bow down. She was willing to compromise countless times for him, just to repeatedly confirm to him that she truly loved him.

But now, Melanie had been dating him for just three months before cheating and going abroad. Yet, Darren still loved her just the same.

Laura tugged at the corners of her lips, but she couldn't force a smile.

She only felt a sharp, sour pain in her throat, a sense of agony, as if everything was pointless.

What was she even pursuing? Love? But had Darren ever truly loved her?

Laura looked up at the overcast sky, her tears mixing with the rain, slowly eroding the last remnants of her love.