I met Jasper when we were kids. Because my parents worried about my safety, they enrolled me in judo and boxing lessons from a young age.

As a result, I often ended up protecting kids my age and that's how I met Jasper.

He was bullied a lot because he was frail and malnourished. One day, I passed by and chased the bullies away.

Jasper didn't have a mother, so I brought him home with me. My parents treated him like their own son.

When others mocked him, I'd step forward and scold those who insulted him.

This protection lasted over twenty years. Even now, when he's in danger, I instinctively shield him.

But I didn't expect that my protection at the cost of my life would be a humiliation in his eyes.

Did being protected by a woman make him feel ashamed?

Jasper said with disdain, "She still wants me to marry her. She's a tomboy. She has no femininity at all, but she wants to marry me every day."

"How could I marry such a tomboy who no one wants? Every time I see her body, I feel sick to my stomach, yet I still have to sleep with her."

My face went pale. I couldn't hold it in anymore and ran to the bathroom, throwing up violently. It took a lot to recover and I felt like I'd lost half my life.

I lifted my clothes and looked at the body covered with scars in the mirror; the muzzle next to the heart, the burns on the neck and the wounds of all sizes on the body.

There were also centipede-like wounds on the abdomen, which were left by being stabbed more than a dozen times not long ago and all this was to protect him.

Yet, in his eyes, it had become a humiliation. Looking at my scar-ridden self in the mirror, I suddenly felt incredibly ridiculous.

In Jasper's darkest times, I promised I would always love him. But now, I realize I couldn't do it anymore.

Jasper, I loved you for over twenty years, but now I've completely given up!

The next day, I woke up early. My suitcase was packed with my belongings. Jasper looked startled when he saw it. "What are you doing, packing your bags?"

His tone was a little anxious, but there were no more ripples in my heart. I said calmly, "I want to go home and stay for a few days."

Hearing this, Jasper seemed relieved. "I'll take you there tomorrow."

"No need! Yvonne is injured, you need to take care of her!" Jasper wanted to say it was nothing, but the next second, there was a scream from Yvonne's room.

Moments later, Jasper came downstairs. "Hazel, Evie isn't feeling well. She's shy, so could you go help her down?"

I only had one more day before I could leave and I didn't want to cause any trouble, so I walked upstairs.

In the room, Yvonne's naked body was covered in hickeys. When she saw me looking at her, she raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly. "Hazel, did you enjoy the show last night?"

I looked at her deeply. "You know, Yvonne, I saved you. Why are you doing this to me?"

Yvonne's expression turned icy as she demanded, "Then tell me. Why is it that I'm younger and prettier, yet I'm struggling, while you get to live in comfort, with Jasper by your side?"

"Hazel, I'm not willing to accept that. Or do you still think he has feelings for you?"

I looked at her, perhaps because the disappointment had piled up so high that even the last trace of disgust I felt for her had faded. Someone like her wasn't even worth the energy it took to despise her.

Yet, she suddenly stood at the top of the stairs, smiling as she asked, "Who do you think is more important in Jasper's heart, you or me?"

Before I could react, Yvonne screamed and fell down the stairs, only to be caught immediately in Jasper's arms.

She looked at me with fear on her face. "Please, don't push me, Hazel. If you don't like me at home, I will leave. Don't hit me, I'm scared."

That girl curled up in his arms like a frightened little animal.

I turned to Jasper. "I didn't touch her. She saw you coming and threw herself down on purpose."

However, Jasper didn't believe me. He looked at me with disappointment. "Hazel, do you think she'd risk her life just to fake something like this?"

"Acting pitiful is your game, not hers. She's not as manipulative as you."

It took me a moment to understand what he meant by "acting pitiful." I tried to stay calm, but my whole body shook angrily.

"I wasn't acting! Every scar on my body was from protecting you. How can you accuse me of faking it?"

Jasper's face stayed cold. "You have two choices: jump off the stairs yourself, or apologize to Evie."

I clenched my jaw and stared at him. "I choose neither. I will not apologize to Yvonne."

I turned to leave, but Jasper stuck out his foot just then. I didn't see it in time and tumbled down the stairs.

I screamed in pain, my bones screaming with a dislocating agony. Jasper held Yvonne in his arms and looked down at me, but his voice was strangely gentle.

"See? If you don't choose, then I'll have to choose for you. This is what you owe Evie."

I bit my lips until they bled and my teeth chattered from the pain, but Jasper walked over coldly.

Everything went black and I couldn't fight the dizziness anymore. When I finally came to, the hospital informed me that I had broken bones in my foot.

My phone vibrated. It was a call from Jasper. "Hazel, I'm taking Evie to recover from her injuries. Wait for me at the hospital."

But then, Yvonne posted a set of photos on her social media, pictures from a trip she took with Jasper.

In one photo, he was on one knee, putting a ring on her finger.

My heart clenched. I closed my eyes and dialed my parents. "Mom, Dad, I miss you. Can you come take me home?"

As soon as they heard the news, my parents were furious. "Hazel, aren't you pregnant? Is Jasper treating you badly?"

The next day, they rushed back from abroad and Jasper never came to the hospital to see me.

When I saw my parents, I couldn't control myself anymore and cried in their arms.

After explaining everything clearly, they wanted to settle accounts with Jasper, but I stopped them.

I sat in a wheelchair and went to the Sage residence one last time to take my suitcase.

Jasper, we are strangers from now on, as if dead to each other!