Kayden looked at me with disappointment, his expression cold and hard, without any warmth left in his eyes.

“Aveline, Evie has severe anemia. She has already fainted many times. Her blood type is exactly the same as yours, so she needs you to donate blood to her.”

I leaned against the wall to keep myself standing, my trembling voice slowly asking him.

“Why?”

Evie weakly stepped forward at once and reached out to hold my wrist, tears gathering in her eyes.

“Kayden, don’t force Aveline. If she does not want to do it, then forget it. My life is worthless and not important enough to trouble you.”

The perfume scent from her body made me feel so sick that I almost wanted to throw up. I immediately tried to pull away from her hand with force.

Instead, Evie curved her lips slightly, pushed me away before I could react, and fell backward.

She slipped and fell onto the floor, her forehead hard against the table corner, and a red mark quickly appeared.

The next moment, her eyes became red as big tears rolled down her face, her whole body shaking from grief.

Kayden’s eyes suddenly tightened. He rushed over in panic and roughly shoved me away.

My body slammed hard against the wall, and the pain made me breathe in sharply.

He carefully lifted Evie into his arms, his eyes toward me full of anger and disgust.

“Aveline, how can you be this heartless? It is only a small blood donation. Do you really need to hurt her this badly?”

I held the shoulder that was sore from the impact and gave a bitter smile.

He knew better than anyone that after I was kidnapped eight years ago, I would faint whenever I saw blood and become terrified of it. The moment I saw bright red blood, I would lose control and start shaking, yet now he wanted me to donate blood to Evie.

I forced myself to stand properly and lifted my head, but suddenly noticed what Evie was wearing around her neck.

It was the safety charm I got after paying respect three times, bowing nine times, kneeling through three thousand steps, and praying for three hours. I gave it to Kayden and wished for his safety and health.

But now the safety charm was hanging on Evie’s neck. He gave the thing I poured all my love into to another woman.

My heart felt like it was being sliced apart piece by piece, and the pain made me unable to stand straight.

I bit the soft flesh inside my mouth and barely held back the burning in my eyes before asking him word by word,

“Kayden, who gave you the right to hand my safety charm to her?”

Hearing that, Evie quickly removed the safety charm, covered her face, and cried painfully.

“Aveline, I’m sorry. When I became seriously ill before, Kayden gave this to me. I did not know it belonged to you.”

“I know you hate me for being a widow nobody wants, and someone not worth loving, but Kayden and I truly are not the way you think…”

After those words, Kayden’s expression became even darker.

He grabbed the safety charm and threw it straight into the nearby trash can without hesitation before yelling at me.

“Aveline, how can your thoughts be this filthy? Your mind is full of disgusting ideas!”

“I never even looked down on you after so many men touched you back then. You are already dirty enough!”

His words felt like a knife stabbing straight into my heart.

I stood frozen, my whole body turning cold as pain spread through my chest until I could barely breathe.

After I was kidnapped back then, I suffered nightmares every night and woke up covered in cold sweat.

Kayden was the one who held me and softly told me not to be afraid. He stayed beside me the entire time and slowly helped me leave those painful memories behind.

But now, with his own hands, he turned my deepest wound and most painful past into the thing hurting me the most.

Before I could argue back, the bodyguards stepped forward and tightly grabbed my arms.

Kayden looked at me coldly.

“Take her blood by force. Don’t let her slow down Evie’s treatment.”

The cold needle stabbed my vein as bags of bright red blood were drawn out one after another.

I became dizzy and confused, my hands and feet turning cold. I did not know how much blood they took, only that my mind became blurrier and blurrier.

After it finished, they let go of me with disgust. I fell onto the floor like a torn rag, then dragged my nearly broken body and slowly walked outside.

As I reached the ward entrance, I ran into Evie’s son.

The little boy gripped a toy gun and slammed it hard at me, angrily yelling, “Bad woman! If not for you, my dad and mom would have already gotten married long ago!”

The hit made me stumble backward, and I leaned against the wall without enough strength to stay standing.

The child rushed over, grabbed the only necklace around my neck, and roughly yanked it away. It was the only thing my parents left for me. He snatched the necklace and turned around to run.

My sight turned dark. I could not keep holding on anymore and collapsed straight onto the floor, fully losing consciousness.

While I was asleep, someone suddenly grabbed my neck and woke me up. The feeling of not being able to breathe made me quickly open my eyes.

Kayden stood in front of me with red eyes, shouting at me loudly.

“Aveline, what did you put on the child? Why does he suddenly have a fever that won’t go away and keep saying nonsense?”

I could barely breathe from how tightly he held me. Weakly, I shook my head and hit his hand.

“I didn’t… I don’t know what you mean.”

Suddenly, Evie pushed the door open and came inside. Her eyes were red as she rushed to my bedside and knelt down, crying hard.

“Aveline, I know you hate me. You hate that I took your chance to enter the Ramirez family for five years because of the lottery draw.”

“If you want payback, then come after me. Why hurt my child? Why put poison on the necklace your parents left behind and give it to him…”

I used all my strength to push away Kayden’s grip and loudly argued back.

“The necklace was taken by him! Your son forcefully ripped it off my neck!”

Kayden looked down at me coldly, without any warmth in his eyes.

“I’ll ask you one more time. Did you poison it or not?”

“No! I really didn’t!”

I screamed as tears uncontrollably fell onto the back of my hand.

Kayden’s eyes became colder, his voice harsh.

“Since you won’t admit it, then don’t blame me for not showing mercy.”

He turned and coldly told the bodyguards, “Go to her parents’ cemetery, dig open the grave, and scatter all the ashes.”

My face instantly turned pale. I rushed over like a crazy person, grabbed his pant leg, and cried painfully.

“Don’t! Kayden, I’m begging you! I really don’t know anything! Please let my parents rest, okay!”

His body paused for a moment, and a small bit of hesitation flashed through his eyes.

Evie immediately cried and spoke.

“Kayden, forget it. Just treat my child as repayment for these five years you always choose me instead of her…”

The moment those words came out, Kayden instantly threw my hand aside, his eyes cold as ice.

“I already told you to wait one more year. Why are you so heartless?”

After saying that, he ordered the bodyguards to hold me down, carried Evie away, and left without looking back at me again.

“Watch her carefully. Let her learn how to behave, so she can become a proper Mrs. Ramirez later.”

The bodyguards forced me onto the floor while I helplessly watched the people on the screen dig open my parents’ grave.

They broke the urn apart, and the pale ashes scattered into the dirt, blowing away with the wind.

I clenched my fists tightly, my nails cutting into my palms until flesh and blood mixed together, while my lips were bitten until they bled too.

The day my parents passed away in a car crash, Kayden held me with lifeless eyes and comforted me with a shaking voice.

“Don’t worry, Aveline. From today on, I will always be beside you. I will take care of you for mom and dad, and I will love you forever.”

Lies.

Every promise was a lie!

After a long while, the bodyguards threw me onto the floor with disgust, brushed the dirt from their hands, and mocked me.

“You chased Young Master Ramirez for eight years and still mean less than a dog. You still want to become his wife? Keep dreaming.”

I slowly pushed myself up from the floor, my eyes dull as I slowly walked outside step by step.

As soon as I left the villa, my phone started ringing. It was Evie.

[You probably still have no idea, right? The Ramirez family has a rule. If someone is chosen by drawing lots five times, the marriage must happen immediately.]

[Kayden and I will marry very soon.]

Not long later, Kayden sent a text, too.

[Aveline, I forgive today’s incident. Starting now, you should learn to become a qualified Mrs. Ramirez.]

I ignored both of them and silently blocked every way they could contact me.

I casually called a car and went straight to the cemetery.

I kneeled on the ground and, little by little, picked up my parents’ ashes mixed into the dirt, crying so hard my whole body trembled, and I almost stopped breathing.

Just as I was about to lose strength, someone quickly rushed over and supported me.

Khalil came.

He gently carried me into the car, his hands shaking as he wiped the tears from my face.

Then he pulled a ring from his pocket and held it before me, looking at my swollen, red eyes while speaking in a soft but serious voice.

“In front of uncle and aunt, Aveline, are you willing to marry me?”

I looked into his eyes full of pain and honesty, and tears slowly fell again as I used all my strength to answer.

“I am willing.”

I wiped my tears away, softly touched the urn in my arms, then turned and entered the car with Khalil.

After entering the car, I anonymously sent a file to an entertainment reporter and added a message.

“I know Kayden once pressured and targeted you. I have a video of Kayden and his sister-in-law secretly being together. I believe you won’t let this rare chance slip away?”

A minute later, my phone shook.

The entertainment reporter replied, “Of course. Happy working together.”

A faint smile appeared on my lips. The show I prepared was finally about to start.

Kayden, since you betrayed my love because of another woman, I will make both of you lose everything and destroy your names.