Miranda twisted her wrist and then grabbed my collar with a menacing glare. "If you dare lie about being Mrs. Harris again, I'll have people throw you into the sea. I am Mrs. Harris."

Yana, covered in wine stains and pinned to the ground by bodyguards, said with a mocking tone, "Rita, how pitiful you are! You are Mrs. Harris. Legitimately married, yet challenged by a mistress. But his mistress is openly provoking you. And you want to keep the peace?"

I was choked by her words and then let out a sneer filled with malice the next moment.

Miranda still clutched my collar. I struggled fiercely and grabbed her wrist tightly under the momentum.

"Aah!" With a scream, Miranda instinctively let go.

I expertly flipped one of the bodyguards over my shoulder using the momentum.

His head hit the corner of the table, and he got dizzy. I grabbed a nearby stick and struck him hard on his private part.

By the time Miranda realized what was happening, I was already behind her and locked her throat with my arm.

She was completely bewildered by my sudden counterattack. As she struggled desperately, her face turned a deep shade of red. "You dare hit me?"

Miranda thrashed like a madwoman, trying to scratch me, but I threw her away with a fierce toss.

I picked up the stick and rained blows on her.

The nearby henchmen panicked and rushed in. They tried to restrain me. "How can you lay a finger on Mrs. Harris? Do you have a death wish?"

Unbeknownst to me, Yana had knocked out a bodyguard. She raised a chair and smashed it over another. At the same time, she yelled at me, "Show them what you've got! I've never been so humiliated in my life!"

"Bang!" In the chaos, someone struck me on the back of the neck with a stun baton. A metallic taste filled my throat, but I gritted my teeth and continued to fight.

Miranda was beaten and wailing. She desperately lunged forward and reached for a bottle on the bar. "Hit them hard! If someone dies, I'll cover for you! One hundred thousand for each of you!"

The lackeys of the Harris Group went wild. They pulled my hair and pinched me. One of them even sprayed pepper spray into my eyes.

When I was fighting against her bodyguards, Miranda struck my abdomen with the stun baton. The massive jolt made my muscles contract painfully, and I nearly passed out.

Just as I was about to retaliate against Miranda, I heard a furious shout from the bar entrance. "You idiots, stop right now!"

A group of policemen filed in. Their eyes darkened as they saw shattered glass and overturned tables.

But when they recognized Miranda, disheveled and bloody on the floor, their faces turned pale with fear.

"Mrs. Harris, what... what happened here?" The lead officer, visibly panicked, rushed to help her. He looked so obsequious.

Miranda tried to regain her composure. She glanced at the officer and seemed to gain courage. Then she pointed at Yana and me and screamed hysterically, "Martin, these two crazy women refused to pay their bill, insulted me, and trashed the place. They are not locals. Look at my face, covered in blood and bruises, and my people are all injured!"

Martin Wells glanced at Yana and me, whose shirts were stained with blood. He frowned with disdain as he pointed at us accusingly. "You act like delinquents. Is this how you behave? You dare to cause trouble and hit Mrs. Harris and those from the Harris Group? Are you fearless?"

"She extorted and attacked us first. She broke the law," Yana said. She wiped blood from her lips with the back of her hand.

"That's nonsense!" Miranda immediately countered. "I asked you to pay the bill, and that was a favor to you. Instead of being grateful, you impersonate me. You even mentioned the ridiculous Shaw and Fowler families!"

Martin clearly sided with Miranda. He pointed at the chaos around us and started to lecture us. "Regardless of the details, your actions here at the Harris premises are reckless and provocative. Such behavior is enough to detain you for a dozen days. Everyone respects the Harris Group in Caelton. Miranda is Mrs. Harris. Opposing her means opposing Mr. Harris and the Harris Group. You are actually going against the rules of this city!"

His subordinate pulled out a pair of handcuffs and warned us as he dangled them in front of us.

"Enough talk. You're coming with us to the police station! And by the way, you have to pay for the damage you've caused here, the medical bills and the emotional distress fees of Mrs. Harris and her people. It totals two million. Now, if you apologize to Mrs. Harris, we might consider mediation."

"Why should we accept mediation?" I snorted. "They're the ones abusing their power, extorting us. And you, as a police officer, sided with the lawbreakers instead of seeking the truth?"

"You dare ask why?" Just because you don't know how to behave, and you're just a bunch of filthy women from another place," Miranda said.

Martin rolled his eyes and raised his hand. "You two young ladies need to understand that this is Caelton. Mrs. Harris was showing you respect by letting you pay the bill. Don't be ungrateful!"

Yana's eyes were cold. "I'd really like to see if the rules of Caelton can override the law."

"Pooh! You scum, you are not a local. Are you courting death?" Martin's subordinate, Danny Johnson, rushed at us aggressively. "You won't learn until it's too late!"

"Zzz!" The electric baton he took out crackled with blinding blue sparks. As I dodged sideways, he angrily pressed the switch. "Do you have a death wish?" Danny thrust the baton towards my waist with all his might. "It looks like you're eager to be in jail."

The high-voltage current surged through my body and caused me to convulse and nearly pass out.

Yana swiftly caught my trembling body. She looked at Danny sharply and said sternly, "How dare you abuse your power and act as accomplices?"

"Pooh! Cut the crap. I'm maintaining public order!"

Danny aimed the baton at Yana's head. The sizzle of burning flesh, accompanied by the acrid smell, filled the air. He continued his warning. "You little scum, remember the Harris Group is the law in Caelton. I'll make sure you learn your place, as you are ungrateful."

Yana groaned in pain, and cold sweat streamed down her face. "You lackeys... You'll beg for mercy one day..."

"Really?" Martin laughed so hard that tears rolled down his fleshy face. Then he smugly kicked Yana. "When you two fools are sent to jail, you will get beaten up and eat scraps every day. You'll regret it then!"

He turned to Miranda, bowing and scraping, an obsequious smile on his face. "Mrs. Harris, do you think this lesson was strong enough? If you're still not pleased, I can take good care of these two ungrateful fools."

Miranda raised her eyebrows. She smiled wildly, and her gaze was venomous. "Let them experience more. I want them to crawl to me and beg at my feet for forgiveness. They need to understand who sets the rules in Caelton!"

"Slap!" "Come and spend a night with me. I'll make sure you enjoy it!" Martin produced a stamp from somewhere and pressed it forcefully onto my face.

The blue ink burned my skin with a fiery sting.

In the next moment, he turned to Miranda and flattered her. "Mrs. Harris, could you give us a hint? When will Mr. Harris and you hold the wedding? We can prepare our gifts in advance and congratulate you and Mr. Harris then!"

Danny immediately chimed in, "Exactly! Mrs. Harris, you'll have to give us a chance. Maybe Mr. Harris will be pleased and give us a leg up."

Miranda felt smug as she heard that. She tidied her messy hair and smiled. "I'm carrying his son. Once I'm feeling better, we'll find a good date for the wedding."

So Miranda... was pregnant...

I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. My blood froze instantly.

I'd been busy expanding the market overseas for a whole year. I just returned to Caelton today. Nikolas and I were married for five years, and he always used the company's listing as an excuse to put off having a baby. But now, his mistress was pregnant.

I struggled fiercely to break free, but Martin's baton struck my neck.

The electric buzz roared, and my heart raced irregularly.

Miranda sneered fiercely. She raised a solid wood chair and was ready to smash it down on my head.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps in leather shoes echoed from outside the door.

Nikolas wore an expensive tailored suit, with several buttons of his shirt undone, faintly revealing his chest beneath.

He glanced at the chaotic room and maintained his calm demeanor. But when his gaze fell on Miranda, his voice softened considerably.

He raised his eyebrows and stepped forward to embrace Miranda. "What happened? Who hurt you?"

Miranda immediately adopted a delicate and aggrieved expression. "Nikolas, you finally arrived. These two young women must be crazy. She pretends to be your wife. They even caused trouble and attacked others. They even dared to offend Martin, the police officer."

Martin eagerly chimed in to support her. "Mr. Harris, you're here just in time! These two bad women from another place dared to cause trouble at the place of the Harris Group. They refused to pay the bill and even publicly insulted Mrs. Harris and you. I was just about to have them detained."

Nikolas finally turned his gaze to me. His eyes that once haunted my dreams now looked at me with disgust. "Rita, I really underestimated you. It's only been a year since the last time we met. And you've certainly learned a few tricks. Where did you pick up these thuggish tactics? You've embarrassed me completely!"

His cold eyes swept over Yana. "Now you have made friends with such an unprincipled woman and brought her to cause trouble in Caelton. It is the Harris Group's place. Do you think I don't exist?"

I spat out a mouthful of blood, and my knuckles clenched pale. "Mr. Harris, quite the display of power. I want to ask you, Miranda claims to be your wife and is forcing me to pay the bill. What does that mean?"

Nikolas narrowed his eyes slightly and kept silent for a few seconds before turning to glance at Martin. His voice carried a hint of deliberation. "Martin, get me the surveillance footage. I want to see what really happened."

Martin's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly changed the subject. "Mr. Harris, there's no surveillance footage here. These two troublemakers came here and fought and smashed things. They think that we wouldn't accuse them after they damaged the cameras! Oh, actually, here's what happened. These two troublemakers took advantage of Mrs. Harris's kindness and tried to climb the social ladder at all costs. They used the bill payment as a pretext to first get acquainted with Mrs. Harris and then find a 'coincidence' to seduce you."

Martin pointed at me and said with righteous indignation. "These two lowlifes are nothing but streetwalkers! Mrs. Harris is a respectable woman. She tried to give them a chance to make it up by tactfully refusing their bill. But these troublemakers wouldn't let it go. They claim that they're from wealthy families and that they insulted her, saying she looked down on their families if Mrs. Harris refused their money."

Danny quickly chimed in, "That's right. Everyone here saw it clearly, and we can all testify. These scoundrels went berserk when Mrs. Harris disagreed with them. They cursed her for being unappreciative and even accused her of getting the Harris Group's money by seducing you. Mrs. Harris couldn't stand it and argued back, which led them to start a fight."

"You are twisting the facts and talking nonsense!" Yana angrily pointed at Miranda. "Clearly, Miranda was forcing us to pay the bill..."

"Shut up!" Martin interrupted harshly. "Who do you think you are? A pauper like you has no right to speak here! If it weren't for you stirring things up, saying Mrs. Harris isn't worthy of Mr. Harris, would this have blown up?"

Miranda adjusted her hair and cleared her throat a few times. "Nikolas, I understand they want to connect with me. But they cannot come here to cause trouble just to seduce you. It is going too far... I only refused to let them pay the bill, but they went berserk and even threatened to overthrow the Harris Group. They boasted that you'd better watch out."

Nikolas's face turned instantly grim. "Rita, you have received an education from a good college, but I never imagined you'd stoop like that. You can try to establish connections, but you cannot cause trouble when refused."

Nikolas's stern words were relentless, filled with disappointment. No matter what I said, he wouldn't listen to me. "You've been away for a year and returned with your brain scrambled! Miranda refused to build connections with you, but you resort to chaos. Is it appropriate for you to resort to violence? You are a young woman! Rita, have you no shame?"

"Nikolas, are you insane? I didn't..."

Before I could finish my sentence, Nikolas sharply interrupted. "You didn't what? Martin is known for his honesty. Would he fabricate the truth?"

He looked at me with deep disappointment, and his brows were tightly furrowed. "You've been spoiled by me. You don't learn well and always scheme to climb higher. When you fail, you go berserk. How did I ever end up marrying you back then?"

Miranda stood beside Nikolas and gently touched his chest. She looked broad-minded. "Nikolas, you've said enough. Calm down. Don't ruin your mood over her. She's just young, without bad intentions..." "Is she young without bad intentions?

She's just wicked!" Nikolas looked at Martin. "Martin, proceed according to the law. Let them pay for full compensation for the damages, medical expenses, and emotional distress, not a penny less! I want to see what she can pay!"

I looked at Nikolas's extremely gloomy face and couldn't help but sneer, "Fine."

I coldly glanced at Nikolas. "Full compensation, right? Tell me, how much are you trying to extort?"

Nikolas was momentarily stunned. Then he laughed out of anger. He raised his eyebrows at me and said with amusement, "I want ten million. Can you even afford that? You probably can't even come up with a million, right? Or are you planning to use your old tricks to seduce other rich guys in Caelton?"

Yana was tired of arguing and took out her phone. "Ten million, right? Just wait."

I narrowed my eyes slightly and looked at Yana. "My phone was smashed by them. Can you call my family for me?"

Yana quickly agreed.

"Haaa!" Miranda and Martin exchanged a glance and burst into laughter. "Are you two so caught up in your charade? Do you two really think you can magically produce ten million?"

Martin raised his eyebrows and waved the handcuffs in his hand in front of us. "Stop making fools of yourselves! We don't have time to waste on your nonsense. Just apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Harris now. If you can't come up with ten million soon, no one can save you, even if you desperately plead with them."

Danny looked impatient. He flexed his wrist and reached out to cuff us. "Behave yourselves. Do you hear that? Don't choose the hard way!"

Yana shielded me behind her. "Can't you wait? The money will be here soon."

"Really? Your pauper father is probably begging somewhere right now!"

Miranda laughed until tears came out. "And making a call? You two trying to cozy up to a rich man won't fetch that much in one go, right?"

Her people laughed mockingly behind her, and their harsh words echoed in the large hall.

Danny frowned and slapped Yana. He said in a warning tone, "Enough of the nonsense! If you don't come quietly with us, be prepared to have your legs broken!"

Just as he was about to cuff Yana, a deafening roar suddenly came from the sky.

The floor began to rumble, and the crystal chandelier above shook violently.

Yana and I simultaneously looked towards the sky a few meters away.

"It's here."