I had an old injury in my leg. The pain pierced straight to the bone, and I shoved her away instinctively.

She fell to the floor and immediately burst into tears, sitting there and wailing.

Annoyed, I pulled out my phone and called Alistair.

He answered quickly enough, but his tone was thick with impatience. "Sheila, I'm busy right now. The company just landed a major project. Didn't you say you were going to look at the wedding dress? Why are you calling me?"

"Alistair," I snapped, "get your ass to the bridal shop right now. The woman you're keeping—what right does she have to touch my wedding dress?"

He paused for a moment, then brushed it off without a second thought. "What woman are you talking about? Who's been filling your head with nonsense again? I know you're upset I didn't go dress shopping with you, but this isn't the time to throw a tantrum. I'm busy. I'm hanging up."

With that, he actually ended the call.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.

'Fine. Since you're treating me with such indifference, then I won't wear this tainted wedding dress ever again,' I decided.

But Alistair would have to give me an explanation.

I struggled to my feet, my heart aching for my mother's painstaking effort. Now that the dress had been sullied, I would never keep it.

The gown lay on the floor. I stepped forward and casually lifted a corner of it, gripping the most delicate part of the hem. With one hard pull, I ripped it clean off.

That woman's eyes turned red with fury. She lunged at me like a madwoman.

"How dare you ruin my wedding dress! You bitch! I'll kill you! Do you know who my husband is? He's the heir of the Huxley Group! I'm calling the police! Now!"

I sneered and dialed the police before she could.

The dress was worth a million, making it a serious case. The police arrived quickly.

After they came, I learned that the woman's surname wasn't even Huxley. Her name was Lisa Smith, a poor college student sponsored by the Huxley family. After graduation, she had stayed by Alistair's side as his assistant.

Everyone knew what kind of relationship they had. But since I was about to return home, Alistair publicly claimed Lisa was his adopted sister. That was why outsiders all called her Miss Huxley.

"Officer," Lisa sobbed to the police, "a month ago, my husband told me he ordered a wedding dress for me at this shop and asked me to come take a look. That dress has been altered to fit my body for over a month. My husband even paid the deposit! Today, this crazy woman destroyed my wedding dress the moment she walked in. Lock her up!"

The bridal shop manager rushed forward to back her up.

"That's right. This lady is Mr. Huxley's girlfriend. He often brings her to our shop. This wedding dress has been altered to Miss Huxley's measurements for a long time. We never expected something like this to happen. The damage has nothing to do with our shop—it was all done by this woman."

The manager pointed straight at me.

The police stepped up in front of me.

"Miss, you claim this wedding dress belongs to you. Do you have any proof?"

"Of course I do," I replied calmly. "This shop is a personal brand founded by the world's top designer. My wedding dress was personally designed by him. To prevent counterfeiting, there's a chip embedded inside the gown. A simple scan will reveal the owner's information."

I raised my wrist.

"And this bracelet is the matching device used to scan that chip."

I handed the bracelet to the police, and they quickly located the chip inside the dress.

A scan revealed the identity information. The dress was mine, clear as day.

"Miss Huxley—or should I say Miss Smith—do you see this? This wedding dress belongs to the Vance family. It is the personal property of Sheila Vance. This gown is worth 1 million dollars. You've ruined it with your alterations, and you will be held fully responsible for all losses!"

Lisa froze.

All this time she'd been altering the dress, and she hadn't even noticed the chip hidden inside. The boutique manager was even paler, wiping cold sweat from his face as panic set in.

But Lisa still wouldn't admit defeat.

"It's a lie! She wanted to steal my dress. She planted the chip in there! If not, how come the boutique staff never found it after all their alterations? She came, and suddenly it's here—there's clearly something suspicious!"

The manager, terrified of offending anyone but afraid of being implicated himself, quickly sided with Lisa.

"That's right. This must be some trick she's playing! Miss Vance has been abroad all these years and never said she'd return. Yet Miss Huxley was brought here several times by Mr. Huxley himself!

"Officer, our shop has surveillance cameras. We can prove that Mr. Huxley and Miss Huxley are a pair—and that she did indeed come to see the dress."

He even handed over the footage voluntarily.

I could only laugh at their stupidity. Let them check the recordings to see if I'd done anything.

Of course, the manager, trying to be clever, said today, the cameras were broken.

In the end, due to the high value of the gown, we were all taken to the police station.

With my parents abroad, I called the housekeeper to pick me up.

Lisa, meanwhile, called Alistair.

By this point, Alistair didn't dare show his face. He sent his assistant, Mabel Morris, instead.

Mabel bowed as soon as she saw me, apologizing profusely.

"Miss Vance, I'm terribly sorry for the trouble!"

"Where's Alistair?"

"Mr. Huxley is busy. The company has many projects, and he truly can't leave, so he asked me to handle this."

I sneered. "Do you think I'm letting this woman get away?"

Mabel quickly dialed Alistair and handed me the phone.

"Miss Vance, Mr. Huxley wants to speak with you."

Curious about his attitude, I pressed the speakerphone.

The moment he spoke, I could practically smell his arrogance through the line.

"Sheila, can you stop making a scene? Lisa is a poor student we sponsor. If the world sees our company bullying a little girl, what kind of reputation would that give us?

"You're about to marry into our family. Shouldn't you prioritize our interests? Come back immediately. It's just a dress. Why drag this all the way to the police station?

"You've been completely out of control abroad. Once you join our family, you'll need to adjust your temper properly."

I laughed in disbelief. After all these years, I hadn't truly seen Alistair's real face.

"Alistair, what the fuck are you saying?!"

He froze the moment I snapped at him. If he were smart, he would know that between us, I was the one in control.

But years of playing president of a company had clearly rotted his brain.

"Sheila," he said, voice hardening, "is this how you speak to the head of a household? Shame on your upbringing. Looks like you'll need a little pre-marriage training!"

"No need to wait for your housekeeper. I've already had my people send him away."

My eyes widened instantly. I hadn't expected him to actually dare do something like this.

The next moment, Mabel escorted us out.

I was taken to a suburban villa owned by the Huxley family. That was where I finally saw Alistair.

"Alistair, do you even realize what you're doing?" I demanded. "This is illegal detention. If my parents find out, have you thought about how you'll explain this to them?"

In just a few short years, Alistair was no longer the timid boy who used to trail behind me, begging for resources and opportunities.

Now, he radiated the aura of someone in power. With a mere flick of his hand, Lisa obediently leaned into his arms.

Hearing my words, Alistair let out a disdainful chuckle.

"What's there to explain? You're about to become part of my family anyway. Our two families have worked together on so many projects over the years—you don't seriously think your parents would fall out with me over you, do you?

"Lisa may be a poor student, but she's taken care of me all these years in your place. She's never seen much of the world. Can't you just give her some leeway?"

"Alistair, you're disgusting!" I screamed, cutting him off. "Who gave you the nerve to say something so vile?"

He frowned impatiently. At once, the people beside him stepped forward and forced me to my knees.

"Looks like being sent abroad for all these years didn't teach you obedience after all.

"Lisa, how did she bully you? Return the favor."

Lisa walked over with a smile and slapped me hard across the face.

"If your face gets ruined," she said sweetly, "you won't be qualified to stand beside Alistair anymore, will you?"

After that, she ordered the bodyguards to slap me a hundred times.

Blood flowed from my ears and mouth. My head rang violently, my vision spinning.

Still not satisfied, Lisa told them to strip off my clothes.

I struggled desperately, but Lisa broke two of my fingers and ripped off several of my fingernails.

Alistair had brought many bodyguards. I had no strength to fight back. The countless invasive gazes fixed on me filled me with unbearable humiliation.

"Sheila," Alistair said coldly, "take these next few days to reflect properly. I'll come see you again in seven days. I hope by then you'll understand how to please a man."

He left after saying that.

I tried to make my way back to the city on my own, but in the middle of the night, I heard wolves howling. Terrified, I had no choice but to retreat back into the villa.

There was no food inside—no water either. After just three days, I collapsed in the living room, utterly drained.

Staring at my twisted fingers and battered body, I clenched my teeth hard enough to draw blood.

Then suddenly, the villa door was kicked open.

My housekeeper rushed in with a group of people.

When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital room at my family's private hospital.

The housekeeper was sitting by my bed. When he saw me wake up, his eyes lit up with relief.

"Miss, you're finally awake! You nearly scared me to death. If something had happened to you, how could I ever explain it to Master and Madam?"

"Where are my parents?" I asked.

My throat felt torn raw. Every word carried the faint taste of blood.

"Master and Madam are already on the plane. They'll be here very soon."

"Good," I said softly. "Go tell the Huxley family—if Alistair can still stand tomorrow, then the Huxley family doesn't need to exist anymore."