I said nothing, and my indifferent attitude only emboldened Russell.

“You really think that acting emotionless will make Miss Stewart care?

“I saw you eavesdropping by the door. Still pretending you know nothing?”

I reached my limit and pushed Russell.

I hadn’t used much strength, yet he suddenly fell hard to the floor, clutching his shoulder and crying out in pain.

“Why did you push him? If you didn’t want him to stay, you could have said so! Do you have to be so childish?” Ellis cried as she came upon us.

Her accusing tone stunned me for a moment, and just as I tried to explain, Russell cut me off.

“It’s okay, Miss Stewart. I was rude to Mr. Maxwell.

“It was my fault…”

He forced tears into his eyes, and that face, so similar to Gregory’s, looked pitiful and wronged.

It certainly took Ellis’s breath away.

“Apologize, Jon.

“Russell is my benefactor. Are you trying to embarrass me by acting like this?”

Her words stabbed me right in the chest.

Under her cold gaze, I lowered my head and apologized.

Russell’s triumphant smile flashed across his face.

I sniffed hard and comforted myself: just hold on a little longer.

Three days would pass quickly.

It was midnight by the time I returned to the villa.

I dragged my exhausted body to my bed, my eyes stinging as they swept across the room filled with things I had shared with Ellis.

Toothbrushes. Cups. Watches. Coats. I had picked out every single one with care.

My gaze fell on our framed photo in the corner of the bed.

My mind went blank for a moment as I recalled the first time I met Ellis.

After graduating from university, I left my parents and came to South County to start a business.

I kept messing up until Ellis helped me out of trouble and revived the company.

Later, she protected me at banquets and business events. I couldn’t help falling for her.

After she broke up with Gregory, I confessed my feelings, and our relationship deepened.

I thought I had finally found love, drowning in the dream Ellis wove around me—only to learn the truth.

She never loved me.

Her tenderness had always been a lie, a cruel game of revenge.

She watched coldly as I spun in circles like a fool under her control.

At dawn, I heard a man and a woman talking on the staircase.

When I opened the door, Ellis paused mid-sentence.

“Russell scraped his knee and got a few cuts. His place is too remote. I decided to let him stay here for a while.”

Stay for a while? He would probably stay for life.

Seeing her touch her nose in guilt, I hid the coldness in my eyes and nodded, my gaze landing on Russell’s left wrist.

There was a watch—identical to the one in my bedside drawer, the one I treasured too much to wear.

A bitter laugh welled up inside me, but I stepped aside to give Russell space.

Something flickered across Ellis’s face, a mix of emotion she didn’t voice.

“I brought you something to eat.

“Go have it while I show Russell the rooms.”

Their figures disappeared down the hallway.

I forced a smile and said nothing.

I contacted a mover, as I had packed up our shared items to send them away.

When the last box was being carried onto the truck, Ellis rushed over.

“These are our things. Why are you giving them away?”

“I just don’t like them anymore. We can buy new ones later,” I said lightly.

My explanation didn’t convince her, and she was about to question me when a panicked voice echoed from the balcony.

“Miss Stewart, I’m locked inside the room! Can you open the door? I’m scared!”

Ellis hesitated, looked at me, then turned and hurried toward him.

I pressed my lips together and told the staff to continue their work.

As the moving truck drove away, a weight lifted from my chest.

Soon, everything would be over.

All afternoon, I curled up in my bedroom, yet the laughter from the living room rang far too clearly.

When I looked in on them, I saw Ellis smiling as Russell fed her grapes.

“You’ve injured your arm… I’m here to take care of you and ease your burdens.”

“I need you to ease more than just that. Tonight, help me shower. That would truly ease my burdens.”

I turned away, refusing to listen, holding back the tears in my eyes.

I gathered several documents, planning to return to the company, but just as I reached the stairs, Ellis called out to me.

After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke.

“I’ve just made Russell my assistant. He’s got to work on a lot of things, and as Vice President, you should communicate with him more.

“Hand over the project you’re working on to Russell. You can take the chance to rest.”

Her casual tone sent a jolt through my chest.

I remembered all those nights I drank with the client to secure that project.

My nose prickled.

Was Ellis really giving away the results of my hard work so easily?

My clenched fist loosened again.

I drew a long breath and agreed.

She seemed surprised that I accepted so quickly.

“This is also a chance for Russell to grow. Tonight, I booked a table at your favorite Asian restaurant.”

Before I could reply, Ellis walked out with Russell.

As she left, Russell flashed a triumphant smile at me.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I finally understood.

The entire table was full of dishes, yet not a single one I liked.

Ellis even ordered seafood soup, which I was allergic to, and Russell ate it with great enthusiasm.

I didn’t touch my cutlery.

When Ellis stepped out to take a call, Russell showed his true colors, deliberately lifting the seafood soup and moving it toward me.

The bowl and spoons clattered sharply as he cried out in pain, his eyes reddening.

At that moment, Ellis pushed open the door and saw the scene.

Without giving me a chance to explain, she blamed me and demanded to know why I was so petty.

I pressed my lips together and spoke slowly.

“I didn’t do it. He moved the soup toward me himself. And I’m allergic to seafood. Don’t remember?”

Only then did Ellis seem to recall, but she remained stubborn.

She tossed out a curt, “Take care of yourself,” and left without looking back.

Night brought a sudden downpour, and as expected, I was drenched through.

By the time I returned to the villa, it was already late.

Through the half-closed door, I heard the sound of breathy, intimate gasps.

I froze, and then Russell opened the door with a sly smile.

“I didn’t expect a loyal little lapdog like you to eavesdrop. What’s wrong? Miss Stewart hasn’t let you touch her in three years, has she? Are you jealous?”

With his smugness, his bathrobe shifted, revealing the red marks scattered across his skin.

Rage made my body unsteady.

I tried to leave, but Russell shoved me, and I fell heavily to the floor as he shut the door again.

“Since you love listening so much, don’t leave tonight. Enjoy hearing exactly how I ease Miss Stewart’s burdens!”

I pushed myself up using the wall.

My injured right leg throbbed in the damp weather, each step more difficult than the last.

By the time I returned to my room, twenty minutes had passed.

I stared blankly at the ceiling before realizing my tears had already dried on my face.

The next morning, I went downstairs with swollen eyes, only to find the entire living room empty.

As I hesitated, a message arrived from an unfamiliar account.

It was a video of Ellis tied up, crying, and begging me to save her.

The sender provided an address and threatened to kill her if I delayed.

After wavering again and again, I rushed to the outskirts of the city.

The moment I stepped into the warehouse, a rope tightened around my neck from behind.

I was bound and stuffed into a burlap sack.

Crude laughter echoed beside my ears.

Someone kicked me, leaving me bruised from head to toe.

When thick flames rose around us, I finally broke free of the restraints and crawled out.

In that moment, all I felt was release.

My phone rang again.

It was an audio message from Russell.

“Make sure the kidnapping is convincing. Do everything exactly as instructed,” said a voice that sounded a lot like Ellis.

I let out a bitter laugh, mocking my own naivety.

Even knowing Ellis’s revenge plan, I still foolishly worried for her safety.

When I returned home, Russell was disinfecting Ellis’s wounds with alcohol.

Two faint scrapes at the corners of her mouth looked far too deliberate—hardly the marks of a genuine kidnapping, more like a staged show for me.

Seeing my bruised face, Ellis immediately instructed the help to tend to my injuries.

I refused, so Ellis told her to prepare a stew.

“Those kidnappers were too cunning. I didn’t expect them to use me to lure you…”

Which was more cunning, the kidnappers or you, Ellis? Didn’t you understand that?

I ignored Ellis’s theatrics and locked myself in my room, checking the flight schedule for the next morning.

That afternoon, I went to the court and made a change in my permanent address.

As I got into a taxi, my eyes fell on Ellis across the street, riding in a sports car.

Russell sat in the passenger seat, cradling a huge bouquet of roses.

Wherever the car went, it drew gasps from onlookers.

“Look, the two people in that car are so perfect together. I’m going to upload this on Instagram!”

“Exactly! Their love is so obvious. They must really adore each other.”

Walking against the crowd, those words echoed in my mind, as a sting spread through my chest.

Near the villa, Sandra called me in panic.

“Ellis got into an accident and urgently needs a blood transfusion. The hospital’s supply is low, and your blood type matches hers—hurry!”

I didn’t need to think. It had to be another of Ellis’s revenge schemes.

Pretending to be busy, I hung up.

But the moment I stepped out of the taxi, several bodyguards forcibly escorted me, their voices icy.

“Miss Stewart instructed us to bring you. Only you can save her.”

Surrounded by two guards, I arrived at the hospital without seeing Ellis even once.

I was immediately escorted to give blood.

200cc. 400cc. 1000cc.

By the end, I was dizzy, nearly collapsing to the floor.

Clutching my head, I went to the restroom to wash my face and clear my thoughts.

After a few steps, I overheard voices from the stairwell.

“Jonathan has given 1000cc of blood, and I’ve had him released, but what if he realizes…” said one voice.

“What’s there to fear? He loves me so much, he won’t leave. Kidnapping or blood donation, I never meant to risk his life,” came Ellis’s reply.

“This is repayment for Gregory. He must remain by my side forever.

“Right. Remind the nurse to make him something to eat. He looked pale in the video.”

I hid in the dark supply closet, tracing the needle hole on the back of my hand.

The sting made me cry out involuntarily.

Ellis always acted this way—forcing me to suffer, only to feign concern and drag me back into her spell.

She insisted I was redeeming a debt, yet Gregory’s accident had been caused by his own drinking, not mine.

I had no part in it, yet she had actively suggested bringing me to the corporate summit.

Why has everything become my fault?

When I walked out of the hospital, my phone chimed twice.

Ellis had sent two messages.

In the past, I would have responded immediately.

Now, I didn’t even care to reply.

Back at the villa, Russell stood outside my room.

He wore the custom suit Ellis had given me, and proudly fidgeted with the jeweled brooch she had also gifted.

“How was it? A 1000cc contribution. I suggested it, and Miss Stewart rewarded me with this.

“Everything here belongs to me now. I can’t refuse such generosity.”

He had almost emptied the room, leaving only a few items he didn’t care for.

He strutted out with a victorious grin.

I sat on the bed until dawn, wiping away my tears.

I packed my documents, left, and tossed my SIM card into the villa garden.

Ellis, it ended here.

I would no longer let you harm me.

Meanwhile, Ellis woke up in her office and checked her phone.

She had received no reply from me, and her calls wouldn’t go through.

She sent people to the villa, only to discover the surveillance cameras had been damaged during a rainy night days before.

Frustration gripped her.

She swept everything off her desk and instructed the bodyguards to search for me.

Anxiety gnawed at her.

By late morning, the head of the bodyguards knocked on her door, holding a phone, his hands trembling.

“Miss Stewart, we still have not located Mr. Maxwell, but we discovered this wedding livestream.

“It’s Mr. Maxwell.”