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."

How ironic and pathetic.

The first time Henry said he loved me was when I had appendicitis. He carried me in his arms all the way to the hospital, tears streaming down his face as he ran.

When I came out of surgery, his hands were still trembling. He stayed at my bedside day and night, looking after me with meticulous care. For my sake, he even learned how to cook.

He said my stomach was sensitive, so he would learn culinary skills for me. If one year wasn't enough, he'd take two. He promised he'd spend his whole life loving and caring for me.

At that time, he said the same words he does now: that in his heart, everyone else was unimportant compared to me.

I didn't cry, nor did I make a scene. Instead, I silently hung up the phone. After that I ordered some fever medicine online and waited for express delivery.

At that same time, I received a message from my father. He told me that the wedding with Jose Sanchez was set for three days from now.

The next day, the hospital hosted a dinner party. By the time I arrived, Henry and Willa were already seated.

He glanced at me briefly before pouring Willa a glass of hot water. The two of them leaned close, whispering to each other and Willa covered her mouth with a shy smile.

Beside that man was a seat a colleague had thoughtfully reserved for me.

Midway through the meal, my colleagues teased me, saying that Henry and I had been dating for years and were missing a proposal, urging him to propose now.

I thought Henry would refuse. But to my surprise, he smiled slightly, stood up and pulled an exquisite velvet box from his pocket. Soon after, he dropped to one knee.

"I've actually prepared this long ago. Since we have this opportunity today, I'll be bold for once. Suzanne William, will you marry me?"

I stood there, stunned, unable to react for a long time.

Under the puzzled gazes of everyone, Henry forcefully took my hand and slipped the ring onto my finger. He kissed the back of my hand with an expression of pure devotion while our colleagues clapped and offered their blessings.

All I could do now was stare at the ring on my finger in misery.

For the past five years, every moment with this ring would have been filled with happiness. Yet here I was, receiving it precisely when I felt most hopeless and filled with hatred toward him.

I didn't smile, nor did I feel the slightest bit of happiness. The small flame in my heart had long burned out.

The party was still going on, just in a different location. While I went to the restroom, I overheard my colleagues gossiping.

"Haven't Henry and Willa already met each other's parents? Why is he proposing to Suzanne now? This is so confusing."

I froze on the spot, unable to believe what I was hearing. I only stepped out after that couple had left.

In the hallway, I saw Henry looking around anxiously, searching for something.

"Where did you go? You've been out for so long and our colleagues are getting impatient waiting for you," he snapped at me.

I brushed his arm away and looked him in the eye, demanding, "Did you take Willa home to meet your parents?"

Henry glanced around before pulling me straight into an empty private room. "So what if I did? We're all colleagues and my parents like her. What's wrong with a little visit?"

I let out a self-mocking laugh, my voice trembling slightly. "Then what about me? All these years, whenever I said I wanted to meet your parents, you always said that before a proposal, your family didn't allow you to bring anyone home."

Henry was momentarily speechless, then clicked his tongue in irritation. "Didn't I just propose to you? If you want to meet them, I'll take you tomorrow, okay? Today is a colleagues' gathering, can you stop making a scene?"

My eyes turned red as I looked at his indifferent expression, my lips quivering. "Henry, do you really think I'm the one making a scene?"

In an instant, my heart sank to the bottom of the sea. It turned out that in Henry's eyes, I was never truly worthy of being family.

I pushed open the door and left the private room dejectedly, making an excuse about feeling unwell to leave the party early.

After walking for a while, I realized I had left my bag behind.

When I returned to the venue, I found Henry still inside the private room I had just left. The door was ajar and Willa was sitting on his lap, the two of them passionately kissing.

"Sweetheart, don't be sad. Just hold on a little longer. Your brother's eyes are showing severe rejection. I'll arrange for Suzanne to donate her corneas to him as soon as possible."