The workshop supervisor felt both distressed and angry seeing Sasha so ill yet still reporting for work.

"How did Mr. Marlow become like this?" she muttered in frustration.

She handed Sasha some fever medicine and let her rest in the workshop for the morning.

"That’s enough. I’ll take responsibility. You’ve done your shift. Go back and rest now," the supervisor said firmly.

With a pale face, Sasha softly murmured, "Thank you.”

Then she slowly made her way back to the dormitory.

As Sasha passed by the scenic lake, she was stopped by Quinn.

"Yesterday, Juno gave me a diamond ring. You must have seen it. Now, look at the ring he gave you—it’s pathetic!"

Sasha found it hard to understand Quinn’s spiteful tone. In just a few days, she had fully realized that she meant nothing to Juno.

Why did Quinn have to treat her like a thorn in her side despite knowing she was just a stand-in?

"I’ll step back. I won’t bother you anymore," Sasha said quietly.

But Quinn snorted coldly. "Then throw that ring away. Throw it into the lake. You don’t deserve to wear something Juno gave you."

Sasha lowered her head and took off the ring. Once something she treasured dearly, never wanting to part with it, she now tossed it into the lake without hesitation.

She thought this would finally put Quinn’s mind at ease, but to her surprise, Quinn, with a sobbing tone, cried out.

"Why did you throw away my diamond ring?"

Quinn rushed into Juno’s arms, crying uncontrollably.

"That was a gift from Juno! No matter how jealous you are, you can’t just throw it away! You’re trying to take my life! No, I’m going to get the ring back!"

Juno steadied Quinn and turned to Sasha, asking coldly, “Did you throw the ring away?”

His tone was harsh, but beneath the coldness, there was a hint of hidden satisfaction.

He was pleased that no matter how cruelly he treated her, Sasha still loved him so much and felt jealous over him.

Sasha wanted to deny it, but knowing no one would believe her, she simply pressed her lips together tightly.

The smile in Juno’s eyes widened.

“If you really like it…”

He paused, waiting for Sasha to give in.

As long as she promised not to be so arrogant in the future and apologized sincerely to Quinn, he would buy her one too.

He could even buy something bigger and better.

But under his burning gaze, Sasha simply replied in a soft voice, "I don't like it."

If she loved someone, even the simplest silver ring would be a treasure to her. But if she didn't love him anymore, even if he gave her the stars and the moon, she wouldn't want them.

Seeing her refusal to take the opportunity, Juno’s eyes turned icy cold.

“Ungrateful! Since that’s the case, you should pay the price for your jealousy!”

Juno pushed Sasha with both hands and she fell into the lake.

"Don't come up until you find the ring!"

The lake was only a meter deep, but Sasha was so weak. The biting cold water soaked through her clothes, flooding her body through the collar.

In an instant, her limbs stiffened from the cold. She struggled desperately, choking on large mouthfuls of water, suffocating in pain.

The feeling of nearing death overwhelmed her and her vision faded into darkness.

When Sasha woke up, Juno let out a sigh of relief, but his face quickly hardened again.

"I told you I'd explain, so why did you keep provoking her? What is your status, trying to challenge a young lady from a wealthy family? You're simply out of your league!"

"Go kneel and apologize to her properly, do you hear me? She’s so kind, she’ll definitely forgive you."

Sasha was deeply saddened, but no tears came. She softly asked one last time, "If I say I didn’t do anything, would you still want me to apologize?"

"Unbelievable! I'm warning you, you have only seven days left. If you don't admit your mistake, I will definitely fire you and there will be no chance for us anymore! I will leave you completely."

Juno left in a huff.

In his view, this was a significant threat, enough to force Sasha to comply.

But he didn't know that Sasha now dreamed of leaving him.

So, the referral letter had to be stamped.

Sasha hesitated for a long time before deciding to take a gamble.

She waited until Juno had left the office, then knocked on the door of the factory office.

"Miss Ledger, if you help me with the stamp, I will leave in seven days and never interfere with you again."

She handed the newly prepared referral letter to Quinn.

Quinn only found it amusing, thinking, ‘Leave on the tenth day? No, Sasha, you won’t make it to that day.’

After a moment of thought, she decided to agree. "I’ll stamp it, but you’ll need to help me put on a show."

Sasha smiled bitterly in agreement. Hadn't she already been forced to play roles for so many days?

Seeing her compliance, Quinn smiled with satisfaction.

Following Quinn's instructions, Sasha wrote a note to Juno, inviting him to the factory's guesthouse.

She found it strange. Juno had never been interested in her before and now that Quinn, the main person, was back, how could he possibly accept the invitation?

But to her surprise, he actually came.

"You have no other choice but to use this to seduce me, right? You are really good at it,” Juno said with disdain, but there was a joyful glint in his eyes

"Then I will reluctantly agree."

He pulled Sasha into his arms, one hand mischievously slipping into her clothes, trying to unbutton them.

Sasha's body stiffened and she forced a smile. "You should blindfold your eyes first."

"You really know how to play with moods!"

Juno became surprisingly cooperative, like a tiger turned into a big cat, allowing Sasha to tie the cloth around his eyes and then lying down on the bed.

Seeing this, Sasha immediately tiptoed to open the door and swapped Quinn, who had been waiting outside, into the room.

She didn't understand why this unnecessary step was needed.

Maybe it was for the ambiance.

Hearing the ambiguous sounds of the man she once deeply loved with another woman just a wall away, Sasha felt a mix of emotions in her heart. Just as she was about to leave, Juno's voice questioning her came from inside.

"Why are you here?"

He opened the door and the anger in his eyes seemed as if it would devour Sasha.

"Good. Very good!"

He looked so angry, so disappointed, as if he had loved her. But Sasha knew that was impossible. If he truly loved her, how could he repeatedly hurt her so deeply?

Juno stormed off in anger and Quinn hurriedly chased after him.

As for Sasha, she had completed the task Quinn had assigned to her. In seven days, she would be able to leave.

After that, everything became calm.

Sasha's fever had subsided and she spent her days working and returning to the dormitory in a steady routine.

The New Year wasn't over yet. The colorful lamps and Spring Festival couplets were hanging everywhere. Workers gradually returned and the factory became increasingly lively.

Soon, it was the ninth day of the New Year.

Sasha touched the referral letter in her pocket. Tomorrow, she could finally go home.

But after work, Quinn stopped her.

"Come to the office. These files need to be sorted."

Sasha didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble, so she worked overtime. By the time she finished organizing everything, it was past nine o'clock.

Quinn then said, "Go to the shop across the factory and buy me a bottle of orange soda.”

Compared to previous difficulties, running an errand like this was nothing.

Sasha had just exited the factory gates when she heard someone calling Quinn's name. Without turning around, she crossed the street, but to her surprise, the man grabbed her.

"Quinn, why didn’t you respond when I called you?"

Sasha turned her head, her eyes wide with surprise.

It was the man who had intentionally spilled wine on her chest that day.

The man simply murmured, "Oh, I called the wrong person.” And then he walked away.

A sense of unease crept over Sasha and her instincts told her something was off. She immediately turned around, intending to return to the factory.

But suddenly, someone covered her mouth from behind and shoved her into a sack.

"I've been waiting for days. This woman has been with that factory director all this time. Today, I finally found the chance to make a move!"

"How did she end up alone and why is she wearing worker's clothes?"

"Who cares? Maybe she wants to slip under the radar, but someone called her name. It can’t be wrong!"

Sasha realized with a shock that she had once again fallen into a carefully laid trap.

With a blow to her head, she lost consciousness.

Hidden inside the factory, Quinn watched the scene and laughed in delight.

With it being so dark and someone else helping out, her enemy had clearly made a mistake.

The thought that Sasha would die for her meant that no one could steal Juno’s heart from her in the future. Quinn couldn’t suppress her joy and happily went to Juno’s house.

When she arrived, Juno was on the phone.

"Your beloved has been kidnapped by me!"

Hearing the distorted voice on the other end, Juno’s pupils shrank sharply and his voice trembled slightly. "Who?"

"The woman with the last name Ledger!"

The kidnapper’s menacing voice demanded that Juno prepare one hundred thousand to be placed at a specified location.

He threatened that once the money was handed over, the hostage would be released; otherwise, they would carry out the execution.

In these times, millionaires were rare and ten thousand dollars could last an ordinary person a lifetime. However, for the Marlow Family, it was not a big deal.

But as soon as Juno looked up, he saw Quinn entering the room.

It turned out to be just a prank.

"Then go ahead and execute the threat," Juno coldly hung up the phone.

Hearing the dial tone, the kidnapper became so enraged that his face twisted in fury. He kicked Sasha hard in the stomach.

“You useless little slut, aren't you good at flirting? Why won't that man even spend ten thousand dollars on you?"

He continued, "Then I’ll just play with you first to vent my anger!"

Feeling her clothes torn apart violently, Sasha was terrified to the extreme. She struggled desperately, but could not break free.

Even though she tried to scream for help, the cloth stuffed in her mouth only allowed pitiful sobbing sounds.

As the kidnapper was about to succeed, despairful tears flowed from the corner of Sasha’s eyes.

"Wait, I just received news that the bitch with the surname Ledger has a filthy disease!"

The weight pressing down on Sasha lightened, but the original malicious intent turned into vengeful punches and kicks, all landing on her. The excruciating pain immediately spread throughout her body.

In the Marlow Family house, Juno's heart beat violently for no reason and an unreasonable feeling of panic made him at a loss.

He made a call to the factory’s duty room to ask if Sasha was in the dormitory.

He quickly got the news.

She wasn’t there and there was no sign of her anywhere.

A sudden guess popped into his mind and just then the phone rang again.

This time, Juno agreed to the kidnapper’s demands without hesitation.

He called the police, quickly prepared the money in cash and went to the agreed location alone.

After placing the suitcase down, he pretended to leave and hid with the police in the shadows.

Soon, the kidnapper brought a woman over.

When he saw the entire suitcase of cash, the kidnapper’s eyes filled with greedy light.

“You bitch, you finally paid back what you owe us, with interest! Looks like that guy cares about you a lot, so let him come here and collect your body.”