Shawn was caught off-guard by Candace's sudden attack, his white shirt becoming thoroughly drenched. His temper exploded as he bellowed, "Bitch! You have some nerve to attack me!

"You almost ruined Yelena's face that day at the shopping mall when you made her fall. Preparing the stew for her is light punishment as is, yet you still want to argue with me? I guess it's true that a person who grows up without a mother's guidance will turn out to be barbaric and unreasonable!"

Candace had assumed that she couldn't be any more disappointed in Shawn. She never imagined that he would use the pain she kept buried in the deepest part of her heart to attack her.

He had forgotten all about how he had taken her hand in the past and said, "Don't cry, Candy. My mother will be your mother too in the future! I'll ask her to make whatever you want to eat, and I won't let you suffer any hardships! I won't forgive anyone who dares to bully you because you don't have a mother!"

Candace could still recall his promise to her as if he had made it just yesterday. How could he bear to hurt her so deeply just because he wanted to protect Yelena?

The immeasurable pain that she felt traveled from her feet to the top of her head. Tears poured from her eyes as if a dam had been broken. Her burning rage set her entire body aflame, making her feel as if she were a bomb that was about to explode at any second.

Candace no longer wanted to be a doormat that Shawn could trample on whenever he pleased. She yelled, "If you think that I'm so useless, go ahead and look for Yelena. Why did you even come back? I never begged you to come back to humiliate me!"

"Candace, I only came back with Shawn because he wanted to pack some of his clothes. We had no intention to humiliate you." Yelena clutched her red nightdress tightly. Her voice was small when she murmured, "It's just that he suddenly got in the mood and couldn't control himself, so I also…"

She groveled at Candace's feet. "I'm sorry, Candace. It's all my fault that the two of you are arguing like this. I've already asked Lisa to change the bedsheets in your room, so you can use the bed as usual—"

"Drop the innocent act!" Candace glared daggers at Yelena. "I'm going to count to three. If you don't get out of my sight, I'll have Lucia drop by and personally teach you the rules of this household!"

Shawn's face twisted upon hearing Candace's words. Lucia had always doted on Candace. If she found out about what was happening, he would have a difficult time handling her.

Incensed, Shawn wrapped an arm around Yelena to take her away. "Just you wait. This isn't over yet!"

The door shut with a resounding click as Candace closed it in their faces. Shawn seemed rather troubled as he guided Yelena back to his car, looking extremely upset.

A short distance away, the maids pointed at them as they whispered amongst themselves, wearing matching expressions of surprise.

"Mrs. Hamilton finally stood up for herself. I feel relieved, though I'm just an onlooker. Good on her!"

"Mr. Hamilton was way out of line this time. How could he ask a woman who's recovering from her postpartum to prepare food for his lover? If I were in her shoes, I would have wanted to kill him. That son of a bitch got what was coming for him."

"You're right. Even the most timid person has a temper, let alone Mrs. Hamilton. No matter how much she loves Mr. Hamilton, no one should have to endure such torment!"

"Mr. Hamilton only has the guts to act this way because he knows Mrs. Hamilton loves him. Her love for him is going to wither away sooner or later. He'll regret treating her this way when the time comes!"

Shawn scoffed. His biggest regret in life was conceding to Lucia's wish for him to marry Candace.

Candace's malice ran deep. When he had awoken from his coma all those years ago, Yelena had been the one who stayed by his side and cared for him. Candace had been beside herself with jealousy, to the point that she got the same tattoo as Yelena on her chest.

She even claimed that the person he saved from the fire was her. What was even more ridiculous was how Candace had shown him a box of love letters and insisted that he was the one who wrote them.

Shawn wasn't blind. There was no way he wouldn't recognize his own handwriting. He had written those love letters for Yelena!

Yelena studied Shawn's cloudy expression from the corner of her eye. She could almost feel the rage rolling off his body in endless waves. She pretended to stand up for Candace. "Shawn, Candace loves you a lot, so she probably couldn't immediately accept what we were doing in her room earlier…

"She's still in her postpartum recovery period, so she's not supposed to be stressed. You should be the bigger person and let it slide this time."

"You're too kind, Lena. Candace tormented you so much today, but you're still willing to speak up for her."

Shawn's heart squeezed as he drew Yelena into his arms. He exclaimed angrily, "I'll make sure she understands the consequences of angering me! I'll have someone prepare a divorce agreement right now. I'm going to evict Candace from the house by force!"

Yelena leaned against Shawn's chest, her eyes flickering with animosity. Candace would be so disappointed in Shawn for serving her divorce papers when she was still in her postpartum recovery period, so she would most likely agree without putting up a fight.

Once Candace was out of the picture, the position of "Mrs. Hamilton" was as good as hers!

When Shawn left, Candace tore up all their wedding pictures and threw them into the trash. She then packed all her clothes into her luggage.

Lisa was gripped with panic upon noticing her actions and told Candace that she was going to call Lucia to report what was going on. Candace stopped her and said, "Don't bother Lucia. She isn't doing too well."

"But you're about to leave with Jamie. How can you bear to abandon Mr. Hamilton?" Lisa asked with reddened eyes. "He had two craniotomy procedures, so he can't take too much stress!"

"He won't die," Candace replied indifferently. "Get the lily embroidery in the living room for me. That was Mom's wedding gift to me."

As Candace gazed at the blooming lilies on the embroidery, tears welled up in her eyes and blurred her vision.

She had been in the sixth grade when her mother, Marika Hanson, was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. She didn't have many days left to live, but she had gone behind Candace's back to secretly craft the lily embroidery despite her disease-ridden body.

The day before she passed, Marika had somberly pressed Candace's hand into Shawn's. With her last remaining breaths, she had said, "My dear Shawn, I'm entrusting my precious Candace to you. I hope the two of you will be able to smoothly get married in the future and be happy together for a long time.

"If you fall out of love with Candace, I hope you will set her free. Don't hurt her."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Brightshield. I'll take good care of Candace," Shawn had declared with tears in his eyes. "If I ever let her down, I'll suffer heart-wrenching pain every single day. I'll curse myself to be alone for the rest of my life, and my life will end in tragedy."

Marika's pallid complexion brightened a little. She sounded determined when she said, "Shawn, I have a good eye when it comes to reading people. I trust that you will protect Candace forever. I know that you won't let her shed a single tear."

"Mom, you were wrong about him."

Candace cradled the lily embroidery close to her. She choked out, "Shawn stopped loving me a long time ago. I don't want him anymore either."

The fierce winds rattled the windows as if howling in despair in her stead. Candace wiped her tears away and declared, "Don't worry, Mom. I'm all grown up now. I can live a good life even without depending on Shawn. I'll raise Jamie, and the two of us will live well together!"

…

"Mrs. Hamilton, Mr. Hamilton asked me to deliver this to you."

A lawyer entered and nodded at Candace before handing her a stack of documents.

Candace took the documents from him and noticed that it was a divorce agreement. Shawn was unwilling to pay even a cent of the alimony that was supposed to support Jamie.

He even demanded that she dissolve the marriage without taking any of his assets and also return the emerald wedding ring he gave her when they got married.

Shawn was truly a heartless man. Candace was about to sign the agreement when her phone was bombarded by a barrage of messages from Yelena.

"Candace, Shawn just paid over 100,000 dollars to buy an emerald bracelet for me. He also spent another 80,000 dollars to buy a matching set of emerald earrings. Do they look nice?

"I remember emeralds being your favorite jewels. What a shame that he has given me the set of emerald jewelry that he gave you in the past. The only part that is missing from the set is the emerald ring on your finger.

"He's such a pushy man. He's already given me enough emeralds to fill two rooms, but he still wants to give me even more. If I refuse his gifts, he'll punish me. He already made me orgasm five times earlier."

Candace's expression twisted as she called Yelena.

"Yelena, if you didn't get the same tattoo as me and steal the love letters he wrote for me to forge his handwriting, you would never have been able to replace me. Do you really think he would love you without all of your scheming?"

Yelena giggled on the other end of the line. "If you want to blame someone, you can only blame Shawn. His love for you wasn't strong enough. That's why I was able to trick him so easily."

She continued, "I'm pregnant, Candace. I've gotten my trump card. As for you, what did you get in exchange for risking your life to give birth to his child? You still got thrown aside in the end. How pitiful!

"If you knew that this was going to happen to you, you should have just died on that operating table. You could have taken your son with you and spared you both the pain. You know that I'm right. After all, even if the two of you continued to live, you can't escape the fate of being driven out of the house by Shawn."

Candace's hand trembled violently, and she almost dropped her phone. Her voice was tinged with loathing when she asked, "Did you do something so I would have a difficult time while giving birth to Jamie?"

Yelena chortled. "So what if I did? Even if Shawn finds out, he'll just think that you're trying to drag my name through the mud again. If I were in your shoes, I would have already died of embarrassment. I wouldn't be able to cling to the title of 'Mrs. Hamilton' shamelessly like you."

Candace scoffed as she switched off the recording device. She hailed a cab that brought her to the river. She handed the recording device and divorce agreement to the staff members of the death-faking service provider before following their instructions, placing her pink running shoes on the riverbank.

"Ms. Brightshield, I would like to confirm the details with you one more time. You have selected the option to fake your death without leaving a corpse behind."

"Yes," Candace replied, determined to see this through.

She picked up her luggage and disappeared into the night after preparations were complete.

Yelena would get what was coming for her. Candace's departure would mark the beginning of Yelena's hellish life and also the beginning of Shawn's spiral into insanity. Perhaps Shawn would also recover his memory in the process.

Throughout Edrela, Caroline Sawyer was renowned for her exceptional beauty. She was elegant, poised, and utterly immune to every man's attempts to win her over.

However, unbeknownst to everyone, beneath that cool and aloof exterior, she had spent the last four years being secretly in love with Bradley Miller, her stepbrother.

In the public eye, they appear to be the model of a refined sibling relationship.

Yet, in private, their nights were marked by quiet kisses and forbidden entanglements.

That night, as always, someone slipped quietly into her bed.

A moment later, a heated chest pressed against Caroline's back.

The faint scent of tobacco, softened by youthful warmth, lingered in the air and wrapped around her senses. Caroline's body tensed instantly. Before she could turn around, a pair of soft lips captured hers.

Bradley's kiss was light and careful at first, yet his tongue brushed teasingly against the corner of her lips.

"Have you lost your mind, Bradley?" Caroline whispered as she pushed a hand against his chest. "We're at the Sawyer residence. Dad and Chloe are upstairs. Go back to your room!"

He just laughed softly, his breath hot against her ear. "But I missed you. What should I do? Didn't you say earlier I was your good boy? Shouldn't I get a reward then?"

Gone was his usual obedient demeanor. His eyes burned with desire and dominance. He said, "Carol, come on. It's been so long. Won't you take care of me tonight?"

Under his gaze, heat crept up the back of Caroline's neck. His voice wrapped around her like a spell, and whatever refusal Caroline had meant to voice dissolved on her lips.

The usually obedient man was unusually demanding that night.

After what felt like endless entanglement, Bradley finally left the bed, satisfied, and disappeared into the bathroom.

Half-asleep, Caroline was startled awake by the vibration of a phone.

Reaching for it, she saw the message on the screen.

"Damn, Brad. Carol's moans were unreal. She had all of us weak in the knees!"

"You're the man, Brad. You said you would share some fun, and you actually streamed the audio live. Next time, do a video! We want to see what that ice queen's like in bed."

The words hit Caroline like a blow. A chill ran through her entire body.

"A live stream? What live stream?" she thought.

Before she could make sense of it, the phone started buzzing again.

She glanced at the caller ID, hesitated for two seconds, then answered—only to be met with the sound of muffled sobs on the other end.

"Brad, I did what you told me. I got rid of the baby. Can we go back to how we were? Please don't ignore me…"

That familiar voice jolted Caroline fully awake.

She sat up and coldly asked, "Bianca, is the baby you aborted Bradley's?"

The crying abruptly stopped. "Carol? Why are you answering? Why do you have Bradley's phone?"

"Answer me. Was Bradley the bastard who got you pregnant and made you abort the baby?"

Before she could finish her questioning, the line went dead.

Caroline's fingers trembled. As she was about to call back, a new message notification popped up on the screen.

"Brad, your little girlfriend's losing it. She's talking about ending her life if you don't show up. Come get her before she makes a scene."

The sound of running water stopped. Caroline's heart skipped a beat. She quickly turned the phone face down and shut her eyes.

Moments later, Bradley emerged.

He glanced at her sleeping form, careful not to wake her. He picked up the phone, scrolled through his notifications briefly, then tossed it aside and began to get dressed.

When the door closed behind him, Caroline opened her eyes.

She called a cab and followed him to a bar downtown.

From the moment he stepped inside the private room, a woman in a white dress rushed into his arms.

"Brad, you finally came to see me…" Bianca Sawyer whispered, wrapping her arms tightly around Bradley's waist as she sobbed softly.

He didn't hug her back. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he coldly questioned, "Who told you to skip class and come back to Edrela?"

"I called and texted, but you never answered. I missed you so much. It was my fault before. I got rid of the baby. Please don't ignore me anymore."

"Bianca, I've told you before that it's over." His voice was cold, edged with impatience.

"But why? We were fine before. What changed?" she cried, refusing to let go.

He gave a short, mocking laugh. Then, he tilted her chin up between his fingers and forced her to look at him. "I'm your stepbrother. Do you really think you can marry family?"

"But we're not blood-related! I'll talk to Dad—"

Bradley clicked his tongue, cutting off her panicked explanation. "Do you really want me to spell it out for you? I'm tired of you. Is that reason enough? Stop clinging to me. It's pathetic."

His tone was flippant and cold, nothing like the gentle, obedient man Caroline once knew.

She stared at his face, dazed, as if she were waking from a dream. She couldn't tell which version of him was real anymore.

It wasn't until the sharp crack of a slap broke through the noise that Caroline snapped back to reality, just in time to see Bianca run out in tears.

She instinctively took a step to follow, but froze when laughter erupted behind her.

"Brad really is something. He managed to get both his stepsisters in bed. Bianca is losing her mind over him. So, which one's better? Caroline or Bianca?"

"Definitely Caroline. Didn't you hear that voice message in the group chat? That moaning nearly killed me. Brad, when you're done, pass her to me. I wouldn't mind a turn."

"You? Give me a break. You wouldn't even get a chance to pick up the scraps! Look at Caroline's figure; half the guys in our group are jealous, and she blows everyone off. Only Brad could snag a goddess like her.

"They've been at this for years. His phone must be full of videos by now. Brad, when are you going to post them so the rest of us can gawk? Don't tell me you're being sentimental."

As their voices echoed across the room, Caroline felt her entire body go rigid as if the blood in her veins had turned to ice.

"Sentimental? Don't make me laugh. He pursued both sisters solely to get back at his stepfather. You think he would go through all that trouble for love? He's not that stupid."

"Get back? Our entire relationship was about revenge?" Caroline thought.

Her mind went blank. She looked closer and recognized several faces in the room—some of them were the same thugs who had dragged her into that alley years ago.

In her freshman year, she had been attacked by a group of drunk men. Bradley had appeared out of nowhere and took a knife for her.

If the knife had gone just an inch further, it would have taken his life.

She had stayed by his bedside for over a month after that. Her feelings, which started as guilt and gratitude, slowly changed. Even while enduring pain, Bradley stubbornly tried to make her laugh. At times, when he gazed at her in silence, his clear eyes would carry a deep, tender affection.

Later, they naturally ended up together.

During that time, Caroline never doubted the "coincidence" of that night in the alley, nor did she ever see through the calculation hidden behind those clear eyes.

A year later, Bradley moved into the Sawyer residence with his mom, Chloe Russell.

He wore a clean white T-shirt. With his head lowered, he looked unusually obedient.

But all Caroline wanted to do was run.

She began avoiding him. She was too afraid to go home or to be anywhere he might show up.

One day, he cornered her in a dark storage room at school.

He pinned her tightly against the door, and through the thin fabric of his shirt, she could feel the scar on his waist. It was the one she had traced countless times.

"Don't run," he murmured, his breath brushing against her neck. "Before I met you, I didn't know you were Edmund's daughter. But even if you are, I don't care. I just want you, Carol. Please, don't push me away."

Warm tears had fallen against her neck as he kissed her carefully. The taste of salt and desperation lingered between them, and her heart had softened completely.

After that day, they got back together.

During the four years they were supposedly in love, she turned down an arranged marriage for him, and he promised her a future.

Now she realized that their meeting, his affection, and every word he had said had been built on deceit. It was a carefully planned revenge against Edmund Sawyer for taking his father's place.

The thought almost made Caroline laugh. But as soon as she tried, a tear slid down her cheek.

"Brad, why are you so quiet? Don't tell me that you're going soft," one of the men teased.

"Soft?" Bradley lit a cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled slowly. "I'm just thinking about how I can make that old bastard suffer more. Maybe I'll release the videos at his and my mom's anniversary dinner."

"Damn! Both of his precious daughters turned into your playthings. That's wild. I can't wait to see that big shot Edmund get humiliated in front of everyone."

Everyone in the room burst into laughter again.

But Caroline couldn't hear any of it anymore. Her body trembled uncontrollably, and her chest ached so badly that it felt like her heart was breaking apart. Tears streamed down her face faster than she could wipe them away.

She stumbled out of the bar and into the pouring rain.

By the time she made it back to the Sawyer residence, she was drenched from head to toe. The cold cut through her, clearing her head a little.

As she crept upstairs, she saw light spilling from Edmund's study. The door was ajar, and she caught sight of his hunched figure bent over his desk.

Caroline knew that the Sawyer family's business had been struggling for years, but seeing him weary and carrying it all alone hit her in a different way.

A year ago, the Hutchinson family had offered an engagement proposal to help rebuild their fortunes. Edmund had agreed, hoping to stabilize the company.

Back then, she had refused the engagement to keep her promise to Bradley, and Edmund had never forced her to reconsider.

Now that she knew Bradley had approached her with nothing but deceit, their promise no longer meant anything.

Since that was the case, she would delete those videos, end things with Bradley cleanly, and from that day forward, they would have nothing to do with each other.

"Dad," she said softly.

Edmund looked up.

Caroline continued, "Let me marry into the Hutchinson family."