She leaned weakly against Ethan, her voice trembling through the microphone:

“I… I’ll be fine. Even if my face is ruined, it doesn’t matter. I just don’t understand—why would my sister do this to LR? Those codes and data… they’re the work of so many people!”

She sobbed as she spoke, nearly collapsing from breathlessness at the end. Ethan immediately caught her in his arms, frantic with worry.

“Poor Miss Evans! That vile woman must’ve been jealous of her beauty!”

“That ex-employee is heartless—she deserves prison for life!”

The live comments exploded with sympathy and outrage.

Soon, someone dug up a photo of that “former employee.”

Who else could it be but me?

The internet erupted in disbelief. No one could fathom that I, Ethan’s so-called perfect partner, would betray his company.

And with each “kindly provided” leak, all our shadowy deeds were reframed as my personal crimes.

Every detail lined up seamlessly—it had all been prearranged.

Ethan, you guarded against me this thoroughly.

Just then, screeching tires and heavy footsteps sounded outside the motel.

“Room check! Open up!”

My heart stopped.

Had they already tracked me down?

I was dragged back into the very place I had once cherished, now one that made me sick.

When we met again, Ethan’s face was drawn with fatigue, his eyes once full of love now burning only with disappointment and fury.

“Rachel Adams. Do you even realize what you’ve done? What you’ve done to LR? To our ten years together?”

Hearing his hypocrisy, I almost laughed through my tears.

“Our ten years? Ethan Blake, the moment you let Lily replace me, those ‘ten years’ were already dead.”

“That doesn’t justify such extreme actions!”

He raised his voice and seized my wrist so hard I thought my bones might snap.

“Look at you! Vicious, unhinged—what’s the difference between you and those enemies we once fought?”

His eyes scanned my face—anger, disappointment… and a fleeting trace of something dangerously close to longing.

“Lily’s face… the doctor says with the latest biotech repair, there’s still a chance of recovery.”

He paused, his tone softening with weary compromise:

“Rachel, stop this. Hand over the leaked source data. Publicly apologize to Lily and LR. Admit you were confused for a moment… and I can try to forgive you.”

“Forgive me?”

I fixed my gaze on him, my words deliberate and sharp.

“Ethan, if my face had been destroyed, would you be using every resource, sparing no expense to save me like you’re doing for Lily?”

He froze, his eyes flickering. He didn’t answer right away.

“Rachel, you’ve always been strong. A face isn’t essential to you.”

Ha. Not essential.

“In that case…”

“I won’t apologize. I won’t hand over anything. Do whatever you want—kill me if you must.”

His face turned to stone.

“If you insist on being stubborn, then don’t blame me. Until you come to your senses, you’re staying right here.”

And so, I was placed under house arrest.

Ethan would sometimes come, always late at night, reeking of alcohol and exhaustion, his gaze heavy with conflicted affection.

He stood at the doorway, never stepping inside, repeating the same hollow words again and again.

“Rachel, stop making trouble. I love you, you know that. Once Lily’s condition stabilizes, once the storm passes, we’ll go back to the way things were, alright?”

Each time, I answered him with silence.

His cheap love made me sick.

Life went on this way. Though I was under house arrest, Ethan Blake never lowered my living conditions. Other than being unable to leave the mansion, everything else remained the same.

The disturbance came from Lily.

I had poured etching acid on her face—by all logic, it should never have healed. Yet now, only faint scars remained. Clearly, someone had spent an enormous amount of money.

Using her recovery as an excuse, she naturally moved into the mansion, right next door to me.

I didn’t want to deal with her, but she came knocking herself.

“Rachel, have you been resting well these days?”

She smiled gently, not waiting for my reply, strolling into my room on her own. Her gaze finally landed on the ruby ornament—a gift Ethan had gone to great lengths to win at auction for my birthday last year.

“Ethan is such a sentimental man. He even left all these things of yours here.”

She stroked the ruby lightly, her tone tinged with false regret.

“But he said some old things bring back unpleasant memories. It’s time for a change.”

I sat on the couch, not even lifting my eyelids.

“Speak plainly. Or get out.”

Lily’s face stiffened.

“Rachel! How dare you be so arrogant? Are you still living in the past? Look at who’s standing by his side now!”

“You think ruining my face means you’ve won? Ethan only cherishes me more! He’s told me more than once that you’re like a rotten stone—hard, boring, nothing like me…”

Her words stopped abruptly.

Because I had shot to my feet, seized her wrist, and twisted it back.

“A stone? Boring?”

I closed in on her, staring into her fear-dilated pupils, my voice icy.

“Lily, have you forgotten? This stone is the one that smashed obstacle after obstacle, paving the road Ethan Blake walks today. The wealth and glory you enjoy now—even the life you barely held onto—every bit of it is stained with my blood.”

I flung her wrist away like filth.

“Go run to him, tell him this stone isn’t just hard—it can crush everything he holds dear.”

Lily had meant to retort, but when she saw the figure at the doorway, she changed instantly.

Clutching her wrist, her face went pale as tears streamed down.

“Rachel, I only came to check on you, why would you… sob…”

“What’s going on?”

Ethan had just arrived, hearing the sound of crying inside.

Lily threw herself into his arms like she’d found her savior, weeping pitifully.

“Ethan… I came with good intentions, but Rachel suddenly lashed out. She hurt me, and said such frightening things…”

Ethan’s eyes flicked to her reddened wrist before finally resting on me, filled with disappointment and disgust so sharp it was almost tangible.

“Rachel Adams! How much longer will you stay insane?! Lily came out of kindness, and this is how you treat her? Where are your manners?!”

“Manners?”

I gave a cold laugh, unwilling to explain.

“You talk to a thief and a mistress about manners? Ethan, are you blind in both eyes and heart?”

“Enough!”

Ethan’s voice cracked like a whip as he pulled Lily protectively behind him.

“Rachel, look at yourself! Bitter, vicious, bristling with thorns—nothing but a raving madwoman!”