I quickly hired five makeshift construction teams and tirelessly turned the luxurious villa into a bare shell. Looking at my sleepless night's work, I felt no joy, only a sense of disgrace and worthlessness.

"Anne, I'm exhausted. Can I sleep at your place?"

"Of course, besides me, what else in my house isn't given by you? Welcome home, sis."

I smiled, took off the big diamond ring from my ring finger and placed it on the lock button by the entrance door. From then on, everything about Michael was left in that yard, shattered to pieces.

Following Anne back to her place, I was utterly exhausted and couldn't hold back anymore. I collapsed on her bed and slept soundly for an entire day.

When I woke up in the evening, there was a message from Michael on my phone: [Come home tonight, I have a surprise for you. And prepare my favorite snacks. I want to devour both the snacks and you.]

Sure enough, he treated me like a plaything. He thought he was being affectionate, sending dozens of heart emoji stickers, yet he had no idea that just a minute earlier, his fiancée had updated her social media: [Who else is as generous as me, letting you go to your flings at the drinking table?]

Michael replied, [Honey, you're the most generous.]

Then, Sarah Walker, that woman, messaged me: [I went to your place. I chose the most expensive bag for you, no need to thank me. By the way, Michael sprained his waist last night, so take it easy during your little games.]

I hated her nonchalant display of blatant bragging and sarcasm beneath her calm demeanor.

I also hated being unknowingly dragged into their games. Somehow, I found the courage to reply provocatively, [Don't worry, I'm on top."]

The typing on the other end stopped. I finally felt a bit of satisfaction.

Michael messaged again: [What do you want to eat tonight? I'll bring it home for you. How about some chicken soup?]

He still didn't know that the house was gone and so was I. With a sarcastic smile, I replied, [Make sure to eat well, there's a surprise waiting for you at home.]

Getting up to take a shower, I left without looking back, with Anne in tears. I boarded the flight back to the coastal city.

I discarded my phone card, severing all ties with Altheris from then on.

Michael, carrying the limited-edition designer bag, excitedly pushed open the villa's door and was stunned. He even thought he had walked into the wrong place. After rubbing his eyes and repeatedly checking the villa's address, he confirmed it was indeed his home.

But overnight, it had turned into a wasteland-like garbage dump. He reflexively called out for my name, but in the empty villa, there was nothing but cold, shattered concrete.

He began to panic. Taking out his phone, he dialed my number. The repeated shutdown notifications made him realize that he was trembling. He then called several of his close friends one by one:

"Hey, did any of you tell Taylor about Sarah coming back?"

"No!"

"Did you block Taylor from seeing your social media posts?"

"Every time we have a gathering, we block her."

"So, has she tried to contact me?"

"Yes, often in the past, but not these past few days."

Michael's frown deepened. Just as he was about to curse, he spotted the diamond ring on the door frame.

It was the ring I refused to take off, even during our play. The one I said made me his wife. The ring he thought I would wear forever.

The ring was just taken off like that. His pupils dilated and for a moment, it felt like his heart was being squeezed, causing him immense pain.

But just as he rushed out the door, Sarah stood behind him, smiling. "Why did you demolish the house? Are you planning to renovate it for our new home?"

The panic in Michael's eyes quickly faded. He took Sarah's hand and smiled, "What kind of decoration do you like?"

"Hmm, something simple."

"Alright, whatever you say."

With their fingers tightly intertwined, the two of them walked out the door side by side.

As Michael had just held the diamond ring in his hand, he threw it to the ground the moment Sarah appeared. Before leaving, Sarah glanced back with a cold smile and kicked it into the sewer, murmuring, "I don't want it and you don't deserve to pick it up!"

Michael didn’t look back. He thought to himself that he had probably spoiled me too much, indulging me every whim, letting me throw little tantrums at him.

The villa's multimillion-dollar renovation was destroyed overnight, becoming a joke in their circle.

He cursed under his breath, “What is there to make a fuss about with her background? Even if there are other women outside, so what? She probably doesn't know how many girls are lining up to throw themselves at me with just a wave of my hand. I spend a lot of money, give her plenty of love and affection and even during the years Sarah is away, I never sleep with another woman.”

He believed that he had already been attentive enough to me. If I continued to act out, he regarded it as my immaturity and without him, I wouldn't have lasted three months before facing hardship. A woman he had pampered wouldn't be able to handle the grind of a nine-to-five job, bowing and scraping.

He determined that once I was done throwing tantrums and wanted to come back, he'd lay down the rules properly.

What he didn't know was that while he might have been the prince of Altheris, I was the quintessential young lady of Zeroth. We both played our roles in this game for three years. While he performed convincingly, I was just as committed.

Three months later, a grand banquet was held at the Thompson Family's mansion in Zeroth City.

I was forcibly ordered by my brother to attend as a representative of the Taylor Family. By the time I dragged my feet to the venue, more than half the guests had already arrived.

To my surprise, I ran into some familiar faces beside the Thompson Family patriarch.

Michael, with his arm around Sarah's slender waist, stood beside the old man, holding a wine glass. As half of Zeroth City's elite and wealthy business people took turns greeting the patriarch, the two of them naturally blended in, gaining recognition in the process.

Michael, claiming the title of Walker Family's son-in-law, never left Sarah's side for a moment.

The moment he saw me, the smile on his face froze.

Instinctively, he loosened his grip around Sarah's slender waist.

As for Sarah, when her gaze followed Michael's and landed on me, her expression changed slightly but only for a moment. She then calmly leaned close to Michael's ear and said something.

Without waiting for me to greet Mr. Thompson, Michael walked straight toward me. Ignoring the startled gasps from others, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me to a corner by the staircase.

Lowering his voice, Michael asked me, "Why are you here? Where have you been these past three months? Why did you block all my contact information? Am I really that unworthy of your affection? If that's the case, then why did you show up here? Do you even realize how important tonight's banquet is to me? Whether the Harris family can gain a foothold in Zeroth City depends entirely on tonight."

He signed. "Three months of drama is enough. This is not the place for you to be causing trouble. Go back to the hotel and wait for me."

Without caring about my protests, he reached into my handbag, trying to find my phone to leave his number in it.

I turned to the side and brushed his hand away.

"Why can you come, but I can't? We're both guests once we enter, does that mean you're more distinguished than me? It's all in the past, Mr. Harris, you should let it go."

He furrowed his brow, a gesture he always made when he was about to lose his temper.

"Taylor, I'll say this one last time—don't make a scene."

Seeing Sarah walking over with her back straight and high heels clicking confidently, Michael grew anxious.

"We’re just a casual friendship, remember? The rest, we’ll talk about it later."

"Are you done chatting with your friend?" Sarah nodded at me, then naturally linked her arm with Michael’s, striking the pose of a capable leading lady.

"Mr. Thompson and my grandfather are old friends and with that connection, we should be able to discuss a 10% share of the Harris Family’s market. I've done what I can, but if you're busy, then we can let it go this time..."

"No, I’m not busy!" Michael averted his gaze. "Greetings are done, now we need to focus on the important matters."

He shot me a warning glance and pulled Sarah to walk away.

But Sarah didn’t move. Instead, she provocatively lifted her chin towards me, her beautiful red lips parting and closing like a snake flicking its tongue. "Miss, haven't we met somewhere before?"

Michael immediately furrowed his brow, watching me warily, waiting for my response.

"I feel like I've seen you before," I replied.

Sarah probably thought I would be intimidated by her because of her high status.

But why should I?

I was the one who’d been mistreated, the one who’d been played.

I casually opened my phone, scrolled through the constant messages Sarah had been sending me over the past three months, flaunting her love. Without hesitation, I threw it right in her face.

"WhatsApp! You've been sending me all these 'show-off love' messages every day. My profile picture is my own photo, how come you don't even recognize me now?"

I scrolled up the screen and continued, "Isn’t this the picture of the new house you sent me? I was so busy that I forgot to reply. I’ve long since had enough of that crappy house, so I gave it to you. Don’t get too happy."

Sarah's fake smile froze on her face and she gritted her teeth, warning me, "Don't go too far!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Is this too far?"

I went on, "When you sent those pictures of you two in bed in the dead of night, that wasn’t too much? When you flaunted the marks all over Michael's neck to show off, that wasn’t too much? When you accidentally exposed your sexy dress, that wasn’t too much?"

With every word I spoke, Sarah’s face paled more.

She anxiously glanced at Michael, but I blocked her view. "Are you so afraid of me? Am I such a big threat to you?"

"You said it yourself, something you pay for is no different from a drink, right? So is it that I'm just too charming, or is my drink too strong?"

She was left speechless by my words, unable to defend herself.

I crossed my arms, clicking my tongue and shaking my head. "They say you're the most elegant woman in the capital, but why do I sense you're acting pure and innocent while actually being manipulative?"

"Michael." Sarah’s face instantly turned ugly and she looked at Michael with pleading eyes, hoping for help.

I thought that Michael probably understood.

But he roughly yanked me away from Sarah, standing in front of her protectively and coldly scolded me, "Taylor! I warn you, don’t speak out of turn. Sarah has a good temper, but I’m not as easy to deal with."

But I wasn’t one to be easily threatened. "What’s wrong? She’s your woman, aren’t you going to introduce her? Your little snack, was it me who taught your fiancée how to make it for you?"

Michael's expression stiffened and there was a surge of angry flames in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and coldly said to me.

"Apologize to Sarah now and I can pretend nothing happened."

I couldn't be bothered to listen to him. I turned to leave, but my wrist was grabbed and I was yanked back off balance. "Did I give you permission to leave?"

The next moment, a strong hand gripped Michael's wrist tightly. "My fiancée doesn't need your permission."