More and more people gathered around, and he grew impatient. So, he ordered the bodyguards to throw me off the ship.

Just as I stepped onto the deck, steady footsteps sounded behind me. A gentle male voice followed.

“Chloe, why are you here? Why are you soaked?”

I clenched my teeth and looked at Lucas, the man who almost became my husband. Bitterness flooded my chest.

Could it be he still cared about me?

My body, drenched in icy seawater, warmed slightly at his words. I was just about to speak, but what Lucas said next hit me like a slap.

“You think making yourself look like this will get my attention? I feel sick just looking at you. I’ll make sure you understand the consequences of causing a scene at Hannah’s wedding!”

With that, he grabbed my neck and forced my upper body over the railing, leaving me suspended in midair. The suffocating pain spread through me, but I didn’t struggle. Dying like this didn’t seem so bad.

I closed my eyes, ready to accept death calmly, but Lucas was the one who lost his composure. Finally noticing something was wrong, he quickly pulled me back, shock filling his eyes.

“Why aren’t you struggling? Why aren’t you explaining yourself? Do you really want to die?”

If I explained, would he even believe me? I had explained myself too many times, and every time I did, he only drifted farther away from me and closer to Hannah.

A faint, lifeless smile appeared on my lips, and I said flatly, “I have nothing left now. I might as well just die.”

Lucas’s expression changed drastically. He grabbed my wrist tightly, and his eyes seemed to redden.

“You belong to me. You’re not allowed to die!”

After Lucas regained the use of his legs, his family was determined to find him a new match. However, because he refused to give in, he endured punishment from his family more times than anyone could count. When I found out, I ran to the Lindts and took the punishment in his place. As I was beaten half to death, Lucas held me tightly and, in fear, made me a promise. He said that without his permission, I was absolutely not allowed to die.

I didn’t think he’d remember that, but why did it matter now anyway?

Before I could respond, a defiant man rushed over. Finn White was my second target and also my best friend in this world. He looked at me like I was trash and flung a stack of photos into my face.

“Chloe, since you had the nerve to ruin Hannah’s wedding, I have no reason to spare you any dignity!”

In the photos, I was tied up and beaten. I was pinned down, ridden over, my clothes torn to shreds, and my body covered in humiliating words. Finn had taken all of those photos. He knew exactly how to pick the angles, and my face was captured with perfect clarity. He did this because I had once reported Hannah for cheating in a photography competition, and she was humiliated.

Amid the guests’ mocking laughter, Finn sneered and raised his camera, aiming it at my current, miserable state.

On the corner of the camera was engraved the words, “Finn loves Chloe.”

That camera was a gift from me.

Finn lost his mother when he was young, so his father often brought home a group of questionable friends, and their shared amusement was tormenting him. After I became friends with Finn, I tried to protect him from those people. In the process, I was beaten until I temporarily lost my sight.

To keep him from feeling guilty, I gave him that camera. I told him to take pictures of beautiful things so that I could see them when I recovered. After my eyesight returned, he continued the habit of taking photos. However, I realized later that more and more of the photos in his camera were of Hannah.

“If you don’t apologize to Hannah, I’ll upload these nude photos of yours online. I’d like to see how you’ll ever show yourself in public again!”

When I didn’t respond, his voice turned colder. He grabbed my arm roughly and yanked me up. I was dragged down and forced to my knees, a cry of pain escaping my lips.

Seeing this, Lucas tried to step forward to help me, but Finn stopped him.

“Lucas, she’s just pretending to look pitiful. Back then, I was fooled by her, too. That’s why I failed to protect Hannah and got her expelled from school.

“Chloe, just because you wanted to take the championship title from Hannah, you hired people to force her into taking compromising photos. Then, you framed her for cheating during the competition. She almost died because of you!”

The moment Lucas heard those accusations, his expression turned icy. Whatever concern he had shown just moments ago disappeared.

“Get out of my sight right now,” he said. “If you try to ruin this wedding again, I’ll make you regret it.”

I struggled to my feet. Before Lucas could finish speaking, I suddenly ran straight toward the road beside the venue. A massive truck came speeding toward me. Just as I closed my eyes and waited for death, someone shoved me away with all their strength.

Lucas limped toward me despite his injured leg from the collision, then grabbed me by the throat.

“Chloe, who are you trying to fool with this pathetic suicide act? Do you really think I’d go soft on you because of this?”

At the same time, the System notification sounded in my head.

System: [Host, Lucas’s affection level toward you is increasing. Would you like to continue the mission?]

After yelling at me, Lucas immediately turned to his assistant and told him to cancel the wedding today. When he noticed me staring at him, he looked down at me, and I calmly withdrew my gaze.

“No.”

I didn’t want to continue anymore. All I wanted was to go home.

After the driver brought me back, I realized I had several scrapes all over my body. With the mud and blood mixed together, I looked filthy.

Just as I grabbed some antiseptic to clean my wounds, the bedroom door was suddenly kicked open. Finn stormed toward me in a rage and kicked my leg hard, sending the medical kit flying somewhere across the room.

“Where did you hide Hannah? If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll make your life a living hell!”

Lucas and Casey followed closely behind, both glaring at me with hostility.

“No wonder you kept pulling these fake suicide stunts in front of us. It was all just to cover up what you did. Let me make this clear. If anything happened to Hannah, I’ll kill you myself.”

How was I supposed to know where Hannah had disappeared to this time? However, their words suddenly made me realize something. Since they cared so much about her, maybe her disappearance would drive them insane, and maybe they would actually kill me.

Seeing that I stayed silent, hatred flashed across Lucas’s eyes.

“It looks like you won’t talk until you suffer a little.”

He picked up a bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured the entire thing directly onto my wounds. I was in so much pain. A sharp burning sensation tore through my body, making me tremble uncontrollably, but they still weren’t satisfied. So, they ordered the bodyguards to pin me to the floor. Finn held a pair of heated tongs in his hand, while Lucas continued pouring alcohol over my wounds. That was when true panic finally set in.

Yes, I wanted to die, but I didn’t want to be tortured to death like this. I struggled desperately, only to have a wooden stick slammed hard against my head. Blood streamed down my forehead. My clothes were soaked with sweat, and I didn’t even have the strength left to scream.

“Just kill me...”

Seeing that I was still refusing to speak, Lucas picked up a fruit knife and walked toward me. The sharp blade hovered less than an inch from my left eye.

“You think I can’t kill you? Chloe, I’m asking you one last time. Where is Hannah?”

My face was pale as paper. Still, I looked up at him and forced a smug smile with the last of my strength.

“Hannah? I killed her. I dumped her body into the ocean so that the sharks could eat her. Aren’t all of you hopelessly in love with her? Didn’t all of you want to marry her? And yet none of you could even protect her. So, go ahead. Kill me and avenge her.”

With his bloodshot eyes, he drove the knife straight into my chest, and my body collapsed limply onto the floor. Just before consciousness slipped away, I heard Hannah’s voice coming from the yard.

“Why is everyone here? Oh, what perfect timing. I bought coffee for everyone– Ah! Why is there so much blood in here?”