While working on a top-secret experiment, I accidentally injured my arm. I went to the emergency room, only to have a woman cut in line.

Enduring the pain, I told her calmly to wait her turn like everyone else.

But instead, she slapped my wound hard and snapped, "Wait in line? I’m the most favored heiress of the Sharp Group! In Dominia, I never wait in line! Don’t even mention the emergency room—if I want to, I can have everyone in this hospital kicked out! Get lost! Or when my brother gets here, your other arm won’t be usable either!"

I was so furious and actually laughed.

The Sharp Group was the same family my parents had just arranged a marriage with a few days ago.

I turned and called Ethan. "Your sister just threatened to ruin my hand. Are you coming to do it yourself?"

——

There was a pause on the other end before Ethan’s voice came through, cold and distant, “Is there something you need?”

I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

According to my parents, Ethan was supposed to be a capable, well-mannered gentleman—courteous and refined.

I couldn’t help but ask, “This is how you treat your fiancée?”

He gave a cold laugh and hung up.

Chloe, who had overheard the call, suddenly snatched the phone from my hand and smashed it to the floor.

“So you’re the shameless woman who’s been begging to marry my brother?” she sneered.

“I didn’t expect you to look this plain. My poor brother—what a downgrade! Now you’re trying to call him to complain? Know your place!”

Her words made my face flush red with anger and embarrassment.

Wasn’t it the Sharp Group who proposed this marriage in the first place? How did it suddenly become me shamelessly begging to marry into their family?

I quickly bent down to pick up my phone, clutching my still-bleeding arm. My voice turned cold. “So what if you're from the Sharp Family? Does that give you the right to cut in line and disrupt public order?”

Chloe gasped dramatically and covered her mouth in fake surprise.

“Oh, what a pity. But let’s be honest—here in Dominia, the Sharp Family calls the shots. You must be some clueless hick who’s never seen real power before.”

Called the shot in Dominia?

I’d worked at the National Secret Research Institute for ten years and not even our top-level directors would dare say something that outrageous.

And yet here was someone from the Sharp Family, talking like they ruled the capital.

I didn’t bother arguing further. I stepped forward with my medical form in hand. “Hospitals are for saving lives. If you want to flaunt your power, go home and do it there!”

But before I could take two steps, Chloe yanked my hair from behind, jerking my head back.

“This entire hospital belongs to the Sharp Family! So what if I use my privileges? This is my turf—how dare you try to cut in front of me?”

The hospital belonged to the Sharp Family?

What a ridiculous sense of entitlement.

This hospital was clearly funded by a donation from my parents. The Sharp Group only invested in one of its projects, yet they had the nerve to go around claiming they owned the whole place.

Even if this hospital truly belonged to the Sharp Family, that still wouldn’t give that woman the right to abuse her power over ordinary citizens.

I forcefully shook her off and snapped, “Can’t you read the display screen? I’m next in line. So who exactly is cutting here?”

I thought that would finally turn things around—that someone in the crowd might step in to help me.

But instead, I saw people whispering, pointing at me from the sidelines.

“Doesn’t she know Miss Sharp is Mr. Sharp's favorite? And she still dares to mess with her? She must be out of her mind.”

“Exactly! Did she really ask Miss Sharp to wait in line? I thought I misheard!”

Someone even tried to persuade me. “It’s not like you’re dying from that injury. Let Miss Sharp go first—what’s the harm?”

“Yeah. If you keep pushing like this, once Mr. Sharp shows up, you might really die.”

I couldn’t believe it. In a hospital at the heart of Dominia, people still echoed such blatant deference to power.

I clenched my fists, burning with anger.

Seeing that I didn’t move, she suddenly grabbed my injured arm and dug her manicured nails into the wound—hard.

“Didn’t you hear me? Get lost!”

The pain was so sharp that my vision blurred for a moment.

I quickly yanked my hand back and warned through clenched teeth, “If anything happens to my hand, my superior will hold you accountable. You’d better be ready to go to prison!”

What she didn’t know was that I was a senior member of the National Secret Research Institute—personally authorized to lead all Level-One classified experiments. Nothing moved forward without me.

If my hand was permanently damaged, the consequences would be devastating.

But when she heard my warning, she didn’t back off. Instead, she let out a mocking laugh. “Prison? Seriously? In Dominia, the Sharp Family is above the law! Who dares throw us in jail?”

As she spoke, she waved her hand—and suddenly, a group of men in black barged in from outside.

Without hesitation, they began shoving the waiting patients out of the hallway.

“What are you staring at? This hospital is now under Miss Sharp’s private use! If you want treatment, go somewhere else!”

Just as they moved toward me, I shouted furiously toward the emergency hall, “Are the hospital’s security guards just for show? Get these thugs out of here—now!”

Medical staff rushed over at the sound, but their expressions were filled more with hesitation than action.

One of them murmured awkwardly, “Miss Sharp just has menstrual cramps. She comes every month—it’ll be a quick visit. Just… let it go.”

She came every month? And every time, she got to cut in line like this?

The more outrageous she acted, the more I refused to back down.

Without another word, I pulled out my phone and called the police. “If the hospital won’t stop her, then I’d like to see if the police dare to!”

But before the call even connected, a furious shout cut through the air.

“That’s enough! If you dare lay a hand on her, you're asking for death!"

I looked up sharply and saw a tall figure striding toward us from the end of the corridor.

Dressed sharply in a tailored suit, with sharp features and a cold expression, it was Ethan.

I thought to myself, no matter what, I was still his fiancée in name.

And considering how much profit this alliance would bring to the Sharp Family, surely he wouldn’t make things too ugly.

I stepped forward, trying to explain, “Mr. Sharp, I was waiting in line like everyone else. It was Chloe who—”

Before I could finish, Chloe shoved me aside and threw herself into his arms, putting on a pitiful act. “Ethan, she bullied me! She even said I should go to jail!”

Ethan immediately pulled her behind him protectively, his eyes fixed coldly on me. “Are you the Lynn Family’s daughter?”

His voice was low, but filled with restrained anger.

Despite the pain in my arm, I straightened my back and replied, “Yes. I’m Ivy—your fiancée. If you have her apologize to me, I’ll drop the matter about her cutting the line today.”

“Apologize?” Ethan’s face visibly darkened and his tone turned harsh. “Chloe’s been frail since childhood. She’s a little blunt, that’s all. And you’re picking a fight with a young girl?”

Young girl?

I glanced at Chloe. She was at least in her early twenties.

I raised my arm, still bleeding from where she clawed it.

“She did this. Asking for an apology isn’t unreasonable, is it?”

But Ethan didn’t even glance at my injury. Instead, he crouched down and gently blew on Chloe’s hand. “Chloe, does your hand hurt?”

I could hardly believe my eyes.

Were these two really just siblings?

***

If Chloe, as my future sister-in-law, already dared to treat me like this now—what would happen after marriage?

This engagement might as well be called off.

Just then, I heard my name called from inside the emergency room.

Relieved, I lifted my foot, ready to head in.

But Ethan suddenly stepped forward and blocked my path.

“You hurt Chloe’s hand,” he said coldly. “You think you can just leave?”

“I’m warning you,” Ethan said coldly, “Even if you marry me, everything in the Sharp Family will still be decided by Chloe! Whether you’re at home or outside, you are never allowed to talk back to her! Right now—get on your knees and apologize to her!”

I stared at him, utterly incredulous. “Are you out of your mind? What do you mean I hurt her hand? She was the one who cut in line and then she deliberately grabbed my injured arm! And now you want me to kneel and apologize to her? Keep dreaming!”

Immediately, Chloe raised her right hand and waved it pitifully in front of him. “Look, Ethan, it’s all red! She hit me! Who knows how she’ll bully me in the future if you really marry her…”

Just then, a wave of sharp pain shot through my arm—it was getting worse, even starting to go numb.

I shoved her away and snapped, “I’m warning you—let me in now! If anything happens to my hand, not even ten Sharp families could afford the consequences!”

That line instantly caused an uproar around us.

“Who does she think she is? What a tone!”

“Everyone knows how powerful the Sharp Family is in Dominia—she must be insane!”

“The Sharp Family could crush a nobody like her with just a finger!”

Chloe suddenly snapped out of it and jabbed a finger at me.

“Quit pretending! I know your mother practically threw herself at the Sharp Family’s bodyguard just to get a chance to see Dad, all so she could beg for this marriage! Who knows what lies she told him, but somehow he actually agreed to let you marry into our family! Hmph! Like mother, like daughter. Your mom’s shameless and clearly—you’re no better!”

My mother?

A deafening roar went off in my head.

My mother was the daughter of the former richest man in the country. Their family business once ranked among the top nationwide.

Even though she later devoted herself entirely to scientific research and our family’s fortune had dwindled, we still lived more than comfortably. She was dignified, principled—nothing like the slander Chloe was spouting.

And more importantly—she didn’t know that the classified experiment I had been working on at the National Secret Research Institute had finally succeeded.

And the result of that experiment was the core technology the Sharp Group had been desperately trying to acquire.

It was because of that, Ethan’s father had begged my parents—again and again—for this engagement.

And yet, Chloe still dared to throw mud at my mother’s name.

As my mind returned from the storm of fury, I slowly reached up and removed the insignia pinned to the back of my jacket.

Then, without a second of hesitation, I slapped Chloe hard across the face.

“You love your big brother so much, right?” I said coldly. “Fine. I’ll leave him to you. This engagement is off!”

Seeing Chloe get slapped, Ethan lunged forward and grabbed my injured arm—his grip so tight that it felt like he was trying to lift me off the ground.

“She’s the woman I’ve protected my whole life. Do you think you can lay a hand on her?”

Then he turned to the men in black behind him and barked, “Break her hand.”

Chloe, clutching her face, finally snapped back into the scene and wailed through her tears,

“Do you think my brother wants to marry you? How dare you hit me!”

The wound on my arm suddenly tore open again. The pain was so sharp and I screamed. “Let go!”

In the struggle, my pin fell from my jacket and hit the floor.

The moment Chloe spotted it, she stepped on it without hesitation, grinding it beneath her heel.

As she did, she looked down at me mockingly.

“What is this cheap-looking thing? Why would anyone still wear such a tacky pin?”

My chest tightened violently.

That wasn’t just any pin—it was one of the official item of the National Secret Research Institute.

How dare she?

Fury surged through me. I wrenched myself out of Ethan’s grip and threw myself at her, ignoring the pain, grabbing the badge back from beneath her foot.

Chloe laughed wildly, clearly enjoying the sight.

“Look at her, Ethan, she’s crawling around like a dog! Why would you still marry a woman like this?”

With disgust in his eyes, Ethan looked down at me, who was kneeling on the cold floor and clinging tightly to the badge,

He raised his foot and kicked me hard.

“If Dad hadn’t been blinded by that seductress of a mother of hers, I would’ve never agreed to marry her!”