The next day, Belle generously said she would take me to a banquet.

She pretended to treat me as her former best friend, but everyone knew that she wanted to humiliate me.

"People in this world love to see the former noble lady turn into a lowly maid to show off their superiority."

When a disgusting middle-aged man teased me about my figure, Belle did not refute it.

Instead, she flirtatiously glanced at the middle-aged man, saying that she guaranteed there would be no mistakes.

I finally understood why she brought me here.

they probably planned a scheme, and Belle decided to sell me!"

"Belle, what gives you the right?"

I suppressed my disgust and dragged her aside, venting my anger at her in a corner.

Meanwhile, she held a glass of champagne and laughed openly, revealing her intentions.

"Do you think I don't know that you still have feelings for James in your heart? I am most familiar with the look in your eyes when you look at him. Natalya, you are a time bomb. I will never let you stay by my side forever."

I wanted to retort, but my body gradually weakened. My consciousness became hazy.

Seeing her proudly waving her glass, I understood in my heart.

She had put something else in the drink I was having.

"Natalya, show your last bit of value!"

This was the last sentence I heard before fainting.

I had a beautiful dream.

In my former home, my parents were always with me.

I had many playmates who envied me, but I never noticed that among this group of friends, there was a wild beast.

Suddenly, that wild beast went crazy and killed my parents with one slap.

The gaping jaws clamped down on my throat the next second.

"Dad! Mom!"

I suddenly woke up, but I couldn't open my eyes.

I felt like I was unable to move after being under general anesthesia. Gradually, I was regaining consciousness.

I suddenly felt a burst of chill in my heart when I recalled Belle's behavior at the banquet last night.

"Am I now..."

As my body's senses gradually awakened, the anticipated pain did not come.

Upon waking up, I was lying quietly in bed without any discomfort.

"Who drugged her?"

I heard a deep and pleasant male voice beside me.

But I couldn't retrieve the consciousness in my mind.

I had never been able to hear his words.

"Natalya, wait for me."

"I will be back soon."

He leaned close to my ear as he spoke. The next second, a warm kiss landed on my cheek.

I didn't know who he was, but I found the only source of warmth from this unfamiliar kiss.

Desperately opening my eyes, I only saw a tall figure leaving calmly.

I saw light from ten years of imprisonment.

I dragged my heavy body back to the villa.

"Why did you just come back?"

He frowned and stopped me.

The man who left this morning looked a bit like him. I almost cried.

"Pack up. I'll take you to see your parents."

I wanted to ask him if he knew that Belle had sold me, but he spoke first.

In the car, we were silent with a seat between us.

Although the driver in front was driving, he kept glancing back. I wondered what kind of people Belle had hired. Since he wanted to eavesdrop, he had to act well.

"Do you love Belle?"

I deliberately asked him.

"I will never let Belle go, but as for how to deal with James, I haven't figured it out yet."

She is my wife."

James's answer was decent, but I found it quite interesting.

“She's his wife, not his lover."

"It's worth mentioning that James is like a different person when Belle isn't around."

"If the previous James was a typical man taking advantage of a rich girl, he is more like a crow observing from all sides now."

"Once his blood-red eyes open, it will bring ominousness."

"We've arrived," he said.

When getting out of the car, he seemed to want to support me, but I discreetly avoided him.

Belle's man was watching our every move not far away. I didn't want to be kicked out without making any progress.

After ten years, I saw my parents again.

They were mounds, while I was no longer human.

"When I was in prison, it was you who sent someone to tell me about my parents, right?"

My parents did not commit suicide. The bankruptcy of my family was planned by someone. I was told about this in my second year in prison by a stranger.

"Now that I think about it, besides James, no one else would have told me."

"After all, he was somewhat sincere to me at that time."

"As for who caused the tragic death of my parents, it is easy to figure out."

The Conner family took over nearly half of my family's assets. After my father passed away, they became the dominant force.

James did not reply, which could be considered as an approval.

After returning home, I asked him again, "Why did you get involved with Belle?"

He walked ahead, looking somewhat weak.

After a long time, I finally heard him say, "Natalya, I am just like you."

"No, we are not the same."

"I strongly deny that. I don't want to be compared to someone untrustworthy."

"You should leave the Conner family as soon as possible. I know you stayed to seek revenge, but I don't recommend you do so."

This time, James didn't look fierce. He spoke to me solemnly.

I asked him back, "Why? I can only stand her bully, right?"

"Natalya, you knew why."

"What do I know? Do I know that you are plotting against her company, or do I know that you are now...?"

I pretended to be flirtatious and tugged at his tie. Then, he immediately pushed me against the cold wall.

"Don't play around."

"James, you know that I, Natalya, have always been able to handle it."

The wall behind me was cold and chilling, but I could feel the gradually rising body temperature as he got closer.

"You can pretend in front of Belle, but do you dare to admit that you have no feelings for me at all now?"

James did not answer. There was a gloomy and unclear look on his face.

After a long time, he fiercely kissed me by pinching my chin without any warning.

When I was young, I liked to be close to him.

Although our family backgrounds were somewhat disparate, I never looked down on people with worse economic conditions than me.

He would always tease me if I had skin thirst. All he got in return was my anger.

When I touched him again, memories rushed in like a landslide. I had to admit that I did have feelings for him before.

I slightly opened my eyes and looked at him, and he was looking at me too.

There was a slight playfulness in his eyes as he smiled.

Before I figured out why he smiled like this on his face, Belle suddenly broke in.

For a moment, our eyes met, and we were all stunned.

"Natalya, do you have no shame?"

She rushed up and tore at my hair, while James stood by like an outsider.

He made room for her to come up and slap me.

"You seduced my husband! You slut!"

Belle had no dignity, acting like a fierce woman who went after a mistress.

But she seemed to forget that her husband and I hadn't made any actual progress.

And she snatched her dear husband away from me.

"He was my boyfriend at first. Do you remember? The first time we had sex, you even helped us book a room at a hotel!"

"Why are you mentioning this?"

James frowned and pulled me aside.

I broke free from his hand and said word by word, "Did you deliberately plan for Belle to come back at this time?"

I laughed and exposed the true colors of this couple.

"When I was in prison, do you think I didn't know that you deliberately deceived me?"

I turned to Belle and said, "And you... Don't think I don't know that it was you who caused trouble for my family's company!"

"So, what if it was?"

Belle became angry and started speaking without restraint.

"It was intentionally done by me and James. You are only worthy of taking the blame for us!"

"Your parents are foolish. They voluntarily sold the company's equity to save you, but in the end, it was all taken by my father. Your whole family is stupid. Who can you blame?"

"Now, I am the noble lady, and you are just a stray dog. Please leave!"

She finally spoke her mind.

The Conner family made a fortune and relied on my family's support to move forward. We were about the same age. She was often compared to me.

"You will always be a bumpkin. Even your husband is not wanted by me."

I laughed and mocked her, while James stood silently by the side.

In this dispute caused by him, he seemed like an outsider.

Belle couldn't bear it anymore. She called the security guard.

I was kicked out of the gate like a stray dog.

Now the gate closed, James turned back and glanced at me.

I stumbled out of the villa and took out a recorder.

I recorded everything Belle had said.

Before leaving, James gave me a contact.

Passing by a trash can, I threw it away.

It was pouring rain at night. I didn't know where to go. I walked and ended up at my father's grave.

While I was lost in thought, I saw someone put a bouquet in front of my father's tombstone.

Looking up, I saw a person holding a black umbrella and silently looking at me.

"Natalya, come home with me."