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.

A deafening crash rang out as the cabinet toppled to the floor.

The handmade sculptures Audrey had created as a child, the trophies she had won from countless competitions... all of them shattered into pieces.

The moment Julian and Beatrice heard the noise, they rushed over.

"Lillian! Are you hurt?"

Lillian looked utterly aggrieved. "I was only trying to help Audrey... It's all my fault for being so clumsy..."

"What does this have to do with you?" Julian lifted his eyes coldly and looked at Audrey. "If anyone's to blame, it's her. She's the one who pushed you."

Audrey's fingertips turned cold. "I barely touched her!"

"You're still trying to argue?" Julian's gaze darkened. "I thought you'd finally learned to control your temper. I didn't expect you to still be this impossible!"

Beatrice chimed in from the side, "I actually thought you were being considerate for once, agreeing to let Lillian move in. So this was what you were planning all along?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the mess all over the floor without even blinking. "Since you seem so eager to clean up, then clean to your heart's content. Someone come here. Watch Audrey clean this room up herself. No one is to help her!"

Two maids stepped forward at once and stopped in front of Audrey. "Miss Winslow, go ahead."

Audrey stared at the shards scattered across the floor, her fists clenched tight. In the end, she slowly crouched down and began picking them up piece by piece, dropping them into the trash.

The sharp glass sliced into her fingers. Blood dripped from her fingertips until both hands were covered in it.

She suddenly remembered the first time she had brought home a trophy. It had only been for a sculpture competition, yet her parents had been happier than anyone.

They had personally hosted a banquet, proudly telling everyone how talented their daughter was, and had even invited a renowned sculptor to attend and congratulate her.

Julian had even persuaded his parents to help arrange a small sculpture exhibition for Audrey, showing her off everywhere and boasting about how remarkable she was.

But now, the sculptures and trophies had all been reduced to fragments.

And they didn't spare them even a glance.

Outside the door, Julian was tending to Lillian's injury.

A shard of glass had nicked her calf. It hadn't even drawn blood, yet Julian was still anxiously disinfecting it and wrapping it in bandages.

His voice was gentle. "The wedding's only a couple of days away. We can't have even the smallest scar left behind."

Beatrice smiled and stroked Lillian's hair. "That's right, Lillian. A bride has to look absolutely beautiful."

Audrey tugged at the corner of her mouth in a faint smile, but her hands never stopped moving.

Maybe it was better this way. Let the past break apart and scatter with the wind.

By the time Audrey finally finished cleaning the room and came out, the living room was already full of wedding planners and staff.

Lillian stood in the center wearing a wedding gown, while smiles lit up every face around her.

The moment she saw Audrey, Lillian waved her over at once. "Audrey, come here. Try on this bridesmaid dress and see if it fits."

"Bridesmaid?" Audrey's expression changed. "When did I ever say I'd be your bridesmaid?"

Julian immediately stepped in to defend Lillian. "It's just for show. What's the problem? Besides, you nearly left a scar on Lillian just now. Shouldn't you make it up to her?"

"You really want me to be her bridesmaid?" Audrey looked at Julian and asked coldly.

For a moment, a strange unease rose in Julian's chest. He wanted to deny it, but his pride wouldn't let him take back his words.

So he nodded and answered in a low voice, "Yes."

"Fine. I'll do it."

With that, Audrey turned and went to change.

When she came back out, everyone staring at her froze.

Audrey was breathtaking. In fact, she outshone the bride herself.

Even Julian's eyes lit up.

A flash of resentment flickered through Lillian's eyes, but she immediately slipped into a sweet voice. "Julian, I'm so nervous. Why don't we do a little rehearsal here at home first?"