I thought the past three years had hardened me enough to face anything calmly. However, the moment I saw those photos, I still felt my blood boil at the shamelessness of the people I once held dear.

I went home looking for either Lennon, Frederick, or Florence, yet none of them were there. So I pulled on a hat and mask and headed straight to the Kirby estate.

Florence had made it to the final round of the International Gemstone Design Competition using my work, and Frederick and Lennon were throwing her a party to celebrate.

"You aren't invited to my celebration. Get out before I call security!" Florence stood in front of me in the custom gown she had stolen from me.

She used to be cautious around me, afraid I might record her, always acting sweet, even when we were alone. Now? She didn't even bother hiding it.

I swallowed my anger and said, "Don't bother. I won't stay long. I just have one question. You were the one in that hotel room with them, so why throw me under the bus? I gave you both of them. I even handed over the designs I spent five years creating. Isn't that enough for you?"

After I went missing as a child, my parents adopted Florence. She got to live my lavish life, but I never resented her for it.

Even after I was found, I never tried to take anything back from her. So why? What did I ever do to her to deserve this constant cruelty?

At my words, her expression twisted with rage. "Gave? Don't make yourself sound noble. I took them because I could. Because you refused to marry that vegetable, I had to."

"Mom and Dad never planned to make you marry him," I said.

"Oh, please. Do you think I believe that? The Johnson family was out of money, and only the Coleman family could help. The Johnsons wouldn't send their precious daughter, so it's natural that they'd send me. Really generous, huh? What a load of crap!" Florence snapped.

Mom and Dad had treated her well, yet this was what she thought of them. My vision blurred with fury. "Florence, you—"

Before I could finish my thought, she screamed, flopped to the ground, and started sobbing. Her wine glass shattered beside her.

Then Lennon shoved me hard, sending me crashing to the floor. "Elizabeth! How many times have I told you to stay away from Florrie? Keep this up, and you can get out of my house. Go back to being the unwanted orphan no one cared about."

My head slammed into the wall, and my vision blurred. My palm landed on a shard of glass, splitting the skin wide open. The pain stole my breath, but Lennon didn't even spare me a glance. He picked Florence up in his arms and walked away.

Fredrick saw this and came over, not to help me, but to make sure I didn't cause a scene.

The usual polite and gentle Frederick dragged me out of the party, saying, "Lizzy, this is Florrie's night. Don't ruin it, alright? It's just a few designs. You can always draw more."

That was five years of my life. I had worked tirelessly on it, pouring my heart and soul into every detail. How many sets of five years do we even get?

I pushed him aside and snapped, "I'm not here because of the designs. I came because of the trending news. She was the one pictured at that hotel. So why am I taking the fall?"

"Keep your voice down! Florrie is about to win an international design award. If people find out that she was at a hotel with two men, her reputation will be ruined."

Frederick was my boyfriend. He was involved in a threesome with another woman, threw me under the bus, and never once felt the slightest guilt. Instead, he blamed me.

I looked at him with disgust. "What about me? Do I not have a reputation to protect?"

"You're not the one winning awards. A little gossip won't kill you. Besides, I'll marry you and take care of you," he said casually, as if that were a trivial matter.

Ever since the flood, he had been hurting me for her like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I looked at that familiar face, which now felt like a stranger.

Perhaps even he realized what a piece of garbage he sounded like because he avoided my gaze. "Suit yourself, Lizzy. But if you cause any more trouble, I'm breaking up with you."

"Then we're done." It wasn't the first time I had said it.

He thought that I would come crawling back, as I always did. So he just walked away, as if nothing had happened.

Through the glass, I saw Florence holding a trophy, standing between Frederick and Lennon, basking in the recognition and affection. It was the celebration that should have been mine.

Florence caught me watching and shot me a smug look.

A second later, my phone buzzed. It was a text message from Florence.

Florence: "You grew up with two men and still couldn't win either of their hearts? That's just sad. Watching you cry is honestly hilarious. You're so ugly when you cry.

"Oh, by the way. Your little designs might win me gold. Are you mad yet? But it doesn't matter. You're not getting them back. And as for that hotel drama? You'll just keep taking the fall!"

She deleted the message right after she sent it, like she always did.

I clutched my phone tighter, telling myself to hold on. Let's see if she would still be that smug once her plagiarism was exposed!

As for that hotel stunt, I refused to take the fall. I called my private investigator. I wanted him to dig out the deleted hotel footage.

"I'm on it. I've already gathered some of the false accusations she made against you. There's a lot, and it might take a few more days to sort through them," the private investigator told me.

"That's fine. There's no rush. Just send it through when it's ready," I replied.

I had hired one of the best investigators money could buy, hoping to prove that Florence had set me up and clear things with Frederick and Lennon.

However, after Lennon kicked me into the pool and Frederick left me to drown, I didn't care what they thought about me anymore.

Since I no longer cared about them, I wasn't in a hurry to obtain the materials either. I smiled bitterly, slid my phone back into my pocket, and returned home.

Most of my things were already packed. I intended to walk away without leaving the slightest mark. Whatever I wanted to keep, I took. I threw away or sold the rest.

In the end, all I had was a single 20-inch suitcase, a thick photo album, and a glass jar full of colorful paper cranes.

The photo album held years of pictures of me, Lennon, and Frederick. They once said that we would take at least a hundred photos a year, so we would have something to look back on when we were old. However, they had already broken that promise for three years.

The paper cranes had been a gift from them. They told me that each one held a wish.

When I pulled them out years ago, begging them to believe that I was innocent, they had crushed the paper cranes under their feet and told me to grow up.

I took the album and the jar outside, stacked them, and set them on fire.

"What are you doing?" Lennon had arrived just in time to watch it all burn.

Lennon shoved me aside in a rage, completely ignoring the flames that were still burning as he rushed to grab the photo album and the jar of paper cranes.

Even Frederick, who was always calm and unreadable, turned pale and dropped his hold on Florence as he ran toward the fire.

However, the album was already gone, reduced to ashes. The paper cranes were also nothing but dust.

Lennon held the pile of ashes in his hands, his eyes bloodshot as he turned to glare at me. "Are you insane? Why would you burn them? Do you have any idea how many years it took to collect these?"

Frederick stared at me, too, his face full of disapproval.

I had no interest in getting yelled at or slapped around, so I gave them the excuse I had prepared long ago. "The old photos weren't printed that well. I've got digital backups. I already sent them to a shop to get reprinted. The clearer versions should arrive soon."

They were clearly still ready to tear into me, but then Florence let out a soft cry, and both of them immediately rushed to her side.

"You twisted your ankle? How'd you get so careless?" Frederick picked her up without hesitation.

"You dummy. How are you going to survive without us?" Lennon questioned, his voice tinged with concern.

Florence bit her lip and spoke in a sweet voice. "Don't just worry about me. Take a look at Lizzy, too. She's packed her bags. Is she mad and planning to leave?"

Lennon didn't even think before responding, "She's just an orphan. She relies on me and Frederick for everything. Where could she possibly go? I've kicked her out so many times, but she's never had the guts to leave."

Frederick laughed before saying, "You don't have to worry about Lizzy. I was her first love. All she ever wanted was to marry me. She's not going anywhere."

All their attention was on Florence, like I'd vanished into thin air.

In the past three years, when they first started hurting me, they at least looked a little guilty. They hated me for leaving them behind during the flood, despised me for "bullying" Florence and "twisting the truth", but they still refused to let me go.

Back then, all I cared about was exposing Florence's lies and clearing up the misunderstandings. I put up with everything, never once thinking of leaving.

Eventually, hurting me became so normal to them that they stopped caring about how I felt or even worrying that I might leave.

However, their thoughts no longer mattered to me. I didn't want to see the three of them clinging to each other, so I went upstairs to sleep.

The next morning, I got up early, washed up, had breakfast, put on my makeup, and wheeled out my suitcase. The sound of it rumbling along the floor drew Frederick's attention.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

I didn't believe that he cared. I figured that he probably just didn't want to lose the person ghost-designing for Florence.

While I was in the hospital, he had already removed me from my position as design director and replaced me with her. He even tried to make me her assistant. I learned about all of that from my coworkers.

The whole thing disgusted me so much that I couldn't even stand the sight of Frederick anymore.

Still, I didn't want to start a fight, so I kept my voice down and said, "Jennie's getting married. I'm going to her wedding."

"She lives in the city. So, why the suitcase?" Frederick asked.

"Her fiance's from Bimern. The wedding's being held there," I replied calmly.

"When are you coming back?" he asked again.

"In three days," I said.

"So the photos should be back by then?" he asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

Frederick was always detail-oriented and would always ask a lot of questions.

Lennon, on the other hand, had no patience. "She's not leaving for good, right? Just let her go, man. Florrie wants to get a cat. Let's take her to pick one out today."

Normally, whenever Florence was involved, Frederick would drop everything else just to focus on her. Surprisingly, this time, he added, "Having you take the fall for that hotel scandal was our fault. Let me know when you're flying back. I'll pick you up at the airport."

"I'll come too, alright? Seriously, it's just a small thing. Can you stop acting like it's the end of the world?" Lennon was visibly uncomfortable.

So, it seemed that they did know they had wronged me. I almost laughed, but kept my expression neutral. I simply said, "Okay."

Then I turned and left without looking back, with my suitcase in tow. I wasn't going to throw tantrums anymore, and I wasn't going to come back.

Let them wait. I would never return again.

At five in the afternoon, my plane touched down in Bimern. My parents were already waiting for me at the airport.

Next to them was a handsome man in a wheelchair. He appeared to be of mixed heritage, with refined features and a gaze that conveyed striking depth. It was the kind of face that was both elegant and impossible to look away from.

The moment I saw him, I was stunned. On the second glance, something felt strangely familiar. It was as if I had seen him somewhere before, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Lizzy, this is William," my dad introduced.

William was the heir to the Coleman family and my future husband.

As soon as my dad finished speaking, my mom leaned in and whispered, "Right after you agreed to the marriage, Mrs. Coleman told William about it. And would you believe it? He woke up that same day. It was like a miracle. I only found out this morning.

"He insisted on coming along to pick you up when he heard that you were arriving."

It really did feel unbelievable. When I made the decision to marry, I had prepared myself for a husband in a vegetative state. Now, face to face with a living, breathing fiance, I honestly felt a little dazed and nervous.

"Nice to meet you, Lizzy," William said, offering a handshake.

I quickly took his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Coleman."

"Just call me William," he said gently.

"Okay…" I couldn't tell if I was imagining it, but his handshake lingered a beat too long. Plus, what was with the way he kept looking at me? Was there something on my face?

I discreetly checked my reflection in the car mirror. There was nothing.

He sat beside me in the car. After being micromanaged by Frederick and Lennon for so long, I wasn't used to sitting this close to another man. It made me feel awkward and fidgety.

However, since he was my future husband, I figured that I should explain the hotel scandal. "William, about the video that's circulating online…"

"Are you planning to sue them for defamation? Before I had the trending post taken down, I made sure to preserve the evidence. It's enough to press charges," William said.

I froze and pulled out my phone. As he had said, the trending tag was gone. All the disgusting comments under my name had vanished. I had braced myself for anger and hadn't expected him to believe me outright.

For a moment, my emotions tangled into something tight and complicated. "We'll deal with it after the wedding," he added.

He then changed the topic. "I heard that you majored in jewelry design at Axsin University, right?"

"Yeah," I said. He didn't push the scandal topic any further, which helped me relax a bit.

"I've seen some of your designs. Your very first piece, if I remember correctly, was the crown your best friend wore at her coming-of-age party, right?" he asked.

"How do you know that?" I was genuinely shocked.

By then, I was already somewhat well-known in the jewelry industry. However, most people only knew the work that made me famous. Even Frederick and Lennon had no clue what my first design was.

William smiled and said, "I saw it by chance and liked it enough to dig around for more information about that piece."

I wasn't the chatty type, but I could talk endlessly about my work. Especially with someone who clearly appreciated it and wasn't faking it.

By the time we arrived, I felt like we had at least broken the ice.

That night, I met the Coleman family for the first time at dinner.

Our marriage was technically a union between our two families, but everyone knew that it was the Johnson family that had sought help from the Colemans. If William hadn't been in a coma back then, this match never would've landed on me.

I expected the Coleman family to be condescending, but they were surprisingly welcoming.

My future father-in-law, Andrew Coleman, pulled Dad aside and said, "Benjamin, was the recent investment enough? If it's not, just say the word. Don't hold back. We're family now!"

My future mother-in-law, Kelly Clarke, gripped my hand and smiled radiantly at me. "Look at this face! You're so beautiful. I'm sure you'll bring good luck. Here's your 1% stake in the company. You may now sign the documents. It's yours as a premarital asset.

"And take a look at these heirloom pieces. If you don't like them, we'll go shopping for new ones!"

That 1% stake alone paid out at least 50 million dollars a year. Even William only held 10%. Moreover, the heirloom pieces were easily valued in the billions of dollars.

I stared at the share transfer contract, then at the trays of jewelry the attendant had laid out. My hands were literally shaking. It was all too much. I couldn't accept it.

However, before I could voice my refusal, William quietly flipped to the signature page and leaned in close, saying, "Sign it before they change their minds."

Honestly, with his cool and sharp expression, the way he whispered and schemed beside me felt so out of character. He handed me a pen, along with a black card. "Here, this is for you."

"You're giving me too much," I muttered, already feeling guilty.

William's smile was gentle as he said, "It's because you're worth it."

The Colemans all seemed kind and genuine, so I finally felt relieved.

Three days flew by in the blink of an eye. I never heard a single word from Frederick or Lennon during that entire time. Perhaps this was for the best. I didn't need them crashing my wedding.

Naturally, I was being too optimistic.

Half an hour before the ceremony began, I stood behind the doors in my gown, waiting for my cue to walk in, when my phone suddenly started buzzing nonstop.

That's when I saw two missed calls from Frederick and one from Lennon. It seemed that they had also sent me text messages.

Lennon: "Elizabeth, pick up your phone!"

Frederick: "Lizzy, can you please answer my call?"

I had no idea what they'd found out, but they were blowing up my phone like crazy. When I didn't reply or pick up, they started calling me every 30 seconds, as if they were desperate for me to answer.

I frowned in annoyance, then turned off my phone.

The ceremony began. I walked down the aisle on Dad's arm and watched as he solemnly handed me over to William.

Just as we were about to exchange rings, Frederick and Lennon barged into the venue.

"Lizzy!"

"Elizabeth!"

Their eyes locked on me in my white gown, their faces pallid. They appeared stunned as if I had betrayed them.