On our tenth anniversary, Evan Rodger and I decided to tattoo each other's names on our chests.

After the tattoo session, I woke up with my head still feeling groggy.

To my dismay, I found the words "Old Crone" tattooed in a bold font across my chest.

Upon noticing the way my expression dropped, Isabel Hawthorn, who was the tattooist, snickered, "You’ve been dating Evan for a decade, but he still hasn’t registered your marriage together. What does that make you if not an old crone?"

I smashed the mirror on the spot, which spewed broken shards in her direction.

Evan practically threw himself in her direction and pulled her into his arms to protect her.

He snapped at me with a ferocious scowl, "She’s just a young, naive girl who was trying to make a joke. Why are you picking on her?"

I stared intently at the parted collar of his shirt.

What was supposed to be my name tattooed on his chest had been replaced with "Isabel Hawthorn, My Only Love".

Isabel wrapped her arms around Evan. She expertly played the victim and appealed dearly to him, "Evan said he liked my name last time, so I was only trying to make a joke. You wouldn’t be upset at me, would you, Claire?"

Evan Rodger gently patted Claire Fisher’s back while casting me an accusatory glare.

"A grown woman like you shouldn’t be bickering with a young lady."

Before I could get a word out, several of Evan's friends shoved the door open and barged in.

"Evan sure has a good thing going with his wife."

"They’ve been together for a decade and even got matching tattoos! He is still as devoted to her as ever."

"Speaking of which, what does the matching tattoo say anyway?"

That was when they glanced in my direction and noticed the words imprinted on my chest.

Their laughter stopped in an instant as the room was plunged into an ominous silence. The only sound was Isabel Hawthorn’s chuckle.

Evan instinctively went up to shield Isabel. "Isabel, apologize to her."

Isabel pouted before apologizing reluctantly. "I’m sorry, alright?"

She rolled her eyes before muttering under her breath, "What a busybody old hag. Can’t even take a joke."

Evan patted her shoulder reassuringly before turning to me. "There, she apologized, so don’t hold it against her. She’s only twenty years old after all, still at the naive age where she doesn’t think before she speaks."

Then, he suddenly chuckled before stating with a tone of condescension, "Besides, you are an old spinster."

I felt my breath lodge in my throat. My knuckles turned white from clenching my fists too tightly. "Apology not accepted."

Then, I slowly pulled my collar up to reveal the insulting letters branded onto my skin. They still hurt after being freshly tattooed, but it was nothing compared to the throbbing pain in my heart.

I shot daggers at Evan and spoke my mind, "Since you’re not going to resolve this properly, I’ll do it myself."

As I was leaving, I heard someone talking behind me.

"Claire is the only heir to Fisher Corporation. She’s not going to scorch the earth just to get revenge, would she?"

Evan assured his friend in a confident tone, "I know her well enough to be sure that she wouldn’t do it. She loves me and wouldn’t have the heart to hurt me."

After I got into my car, I dialed my assistant's number.

"Take Isabel Hawthorn to one of the warehouses in the Western District tonight. Set up the skin grafting equipment."

I swore on my honor as a Hawthorn that I was going to get my revenge.

At nine o’clock the same night, I watched Isabel's live stream on my phone. She was flaunting her million-dollar Patek Philippe watch.

"I tattooed the word ‘old spinster’ on that freeloading old hag. She’s thirty years old, but her skin is already all crusty. I made sure to use darker color ink so it wouldn’t come off!"

The viewers in the livestream applauded what she did, which inspired her to gloat again.

"How dare a nepo baby who relies on her family’s wealth think she is a match for someone like me? Evan told me that once he got divorced from her, he was going to give me half of the company’s shares."

The blood drained from my face.

Five years ago, I was the one who sponsored Isabel. She had been a needy student from a rural area and was stuck in poverty. She barely had food to eat or clothing to keep herself warm.

I rescued her and sent her to the best school in the region so that she would flourish in the future.

The talents she has today were nurtured by the education I provided for her. And yet, she betrayed me and stole my husband from me.

At ten o’clock sharp, the door to the warehouse was thrown open. My men brought Isabel in and pinned her to the ground.

She squirmed and screamed on the ground.

"Claire! All you do is use your family’s power to abuse others!" Then, she smiled smugly as a thought suddenly occurred to her. "If Evan finds out what you’ve done to me, he’s never going to let you get away with it!

"Once he gets bored with you, do you think your family would want anything to do with you, especially once you get divorced by a Rodger? You'll be a nobody when that happens!"

I crouched low and ran my fingertips across her smooth, silky skin. "Say, what do you think if I use your nice, smooth skin to cover up the tattoo on my chest?"

Her eyes widened in sheer terror. "Quit abusing your power…"

I shrugged her off before taking a sterilized towel my butler handed me and carefully wiping my hands with it. "You're wrong about something. Let me remind you—I am the kingpin of Newark City."

When the lights at the operating table were flicked on, memories from a decade ago came rushing back to me.

That was when Evan was still a broke student. I remembered the way he would starve for three months, all so he could save money to buy a birthday present from me.

I remembered the way the sleeves of his shirt faded from washing and how the hem became frayed.

On New Year's Eve, he brought me a cake he made himself.

He waited for me well into midnight despite the cold, and when he finally saw me, the first thing he said was whether I felt cold.

Many years later, he started a business. With my help, the company went public.

He had held me tightly with a tender look in his eyes. "Baby, thank you for being by my side. I promise to always be good to you."

It was only when he met my mother that he finally connected the dots.

Claire Fisher. Fisher!

The same Fisher family that was well known in the city.

Later on, he confessed what he thought the moment he met my mother, "I was afraid you would think I was not good enough for you."

After learning about my background, he worked himself to the bone and pushed his body to the limit. He fought tooth and nail to enter the high society circle of Newark City.

He even spent $100 million to build me a manor.

What was it that he said again?

He once expressed to me that his sole purpose in life was the ambition to transform into a man who truly deserved to be by my side.

"Miss?"

I opened my eyes abruptly. The throbbing pain in my heart was choking the breath out of me.

My butler whispered, "Mr. Rodger is back."

I looked at my chest. The skin graft surgery had gone perfectly.

Evan entered with several bags in tow and wore his usual smile. He set the luxury bags with branded logos on them down before taking me in his arms. He was uncharacteristically tender with me.

"Claire, Isabel crossed a line today. You can have your way tonight. Just don't hold it against her, alright?"

The medical team had already left the manor by now.

Evan did not notice anything off at all. He smiled and tried to kiss me. "I promise I won't let her start any trouble with you again."

He must not notice how his tone softened at the sheer mention of Isabel.

Staring at him in silence, I pulled back from his attempt to kiss me. The version of the man standing before me now was a jarring departure from who he used to be.

He wore a watch worth millions, and the sleeves of his shirt, which were once frayed, were now adorned with exquisite pearl buckles. The scent of Isabel’s perfume clung to him like a second skin.

When I observed how dignified he looked, I suddenly remembered the New Year's Eve a decade ago.

I recalled the way he had stood in the snow with the sleeves of his padded jacket still damp and how he had confessed so earnestly to me.

"Claire?"

Evan panicked faintly when I pulled away from him. He instinctively took a step forward, hoping to sway me somehow.

The scent of cheap perfume grew stronger when he approached. That was when Isabel showed up out of nowhere and threw herself into his arms.

"Evan! She had them forcefully graft my skin to get revenge… It hurts so much…"

Evan looked at the gauze wrapped around her chest, then at my chest with the tattoo removed. His expression dropped in an instant.

"Claire, how could you be so cruel?"

Isabel was all around him and was weeping her eyes out. However, I noticed the smug, taunting look in her eyes.

"She’s so young. How do you expect her to live with that kind of scar?" His tone was severe, and his eyes were filled with disappointment. "What is it going to take for you to be satisfied? Must you ruin her?"

I observed how protective he became when it came to Isabel. As I watched his fierce protectiveness toward Isabel, I couldn't help but recall the man he was years ago. He once treated me with such tenderness as though even a simple embrace might break me.

That was a past version of him who used to love me.

After all, I was someone who could single-handedly bankrupt his business rival if they so much as hurt a strand of my hair.

That version of him was long gone.

I clenched my fists and fought to push back the bitterness rising within me. When I spoke, my voice was hoarse.

"Did it ever cross your mind how it felt when she forced that tattoo onto me? Since she was the one who marked me, it is only right that I reclaim the skin she took."

His lips parted as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out.

Upon noting his silence, Isabel snuggled closer to him and cried out, "Evan! Don’t you have some good news to share with her?"

She turned to flash me a malicious smile. "I'm pregnant with his baby. Congratulations, Claire, you’re going to become a stepmother."

The news zapped me like an electric shock. I turned to Evan with a look filled with disbelief, but he averted my gaze before coming up with a sheepish explanation.

"I had too much to drink one of those nights. When she came to take me home, I thought it was you. It's all your fault. If you had been with me, I wouldn't have done something like that. Claire, you should calm down and think about how you can fulfill your duties as a wife."

He avoided my gaze before hurriedly leaving with Isabel.

After that, he did not return home for three consecutive months. He took Isabel on a trip around the world.

When she casually brought up how much she loved vacationing on islands, he bought her a private island.

When she said she wanted jewelry, he bought her an expensive diamond ring.

Soon, she posted a picture of their hands enveloping each other’s on her page, supplied with a short caption that was clearly meant to show off: "Feels so good to be the favorite one."

Evan had never been one to be modest with his displays of affection. Even when he was in love with me, he went all out too.

I stared at the picture for ages until my tears dried up.

Then, I looked at the silver ring I wore. It was the one Evan bought for me with his very first paycheck years ago.

When the housekeeper brought me a pot of tea, I turned to her. "Elena, is my grandmother the trustee of Rodger Corporation’s unit trust fund?"

Elena proceeded to open the safe to retrieve the documents for me. "Mrs. Fisher, the late madam had everything arranged for you before she passed away."

I went through the terms before dialing Evan’s number.

He did not pick up for three consecutive calls. With that, I decided to give him a video call instead.

When the call was connected, Isabel’s face popped up on the screen.

"Claire? Evan is sleeping. He doesn’t have time to talk to you."

She panned the camera to Evan so I could see the hickeys all over his neck. I could even see condoms all over the floor.

"Wanna know something, Claire? He is obsessed with me in bed. He loves how young and freaky I am. He also told me he’s sick of you. You’re too old and ugly for him."

With that, she abruptly ended the call.

I had completely given up on him by then and proceeded to dial another number.

That same night, his proposal to Isabel became a trending topic online. There were countless iterations of "Claire Fisher’s debut as the new Mrs. Rodger".

All the people attending the proposal ceremony did not bring up her past and had unanimously started to address her as Mrs. Rodger. Many of them turned into bootlickers.

"You two are a match made in heaven!"

Showered under the dazzling lights of the banquet hall, Evan led Isabel to the stage. They held hands and flaunted their affection for the cameras as if they were a pair of newlyweds at a grand wedding. The audience exploded into cheers and applause.

"This is a very special night." Evan expressed as he leaned over to kiss Isabel. "I’d like to officially announce—"

His speech was interrupted by the door of the banquet hall being flung open. Countless men in suits poured into the scene.

A middle-aged man leading the charge announced gravely, "Mr. Rodger, the Fisher Corporation is officially suspending all ongoing contracts. According to the terms set out by the late Madam Fisher…"

Evan was about to call security when he realized all the venue staff had been called away from the venue.

"What?!"

The man proceeded to give Evan the contract stipulating the immediate suspension of the trust fund.

"All of your shares in the Fisher Corporation have been frozen."