Enzo’s gaze flickered toward Hailey as if caught in the act. He shoved Allison away too hastily, an overreaction that only made things more obvious.

"We're just friends," he said stiffly. "Don't misunderstand."

His words denied everything, but the guilt shadowing his face betrayed him.

Hailey studied him with cool detachment, tilting her head slightly, a slow, knowing smile curving her lips. "Of course. You two are good friends, aren’t you? But if you’re going to say that, at least wipe off the kiss mark on your neck first. It’s really quite embarrassing."

At that moment, she felt untouchable, unshaken, and invincible.

Without hesitation, she reached into her bag, pulling out the marriage certificate. Then, right before his eyes, she began slicing it apart, shredding every last illusion.

"Didn’t you say it was fake?" Her voice was light, almost amused. "Fine. Let it be fake. If you didn’t want to marry me, you could’ve just said so. I wouldn’t have forced you. Why put on such a ridiculous act?"

A mocking smile played on Hailey’s lips.

Enzo stood frozen as if struck by lightning.

Without another glance, she turned on her heels, her high heels clicking sharply against the floor as she strode out. Behind her, the scene inside the hospital room remained frozen in time, the half-eaten cake discarded on the floor, Allison’s smug satisfaction, the flicker of panic in Enzo’s eyes.

His face turned deathly pale. She knew.

She had found out about the fake marriage certificate.

Allison, however, clung to him, her voice syrupy sweet as she twisted the knife deeper. "Brother, don’t be angry. We’re the ones truly married. She’s just a homewrecker trying to ruin us. Just ignore her."

She had always been the one his family had chosen for him.

And yet, at this moment, Enzo felt like he had been thrown into an ice pit. His heart was hollowed out, an unbearable emptiness swallowing him whole.

A sudden, desperate need clawed at him; he had to see Hailey.

Without hesitation, he shoved Allison aside, ignoring her shrill protests as he stormed out. He never looked back.

Outside the hospital, Hailey’s phone buzzed with a call. A friend was inviting her to a farewell gathering.

She didn’t hesitate to accept.

Just as she was about to hail a taxi to the restaurant, a firm hand suddenly grabbed her from behind.

His voice softened, coaxing.

"I was wrong about this. Please, don’t be mad, okay? My mom said that there are times I have to play along with Allison. It’s just an act, don’t take it to heart, alright?"

Hailey almost laughed out loud.

Even now, he was still trying to fool her.

Did she look like an idiot?

The taxi she had called pulled up. Just as she stepped forward to leave, Enzo’s anxious voice followed her.

"Where are you going? I’ll go with you."

She frowned. Unbelievable.

The Enzo she once knew wouldn’t have bothered. He would have waved her off, impatient and dismissive.

Coolly, she replied, "I’m going out for drinks and food with Jasmine. You want to come too?"

"I do."

Exhaustion pressed down on her. "You don’t need to."

"We’ll take my car."

Enzo was relentless. He dismissed the taxi and drove her himself.

By the time they arrived, Jasmine had already ordered drinks. The moment she saw Enzo stride in, her lips curled into a scoff.

"Oh, look who it is. President Rainford. Not busy keeping your little girlfriend company? What brings you here with our Hailey?"

Enzo, ever the gentleman when it came to Hailey’s friends, silently pulled out a chair for her.

Jasmine, unimpressed, decided it wasn’t worth the energy to argue any further. The meal, however, was anything but pleasant.

Hailey exchanged a helpless glance with Jasmine, but neither said a word.

Midway through dinner, Jasmine’s sharp gaze caught an incoming call: Allison.

A frail, pitiful sob echoed through the phone.

"Hailey ate the cake… and now she’s passed out. Please, come check on her."

Right on cue.

Hailey didn’t so much as blink. At the mention of the cake, she simply leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, her expression indifferent.

She met his gaze with chilling indifference.

"Hailey, if you put something in the cake, just admit it. I won’t blame you."

Boom, her world shattered.

Another baseless accusation. Another attempt to frame her. Rage surged through Hailey like a storm, her entire body trembling. Her gaze turned razor-sharp.

"I didn’t bake that cake for an Alaskan Malamute. You were the one who insisted on feeding it. What was I supposed to do? If you hadn’t force-fed that dog, the one lying dead might’ve been you instead."

She turned to Jasmine with a regretful look. "I’m sorry. I wanted to treat you to a good meal today."

Jasmine, however, merely smirked, shooting Enzo a look of amusement. "Your wife doesn’t want you anymore."

Enzo ignored her entirely. His focus remained locked on Hailey as he seized her wrist firmly. "You’re coming back with me. Hailey ate your cake, after all. You have to come with me."

His grasp tightened, making Hailey wince. She glared at him coldly. "Let go."

But Enzo didn’t care. Without another word, he pulled her toward the car and shoved her inside. The entire ride was steeped in suffocating silence as if he had already convicted her.

Hailey suddenly remembered there was a time when, every time she was wronged, she would break down, desperately trying to defend herself.

But ever since she chose to return to Belmond, no matter how unfairly she was treated, the urge to explain simply vanished.

It wasn’t Allison’s mockery at the pet hospital she had to endure. No, it was far worse: her own parents, who didn’t even bother to ask for the truth before striking her across the face.

Her father’s furious voice boomed through the room. "Unbelievable! How can you be so cruel?"

"What did Allison ever do to you? How could you do something so vicious to her?"

His contempt, her mother’s relentless scolding, and the judgmental murmurs of the onlookers all fused into a suffocating weight, crushing her beneath it.

The man beside her didn’t spare her a second glance. He didn’t defend her. He didn’t even hesitate. Instead, he rushed toward the Alaskan Malamute, his voice thick with concern.

"How is Hailey? Is she okay?" he asked urgently.

Allison, eyes swollen from crying, collapsed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "I don’t know what happened either! Come see her!"

The two of them, plus a dog, are a perfect little family.

And her? Just an outsider.

She wasn’t only enduring the disgusted stares of the crowd and the humiliation of being scorned by her parents.

She had been abandoned once, taken in by Maddox, and only reunited with her biological parents a decade later.

Maddox had told her, "If you ever feel wronged over there, come back."

But she had believed, foolishly, that her parents cared about her. That she belonged.

Yet, in their hearts, Allison was always first.

She had fought to carve out a place for herself, struggling to be seen and matter. But no matter how hard she tried, nothing changed. To them, she would always come second.

Fine. She didn’t want it anymore.

Her voice remained steady, indifferent. "That cake wasn’t meant for the dog. If you want someone to blame, find the real culprit."

She gave them a cold glance before adding, "Keep your dog on a leash while you’re at it. Don’t let it run wild, biting people."

Her father’s face twisted with fury. He let out a sharp snort and seized her arm. "Try walking out that door, and I’ll make sure you pay for what you did to Allison. I’m not your so-called foster father; let’s see what the police have to say about you!"

Her mother’s glare burned with pure hatred. "Absolutely vile!"

The police arrived swiftly. Two officers restrained her, gripping her arms so tightly she couldn’t move.

A female officer turned to Allison and Enzo, her gaze sharp. "Did she deliberately poison the dog?"

Allison didn’t speak. She merely turned to Enzo, her tear-filled eyes brimming with helplessness.

Enzo hesitated, his gaze wavering as it landed on Hailey.

With a helpless sigh, he finally uttered, "Yes."

At that moment, the last fragile thread in Hailey's heart snapped an invisible break that felt deafening in its finality.

She bore the weight of scornful gazes and biting condemnation before being taken into custody, her dignity crushed beneath their judgment.

Three days of detention.

In the cold, suffocating jail cell, she shrank under the piercing stares of hardened criminals. Fear stole her voice, rendering her too afraid to utter even a whisper.

But then, salvation came, Jasmine.

This normally unshakable woman clutched her, tears streaming down her face like fragile petals battered by rain. "Why didn’t you call me? Do you have any idea how scared I was?" Her voice trembled with raw emotion.

In this bleak world, Jasmine was the only one who cared.

She was a small ray of light in an otherwise endless night.

On the way home, Hailey noticed a lively commotion; the family celebrated Allison’s birthday. Just as she neared, she stumbled upon a few guests stepping outside for fresh air, their laughter starkly contrasting to the suffocating silence that had engulfed her for days.

They were Allison’s friends.

One of them curled her lips into a sneer, her voice laced with mockery.

“Well, well! Look who decided to show her face, the murderer herself!”

“You hurt our Hailey, yet you still have the audacity to show up here? Shameless!”

Once again, insults rained down on Hailey; cruel words hurled like stones. The flashing cameras of eager reporters only fueled the spectacle. But she stood there, unmoved, indifferent to their judgment.

Until a sound drifted from the bedroom.

"Enzo, do you love me?"

The man didn’t hesitate.

"I do."

Hailey’s hand, just inches from knocking, froze midair.

A moment later, she withdrew it. Instead, she reached for her phone and dialed Kaia.

In a quiet voice, she said, “Transfer the money. I’ll leave now.”

On the other end, Kaia smiled as if she had anticipated this exact moment. Without missing a beat, she booked Hailey a flight to the capital.

“Good. I knew you’d make the right choice. I’ll have the remaining forty million transferred to your account.”

"Leave tonight."

Meanwhile, in the bedroom next door, Enzo and Allison laughed together, lost in their own world.

Hailey packed her bags alone.

By the time the first light of dawn touched the sky, she lifted her suitcase and walked out without looking back.

What she didn’t know was that the moment she left, her phone lit up with countless missed calls, each one from Enzo.

As she boarded the plane, a wave of relief washed over her, light, unshackled, free.

For the first time in forever, she was leaving behind that gloomy, paranoid, insecure version of herself.

High above the endless stretch of clouds, Hailey slept soundly, her first real rest in what felt like an eternity.

By the time she landed, two days had slipped by.

That night, pulling her suitcase through the crisp autumn air, she muttered under her breath, "Why is the capital’s weather so damn cold?"

And Maddox? Where was he? Had he really not bothered to come pick her up?

How boring.

Just as she was about to grumble again, a familiar figure appeared in front of her.

Leaning lazily against a sleek red Ferrari, a smirk played on his lips.

"Were you just cursing me in your head?"

Hailey let out an amused scoff, feigning innocence.

"I was not."

He chuckled, tilting his head toward the car. "How about this? A Ferrari, grand enough for you?"

It had been a long, long time since she had seen Maddox.

She had been the orphan taken in by the Campbell family and raised by him for over a decade, only to later discover her real parents.

She had once yearned for the warmth of a real family.

But to her parents, she had never been more than an afterthought.

Allison was their precious jewel, their pride, their priority.

And her? Just an existence they barely acknowledged.

But Maddox was the only one who had ever treated her like she was something precious.

Three years had passed since she last saw him.

Hailey studied the man beside her, taking in every detail.

Now in his early thirties, he carried himself with quiet confidence, his scent subtle yet intoxicating.

Sharp brows framed his face, his jawline strong and defined. And those fox-like eyes, mirth dancing in their depths, held a charm that had only deepened with time.