That year, when loneliness gnawed at me the most, I became the benefactor of a college student who soon became my boyfriend.
Later, I went overseas to recover from an illness.
He cried all night by my bedside, begging to come with me, but I refused.
Your career here is paramount. When I return, I hope to see you crowned as an A-list star.
Three years later, he was indeed crowned.
But I didn’t get the reunion I was promised.
Instead, I found his little mistress, Chloe Miller, wearing my clothes, lording over my estate.
Chloe Miller twirled my diamond ring on her finger.
“I pity you. I’m letting you glimpse the kind of luxury your pathetic life could never afford.
“But just look, don’t touch anything. Otherwise, you’ll be paying for it the rest of your life.”
I snatched my ring off her finger and slapped her across the face.
“I touched it. What now?”
1
Chloe Miller froze.
This was a reality show filming celebrity homes.
On camera, I just slapped a guest.
The live comments section absolutely exploded in fury:
【Who is this lowlife! How dare she slap Chloe in her own home!】
【Where’s the on-site fan club? Are you all dead?! Go up there and get that hussy!】
【Don’t worry! We’re already arguing with security. We’ll avenge Chloe once we break through the cordon!】
“You… you dared to hit me!”
Chloe Miller seemed utterly spoiled, her eyes wide with disbelief, her voice trembling on the verge of tears.
“Do you know who I am?!”
“What’s going on?”
A tall, familiar figure walked in through the doorway.
Chloe Miller spun around and threw herself into his arms.
“Liam!”
Liam Blackwood frowned, gently touching the slap mark on her face. He turned, and his breath caught the moment he saw me.
“You… you’re back?”
I stared at him coldly, waiting for an explanation.
A crew member anxiously asked Liam Blackwood, “Mr. Blackwood, do you know this lady?”
“Yes.”
Liam Blackwood admitted.
Chloe Miller looked up at him through tear-filled eyes.
Chloe Miller’s fan club members also stared, dumbfounded.
“Just some obsessive fan of mine. She used to be a supporter, but after I turned her down, she kept following me.”
Liam Blackwood’s words hit me like a physical blow. I thought I’d misheard him.
But everyone else visibly relaxed.
“Damn! I thought there was actually some history! You scared me; I thought that hussy was trying to steal Chloe’s man!”
“I’m dying of laughter. Liam Blackwood’s fan? She actually followed him all the way here.”
“Our Liam Blackwood fought his way to the top and found Chloe, who has been fighting alongside him. Does she think stalking him will get her anywhere?”
I looked at Liam Blackwood, a cold smile playing on my lips.
“Fought his way to the top himself?”
He knew that if I hadn’t spotted his potential back in film school that year, he wouldn’t have even gotten a foot in the door of the entertainment industry.
During his darkest hour, he knelt before me, clutching his mother’s urgent medical papers.
“Please, help me…”
That support continued until I went overseas to recover.
Even though I hadn’t been by his side for three years, every single opportunity that came his way was by my explicit instruction.
Including this high-profile reality show.
But Liam Blackwood only froze for a split second before pulling Chloe Miller closer into his embrace.
“I owe my success today to myself alone. Do you even understand actors?”
Fury twisted into a bitter laugh.
I don’t understand actors? How else would I know exactly which resources were best suited for him?
“Liam Blackwood.”
My gaze was a warning.
“Get Chloe Miller and all these irrelevant people out of my house. This is your last chance.”
Three years had passed, but my influence still held.
He still seemed to get inexplicably nervous when I looked at him with a cold expression.
But it was only for a moment.
“I think you’re the one who needs to leave.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“This house belongs to Chloe, not you.”
2
The comments section exploded with laughter.
【Are people really this crazy? This show is about celebrity mansions, and even the production team confirmed this estate belongs to our Chloe. Does she really think being Liam Blackwood’s woman makes this estate hers by association?】
【She’s beyond saving, even an exorcist couldn’t fix her.】
【Look at how self-righteous she sounds claiming this is her house. Can this kind of delusion even be treated?】
【I’m a psychiatrist. Untreatable. She’s doomed.】
Seeing Liam Blackwood’s determined expression, I nodded.
“Someone, strip Chloe Miller of those clothes and throw her out.”
“What? How dare you!”
My bodyguards didn’t hesitate. They stepped forward and dragged Chloe Miller to the ground.
The zipper of my velvet gown, the one she was wearing, was roughly pulled open. Liam Blackwood frowned and stepped forward.
“Stop! This is an illegal search!”
“Is it?”
I smiled.
“I’d also like to inquire how my custom-made gown ended up on someone I don’t know. Only you would know where the dress came from, Mr. Blackwood. Have you thought about what you’ll tell the police?”
“I didn’t give it to her!”
Liam Blackwood gritted his teeth.
“Liam! Make them stop! No! Don’t! Ahh!”
Chloe Miller cried, reaching out to Liam Blackwood. He ignored my presence, raising his hand to pull her into his arms.
“Hold him down!”
At my command, the other bodyguards forcibly pressed Liam Blackwood’s head to the ground.
Veins pulsed on his forehead.
“Aria Hayes! Don’t you dare touch her!”
“Continue.”
I said coldly.
“No!”
Liam Blackwood watched furiously as Chloe Miller’s gown was forcibly torn off.
“What’s all this commotion?!”
An displeased voice echoed.
My eyes lit up, and I whipped my head around.
“Brother!”
Daniel King froze.
“Brother!”
I rushed forward eagerly, just as I had countless times in the past, ready for a big embrace after a long separation.
But this time, I was met not with my brother’s warm hug.
But with a slap out of nowhere.
*Smack!*
I clutched my burning cheek, the pain so intense I couldn’t react for a moment.
Until my brother’s cold voice cut through the air.
“What have you done to my sister?”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Sis… sister?”
3
“Brother!”
Chloe Miller cried, throwing herself into Daniel King’s arms.
Seeing her tattered dress, Daniel King’s heartache almost spilled from his eyes.
I still couldn’t believe it.
“Brother…”
*Smack!*
Another slap landed on my face, my head whipping to the side. My brother’s reprimand sent a chill down my spine.
“It’s just an old dress! How can you be so vicious, doing something like this to a girl over a piece of fabric!”
I finally knew for sure: my brother was no longer my brother.
“A piece of fabric?”
My lips trembled slightly.
In that moment, Liam Blackwood’s words — “I didn’t give it to her!” — flashed in my mind.
Perhaps he hadn’t lied.
Besides Liam Blackwood, who knew the lock code to my walk-in closet? My brother knew it too…
“You call this a piece of fabric?”
My voice shook.
“Mom designed this pattern herself before she died! Have you forgotten?!”
The mention of Mom made Daniel King’s expression stiffen.
But only for a moment.
He quickly regained his cold composure.
“No matter how significant it is, it’s just an inanimate object. How can it compare to a living person!
“If Mom saw you hurting an innocent girl over a piece of fabric, she wouldn’t side with you either!”
My heart tightened, and I clutched the fabric over my chest.
“Get out! Get all these people out of my house!”
My bodyguards immediately stepped forward.
“I’d like to see who dares!”
Daniel King glared fiercely at the bodyguards.
“Think carefully about who the real future owner of the Hayes Corporation is.”
The bodyguards halted.
I stared at him in astonishment.
Some of the fan club members started laughing.
“I’m dying of laughter. I didn’t expect this crazy woman to actually be part of the Hayes family!”
“I heard the Hayes family did adopt a child. Looks like this lady lucked out, getting adopted by the billionaire Hayes family.”
“Who doesn’t know our handsome Mr. King? He must be the true bloodline of the Hayes family. What is this crazy woman barking about? She thinks she can order the masters around just because she brought a few bodyguards? Hilarious.”
Perhaps there was a lingering trace of familial affection, as he had his men disperse the gawking fan club members elsewhere.
I gritted my teeth.
“Daniel King, you’re just an adopted son of the Hayes family! My adopted brother!”
Daniel King’s brows furrowed.
The bodyguards looked hesitant for a moment.
“Think about it. Why did Mrs. Hayes adopt me? Wasn’t it because she needed me to inherit the family business?”
At his words, the bodyguards fell into contemplation.
“If you don’t want your careers ruined, release Ms. Miller now.”
The bodyguard holding Chloe Miller thought for a moment, then actually let her go.
A dozen or so men then stood behind Daniel King.
I grabbed a vase and smashed it to the floor, making Chloe Miller flinch and shrink into Liam Blackwood’s arms.
“Daniel King, I misjudged you.
“Our relationship is as shattered as this vase!”
Daniel King paused, startled. I stared at him intensely.
“But this is Mom’s house. You have no right to wreak havoc here.
“Either you leave now, or I call the police and charge you with trespassing.
“But before that, Chloe Miller, leave the dress!”
The words had barely left my mouth when I grabbed Chloe Miller’s shoulder and, with a loud *RIIIP*, tore the dress off her.
She gasped and clutched her arms.
But everyone’s attention wasn’t on the dress.
Even I gasped, staring at her waist.
In the middle of her lower back, near the curve of her spine… the word “SLAVE” was clearly tattooed.
4
Liam Blackwood and Daniel King’s eyes widened.
They hadn’t imagined that a girl who seemed so pure and innocent would get such a disturbing word tattooed.
Chloe Miller quickly snatched an jacket to cover herself.
Her eyes were red, and she pursed her lips. A tear *plinked* down.
“I… I don’t know why Aria would get someone to tattoo me like that on my lower back…”
“What?”
Liam Blackwood grabbed her by both shoulders.
“Are you saying Aria Hayes tattooed you?”
Chloe Miller just bit her lower lip, her red eyes silent.
*Smack!*
A slap landed unexpectedly on my face, Daniel King’s hands trembling with rage.
“I remember now… You and Chloe went to the same university! She was your junior!”
“I don’t even know her!”
I roared.
Liam Blackwood, however, seemed to recall something, his expression grave.
“Chloe, you mentioned before that you were bullied in college. Was it Aria Hayes?”
Chloe Miller said nothing.
She just cried harder.
“You hussy!”
Daniel King grabbed my collar and delivered another slap to my face.
My forehead hit the wall, instantly leaving a bloody print.
Before I could even speak, his leather shoe kicked my abdomen.
I collapsed to the floor, curling up, coughing up a mouthful of blood that splattered on his shoe.
With each subsequent kick, it clung to my dress.
“I swore I’d make anyone who hurt Chloe pay!
“I can’t believe the culprit was you!
“Do you respect Mom’s teachings?! Do you respect her memory?! Are you fit to take over her legacy?!”
My breathing was ragged, and I lay weakly on the floor, panting and gritting my teeth.
“I… I didn’t!”
But Daniel King’s eyes were bloodshot. He turned to the bodyguards, roaring.
“What are you waiting for?! She’s your chance to prove yourselves!”
The bodyguards, seasoned pros in the elite circles, knew that having just broken away from me, they needed to earn the new master’s trust.
So they swarmed forward, kicking my stomach and body with all their might.
The dress in my hands was torn. I could only curl up, clutching the dress tightly.
But I couldn’t prevent the other half from being ripped, and I let out a desperate cry.
“Stop! Don’t… don’t touch the dress Mom gave me!”
Tears mixed with blood, forming a puddle. The dress was torn, and I looked at Daniel King for help.
He frowned.
“Now you feel pain?
“But this is just returning what you did to Chloe.
“And even this isn’t a fraction of the harm you caused her.”
My teeth were almost shattered from clenching them, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. “I didn’t!”
Liam Blackwood gave me a triumphant look, then raised a hand to stop the lead bodyguard.
“Mr. King, that’s enough.”
Daniel King glanced at him.
“Is it? Do you want to watch her keep crying?”
Liam Blackwood froze.
He turned, and Chloe Miller’s tearful eyes unexpectedly met his gaze.
Seeing Chloe Miller’s half-exposed shoulder and tear-streaked face, Liam Blackwood’s heart clenched.
He ultimately let go of the bodyguard.
Chloe Miller’s tears immediately streamed down.
“Aria was always so mean. Back then, I wasn’t just beaten up, I was stripped naked and thrown onto the street…”
“You’re lying… Ah!”
Daniel King brutally kicked my chest. He eyed the bodyguards coldly.
“Drag her to the car, and take her away!”
“What are you doing?! Stop!”
I struggled frantically, but those bodyguards, eager to prove their loyalty, forcibly threw me into the car.
It was already dark. Liam Blackwood parked the car on a deserted street.
“Consider yourself lucky,” Daniel King sneered.
“There aren’t many people on this street. Let’s give her a little punishment to start with.”
“No! I don’t want this!”
My clothes were mercilessly ripped. I grabbed Liam Blackwood’s arm.
“Liam Blackwood! If you still care about all the help I gave you, just help me this one time!”
Liam Blackwood frowned.
In those countless lonely nights, we had sworn eternal devotion.
But Chloe Miller’s tears fell again.
He looked back at her, and despite my tearful headshake, he pried my fingers off one by one.
“But this is what you owe her.”
*Thud!*
I was pushed naked out of the car.
Before I could even get up, the car sped away.
Rumbling noises came from a nearby trash can.
A few homeless men’s eyes lit up.
“Free? And what a body.”
“No!”
I slapped away a homeless man’s rough, dirty hand, only to have a slap land on my own face.
“Damn it! Dressed like this, and you’re still playing hard to get with me!”
I tumbled onto a pile of foul-smelling trash.
My hand brushed against a slippery brick.
The homeless man’s pants were already unzipped.
5
*Thud!*
A brick smashed against his head.
I haphazardly wrapped myself in a discarded dress and stumbled, hailing a passing taxi.
“Driver! Please unlock the door!”
I kept pulling the car door handle, but it wouldn’t open.
“Sorry, miss. The King family paid all the drivers in this area ten thousand dollars, warning us not to pick up anyone tonight. You understand.”
“What? Wait! No!”
I still wanted to say something, but the driver already stomped on the gas pedal.
I fell to the ground, awkwardly wiping the blood from my knees.
“You little hussy!”
A wine bottle crashed against the back of my head. I dropped to my knees with a *thump*.
The homeless man, blood streaming from his head, choked my neck and pinned me to the ground, beginning to tear at my dress.
“Coming out naked is just for kicks, isn’t it? I know exactly what you hussies are like!
“Damn it, you dared to hit me? I’ll make sure you rot in the street tonight!”
My dress was ripped to shreds.
But I didn’t panic.
Looking at the homeless man’s twisted face.
I grabbed that brick again.
A handful of sand flew into his eyes.
The brick *thudded* against the bleeding spot on his head.
I rolled over, straddling him, hitting him again and again and again, blood splattering.
Until he lay motionless, without a breath, only his eyes wide with shock staring at me.
Only then did I drop the brick, turn, and stumble away, heading towards the edge of the street.
Rounding the corner, I finally emerged.
A flash of light hit my eyes.
I raised my hand to block it.
But it wasn’t just one.
A second, a third…
Flashlights and long lenses pointed at me.
They jostled for position, afraid to miss a single frame of my humiliation.
Seeing the entertainment news reporters frequently hired by the Hayes Corporation, I smiled.
So, Daniel and Liam Blackwood were still waiting for me here. Some “slight punishment.”
They had planned this all along, waiting for me to be violated, for these reporters to document my utter humiliation.
A screen on a distant high-rise building suddenly cut to a live feed.
Chloe Miller, like a little princess, was flanked by Daniel King and Liam Blackwood.
“Happy Birthday, Chloe Miller! An Unparalleled Honor Worth Hundreds of Millions from Mr. King and Superstar Mr. Blackwood!”
On screen, Chloe Miller was in a lavish venue, charged by the minute.
She was receiving compliments and countless priceless gifts from top figures in the business and entertainment worlds.
Outside the screen, I stood in tattered clothes, blood streaming from my forehead, isolated under the spotlight.
I had every reason to believe this was deliberately orchestrated by those two men.
I walked forward, pushing past cameras and reporters.
They instinctively parted, making way for me.
I stood beneath the towering building where Chloe Miller’s birthday celebration was being held.
The spotlights turned to me again.
But this time, they weren’t the reporters’ cameras.
They were helicopters.
One, two, three…
They were arrayed neatly, hovering directly above me.
The reporters even forgot to press their shutters.
They watched, eyes wide, as a group of blonde, blue-eyed bodyguards, all over six feet tall, rappelled down from the helicopters.
“Madam!”
The leader draped a jacket over me, but I pushed it away.
The cameras followed me into the venue.
The chattering instantly ceased.
In my tattered clothes, I walked up to Daniel King.
*Smack!* I slapped him across the face.
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