Dave gently ruffled Maggie's hair, looking at her like she hung the moon.

And somehow, I laughed.

My dignity had already been ground into the floor, and these people still treated me like entertainment.

Dave, how could you still ask me to humiliate myself again for her?

Then again, I almost forgot.

Maggie was the girl he'd wanted for years but could never keep. He chased her forever, then their families tore them apart, and she disappeared overseas overnight.

Now that he finally had her back, of course he treated her like something priceless.

So how was I ever supposed to compete with that?

Swallowing the bitterness clawing at my chest, I forced the words out.

"Does this count as another forgiveness token?"

"Forgiveness token?"

The whole room laughed at the weird phrase, but Dave slowly lowered his hand from Maggie's hair and looked at me.

He knew exactly what I meant.

After a long silence, he nodded.

"It counts."

I gave a small, bitter smile.

"Okay. Then I'll do it."

Eight years ago, I'd just started modeling when some powerful old creep took an interest in me and locked me away on a private island.

A few other girls and I were treated like party favors for rich men during their business trips.

I got lucky.

Dave was the first man I met there, and apparently, it was love at first sight for him.

For me, he crushed those men's companies, sent them to prison, and pulled me out alive.

Later, I found out it was because I looked so much like Maggie. Funny how that worked out.

The night he saved me, I asked him how I could ever repay him.

He looked at me so seriously it almost felt real.

"Then be mine."

I pinched him lightly. "I'm serious."

His breathing turned uneven as he pulled me closer.

"Then... give me 290 forgiveness tokens."

"Forgiveness tokens?" I wrapped my arms around him, confused.

He laughed softly.

"Silly girl. If I ever hurt you 290 times, I'll use those tokens to ask for forgiveness 290 times. Once they're gone, we won't owe each other anything anymore."

For the next five years, he poured money, connections, and resources into me until I became an international supermodel.

Back then, he treated me like something priceless.

Then Maggie came back two months ago, and suddenly everything went to hell.

This was the 288th time.

Just two more, and I'd finally repay what I owed him.

The second Dave agreed, Jared dragged me toward his private suite.

The room was dim, silk curtains hanging everywhere like some wannabe luxury dungeon.

The table was piled with boiled eggs, and a few half-dressed women were collapsed on the floor nearby. The stench was bad enough to make my stomach turn.

A chill shot down my spine.

So this was the "egg challenge."

Before I could fully process it, Dave's expression suddenly changed. He shot Maggie a sharp look.

"Wasn't this supposed to be some dumb egg-eating game? What the hell is this?"

Maggie ignored him completely and shoved me forward instead.

"Jared, Bianca used to study dance. She's super flexible. Don't you wanna see for yourself? Push her a little."

The second those words left her mouth, panic crashed through me.

I started shaking uncontrollably and looked at Dave for help.

At the end of the day, I was still his wife.

He had loved me once. And no matter how many times he chose Maggie over me, surely he wouldn't hand me off to some sick creep.

But the next second, Dave walked over to the liquor table, poured a glass of wine, and shoved it into my hand.

"Why don't you give Jared a drink first? Loosen things up a little. Set the mood."

Set the mood.

That was what he wanted from me?

He... seriously agreed to this?

Through the shock, I caught Maggie shooting me a weird little smile.

"Bianca! Didn't you hear Dave?"

She walked toward me while I just stood there, frozen. Then suddenly, she kicked the back of my knee.

My balance snapped instantly. The wine flew out of my hand and splashed straight across Jared's face.

A second later, I hit the floor hard, crashing into broken glass. Sharp pain ripped across my arm as several cuts split my skin open.

My eyes locked on the woman lying on the floor beside me—her face pale and twisted.

Then Maggie's shrill voice cut through the room.

"Bianca, if you didn't want to offer Jared a drink, you could've just said no. You didn't have to act like a psycho on purpose just to piss him off. Is this how Dave's wife behaves? Or are you just trying to humiliate him in public?"

Jared froze.

Then realization hit him. His eyes went wide as he stared at me.

"W-Wait... you're Dave's wife?"

I didn't answer.

I just sat there on the floor, barely able to breathe under the crushing pain in my body and chest.

Jared reached for me, but Dave grabbed him first.

Dave glanced at the blood running down my face, his expression turning cold fast. Then he looked at Jared through gritted teeth.

"Get out."

Jared instantly backed down. Guess even he knew when to stop acting like trash.

He swallowed whatever attitude he had left and rushed out. Before leaving, he muttered, "Dave, what the hell is wrong with you? If I knew she was your wife, I never would've touched her."

The second Jared disappeared, I forced myself up.

Then someone grabbed my arm again.

"Bianca, you got what you wanted now, right? Did that time on the island teach you nothing? All you had to do was hand him a drink and this would've been over. Why did you have to pull that psycho stunt? You knew I was trying to shut this down. Can't you read the damn room for once?"

I looked at the furious man in front of me, my eyes burning red.

For the first time, I didn't hold back.

"Dave Tarrett, I'm your wife. If you'd just told them who I was, this would've ended the exact same way."

The meaning couldn't have been clearer.

He stayed quiet because protecting Maggie's ego mattered more than protecting me while they humiliated me like some party prop.

Dave got called out instantly.

A flicker of guilt finally crossed his face.

Maggie immediately tried to defend him, but Dave frowned and cut her off.

"That's enough. Shut up and wait in the car."

The second her footsteps faded away, he let out a tired sigh.

"I'm sorry, okay? But I still need to explain something. I honestly didn't know what that egg challenge meant. If I had, I never would've agreed to it. And Maggie..." He paused. "I hope you can understand. She just got back and saw that I was mar—"

He stopped himself fast, but I already got it.

Maggie saw he was married, got jealous, and decided to take it out on me.

And now he wanted me to forgive her for it. Of course he did.

Our eyes met.

Dave must've seen the sarcasm in mine because he sighed again.

"Fine. You're hurt, so I'll have the driver take you to the hospital. Maggie's emotional right now, so I need to go check on her. We'll talk when I get back."

Without waiting for an answer, he added,

"Even if you didn't finish those two dares, I'll still count them as forgiveness tokens."

Then he just walked away.

I watched his back disappear while blood kept running down my forehead.

And suddenly, I started laughing.

Because none of this mattered anymore.

Just two more times.

Once I paid back what I owed him, I was leaving.

And after that, he'd never get the chance to hurt me again.

By the time the driver took me home, it was already late.

Dave still wasn't back, and I didn't bother asking where he was.

The next morning, his executive assistant showed up with another gift from him—two storefront property deeds.

He even made sure to explain them.

One was compensation for forcing me to lick the cream.

The other was an apology for the egg challenge.

Without a word, I marked them No. 287 and No. 288, then tossed them into the safe like they were junk mail.

The house staff beside me smiled brightly.

"Mr. Tarrett really adores you. He's giving you gifts more and more often."

I just smiled back without saying anything.

She didn't know those "gifts" were compensation payments every time Dave hurt me.

I looked at the safe stuffed with property deeds and knew I'd be leaving soon.

But before that, there was still one thing I needed to take with me.

A camera.

There were things inside it that needed to disappear forever.

Dave had always been into trying reckless stuff in bed. Sometimes, in the middle of it, he liked filming us.

Back then, those videos felt intimate.

Now they just felt dangerous.

If those clips ever got leaked, my life would be over.

I tore through the entire room searching for the camera, but it was nowhere.

Just as I was about to start looking again, my manager Claudia called, practically screaming.

"Bianca, have you lost your mind? Get online right now! Your sex tapes are all over the internet! You seriously slept with other sponsors behind Mr. Tarrett's back? If you want to ruin yourself, fine, but don't drag the whole agency down with you!"

My mind went completely blank.

All I could hear was Claudia screaming through the phone.

"You better explain those videos right now! And if Mr. Tarrett loses it over this, none of us are letting you off the hook!"

Then the call cut off.

My hands shook as I grabbed my phone.

The trending page was flooded with my leaked intimate videos.

And right at the top was the headline—

[International Supermodel Bianca Belmont Slept Her Way to the Top]

Dave's face had been blurred out.

Mine wasn't.

My flushed expression was displayed front and center for the entire internet to stare at.

Millions of people online ripped me apart, calling me a useless tramp who slept her way to fame.

My legs gave out beneath me, and I collapsed onto the floor.

But before I could fall completely, Dave suddenly appeared and caught me against his chest.

"Don't look at it," he said quickly. "It's fine. I'll handle this. Trust me."

The second he finished comforting me, his expression turned terrifyingly cold.

He looked around the room and roared,

"Who did this?! Tell me right now! Who the hell did this?!"

I'd never seen him this furious before.

My eyes instantly started burning.

But then Maggie's casual voice drifted over from nearby.

"Dave, you mean the videos? I uploaded them."

The arm around my waist tightened instantly.

Dave and I both looked at Maggie.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she said with a smile. "I just saw the videos and thought Bianca looked pretty hot in them. Wouldn't it be a waste if only Dave got to enjoy that? So I posted them myself. Beautiful things are meant to be shared, right?"

My blood slammed straight to my head.

I lunged at her without thinking, but before I could touch her, Dave grabbed my wrist.

"Bianca! That's enough!"

Overwhelmed by anger and humiliation, I snapped, "But she—"

Before I could finish, Dave glanced at Maggie's smug face, then looked back at me with a frown.

"I'll get the posts taken down. Let's just end it here. Stop going after Maggie, okay? You know that, after all, she's still—"