After Aidan left that day, he didn't contact Sasha again.

Sasha could more or less guess what Aidan was thinking. He was waiting for her to appease him.

In the past, she loved Aidan, so he always put him first.

She had used every skill she learned at the club to seduce a man to win Aidan over.

She had provided him with emotional support and meticulously managed everything in his life. She had truly poured all her effort into loving him, like a moth drawn to a flame.

Just as Sasha thought she would leave during the silent treatment with Aidan, she received a call from him that very night.

He asked her to meet at the club, saying there was something important to discuss.

Sasha hesitated for a long time, torn between going and not going. In the end, her emotions won over her reason.

After seven years of loving him, she wanted to say a proper goodbye.

She even thought she might ask him, just once, whether there was ever a moment in those seven years when he truly loved her.

But when she arrived at the club and pushed open the door to the private room, she found not only Aidan but also Brian and Natalie inside.

Upon seeing her, Aidan immediately called out, "Sasha, come sit next to Mr. Conley."

Sasha frowned at once. Though she was unsure of what Aidan and Natalie were up to, she still sat beside Brian out of professional duty.

As soon as she sat down, Natalie started to flatter Brian with a drink. "Let me toast to you, Mr. Conley. I'm sorry for my rude behavior the other day. Please forgive me."

Once she finished speaking, Aidan raised his own glass.

"Mr. Conley, as the saying goes, 'You should never insult your friend's wife.' Although we're friends, Natalie is my future wife. When I saw her being disrespected, I lost my temper. Please forgive me."

Brian listened to their words. His face was still a mask, but his previously rigid demeanor had clearly softened.

He clinked his glass with Aidan's and casually drank it.

Then, he coldly said, "I can forgive you, but Mr. Gallagher, don't forget what you promised me."

Aidan immediately assured him, "I won't forget, of course."

He then turned to Sasha and said, "Sasha, what are you sitting there for? Hurry up and toast to Mr. Conley."

Sasha was puzzled. She remembered calling Brian just the day before, and he had been tough and unyielding.

Yet, in just one day, his attitude had completely changed.

What had Aidan done during this time?

Before she could think it through, she felt Brian's hand firmly grip her thigh. The sticky sensation made Sasha frown.

But still, she smiled politely and stood up. "Sorry, Mr. Conley, I need to use the restroom."

Sasha had been in the PR business for years, and she had been harassed many times.

She had her own ways of handling these situations, ensuring that the other person didn't take advantage while keeping the peace.

Although it was sad that she couldn't say goodbye to Aidan, she heard his solemn vow to Natalie.

She stayed in the restroom for ten minutes before returning to the private room.

As she reached the door, preparing to enter, she overheard their conversation.

Natalie's voice came through first. "Mr. Conley, I know you've liked Ms. Barlow for a long time. But because she's always been so indifferent, you've never had your wish fulfilled.

"So, to make up for that, I've brought Sasha here for you. Don't worry. Ms. Barlow is very skilled. I'm sure you'll be satisfied tonight."

Brian, hearing Natalie's words, immediately became excited. However, he still shot a pointed look at Aidan.

"Mr. Gallagher, your future wife is really a great help. It shouldn't be a problem if I have Ms. Barlow accompany me tonight, right?"

Aidan smiled and replied, "Oh, come on, Mr. Conley. Sasha has been interested in you for a long time. Otherwise, why would she keep calling you? Don't worry. It's not just tonight. I'll make sure she's available whenever you need her."

Sasha was finally able to fully understand what total disappointment felt like.

She never expected Aidan would ask her to accompany Brian to bed.

How laughable and disgusting.

It made her realize just how degrading her seven years with Aidan had been, to the point where he thought it was okay to give her away to other men without even asking for her consent.

Sasha had never felt this angry before.

After taking a deep breath, she walked into the room, coldly grabbing her bag and preparing to leave.

Seeing her action, Aidan immediately grabbed her arm. "What are you doing, Sasha? Don't you see Mr. Conley is still here?"

Sasha could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes. She turned back and hit Aidan's face with a sharp slap.

"I loved you, Aidan, but I am not an object you can command. I don't love you to the point where I'll allow you and your future wife to sell me out just to seal a deal."

Aidan was stunned by the slap.

What was going on with Sasha? In the past, she would do anything for business, but now she was acting so high and mighty.

Natalie had worked hard to convince Brian to continue working with Ridgeco Corporation, and Sasha had to do nothing except lie down to secure a 20-million-dollar deal.

What could she possibly have to object to?

As he thought about it, Aidan's face turned red with anger.

"Sasha, there's a limit to how much you can be jealous. Don't challenge my bottom line. Pick up that drink and apologize to Mr. Conley right now. This is an order."

Aidan had the nerve to still talk about jealousy.

With a mix of despair and rage, Sasha trembled as she forcefully pulled her hand away from Aidan's grasp.

"You know what, Aidan? I've never hated myself more than I do right now. Every time I think about the seven years I spent with you, trying to please those clients, enduring their harassment, and bargaining with them, I feel so sick that I want to throw up.

"Thank you for finally making me realize that my love for you these seven years was nothing but a joke."

With that, Sasha turned around and stormed out of the room.

As she left, Aidan stood there watching her retreating figure, and a wave of indescribable heartache surged through him.

He had a vague feeling that if he let Sasha leave tonight, he would lose her forever.

But before he could sort through his jumbled emotions, Brian slammed his hand on the table in anger.

"Are you enjoying playing with me, Aidan Gallagher? Does it make you proud to have me watch you take the lead in a love triangle? Let me make one thing clear. Don't even think about getting another deal from me."

The furious Brian turned and left the room.

Aidan couldn't care less about Sasha's departure now. He rushed after Brian.

Meanwhile, Sasha headed straight for the airport as soon as she left the club.

Sasha was heading to Ella's hometown.

Before Ella passed away, her biggest wish had been to return to her hometown.

Back then, Sasha had been too busy with work. Besides, her hometown had brought her too much pain, so she'd kept putting off bringing Ella's ashes back.

Even though she forced herself to hold back her emotions, when the cold air hit her face, all the sharp, painful memories locked deep in her mind rushed back, slamming into her.

Ella had been the other woman. After Sasha was born, Ella had been exposed by Priscilla Berg, the wife of the man she was involved with.

In retaliation, Priscilla didn't just spread Ella's photo around town. Every time Ella tried to find a job, Priscilla and her people would show up and cause a scene—smashing things, tearing off her clothes, and doing whatever they could to humiliate her.

Throughout Sasha's childhood, the only images she had were of Ella covering her body in public or begging Priscilla on her knees.

Ella, unable to keep any job due to the constant disruptions, had no choice but to take Sasha with her to scavenge through trash bins and live under a bridge.

Even when the neighborhood committee helped Sasha get into school, Priscilla didn't leave them alone.

She put up banners in front of Sasha's school, handed out Ella's photos to the other students' parents, and accused her of being a morally corrupt mistress.

She called Sasha an "illegitimate child" who didn't deserve an education in front of everyone.

Even though Sasha was just a little girl at the time, she could feel the sting of the mocking and pitying glances from everyone around her.

Finally, after all the torment, Ella couldn't take it anymore. She took Sasha up to the 20th floor of a building.

Sasha could never forget the dizziness she felt standing on that wind-blown rooftop and Ella's tear-streaked face, which was full of despair.

"I'm so sorry, Sasha. I made you go through all this pain. But don't worry. I'll set us free now. If we jump from here, we won't be in pain anymore. We'll finally be free."

Saying that, Ella grabbed Sasha and tried to drag her to the edge.

Sasha was in so much pain, but she still wanted to live. She dropped to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Mom, please… Please don't take me with you. I want to live. I want to stay alive, even if this life is all I have left. Let's get out of here. Let's go somewhere far away and hide for the rest of our lives. Please."

Sasha slammed her forehead hard against the rough concrete ground.

The sound of her head hitting the ground echoed in the quiet, like a death knell.

She almost felt like she'd crack her skull open. Only when she thought she was about to break did Ella crawl over and pull her into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry, Sasha. We won't die. We won't die."

Cradled in Ella's arms, Sasha smelled the rusty scent of the blood oozing from her forehead.

And that was the first time she understood what it meant to hate.

She couldn't hate Ella, who gave birth to her and raised her, but she hated the man who got Ella pregnant and Priscilla, who pushed them to the brink of destruction.

Maybe the pain of the past was just too much to bear. After Sasha left the airport, she smoked three cigarettes to calm the suffocating weight in her heart.

Then, she drove to her uncle Arthur Barlow's eatery.

The moment she walked in, Arthur looked at her with a face full of disgust.

"Sasha, do you know that I can never show my face around here because of your mom? And now you have the nerve to come back?"

Sasha didn't respond to him. Instead, she calmly pulled an envelope from her purse. "Here's 50 thousand dollars. Bury my mom's ashes in the Barlow family's ancestral grave."

Arthur's face, which had been full of disdain, immediately shifted to a false smile.

"You should've said you had money sooner. It's just an urn. I'll take care of it right away. Don't worry. I'll make sure to find her a good burial site.

"How about next to your grandma's grave? She loved Ella the most, even mentioning before she passed that she wished Ella could come to visit her."

Sasha didn't want to listen to Arthur's rambling. She coldly left her phone number and walked out of the restaurant.

Once outside, seeing the snow falling softly from the sky, Sasha couldn't resist pulling out a cigarette and placing it between her lips.

As she watched the smoke twist and dance in the cold air, her eyes finally filled with tears.

She exhaled a puff of smoke before choking out, "I've finally brought you home, Mom."