"Linda was about to be released, and now she's been sentenced to another ten years. Was this your doing?"

Julian's face was cold as he reprimanded her.

Audrey suddenly laughed. "Her sentence was extended because a new witness came forward. What does that have to do with me?"

"Who else would do something like this if not you?" Julian shot back, his voice tight with urgency. "First you trashed Lillian's shop, then you nearly got me killed. You've always been this aggressive, this unreasonable!"

"Go withdraw the testimony. Now." His tone left no room for argument. "Just say you arranged false testimony. At worst, you'll pay a fine. Nothing will happen to you..."

"That's enough!" Audrey snapped, unable to listen any longer. "And you have the nerve to question me? Did you forget that Linda is a child trafficker? If you hadn't forged my signature and submitted that letter of forgiveness, would she have been getting out this soon? As for withdrawing the testimony? Not a chance. She committed a crime. She deserves to be punished."

"You...!"

Seeing Audrey refuse to budge, Beatrice snapped, "Why waste your breath on her? Lock her in the confinement room. Let her out when she agrees to withdraw the testimony."

"What?" Audrey froze in place.

She couldn't believe it. Her own mother was willing to side with the woman who had trafficked her—to lock her up, all just to comfort Lillian.

"Heh..."

A faint laugh slipped from Audrey's lips, but as she laughed, tears began to fall.

"Mom... in your heart, isn't Lillian the one you see as your real daughter?"

Beatrice stiffened, something flickering uneasily in her chest. At that moment, Lillian suddenly rushed in from outside.

"Audrey! It's all my fault! Please don't argue with Mom!"

She ran up to Audrey and dropped to her knees. "I know... my mother wronged you. She did terrible things and made you suffer so much. I hate that she gave birth to me. If you won't forgive her, then I'll pay you back with my life!"

With that, she slammed her head into the wall. Blood immediately streamed down from her forehead.

"Lillian—!"

Julian panicked. He shoved Audrey aside and rushed forward, pulling Lillian into his arms.

Caught off guard, Audrey stumbled back, her back slamming into the edge of the table. Pain flared sharply.

Beatrice looked at Lillian with aching concern. "Silly child, this isn't your fault. She's just cold-hearted!"

Then she turned to Audrey, fury blazing in her voice. "Are you really going to push Lillian to her death? Guards, take Audrey away. Lock her in the confinement room until she learns her lesson!"

The next second, Audrey was shoved into a cold, dark confinement room.

The pain in her back made it hard to even stand. It felt like she had been dragged back to that tiny dark room from when she was trafficked.

Filthy rats and insects crawled over her, gnawing at her flesh.

Fear and despair spread through her as she curled into herself, barely able to tell memory from reality.

"Let me out! What right do you have to lock me in here..."

She pounded on the door again and again, her hands raw and bloodied, her voice turning hoarse—but no one came.

She was like a broken doll drained of all color, completely abandoned.

Only after her voice gave out completely did Julian finally storm in, shoving the door open.

"Lillian lost too much blood because of you. She still hasn't woken up! Since this is your fault, you're going to pay for it!"

Before long, Audrey was taken to the hospital by Julian, and tube after tube of blood was drawn from her body.

The doctor was pacing anxiously nearby. "We really can't take any more, Mr. Ashcroft. Miss Winslow has been frail ever since she came back. Drawing this much blood at once could put her in serious danger..."

"Enough!" Julian cut him off through clenched teeth. "Keep drawing."

The needle slid slowly into her skin. Audrey watched her blood run through the clear tubing and into the bag.

She suddenly remembered how, when she had first returned to the Winslow family, Julian had looked at the scars on her arms with nothing but heartache. He had found the best cosmetic surgeon to remove them, and he had even made different soups for her every day to help her regain her strength.

"Audrey, you've suffered too much all these years. From now on, I'll protect you."

Those memories were still painfully vivid, yet now Julian had locked her in a confinement room for the sake of that mother and daughter, and was practically bleeding her dry.

Tears slipped from Audrey's eyes. Her vision blurred more and more until everything went black, and she lost consciousness.

When she woke again, she found herself lying in a hospital bed, with a maid tending to her at her side.

"Miss Winslow, you're awake?"

The maid hurried over to help her sit up the moment she opened her eyes.

"Thank goodness. I'll go tell Mr. Ashcroft and Mrs. Winslow right away. You have no idea how worried they were when they saw you faint..."

Worried?

Audrey let out a bitter laugh. If they had truly cared about her, how could they have ignored her condition and taken so much blood from her?

Sure enough, in the days that followed, no one came to see her again.

Now and then, she overheard bits and pieces about her parents and Julian from the nurses.

"The girl in the room next door is unbelievably lucky. They treat her like a princess. Her whole family dotes on her like she's the most precious thing in the world."

"Exactly. It was only a cut on her forehead, and they still brought in the hospital's top specialists for her. They even send her nourishing meals and tonics every single day."

"And her family and boyfriend never leave her side. They're constantly there taking care of her. She's spoiled beyond belief."

Seeing Audrey lying alone in her room the whole time, one of the nurses asked kindly, "Miss, where's your family? You lost so much blood and nearly died. Why has no one come to see you?"

Audrey only gave a faint smile and answered calmly, "I don't have a family."

"What do you mean, you don't have a family?"

Julian shoved the door open and demanded, his brows drawn tight.

Sensing the tension, the nurse awkwardly slipped out of the room.

Julian looked at Audrey lying on the hospital bed, and at last his tone softened. "Audrey, if you hadn't made mistake after mistake, would I have needed to use your blood to save Lillian? As long as you stop making things hard for Lillian from now on, Edward, Beatrice, and I will treat you the way we used to."

The way they used to?

Audrey smiled.

There was no going back. She could never return to when she was seven.

Seeing her smile, Julian mistook it for surrender and quickly said, "It's good that you've finally come to your senses. This time, you really went too far. You upset Lillian for days."

He glanced at Audrey's pale face, then hesitated before continuing, "But since what's done is done, and Lillian has already forgiven you, we won't press the matter any further... There's just one thing. Three days from now, I'm going to hold a fake wedding with Lillian, so her mother can serve her sentence in peace..."

All Audrey felt was irony.

So the sudden change in his attitude toward her had only been so he could marry Lillian without trouble.

"Marry whoever you want. It has nothing to do with me," Audrey said flatly, without the slightest ripple in her heart.

Julian grew anxious. "How can you say that? You're my fiancée. I'm about to marry someone else, and you don't care at all?"

Audrey let out a cold laugh. "Then what exactly do you want from me? Wasn't it you who said I shouldn't make things hard for Lillian anymore? Now I'm doing exactly what you asked, I'm agreeing to your marriage, and suddenly you're not satisfied?"

Julian was left speechless.

He did want Audrey to stop causing trouble, but hearing her say it so plainly still left him uneasy.

So he convinced himself she was just being stubborn.

"Audrey, don't worry. This wedding is just for show. We've been engaged since childhood. You're still the only fiancée I have."

Audrey only gave a faint, empty smile, her gaze drifting to the falling leaves outside the window.

There was no need. She would be gone soon anyway.

Who Julian married, whether it was real or fake, no longer had anything to do with her.

In the days that followed, preparations for Julian and Lillian's wedding began in full swing.

The house was adorned with twinkling fairy lights and delicate white floral arrangements.

Beatrice took Lillian out every day to shop for wedding items, trying on countless dresses.

Edward handled the banquet arrangements, calling venues and inviting friends and relatives to attend.

Julian even put aside all his work to focus entirely on the wedding preparations.

If this was what they called fake, then what could possibly be real?

Audrey watched it all without a word, quietly waiting for the day she would leave.

That was until one day, her parents knocked on her door.

"Audrey, Lillian is getting married soon. She's all alone with no one to rely on... We were thinking... maybe she could move back here for a while, so that we could spend some time with her."

Beatrice spoke cautiously, afraid Audrey might refuse.

But Audrey didn't even blink. "Whatever you decide," she said calmly.

Seeing that Audrey didn't seem upset, Beatrice grew bolder. "A wedding is a big deal. She needs proper rest..."

She hesitated before adding cautiously, "Your room is the largest and most comfortable. Could she stay there for now, and you move to the guest room for a couple of days?"

Audrey let out a soft laugh.

This was the room she had grown up in. Even during the ten years she had been missing, her parents had kept it exactly the same.

So when she had returned, seeing it untouched had moved her to tears.

Every drawing, every trophy inside carried pieces of her past.

And now, they wanted Lillian to move into it.

Audrey took a deep breath. After a long pause, she said quietly, "Fine. I'll move."

Noticing something off in her expression, Beatrice hurried to reassure her. "Lillian is only staying temporarily. Once the wedding is over, I promise the room will be yours again."

Audrey said nothing more.

There was no need.

Anything that was once hers, she no longer wanted.

That very afternoon, Lillian arrived with bags and suitcases in tow.

Seeing Audrey still packing, Lillian said deliberately, "Audrey, let me help you..."

As she spoke, she reached out as if to take Audrey's things.

Audrey shoved her away instinctively. "Don't touch me!"

Audrey hadn't used any force at all, yet Lillian stumbled as if she'd been violently pushed and slammed into the bookshelf.