The noise inside stopped instantly.

After a brief rustling, I pushed the kitchen door open.

Fred's shirt was still unbuttoned, his chest half exposed, panic written all over his face. Ayla Butler was wrapped in his jacket, her clothes a mess and her cheeks flushed.

Fred forced himself to sound calm. "Hannah? Didn't you say you had plans today? Why are you back early?"

I didn't even look at him. I walked straight up to Ayla and slapped her across the face.

"Get out."

She froze, one hand covering her cheek while staring at me in disbelief.

Fred immediately pulled her behind him, his expression dark as he snapped at me.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I just asked her to come over and cook for you. Didn't you say you've been craving creamy mushroom soup? I can't make it, so I had her help. Why are you hitting people for no reason? Apologize right now!"

I almost laughed at how ridiculous it sounded.

"Do you think I'm deaf? Does cooking sound like that?"

Ayla's eyes turned red, her voice soft and shaky. "I just got splashed by the soup. We were really just cooking. Please don't misunderstand…"

As she spoke, she picked up the pot from the stove and held it out toward me.

"If you don't believe me, try it yourself…ah!"

Before she could finish, her foot slipped. Her whole body pitched forward.

The pot of boiling soup tipped straight toward me.

I jerked back on instinct, but it wasn't enough. The scalding liquid splashed across my legs, heat exploding over my skin.

Both of us cried out and fell to the floor.

But the next second, Fred rushed to Ayla and scooped her up, panic filling his eyes.

"Are you okay? Did you get burned?"

He glanced at me once, then carried her straight out the door.

"Babe, wait for me to get back."

I bit down against the pain, forcing myself up. I turned on the sink and ran cold water over my legs again and again.

The skin was an angry red, the pain so sharp that it made my vision blur. Sweat soaked through me.

I called an ambulance myself.

At the hospital, even as they treated the burns, I couldn't stop shaking. Every touch made me grit my teeth.

I checked my phone.

Ayla had posted.

[Ugh, burned my hand, but it's okay. He stayed with me the whole time, so it doesn't even hurt.]

In the photo, her hand had a small patch of redness. Compared to the burns across my legs, it was nothing.

And the hand holding hers belonged to Fred.

Right then, another message popped up. It was the girl who had been hesitating before.

[I've decided. I'll join you. I'll help expose them.]

During my stay at the hospital, I found out Ayla was in the room right next to mine.

Her injury was barely anything, but she must've known I was here. She checked in anyway, just to get under my skin.

Fred stayed with her almost the entire time. He only came to see me occasionally, as if I was an afterthought. When he saw the bandages wrapped around my legs, something like concern flickered in his eyes.

But it didn't last. His tone quickly turned into blame.

"Couldn't you just be a little more reasonable? You just had to pick a fight with Ayla and ended up like this. She was just trying to help, coming over to cook something for you."

I ignored him.

"Come on. Don't stay mad. Ayla's just my secretary. We've been together for five years. Don't you trust how I feel about you?"

Before I could respond, her voice drifted in from the next room, soft and sweet.

"Fred, I'm hungry! Come feed me!"

His eyes flickered. "She burned her hand. It's hard for her to eat on her own. I need to help her. I'll be right back. Get some rest."

I watched him walk out.

A moment later, laughter and playful voices spilled through the wall from next door.

That was when I noticed that he had left his phone behind on the nightstand.

I picked it up and opened it, pulling up that group chat like muscle memory.

They had already been talking again.

[Dude, why have you been giving Hannah lower scores lately? Your company anniversary gala's in a month. If you keep this up, she's gonna lose. You still planning to propose or what?]

[Man, girls who know how to play the game really get to you. I'd pick Ayla, too. Marry her, keep her at home looking pretty, then come back every day and have a good time.]

[Hannah's been with you for five years. If you don't marry her after all that, she might just lose it.]

[Why not introduce her to us instead? We'll help her get over it.]

The chat filled with laughter, the kind that made my skin crawl.

Then, Fred replied.

[Hannah's been acting up lately. Hence the docked points.

[But I can tell she still loves me. Otherwise, she wouldn't be jealous of Ayla.

[As for the proposal, I've already set everything up for the gala. When the time comes, I'll just pick whoever I want on the spot.]

I quietly took screenshots of the key messages and saved them.

Then I put the phone back exactly where it had been and lay down, closing my eyes to pretend that I was asleep.

When Fred came back and saw me resting, he didn't notice anything and left again soon after.

I picked up my own phone and called my private assistant, giving instructions to start preparing a few things.

One month from now, I would make sure those men lost everything.

On the night of the gala, Fred invited a long list of big names from the business world, along with plenty of well-known faces.

Of course, his usual crowd was there as well.

For the past month, I had played along as if nothing had happened. I acted sweet and agreeable, like I had let everything go.

Fred bought it. He even dialed things back with Ayla a little and started acting like we were back to normal.

He told me he had a surprise planned for the gala. I already knew what it was.

Tonight, he was going to propose to me.

When his friends saw me, their eyes wandered all over me, their tone careless and suggestive.

"You look amazing tonight, Hannah."

"Man, you're lucky. A girlfriend like her? Damn. I need to find someone just as stunning someday."

I smiled and played along, nodding politely, while internally, I had already rolled my eyes a dozen times.

The party was in full swing when the lights suddenly cut out. A spotlight dropped straight onto me. Soft violin music filled the room.

Just like I expected, Fred stepped forward, ring in hand, and went down on one knee.

"Hannah, these past five years, you've become irreplaceable to me. You've completely won my heart. Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?"

The crowd erupted.

"Say yes! Say yes!"

I smiled sweetly.

Then, right in front of everyone, I threw the glass of red wine in my hand straight at his face.

"Get lost, you cheating piece of trash."

The entire room went silent.

Fred stood there, frozen for a full three seconds before it hit him what had just happened. His face darkened instantly, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Was I not clear enough? You're the one cheating. And you think you're worthy of proposing to me?"

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Voices rose in a wave of shocked whispers.

Fred wiped the wine off his face and grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight that it felt like my bones might crack.

"If you want to make a scene, do it at home. Don't embarrass me here."

He was too strong for me to pull away.

So I lifted my hand and slapped him across the face.

"Get lost!"

He stared at me, stunned, one hand on his cheek. It took him a moment before he finally spoke through clenched teeth.

"Fine. If you really wanna push this all the way, then don't blame me."

He turned, grabbed Ayla, and pulled her forward.

Then he dropped to one knee again.

The spotlight shifted to them as he repeated the exact same proposal.

Ayla looked at me, smug, her voice soft and sweet. "I do."

The crowd cheered again, though plenty of people were still whispering, their eyes flicking back toward me with complicated looks.

Fred pulled her into his arms and kissed her right there in front of everyone.

The way he glanced at me was almost like a challenge. Like if I begged now, he might still take me back.

I didn't even spare them another look.

I walked straight to the center of the hall, toward the massive screen. Under everyone's gaze, I nodded to the staff I had arranged in advance.

"Play it."