I clung to the wall, fingers digging in so hard my nails split, yet I felt nothing.

For eight years, to help him repay that so-called “two-hundred-thousand-dollar debt,” I gave up my guaranteed admission offer.

I washed dishes in the back alley of a hotel in subzero weather, my hands cracked open and bleeding from the cold.

To save money, I lived on plain water and stale bread, until my body gave out.

And now, Clara had only murmured that the place smelled unpleasant, and he had casually bought the entire hospital.

So, his poverty had been an act. His devotion was also an act.

Only my suffering, my blood, and the tumor in my head were real.

I watched as he fed a cherry to Clara with gentle care, while the metallic taste of blood filled my own mouth.

Since fate gave me a chance to live, I wouldn’t die alongside a man like him.

“Landon, your lies would be the stepping stones of my rebirth.”

I had just returned to my room and lay down when the door was pushed open.

Landon walked in wearing that faded, torn T-shirt, his face smeared with dark grime, and the moment he entered, he pressed a crumpled stack of cash into my hand.

“Stella, the foreman paid me sixty dollars today. I’ve saved it all for your surgery.”

I lowered my eyes, looking at the money, but this time, I didn’t feel moved to tears.

Because I could clearly smell the expensive cologne on him.

[Detected male lead’s lie: “The foreman paid sixty dollars.”]

[Lie identified. Reward granted: Brain tumor reduced by one-third.]

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Is your head hurting again?” Landon reached out nervously to touch my forehead.

Before he could finish, the door to the room was suddenly kicked open.

Three heavily tattooed men stormed in. The bald one in the lead strode forward, grabbed me by the hair, and dragged me violently off the bed.

“Landon! You owe us two hundred thousand—ten grand in interest this month alone. Pay up today, or she’s dead!”

“Ah!”

A tearing pain ripped through my scalp, and my whole body trembled uncontrollably.

It was the instinctive fear carved into me after years of beatings from debt collectors.

“Don’t touch her! Come at me!”

Landon lunged forward, eyes red, shielding me beneath him as he took the blows meant for me.

Fists and kicks rained down on his back.

Before, I would have been sobbing, begging them to stop.

But now, despair ran so deep it made my soul shake.

Because in that moment, pinned to the ground, I saw it clearly.

In the bald man’s ear was a communication earpiece bearing the Law Group logo.

And the blows landing on Landon’s back lost their force the moment he gave the slightest, almost imperceptible signal.

So all these years, the so-called loan shark harassment that had kept me up at night, that had tormented me endlessly, had been nothing more than a performance he paid for.

Using the cruelest, most despicable means, he fed my fear, tested my loyalty, until I was nothing more than a dog, utterly devoted to him.

“If you can’t come up with ten thousand by tomorrow, I’ll sell her off!” the bald man snarled before leading his men out.

Landon struggled to his feet, then pulled me into his arms, his face full of guilt.

“Stella, I’m sorry… Do you still have any money? Give them something first to keep them quiet, or they’ll come back tomorrow and hurt you again.”

I forced down the nausea and took out my phone.

“I have one thousand left. I was saving it to buy painkillers.”

Landon’s eyes lit up. He snatched the phone from my hand and, without hesitation, transferred the one thousand to his own account.

“Stella, don’t worry. I’ll pick up a shift in a restaurant kitchen tonight. I’ll find a way to cover your medical bills.”

He lowered his head and kissed my forehead, then, with the last of my life-saving money in hand, turned and hurried away.

[Detected male lead’s lie: “Working a shift in a restaurant kitchen.”]

[Lie identified. Reward granted: Brain tumor reduced by another one-third.]

No sooner had Landon left than a nurse walked in and removed my pain pump.

Cold sweat broke out across my body as the pain surged. I clutched the sheets tightly. “Why? I already paid for these past few days of medication!”

The nurse replied flatly, “The VIP patient upstairs, Miss Shaw, complained of a headache and said the standard medication had too many side effects.

“Mr. Law ordered all imported painkillers in the hospital to be transferred to the top floor.

“Mr. Law also said patients in the general ward are tougher. They can endure it.”

I stared at the needle mark on the back of my hand, still seeping blood, and let out a cold laugh.

The pain was so intense I wanted to slam my head against the wall, yet it couldn’t compare to Clara’s offhand remark about having “side effects.”

For her, Landon took away the life-saving medication of someone on the brink of death without a second thought.

Just then, a local entertainment livestream notification popped up on my phone:

[Heir to the Law Group spends one million to book out the penthouse restaurant at the Peninsula Hotel for his beloved!]

On the screen, Landon stood in a tailored suit, untouchable as a king, fastening a dazzling pink diamond necklace around Clara’s neck.

“As long as my Clara is happy, what’s one million?”

One million…

Just moments ago, he took my last one thousand—money meant to keep me alive.

I dialed Landon’s number.

From the receiver came his deliberately lowered, breathless voice, laced with exhaustion.

“Stella, the collectors said one thousand wasn’t enough. They beat me again. I’m in the kitchen now, scrubbing dishes nonstop—my hands are already ruined. Once I get paid tomorrow morning, I’ll buy you the best medicine.”

I looked at the screen, at the long fingers now wrapped around a glass of red wine, my voice eerily calm.

“Is that so? If your hands are ruined… does it hurt?”

“It does,” Landon sighed on the other end, his tone tender.

“But when I think about saving your life, it all feels worth it. Stella, I love you.”

[Detected male lead’s lie: “Beaten by debt collectors, hands ruined from washing dishes in the kitchen.”]

[Lie identified. Reward granted: Brain tumor has completely disappeared.]

With the mechanical voice, the searing pain in my head receded like a tide.

For the first time, my mind felt utterly clear. I ended the call without hesitation.

“Landon, the moment I’m fully recovered is the moment you lose me for good.”

…

The next morning was the final deadline to pay for the surgery.

Landon rushed in carrying a thermos, his eyes red as he grabbed my hand.

“Stella, I’m sorry. I went to the black market yesterday and sold 800cc of blood, but it still wasn’t enough. I made your favorite oatmeal. You should at least have a few bites, alright?”

[Detected male lead’s lie: “Sold blood on the black market.”]

[Lie identified. Reward granted: Cancer cells have significantly regressed.]

I had just opened my mouth when the sharp sound of high heels echoed down the hallway.

Clara walked in, dressed in designer clothes, covering her nose.

Landon’s expression changed instantly. He shot to his feet and moved to block her.

“Clara, there are too many germs here. Go back upstairs.”

But Clara leaned around him, her gaze sweeping over me with disdain.

“Landon, is this the poor girl who throws herself at you over scraps of kindness?

“You really went all out training her—even staged that whole ‘playing poor’ act. Must’ve been exhausting for you. But I suppose it makes sense.

“A family like the Laws, where everyone devours each other alive, only someone cheap and disposable like her is fit to go in my place, suffer for me, and serve your parents.”

“As long as your money and your love belong to me alone, that’s enough.”

A few careless words from Clara were enough to rip away Landon’s mask completely.

I suddenly remembered five years ago, when he took me home to meet his alcoholic father.

That man had sneered at me for being useless, for not helping his son repay his debts, and had thrown a bowl of scalding soup at me, ordering me to get out.

Landon had shielded me without hesitation, taking the full force of it.

His back had blistered horribly, yet with reddened eyes, he swore he would marry no one but me.

Back then, I thought he loved me enough to defy his own family.

Now it seemed even that “alcoholic father” had probably been nothing more than an actor he hired to test me.

The sheer absurdity of it all sent a chill through my entire body.

I stared straight at him, my voice sharp as a blade.

“Landon, that extra you hired five years ago—the one who threw the soup at you… did you ever pay him?”

Landon’s expression shifted instantly, a flicker of panic flashing through his eyes at being exposed.

He reached for me instinctively. “Stella, it’s not what you think… I just cared about you too much. I wanted to see if you were willing to go through hardship with me.”

“Test me?” I pulled away coldly.

“You traded your injuries for eight years of my life. I’d say that deal worked out very well for you.”

“Do you have to put it like that?!”

Embarrassment turned to anger, and his voice dropped, turning cold.

“I’ve already apologized for the past. What more do you want?”

“Clara just speaks her mind. Don’t take it out on her!”

The way he rushed to defend Clara drained the last trace of warmth from my eyes.

Seeing him shield her so fiercely, the smugness in Clara’s gaze deepened.

She reached out and flipped the bowl of scalding oatmeal over.

“Ah!”

Most of the oatmeal spilled over the top of my foot, scalding it instantly, skin reddening and peeling.

Only a few drops splashed onto Clara’s shoe, yet she threw herself into Landon’s arms, trembling.

Landon shoved me aside and cupped Clara’s ankle with concern, checking her over carefully.

Once he confirmed she was fine, he turned and glared at me viciously.

“Stella, have you lost your mind?! Clara’s health is fragile. How could you lay a hand on her?”

The blisters on my foot burned with a piercing pain, but I didn’t even glance down.

Swallowing the metallic taste in my throat, I asked my final question.

“Landon, I’m dying. If I begged you to stay and save me right now, would you?”

As expected, he didn’t hesitate for even a second. His voice was cold, edged with impatience.

“Enough! Can you stop being so unreasonable? The doctor said your tumor won’t kill you anytime soon!

“You’ve always been tough. You’ve even endured coughing up blood. What’s a little pain like this?”

He spoke with absolute certainty, convinced I would endure anything, and so he trampled over me without restraint.

He picked Clara up in his arms and walked out without looking back.

“Wait for me in your room. I’ll come back later and stay with you.”

[Detected male lead’s lie: “I’ll come back later and stay with you.”]

[Five or more lies identified. Distributing reward…]

[Congratulations, host. Brain cancer fully cured. Physical condition restored to peak state.]

The moment the notification faded, strength surged through my body, every trace of illness gone.

Watching Landon’s retreating figure about to disappear, I called out to him.

“Landon.”

He paused, irritation clear in his voice. “What now?”

“We’re done.”