Terri denied it.

Valerie’s eyes were filled with undisguised disdain.

She let out a sneer and tossed the phone over.

On the screen, only Blayne’s back was visible, but Terri’s legs were clearly wrapped around his waist.

The way their lower bodies overlapped made it look like she was begging for him.

In the world of adults, some things don’t need to be spelled out.

Terri’s expression tightened. “It’s not what you think—”

Before she could finish, Valerie’s slap landed hard across Terri’s face.

“A stray raised under someone else’s roof, and you actually think you’re a real Darton?”

Five distinct finger marks instantly appeared on Terri’s pale skin.

She wasn’t the type to just take it. Clenching her teeth, she wanted to slap back.

Her fingers curled, but then, they loosened. In the end, she held back.

Valerie sat at an angle, looking down at her, her gaze sharp with warning.

“I’ll arrange a match for you. You and Blayne aren’t legally married, so when I tell you to leave, you leave.

“Terri, be smart. Don’t covet things that aren’t yours.”

With that, Valerie stepped out of the car.

Terri froze. Her skin was fair, making the slap mark stand out even more, both in color and in pain.

Yet, as if determined to rub salt in the wound, she turned her head to look outside.

In the side mirror, she saw Valerie stepping out—and Blayne immediately following, reaching for her hand.

From beginning to end, through it all…

Despite Terri being right there, Blayne didn’t spare her a single glance.

One was a handsome, accomplished man. The other, a beautiful, elegant woman.

They were a perfect match.

Blayne could feel someone’s gaze lingering behind him. He knew it was Terri.

A voice in his head told him to turn around and look at her.

But he didn’t.

His steps hesitated for a second—just one second.

Then, he tightened his grip on Valerie’s hand and walked away without looking back.

Terri stared blankly, memories suddenly flooding back.

Everyone said Valerie and Blayne were childhood sweethearts, a match made in heaven.

But after Valerie became an adult, she left the country without informing anyone—disappearing completely.

The Holzmans were powerful.

When word got out that Blayne was single, Terri’s mother forced her into his life, pushing her to seduce him.

She refused.

Clarissa, her mother, slapped her face and used her own life to threaten her, forcing Terri to comply.

Trying to change the family’s fate through her.

But Terri wasn’t cheap. She had no interest in being a replacement, in scheming her way into power as some pathetic mistress.

Yet when Clarissa pressed a shard of glass to her own wrist, Terri gave in.

She understood her place.

Valerie was the one Blayne truly cared about. She had neither the status nor the history to compare.

Even if Valerie openly said she only saw Blayne as a backup plan, even if she never intended to marry him…

Being sent to his bed was still a humiliation.

At worst, she’d just be thrown out.

Terri was used to being humiliated. If it could fulfill her mother’s dream of climbing the social ladder, so be it.

That night, Blayne had been drinking.

He pinned her against the stairwell wall, tearing her clothes, gripping her shoulders, ready to take her.

She had no experience—she broke down crying.

Her tears dripped onto his skin, scalding hot.

Maybe he pitied her. Maybe he just found it troublesome.

Either way, Blayne let go.

In the end, all he did was hold her through the night.

After that, wherever he went, Terri followed.

He was gentle with her. Attentive.

Terri loved steamers. So this high-born, privileged young master peeled them for her by hand.

He knew she had a hard time in the Dartons, so he directed a few lucrative projects their way—making it clear they had to treat her well.

Terri was anxious as she put on the lingerie her mother had stuffed into her hands, preparing to offer herself in return for a favor.

But Blayne’s expression turned uncharacteristically cold. Holding her tightly in his arms, he was both angry and heartbroken.

He cradled her like something precious, his voice gentle as he placed a hand over his chest and swore, “I don’t need you to repay me. I just like you. I like you, Terri. For you, I’d do anything willingly.”

From then on, he gave her whatever she wanted. He never raised his voice and never forced her to do anything she didn’t want.

Terri thought it was real. She had always thought so.

But everything changed when Valerie returned from Scotland.

Being someone’s stand-in never ends well.

Terri knew that. But at the time, she hadn’t believed it.

Now, she did, so she didn’t bother to cover the marks on her face.

When they arrived at the party, she got out of the car alone, walking in with her head high.

She wasn’t ashamed.

She had spent too much of her life being humiliated by others. This was nothing.

But before she could take more than a couple of steps, someone grabbed her wrist.

Blayne frowned at her. “Do you even know what kind of event this is? And what’s with your face? Are you deliberately making a fool of yourself, or are you trying to embarrass the Holzmans?”

To the outside world, Terri was known as Blayne’s parents’ daughter-in-law. So, whether he wanted to or not, Blayne had to come back and pick her up for an occasion like this.

But the moment he turned around and saw the slap marks on her face, his sharp-tempered nature flared. His tone, half-questioning, half-mocking, was laced with concern.

It was the first time he had shown any real concern for Terri since Valerie returned.

Terri suddenly recalled the way Blayne used to be—how he was always by her side, inseparable.

Back then, it hadn’t felt like she was just a stand-in. There had been no distance, no Valerie between them.

As if they had never changed.

But it was just as if.

Pulled back to the present by his questioning, Terri spoke, her tone indifferent.

“It’s nothing. I just happened to run into you and Valerie. How do you think this happened?”

Blayne’s grip tightened. “What do you mean? You’re saying Vee hit you?”

“What else?”

She lifted her head, meeting his gaze head-on, unwavering.

“Blayne! Terri! What are you two talking about? Why aren’t you coming over?”

Valerie approached them, but when she saw the slap marks on Terri’s face, she gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

“What happened? Terri, I told you I don’t blame you—why would you hurt yourself like this?”

Blayne’s expression darkened. “What do you mean?”

Valerie sighed and explained, “After I left the country, Terri took my place by your side. She kept bringing up the past, saying she felt guilty toward me. I told her I didn’t blame her, but she wouldn’t believe it. She even grabbed my hand and made me slap her! She got so emotional that I had to get out of the car.”

She hesitated, then looked troubled. “And… she squeezed my wrist too hard. She left a bruise.”

Blayne’s face hardened instantly. He stepped forward. “Let me see.”

Terri was shoved aside, stumbling slightly.

Standing behind them, she watched as Blayne’s concern for Valerie played out before her eyes.

Valerie rolled up her sleeve, revealing a faint bluish mark on her wrist.

The look in Blayne’s eyes shifted—from shock and suspicion to something darker.

“Apologize to Vee.”

“I didn’t do it!”

Terri lifted her chin. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but she refused to back down.

“I’ll say it again. Apologize to Vee.”

Blayne’s gaze sharpened, his voice carrying an unmistakable warning.

That made Terri’s throat tighten.

Terri held back the sting in her eyes and looked up at Blayne. “Are you serious? You believe whatever she says? Why would I hurt her? Why would I slap myself?”

“I won’t say this a third time, Terri.” Blayne pulled Valerie—who looked hurt and wronged as if she had just been falsely accused—behind him, shielding her like a protector.

“The money from the marriage contract you signed with my Grandpa goes through the company’s accounts. Terri, I’d advise you to be smart and not piss me off. Otherwise, you’ll end up with nothing—not a single cent.”

Terri took a step back.

Even though the contract had been terminated and she and Blayne were no longer legally married, she still couldn’t believe he was using it to threaten her.

For a moment, Blayne hesitated under her gaze, unable to meet her eyes.

“Forget it, Blayne,” Valerie said gently. “Terri is still young, and there are so many people around today. If it really bothers you, I can change into a long-sleeved gown later to cover it up. It’s not a big deal.

“Today is an important day for the Holzmans. Let’s not ruin it over something so trivial.”

She stepped forward to take Blayne’s hand, playing the understanding, considerate one.

With that movement, her bruised wrist was suddenly and unmistakably exposed—whether by accident or on purpose, it was hard to tell.

Seeing the purple marks on her skin, the momentary softness in Blayne’s heart hardened again.

His almond eyes narrowed, brimming with undisguised contempt and disgust. “Oh, Terri, you really don’t know what’s good for you. Keeping you far away was the right choice.

“A woman like you, so consumed by jealousy that you’d even go after your own sister—I have no idea what my grandfather ever saw in you. If it were up to me, not even if you begged would I let you have a single thing from the Holzmans.”

The words cut deep.

Terri’s eyes turned red, but she refused to lower her head. She clenched her jaw and shot back, “Blayne, you knew exactly who I was when you first met me. So what the hell are you saying now?”

She never thought he’d talk about her like this.

Especially for Valerie.

Back when Valerie left the U.S., Blayne spent his days drowning himself in clubs and bars.

Oswald, his grandfather, had no choice. Seeing that Terri bore a slight resemblance to Valerie, he gritted his teeth and sent her over.

From then on, Terri stayed by Blayne’s side.

He loved lychees, so she arranged for them to be flown in from Hawaii.

Her mother was vain and constantly pestered her for money. Blayne, instead of letting her deal with it, gave Clarissa a supplementary card just to shut her up.

There was sincerity in it.

Every night, he held Terri in his arms, gently caressing her face, calling her his precious girl.

When things got heated between them, she once asked him why he never took it further.

Blayne buried his face in her neck and whispered, “Let’s wait until we’re married. I want to give you the best.”

She cried until her heart melted.

But then—the day before the wedding, she saw him lounging in a hotel room, holding Valerie in his arms.

He was beneath her, their bodies intimately entwined.

Blayne frowned at Terri now, unable to understand why she still didn’t know when to quit.

“You think your little tricks aren’t obvious?” He pulled Valerie into his arms. “You just want to frame your sister so you can come running to me, playing the victim?”

Valerie clung to his arm, looking troubled. “Whatever it is, let’s talk about it later. The party's about to start, and there are people everywhere. You’ll need a date when you go in. I won’t hold this against Terri—it’s not worth it.”

Saying that, she reached out as if to take Terri’s arm.