The moment I pushed open the villa's front door, Leanne's shrill laughter greeted me.

My entrance shattered the cozy atmosphere in the living room. Everyone frowned at once, as if I were an uninvited stranger who had suddenly intruded.

My husband, my brothers, my sister... Not a single one of them remembered that I had just been discharged from the hospital.

To this family, I was less than a stranger.

Emmett stood up, hesitation flashing across his face.

"Camille, I'm sorry I didn't pick you up from the hospital. There's been too much going on at the company."

I looked at him indifferently and stepped aside, avoiding the hand he reached out to me.

His expression stiffened. Before he could say anything else, Leanne clung to him and walked over.

She wore that familiar smile—sweet on the surface, but a hint of provocation gleamed in her eyes.

"Sister, you're back," she said softly. "I'm sorry we didn't go pick you up. I really wanted to go to the Maldives ever since I saw the travel guide you made."

The smug glint in her eyes told me everything.

This was just another one of her plunders.

Taking what I cherished had always been Leanne's favorite thing to do.

"If you like it, then take it," I replied calmly.

She clearly hadn't expected that reaction. The smile on her face faltered for a split second.

She reached out toward me, malice flickering in her gaze.

"I heard you wanted to take the baby traveling too. Maybe next time," she whispered, leaning close to my ear.

"As long as he isn't already a pile of rotten flesh..."

I shoved her hand away violently, fury surging through my eyes.

"Get lost!"

Leanne curled her lips smugly and, following the force of my push, staggered back and fell to the floor.

Jace shot to his feet, rage exploding across his face.

"Camille! Have you lost your mind? Leanne's body is so weak—how could you lay hands on her?!"

Antonio was even more furious.

"You just caused her to get into a car accident, and now you're hurting her right in front of us! I should've sent you to the police station to clear your head!"

"The one who was in the accident was me!" I shouted. "If anyone should be reported, it's Leanne!"

I thought I could stay calm. But when everyone stood firmly on Leanne's side, I finally broke.

Emmett looked at me with disappointment and bent down to help Leanne up.

"Camille, even now you're still lying," he said firmly. "Leanne has cancer. How could she possibly have the strength to push you?"

"Don't say that about my sister," Leanne said tearfully. "I know she can't accept my return so easily. I'm willing to apologize properly."

I ignored her performance and stared straight at Emmett.

"Whether Leanne has cancer or not, I don't know," I said quietly. "But that day, I lost our child."

Before I could finish, Leanne's expression changed drastically. She suddenly clutched her head and screamed.

"Damn it!" Jace shouted. "Leanne is having an episode! Give her the medicine—now!"

Emmett shoved me aside without hesitation and rushed to Leanne.

In an instant, everyone crowded around her.

No one listened to me anymore.

The familiar scene made me want to scream, but days of torment had already drained every ounce of strength from me.

In the end, I didn't even glance at the farce unfolding behind me. I turned and went upstairs.

The moment I opened the bedroom door, I froze.

My clothes, my wedding photos with Emmett, everything I had carefully added to this room over the past seven years—all of it was gone.

In their place were luxury handbags, high heels, and revealing dresses.

They were tangled together with Emmett's suits, exuding blatant intimacy.

I even saw used contraceptives in the trash can.

While I was hospitalized, Emmett and Leanne had been entwined—in the master bedroom that belonged to me.

My body trembled violently.

Just then, Emmett's voice sounded behind me.

"I let Leanne move into the master bedroom."

He spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"She's sick and needs the best room to recover. You're the older sister—be more accommodating. Your room is over there now."

He casually pointed toward the guest room.

"Why did you change the moment Leanne came back?" I asked softly, despair thick in my eyes.

A trace of hesitation appeared in Emmett's gaze, but after glancing downstairs at Leanne, his expression hardened once more.

"Camille," he said coldly, "everything you had originally belonged to Leanne seven years ago."

"I'm just returning what was hers to begin with."

I didn't cry anymore.

I turned numbly toward the guest room.

If all of this had always belonged to Leanne, then I would give it back—and disappear from their lives completely.

That night, Leanne's moans echoed endlessly from the master bedroom, piercing and cruel.

I wiped all my tears onto the sleeping puppy beside me. Feeling the warmth of its small body, the tearing pain in my chest finally eased—just a little.

The next morning, I packed the luggage that had been thrown into the guest room.

Many of the mementos Emmett and I once shared were gone.

I no longer cared where they had ended up.

Even if they were still here, I wouldn't take them with me anymore.

Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Emmett's bodyguards grabbed my arm respectfully yet firmly. Ignoring my struggle, they dragged me straight onto a cruise ship.

The moment I saw the ship before me, my breathing stopped.

For seven years of marriage, I had carried a single dream.

I wanted to hold my wedding with Emmett on a cruise ship.

For that dream, I had designed my own wedding dress and wedding ring. But until now, those design drafts had been sealed away in my room, gathering dust.

Suddenly, the thought of the missing designs flashed through my mind, and my breath quickened.

I stepped onto the deck with trembling legs—and in that instant, my breath froze.

The pure white wedding dress that had existed only in my dreams, and the wedding ring entwined with thorn flowers—they were right there before my eyes.

My vision blurred as the past seven years flooded my mind, filled with Emmett's gentle smiles.

Even though I knew it was impossible, a sliver of hope rose within me.

This was prepared for me.

He had learned of my wishes, found my designs, and created the wedding I had only ever dreamed of.

With trembling hands, I slipped on the thorn-ring and picked up the wedding dress, heading into the room to change.

Just as I finished undressing, the door was kicked open violently.

"Camille, what do you think you're doing?!"

I froze in shock.

Emmett stood there, fury written across his face. When he saw the thorn-ring on my finger, he strode forward and yanked it off.

"What are you doing?!"

His rough movement caused the thorns to slice into my finger. I cried out in pain.

But Emmett ignored me completely, wiping the ring over and over, as if my touch had left some invisible stain on it.

He looked at me coldly and sneered. "Camille, are you so desperate that you'd steal Leanne's wedding?"

"What are you talking about?" My voice trembled as realization dawned on me. "Wasn't this prepared for me? You took my designs—the ring, the dress, the cruise wedding. I designed all of it."

He let out a mocking laugh. "Camille, how old are you? Still indulging in childish fantasies?"

"This has nothing to do with you. If Leanne hadn't liked your designs, none of this would exist. I brought you here only to see what still needs fixing."

"Leanne's wedding cannot have a single flaw. This is her only wish after falling ill."

His words poured over me like ice water, jolting me awake.

I finally understood—this was yet another plunder by Leanne.

And I had been foolish enough to fall for it.

"Emmett, there's no need to explain anything to her," Jace said coldly as he stepped forward. "Just throw her off the ship. She's useless anyway."

He carefully lifted the wedding dress, never sparing a glance at me, standing there in nothing but my underwear.

Antonio sneered.

"We just borrowed your designs. You were never going to have a wedding like this anyway. Leanne was kind enough to let you see it—you should be thanking her."

I stared blankly at them. "She stole my husband. She stole my wedding. And I'm supposed to thank her?!"

"Sister, if you mind so much, I can give this wedding to you," Leanne said tearfully, her eyes brimming with pity. "I just want to be Emmett's bride once before I die..."

"If my sister is unhappy, I can give up this wish," she said softly, reaching out toward me.

I looked at her with pure hatred. "Ever since childhood, no matter what I had, you took it. I endured all of that. Why did you have to come back after leaving?"

"I only wanted one wedding that belonged to me. Why did you have to steal even that?"

Pain engulfed me completely. My body trembled violently with rage.

As I suffered, Leanne revealed a smile so faint it was almost invisible.

She was savoring my pain.

"Because I like the way you look when you're suffering," she whispered.

"All of this was originally mine—my brothers, my husband, my wedding. You only stole them for seven years."

I couldn't hold back any longer. I lunged forward and shoved her hard.

"Camille!"

The next second, my furious brothers joined forces and threw me off the cruise ship.

"You've attacked Leanne again and again. You need to be taught a lesson. Go back dressed like that."

"If you ever lay a hand on Leanne again, you won't be our sister anymore!"

They tossed me off the ship without hesitation, despite the fact that I was wearing nothing but my underwear, exposing me to everyone's gaze.

And my husband—he was too busy feeding Leanne her medicine to look at me even once.

In that instant, it felt as if ten thousand needles pierced straight through my heart.

Shivering, I wrapped my arms around my bare shoulders. The mocking stares and lewd laughter of strangers made me wish I could die on the spot.

I didn't even have a single cent on me.

I could only walk back.

By the time night fell, I finally reached the villa.

My legs were numb—but my heart was still bleeding.

Everything around me felt as though it were separated by a thin, invisible film.

In the second year after marrying Emmett, I adopted a puppy.

If there was anything I absolutely had to take with me when I left, it was my dog.

I staggered toward the room and pushed the door open—then froze.

Leanne was inside my room, holding black cookies and stuffing them into my dog's mouth over and over again.

My heart pounded violently. I snatched the cookies from her hand and immediately caught the scent of chocolate.

"You fed it chocolate?" I screamed. "Don't you know dogs can't eat chocolate?!"

My shrill voice startled the puppy. It spun anxiously at my feet.

I scooped it up at once, intending to rush it to the hospital.

At that moment, Leanne stepped in front of me.

"I fed it on purpose," she said smugly. "Sister, this dog is such an eyesore. Just let it die here."

She spoke with the same malicious delight she'd had every time she pulled a cruel prank when we were children.

"Get out of my way, you monster!" I shoved her aside, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

The next second, the door burst open.

Emmett and my two brothers appeared in the doorway.

"Camille, you've attacked Leanne again!" Jace roared. "She even brought food for your dog to apologize to you!"

"I told you long ago she should be sent to detention to clear her head," Antonio snapped. "She's completely insane. We should just send her to a mental institution!"

As he spoke, he grabbed my arm roughly.

Emmett looked at me with icy indifference. I saw nothing but hatred in his eyes.

"She fed my dog chocolate!" My voice trembled violently. The suffocating pain rose from my chest to my throat, making it hard to breathe.

Seeing my pale face, Emmett hesitated for a moment. He knew how much I loved my dog.

"Sister..." Leanne began to cry again. "I really didn't do it on purpose. I didn't know there was chocolate in the cookie."

"I can apologize," she said pitifully. "But I really don't want to kneel to a dog."

She was still pretending.

My vision darkened with rage. I wanted nothing more than to tear Leanne apart. But just then, the puppy vomited a mouthful of blood.

The bright red stained my eyes.

Its weak whimper shattered my heart.

I could no longer care about anything else. I only wanted to get my dog to the hospital—but Emmett grabbed my arm.

He looked at me coldly, as if I were a criminal.

"You should apologize to Leanne."

My brothers blocked my path as well.

"She fed my dog chocolate!" I clenched my teeth, refusing to back down.

Jace's expression darkened.

"Camille, it's just a dog. Leanne already said she didn't know there was chocolate in the cookie. How could you make her kneel to a dog? She's sick—don't you have any sympathy at all?"

"She took everything from me!" I screamed hoarsely. "Leanne isn't sick at all—she's pretending—"

Before I could finish, Antonio slapped me hard across the face.

He looked at me with pure disgust.

"Camille, you've completely lost your mind. No one would joke about their own health. If you don't kneel down and apologize to Leanne, I won't let you take this dog to the hospital."

The pain on my cheek left me stunned.

Before I could react, several hands forced me down, trying to make me kneel.

I struggled desperately. Even if my ankle broke, I wanted to leave.

But the miscarriage and two car accidents had already destroyed my body.

As I looked at the puppy in my arms, its breathing growing weaker and weaker, my knees finally gave way.

I knelt.

"I'm sorry," I said calmly. "Is that enough?"

At the moment my knees hit the ground, something inside me died completely.

Satisfied expressions appeared on their faces.

Only then did they allow me to rush toward the hospital with the puppy in my arms.

But it was already too late.

The doctor sighed and placed a small urn of ashes into my hands.

My body—and my heart—felt utterly hollow.

I accepted the ashes numbly, like an empty shell.

It had been a clumsy little stray, only three months old when I picked it up. I raised it for five years, and all it ever learned was how to fetch slippers.

Back then, I thought that I would be able to stay with it for a very long time.