After I finished the call with my father, Henry called again.

"Suzanne, do you have any idea how much you embarrassed me by not showing up? You truly aren't as sensible as Willa."

My eyes stung as I stared at the words on the screen. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand and tears completely blurred my vision.

It wasn't until after I was discharged from the hospital that I finally called Henry myself.

Just as the ringtone was about to end, he finally answered. An impatient voice, tinged with slight breathlessness, came through the line. "What is it? I'm on a business trip."

My voice caught in my throat. My fingers clenched the phone so tightly I couldn't utter a sound.

Perhaps sensing that his tone was harsh, Henry cleared his throat and softened his voice before speaking again. "We'll talk about it when I get back. It's late now and I need to rest."

Before I could respond, Henry hung up irritably. As the screen went dark, my shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

I reached out to turn on the bedside lamp, but to my surprise, I found an open box of condoms from an unfamiliar brand sitting on the nightstand. Tucked underneath the box were several receipts from a love hotel.

Recalling Henry's strange voice on the phone just moments ago, my heart instantly sank to rock bottom.

Henry and I had a shared cloud drive, which he suggested creating after we decided to be together.

He said it would be the ocean of our love, a place that would preserve every little moment we had shared. Yet, the album hadn't been updated in nearly a year.

I nervously opened the album and the photos that met my eyes made my breath catch.

The newly uploaded pictures started last month. Every single one of them showed intimate photos of Henry and Willa together.

Tears streamed down my face without warning, one drop, two drops.

The once-sweet vows and frozen moments now felt like tiny needles pricking my heart, causing a dense, numbing pain.

After deleting the album I decided to go find Henry. However, that love hotel wasn't far from my home.

Soon, I arrived at the underground parking garage, where Henry’s car was parked smoothly in its spot.

I drove over and soon reached the hotel. Looking at the receipts again, I noticed it was always the same room number—512.

When I reached the door, I didn't expect it to be slightly ajar. From inside came the sound of Henry and Willa laughing and fooling around.

"Henry, you're so good to me. My brother's eyes were able to recover thanks to you."

Willa's cheerful voice was muffled by a low groan as Henry replied while panting slightly. "My research results were only confirmed because your brother and Suzanne's mother contributed so much. I should be the one thanking them."

My raised hand froze upon hearing Henry's words. Meanwhile, my heart began to beat uncontrollably.

What did Henry mean? What did he mean by saying my mother "contributed so much"?

"Keep this a secret from now on. It's best if you never mention a single word of it."

Henry's voice came again, followed by Willa's flirtatious, breathless tone.

"Oh, stop it. There's no one else here and Suzanne can't hear us anyway. She'll probably never know in this lifetime that her mother's corneas were transplanted into my brother."

Henry continued, "Ugh, that woman was dying anyway. What's the use of saving someone that old? It wasn't easy to find a matching cornea. Of course, I helped you. Otherwise, why would I have gone through so much trouble to transfer her away?"

The conversation between the two inside the room plunged me into an icy abyss, leaving me paralyzed. Everything around me felt as if it were shrouded in a thick fog, blurred and surreal.

What did Henry just say? My mother's death had been deliberately arranged by them. For Willa's brother, Henry had killed my mother and stolen her corneas.

My throat began to itch and a metallic taste rushed into my nose. I opened my mouth in agony, yet I couldn't breathe.

I covered my mouth tightly, leaning against the wall as my body trembled uncontrollably.

Tears kept rolling down because I still couldn't believe that Henry and Willa had teamed up to murder my mother.

Suddenly, my phone charm slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a sharp clink. The sound jolted me back to my senses. I forced myself to my feet and rushed toward the elevator.

In the dark, deserted early morning, I made my way to a park beside the hotel. As soon as I arrived, my legs gave out and I dropped to my knees, all the strength in my body completely drained.

Overwhelmed by agony, I screamed at the lake in front of me.

Just then, two unfamiliar women emerged from the dark shadows behind the trees. They approached me relentlessly, a cold smile playing on their lips.

While my mind was still in turmoil, they lunged at me, grabbing my hair.

They pinned me to the ground, punching and kicking me until I felt like I was going to die right there.

When they were done, they calmly took out their phones. After the camera flash flickered twice in my eyes, they turned and left.

I dragged myself home, covered in wounds, only to find Henry had returned first.

The moment I entered, Henry's expression froze, his eyes instantly filling with rage. "Suzanne, where did you go today?"

My breath caught in my throat. I didn't want to answer, but that man gripped my chin tightly, forcing me to look up. When his finger brushed the cut at the corner of my mouth, a sharp sting shot through me and I couldn’t help but flinch.

"Don't touch me, Henry!" I cried out.

The thought of him having just slept with Willa in that hotel room, coupled with the truth about my mother's death, made his touch feel utterly disgusting.

My attempt to dodge him made his face turn completely dark.

Just then, Willa walked out of the bathroom wearing the new nightgown I had just bought. Seeing the injuries on my body, her eyes widened and she grabbed my hand while feigning deep concern.

"Suzanne, what happened? Why are there so many red marks on your face and arms?"

Even so, I noticed a hint of smugness in Willa's expression. Could it be that the two women who attacked me tonight were sent by her?

As soon as Willa spoke, Henry's face turned deathly pale with anger. He spoke slowly, as if he might strangle me in the next second.

"Did you get these bruises while fooling around with some other man? How many shameful things did you do behind my back while I was gone this week?"

Willa then tried to reassure him. "Henry, please calm down. I know these scars look like they were made with some kind of specialized tool, but is it possible you've misunderstood Suzanne?"

Henry clenched his fists tightly, his chest heaving with anger. "As a professional doctor, I'm not so incompetent that I can't distinguish between assault wounds and something else. Suzanne, don't you even want to explain yourself?"

His words stripped away any desire I had to explain. I looked into his eyes calmly and said, "I have nothing to explain. You can believe whatever you want."

The words had barely left my mouth when Henry raised his hand and slapped me across the face. His eyes burned with fury as he stared at me.

"How dare you say that! During this week I was gone, you claimed you were being discharged from the hospital after a car accident, yet today you show up at home covered in these marks. Suzanne, you are truly shameless!"

Tears slid down my cheeks as I felt the muscles in my face contort slightly. My heart pounded with pain and my vision blurred like a fog, obscuring Henry's face.

"Then what about you, Henry? What were you doing this past week? And why did Willa come home with you? Why don't you explain any of this?"

I lost control and shouted at the top of my lungs, looking like a madwoman.

Henry frowned, watching my breakdown with cold indifference and clear displeasure.

"Why should I explain anything I do to you? You, on the other hand, are skilled at sharing a bed while dreaming of someone else and playing with people's feelings, aren't you?"

As he spoke, he picked up the notebook I kept in the safe and waved it in the air.

"So this is your 'affection.' While pursuing me, you were pouring your heart out to this 'Mr. H' in your diary. Suzanne, you make me feel sick!"

Henry had finally discovered this diary. Back when I was pursuing him, I'd poured my heartfelt love into its pages.

Afraid someone might find it, I used the initial H to refer to him. I never imagined that now, it would be misunderstood and turned into a weapon to humiliate me.

Henry's face twisted in rage as he ripped the diary in half and threw the pieces at my feet.

I clutched my phone tightly, my heart aching over the love I'd wasted on such scum, over my mother's murder and over the intimate photos of the two of them in that shared album.

Finally, my heart was completely broken and I couldn't muster any more strength.

I will make them pay the price and make them repent before my mother!

"Suzanne, why have you stopped talking? Don't tell me you really … " Willa trailed off, covering her mouth in mock surprise as if she couldn't believe it.

She didn't finish her sentence; instead, she turned toward Henry with a look of heartfelt pity.

By now, that man's eyes were devoid of any warmth, his deep voice thick with suppressed anger. "Suzanne, explain yourself!"

"Explain what? I only find it laughable, all these years of affection are laughable."

As I spoke, tears rolled down uncontrollably. A decade of ups and downs had ultimately dissolved into nothingness.

The moment I finished speaking, Henry released Willa's waist. His face darkened further as he strode toward me and seized me tightly by the throat.

The next second, he grabbed my wrist and yanked me forward, my body crashing against his chest. Then he dragged me into the bathroom and turned the shower to full blast. Freezing water poured down from my head to my toes.

I couldn't help but tilt my head back, only to be met with Henry's furious face.

"What? Already can't take it? When you were with another man, didn't you ever think this day would come? You even came back covered in wounds, trying to disgust me. Suzanne, Suzanne, how can you be so cheap!"

Gasping for air, I breathed in great, ragged gulps, my words coming out in broken fragments. "I didn't … "

Unfortunately, Henry didn't believe me at all. He snorted coldly, threw me into the bathroom and left.

Only after the door slammed shut did I drag myself out, soaked and disheveled. Tears mixed with water droplets as my whole body trembled.

A sharp, throbbing pain shot through my wounds and an overwhelming surge of hatred welled up inside me. I immediately dialed my lawyer's number.

"Find me a private investigator. Find out the details of my mother's car accident, no matter the cost and also find out about Henry's situation in the hospital over the past few years," I ordered.

After a quick treatment of my wounds, I took a painkiller and fell asleep.

In the dead of night, a shrill ringtone jolted me awake.

Only then did I realize my body felt utterly drained, my head spinning. I must have been running a fever.

I opened my mouth, but my throat hurt so badly I could barely speak. "Willa, what do you want?"

It was one in the morning when Willa's lazy voice drifted through the receiver.

"Suzanne, do you know why you miscarried three months ago? It's because I was pregnant too. Henry said only I was worthy of bearing his child. You weren't."

Hearing that, my heart jerked violently. My mind thundered as long-forgotten memories surged back.

It was only three months ago that I discovered I was pregnant and excitedly told Henry the news.

The next day, he declared his love citywide, blanketing the hospital rooftop with flowers for me. He promised me a proposal I'd never forget, making me the envy of everyone who saw us.

But less than a month later, while working in the operating room, I suddenly experienced excruciating abdominal pain and fainted on the spot.

When I woke up, Henry was kneeling beside my bed with red-rimmed eyes, apologizing to me.

At the time, I thought it was love and a sense of responsibility. Now I realized, it was nothing but guilt.

In that moment, the beauty of the past was brutally torn apart, revealing only the sickening, filthy truth.

I gasped for air, my head spinning from the overwhelming surge of emotion. The next second, I tumbled off the bed and hit the floor on my knees.

Finally, unable to bear the torment any longer, I screamed. "Where's Henry? Put him on the phone!"

"Sorry, he's in the shower."

As Willa spoke, Henry's lazy voice drifted over from nearby. "Baby, who is it?"

"Just someone unimportant," she replied confidently.

"Hmph, you're right, baby. Other than you, everyone else is just someone unimportant to me."