A few days later, at Isabella and Theodore's engagement party.

The moment Lucille and I walked in arm-in-arm, Vivian was already pretending to be all warm and chummy with the Sterling relatives at the door. The second she saw me dressed to the nines, her face twisted with rage.

She stormed over, making sure no one was watching, and hissed through clenched teeth, "You little bitch, what are you doing here? Get out!"

I scoffed lightly. "What kind of tone is that, Mom? I'm Natalie, the eldest daughter of the Reynolds family. What's wrong with me showing up to my own sister's engagement party? You might want to watch it-if Grandpa hears about this, you'll have to deal with the fallout."

Vivian's eyes practically popped out of her head, clearly dying to rip me apart. But with so many people around, she could only glare while I sidestepped her and kept walking. Just as I passed, she muttered under her breath, grinding her teeth, "I'm warning you-try anything tonight, and I'll make sure you regret it first."

I curled my lips into a mocking smile. "Can't wait to see you try."

We hadn't been inside long when commotion rippled through the entrance. A sleek black limousine pulled up, and out stepped Theodore with his mother and grandfather, exuding elegance and superiority.

As he walked past me, his eyes flicked my way with icy indifference. Just that single glance made my heart race enough to stop me from lifting my head.

The room filled up fast, with plenty of high-profile guests from the business world and political circles. No doubt about it-this event had pulled out all the stops. Vivian and Hubert stood in the thick of it, laughing along with Mortimer Sterling and singing praises about each other's children like they were performing a duet. Couldn't even wipe the smiles off their faces.

I stared at their smug, greasy grins, disgust rising in my throat. I slammed my wine glass down on the table and pulled out my phone from the clutch. A few taps, and a message was sent to Theodore. Without missing a beat, I headed for a quiet corner of the room.

Footsteps echoed behind me, getting closer. I turned and saw the tall figure I had expected. Chin lifted, I smiled sweetly. Nailed it.

He stopped in front of me, towering over, eyes cold and warning. "Natalie, what game are you playing now?"

"I want you to call off this engagement with the Reynolds family."

"Not a chance," he shot back, sharp and quick, way more decisive than me. "Haven't I warned you enough times already?"

I met his gaze dead-on, unflinching. "You don't even love her. Marrying her is just setting yourself up for misery. I'm actually doing you a favor today. I've got something to show you, and I think you'd want to see it before turning me down."

"Natalie!"

He growled out my name, furious. I looked down, opened a video on my phone, turned the screen around, and held it up toward him. Frame after frame of crystal-clear, explicit footage played out in front of him.

Meanwhile, I started smiling like I'd just won the jackpot, arching my brow with a taunt. "What do you think? I've got even juicier stuff in my phone. I dare you to still take her home to meet the parents after this."

Theodore suddenly stepped forward. Before I knew what was happening, the world spun sideways-he had slung me over his shoulder in one swift move.

Eyes wide with disbelief, I started punching his back in rage, but I didn't scream-I didn't want the guests noticing. He stormed off without a word, carrying me up the staircase like I was weightless, and kicked open the rooftop door.

"You bastard, you-"

My furious shout was cut off when he shoved me against the railing. The cold metal pressed hard into my bare shoulders, sending a sharp chill through my spine.He had one arm braced on the railing, boxing me in, while his other hand clamped onto my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His anger was written all over his face. "Who the hell gave you the guts to film those videos? Don't tell me you actually went there yourself!"

The grip hurt, pulling a painful frown across my features. I snapped back, "Yeah, I did. So what? You better let go before someone sees us-you're not worried about your image?"

Theodore let out a cold chuckle, his knee suddenly jamming between my legs, pushing closer. "Your reputation's long gone, Natalie. Are you seriously still worried about it? Or are you just that desperate to stop me from marrying your sister?"

The sarcasm and chill in his eyes sliced straight through me. I turned my head, avoiding his gaze in panic. "Yes. That's right. So what?"

He yanked me right back, his eyes sharp as he spoke through gritted teeth. "Why? What's your reason?"

I shoved at him hard. "Back off!"

With no warning, his hand pressed roughly against my chest, grabbing tight. His voice was shaking with rage. "I asked you why! Why are you doing everything to mess this up for me?"

My whole body froze, my face losing all color.

Was the answer to that question still something I could explain-even to myself?

My fingers dug into his chest, the pressure tightening. Finally, I raised my head, meeting his stare with a chill in my voice. "Vivian wronged me. Neither she nor her daughter gets to play happy family in front of me."

Theodore's expression darkened visibly, his gaze locked on my stubborn face, suppressed emotions simmering in his eyes.

Then he broke into a cold, mocking laugh, let go, and without any warning, yanked up my skirt. His fingers shoved between my thighs, movements harsh and violating.

A sharp jolt shot through me with the aggression of it. I clenched my teeth so hard it hurt, but my strength gave out and I collapsed weakly against him, shivering.

He suddenly yanked his hand away and forcefully shoved me aside, his words dripping with disgust as he spat into my ear, "You're really disgusting, Natalie."

He walked away without even a glance back.

I leaned against the wall, eyes stinging, heart twisted with pain.

By the time I pulled myself together and made it back to the hall, Isabella was just coming down the spiral stairs in her gown. Theodore stood at the foot of the steps, face composed again, waiting for her to put her hand into his. Together, they turned to smile at the guests and bowed.

The applause roared around us, and voices praising how perfect they looked echoed in my ears like taunts. Just as the pain in my chest tightened, Theodore's eyes locked right on me. He gave a mocking smirk, then spoke in his low timbre that filled the whole place.

"Thank you everyone for joining us today. I've just received a special little gift-figured I should show it to all of you."

My heart dropped. Panicked, I lowered my head and frantically felt around my dress for my phone. Before I could do anything, Theodore had already raised my phone and tapped the screen connected to the projector meant to play Isabella's childhood montage.

The audio clicked on full blast.

"Ah... mmm... Kevin, give it to me..."

"D-don't stop... Kevin, you're amazing. I finally have you... oh god..."

The room froze. Every sound died. Mouths opened in shock but no one said a word, everyone just stared at the screen.

Isabella's face went paper white before she crumpled to the floor at Theodore's feet. I was still frozen when Vivian recognized the phone in his hand. Her eyes snapped toward me, filled with rage, and her shriek split the air.

"Natalie! You vile bitch!"

All eyes suddenly turned to me. Vivian pointed right at me from the crowd and started yelling, "It's you! You're the one who set your sister up!" She then spun around to Mortimer. "Isabella was raised under strict discipline. She would never do something like this unless someone deliberately tried to ruin her and destroy her relationship with Theodore."

Mortimer's face darkened, but before he could say anything, the video on screen got even worse-Isabella and Kevin's actions growing more intense. Isabella let out a high-pitched moan, her body going limp beneath Kevin as she panted heavily.

Kevin clung to her, whispering seductively in her ear, "Miss Isabella, you've got some real skills. Hope you drop by more often-I'll make sure I satisfy you every time."

Everyone gasped. Whispers and murmurs broke out like wildfire, and the stares thrown at Isabella in her engagement gown were sharp enough to pierce through skin.

Theodore stepped past Isabella and gave Vivian a cold look. "Mrs. Brooks, everyone here has eyes. Take a good look again. Is that not your daughter on screen? Or would you like me to dig up her entire spending history at Grandion and share it with the public?"

"No! Please, no!" Isabella cried out hysterically, lunging forward and grabbing onto Theodore's pant leg. "Theodore, listen to me! I didn't mean for this to happen!"

Theodore shoved her off in disgust, his eyes icy. "I, Theodore, would never marry a shameless woman like you. We're done here."

And just like that, he turned and walked off without a backward glance. Isabella's sobs filled the room as he passed me. He threw out a cold, mocking snort. "Congratulations, Natalie."

My hand clenched tighter around my clutch until my knuckles turned white, legs nearly giving out from under me.

I couldn't even tell when the guests started to leave. The moment Mortimer and Marjorie left, this so-called grand affair that had been all over Southveil turned into a colossal joke.

Lucille was about to walk over and help me leave, but Vivian wasn't having it - she stormed up and yanked my hair so hard it felt like she was trying to rip it out. "You bitch! This is all your fault! Are you happy now that you've ruined your sister's engagement? I'll kill you, you ungrateful slut!"

Her grip burned my scalp, and Lucille screamed as she rushed over, trying to pull her off me. But Vivian was fully unhinged at this point, flailing like a maniac, her claws jabbing at my face like she wanted to tear it apart.

Grinding my teeth, I didn't think-I just lifted my leg and slammed it into her stomach. She shrieked and flew backward, hitting the floor hard.

Hubert had been comforting Isabella, but the moment he saw what was happening, he dashed over to help her up. Vivian, completely unhinged, pointed at me and yelled, "Hubert, look at your precious daughter! She's the one who ruined Isabella! If you don't cut her off today, I swear I won't let this go!"

Still holding Isabella, Hubert's face darkened. He grabbed his cane and swung it straight at me. Lucille rushed forward to shield me, only to take the hit on her back. She crumpled to the floor, twitching in pain.

All the resentment I'd swallowed for years exploded. I shoved Hubert hard. "So what if it was me? Yeah, I had someone record that video! So what? You call that framing? Open your damn eyes. Isabella's been hitting up that nightclub countless times-how many male escorts has she hired? You really think someone like her needs help tarnishing her name?"

"That's enough!" Hubert roared, eyes blazing with fury. He bolted forward, grabbed me by the neck, and slammed me to the ground. "You disgrace!"

I felt like I'd been hurled by a truck. Pain shot through every bone in my body, and my vision blurred.

Isabella took the chance to throw herself dramatically into Hubert's arms, tears brimming as she stared at me. "You're happy now, aren't you, sis? You've always been trying to break me and Theodore up. We all saw it-how he dropped you off in the middle of the night. You must've tried to seduce him and failed, so you pulled this stunt to ruin us!"

Hubert's eyes widened with fury. He patted her hand and stormed towards me, slapping me across the face. "How could I have raised such a monstrous child?"

The slap rang in my ears, everything went white, and blood trickled from the corner of my lips.

But Hubert wasn't done. He grabbed his cane again and began to beat me with it. I tried to dodge, and in the chaos, I caught a glimpse of Vivian and Isabella's smug, victorious faces. Rage boiled in my chest.

Glaring at Hubert, I forced out a bitter laugh through clenched teeth. "Go ahead, beat me to death if you've got the guts. Ever since that woman drove my mom to her grave, you stopped being a father to me. If you kill me now, we're even. You don't deserve to call yourself my dad!"

Hubert screamed that he'd teach me a lesson, raising the cane for another strike-when a sudden rush of footsteps cut through the shouting. Theodore had come back, his driver following close behind.

Theodore's sharp gaze instantly swept over the mess-me and Lucille still on the floor, battered. His jaw tightened, and his eyes turned icy as he stared down the trio frozen in shock by his return.

Isabella flinched but still had the nerve to step forward with a weak little smile, pretending to be pitiful. "Theodore, you had second thoughts, right? You came back to make things right between us?"

Before he could respond, I let out a cold, mocking laugh, downright amused by her delusion and shamelessness.

I tried to get myself off the floor, but Theodore beat me to it. He stepped forward and scooped me up without a word.

Then, locking eyes with a stunned Isabella, he said in an icy tone, "This isn't over. Anyone who lies to me, betrays me-I won't let a single one off the hook."

He dropped the warning, scooped me up, and turned to leave without a second glance. "Help Lucille up and follow us," he added coolly.

"No! Theodore, come back! You can't just leave me like this!" Isabella's voice cracked behind us, frantic and hysterical. "Natalie, I swear-I'll make you pay, you bitch!" She was bawling like her world had just ended, kneeling on the ground. But Theodore didn't so much as flinch. It was like she didn't exist.

I leaned into Theodore's arms, shot Isabella a smug little smile over his shoulder-cold, daring, enough to flip a switch in her. She must've been on the verge of a meltdown.

When we got to the car, Lucille still leaning on the driver, Theodore bent down to put me inside. But I suddenly grabbed the car door, planted both feet firmly on the ground, and stood up straight. I glanced at him, took Lucille from the driver with a flat, calm tone. "Thanks."

I walked past him barely two steps before he caught my wrist from behind, grip tight, eyes dark. He looked toward the driver, who instantly moved and pulled Lucille away from me.

"I'll get Miss Green home safe," the driver said smoothly.

Lucille caught on quick-something was off. She winced as she tried to stand straighter and held onto me stubbornly. "It's fine, we'll go back on our own. Come on, Natalie."

Theodore's gaze turned ice cold. The driver stepped forward and struck the back of Lucille's neck-quick and sharp. I wasn't fast enough to stop it. Lucille collapsed instantly.

Was he seriously going that far?

Before I could even react, he spun me around, threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing, and shoved me into the backseat. Slammed the door. Done.

"You jerk, let me out!" I fought to open the door, pushing against it with everything I had.

His hands slammed down, pinning the door shut. He leaned in, tall frame casting a shadow, eyes locked on me with that mocking, hollow stare. Under the streetlight streaming through the window, I could feel how awful I must've looked-face swollen, one cheek blazing red, eyes puffy with tears, blood crusting at the corner of my mouth. I turned away, unable to stand the way he looked at me.

"Let me go," I said, voice low. "Whatever game you're playing, I'm done."

The tension in the air dropped several degrees. He got closer, voice tight, lips curling with sarcasm. "So? Everything went just the way you wanted. You gonna thank me now?"

That hit a nerve. I glared at him, eyes burning. "Thank you? Are you serious, Theodore? Thanks to you, I just got beaten half to death by the people who raised me. Everyone thinks I'm the evil sister who trashed her sibling's wedding out of jealousy. My name's dirt now-probably even worse than Isabella's. So yeah... thank you for that."

I was spitting fire, not even realizing my words were cranking up his fury. His voice dipped lower, sharper. Face right in mine.

"You made your move. Now deal with the fallout. You played this game right under my nose-don't act like you didn't see this coming."

Right after he finished speaking, he leaned in and caught my lips in a kiss without any warning. I yelped from the pain, but the driver, who had just arranged for Lucille to be taken in another car, acted like he was blind and deaf. He started the engine, and the car merged onto the main road.

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead as I kicked my legs uselessly. Theodore fixed his sharp gaze on my tear-filled eyes and warned, "Natalie, move one more time and I swear I'll go all the way."

The memory of how things had gone before made my body stiffen. I froze, biting my lip hard, tears blurring my vision even worse.

I had thought I had this man figured out. But the more tangled we got, the more I couldn't make sense of him.

He was like some puppet master, towering above everything - relentlessly humiliating me and acting like he couldn't stand the sight of me, yet somehow always showing up the moment I was about to fall apart.

I didn't say a word.

Theodore stared at my pale face, drawn tight with pain. His eyes darkened, and without a word, he clamped a hand behind my head to stop me from moving. Then his kiss came crashing down - relentless and burning. In an instant, his scent was all over my lips and cheeks.

The car soon pulled into a high-end villa district and stopped in front of a chic European-style home. Theodore slammed open the door, pulled off his suit jacket and draped it over me, then shoved me onto his shoulder and carried me inside.

Saying I wasn't scared would be a total lie.

Dangling over his shoulder, I panicked, kicking hard. "Put me down, Theodore! Are you out of your mind? Do you even hear yourself?!"

He completely ignored me, lugging me upstairs, threw open a bedroom door and tossed me straight onto the bed without a word. My face, which already had a bruise, got aggravated by the rough movement. The pain was sharp enough that I gasped, then cursed, "Theodore, are you seriously trying to take advantage of someone like this? Are you even a man?"

He was still standing at the edge of the bed. Hearing that, he whipped around and shot me a cold glare. His hand went to his tie, yanking it off-but instead of doing what I feared, he turned to the wardrobe and rummaged through it for a bit. When he came back, he sat down on the edge of the bed, holding a small first-aid kit.

The moment his hand touched my swollen cheek, my whole body tensed. His fingers were gentle, which only made it all hit harder.

Theodore's eyes didn't leave the bruises Hubert had left on my face. There was something unreadable in his dark gaze.

Eventually, he opened the first-aid kit, grabbed a cream and some cotton swabs, and started applying it to my face. The cool touch made me flinch in shock, completely caught off guard.

My heart pounded like crazy.

I stared at him, wide-eyed and speechless. Tears welled up again and slid down my face before I could stop them.

All that pent-up frustration and heartbreak just hit me like a wave. He suddenly paused, then reached down and lifted my leg. Bruised and scratched, the skin was red and swollen, still bleeding in places.

He let out a low, mocking laugh, a trace of contempt flashing through his eyes as he said in an icy voice, "So this is what all your scheming got you. Happy now?"

I froze. Whatever strange warmth I'd felt a second ago just turned to ice.

He glanced at my startled face, something dawning on him. Then his lips pulled back in a cruel sneer. "Oh? Don't tell me you're catching feelings? Natalie, you've clearly watched way too many trashy soap operas. Don't worry. No matter how desperate I get, I'm not so far gone that I'd want someone like you."

As he spoke, his eyes swept over me with blatant mockery, sizing me up like I was some stray animal on the street. That look-cold, smug, without even a hint of pity-was like a rich guy sneering at something pathetic, not worth a second glance.