On the day Wendy held a press conference as a reporter, her husband Ron secretly worked with her own sister Windy and forced Wendy to take the blame.

Wendy cried out in anger and despair, but what she received was even worse betrayal.

Her biological parents chose to protect the younger sister. Her husband chose to make her suffer.

Her parents sent her to a mental hospital. Her sister pushed her off a snowy mountain. Her husband even wanted to take her heart’s blood.

On the day Wendy Bloom was burned alive by her twin sister, her junior classmate, Oliver Mortimer, saved her from near death.

He helped her fake her death and escape abroad.

At the hospital bed, he gently touched her face with his fingers, he spoke softly, “Wen, I will never let anyone hurt you again.”

——

At the press conference, Ron Lugner stood in front of the reporters as Wendy’s husband to give a testimony that his wife was the one in charge on the fatal surgery scandal.

“I’m very sorry. My wife made a serious mistake. The patient may never walk again.”

“This incident happened because she forced her younger sister to take the blame. I will try my best to compensate the victim. I hope everyone will be gentle with my wife.”

Wendy could not believe what she was hearing.

What surgery mistake? It was obvious that her twin, Windy, did the surgery without Wendy even knowing!

Why in the world should Wendy took the blame?!

The older twin suddenly pulled away from Ron’s tight grip. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart, and her throat tightened.

“Ron! What are you talking about? Since the first day I became a surgeon, I have never failed a surgery! Everyone knows this!”

Wendy was a genius in orthopedics. Ever since she started performing surgeries, she always finished faster than expected — usually thirty minutes earlier.

Despite her being a genius, Wendy had a face full of freckles. She got people gossiped about her appearance because of it. Luckily, she had Ron as her loving husband.

Ron Lugner was a famous businessman. He was decisive and powerful, and many women chased after him. But he rejected them all.

No one expected one day, Ron would marry Wendy, the eldest daughter of the Bloom Family.

To protect her precious miraculous hands, Ron even announced that he would stop working overtime, just so he could go home every night and personally take care of Wendy's.

For three years after marriage, he did as he promised. He even gave Wendy ten percent of his company’s shares.

Wendy never imagined that one day, the man who seemed to had given her everything would betray her.

Seeing Wendy getting emotional, Windy walked up and held her. She said with guilt. “Sis, don’t be angry. I… I’m not refusing to take the blame for you. But for you to do this far, it's just... wrong…”

Ron tried to comfort Windy too and pull her into his arms. “Wen, it’s normal for people to fail sometimes. It’s okay. I’ll take care of the blame for you.”

Ron and Wendy were clearly working together. While the younger twin was acting kind, the husband was acting serious. Their display of emotions caused everyone to blame Wendy even more.

Countless people mocked the once genius surgeon.

Wendy felt endless anger and heartbreak in her chest. She never thought Ron would protect Windy by sacrificing her.

She tried to stay calm, but her shaking voice betrayed her. “Do you have any evidence? The patient’s family saw Windy do the surgery. Everyone in the hospital knows she was the surgeon yesterday.”

“Why are you saying I forced her to take the blame?” Even in this situation, Wendy still spoke logically and pointed out the flaws in the spreading rumors.

Unfortunately, Wendy did not expect Ron to be over prepared for Windy. He took out a written apology letter and showed it to all the reporters.

When Wendy saw the familiar handwriting, she felt like she was struck by lightning. Her legs felt heavy, and she could not move.

That signature on the paper... Ron had tricked her into signing last night. He simply said that he wanted to look at Wendy's signature!

Her eyes instantly turned red as she stared at Ron. How could he do this to me?

Wendy's disappointment made Ron’s heart dropped a beat. A trace of regret flashed across his face.

“You lied to me to get my signature. I already said all the doctors know the truth.” Wendy’s voice was shaking with deep pain.

Windy quickly walked forward while looking all sad. Yet, Wendy could swear she saw that glint of victory in her younger twin's eyes.

“Sis, the patient and all the medical staff also testified that you were the surgeon yesterday. Please, stop denying it."

Wendy tried to check on Ron's reaction when Windy made that statement. He avoided his eyes instead.

With such statement made in public, they had completely blocked Wendy from getting away from the false rumors!

Wendy lowered her head. Tears finally fell uncontrollably. Her fingers dug deeply into her palms, as if trying to squeeze all the pain out.

She wiped away her tears and tried to speak again, but the shock and several nights without rest made her give up. She collapsed and fainted on the spot.

***

Upon waking up, Wendy was on a hospital bed. Her room was empty. On the TV, the news replayed yesterday’s press conference.

Her heart felt unbearably bitter. On her phone screen was her freckled face. Luckily, the doctors did not notice anything strange.

Wendy did not waste time. She quickly called her junior colleague at another hospital.

“Ollie, please help me draft a divorce agreement. As fast as possible.”

The moment Wendy hung up the phone, Ron pushed the door open and walked in.

He was no longer the confident man from two days ago. When he met Wendy’s eyes, his guilt was obvious. He hurried over and grabbed her hand.

He forced a smile, trying to act normal. “Wen, you’re awake! The doctor told me you were unconscious for a whole day. I was really worried.”

Wendy looked at his face, she knew better than anyone. Her heart was beyond crushed at this point.

“Why did you do that?” she asked.

Ron paused for a second but did not answer her. Instead, he asked her, “Are you hungry? I can go downstairs and buy you some food.”

Ron's avoidance caused Wendy’s tearing up instantly. Not only because of betrayal, but also because she hated herself for trusting the wrong person.

Seeing her falling tears, Ron reached out to catch them. The hot tears burned his palm.

“Wen, it’s okay. Just this one time, alright? Your medical license won’t be revoked. I promise,” he said.

Wendy pulled herself away. “I’m asking you again. Why did you do this?” her voice was shaky with tears.

Ron knew better than anyone how hard it was for Wendy to become a doctor. In improving her surgical skills to the maximum, Wendy had once locked herself in a room to practice for a whole month.

How could he treat her like this?

This was the first time Ron had seen Wendy so fragile. He felt pity and hugged her tightly.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Wen. I didn’t want things to be like this. But Winny can’t lose her career,” he apologized to no end.

“Meanwhile, you can survive. Your reputation in orthopedics is strong. As long as I help you, you can still be a doctor. But Winny can’t.”

“I told you before, Wen. I recently found out that she was the one who saved me when we were kids. I can’t just watch her dream be destroyed…”

Listening to Ron's ridiculous reasons, Wendy felt her blood turn cold. “So you chose to sacrifice me? Your own wife?”

Ron could not answer. He could only shake his head desperately against her waist.

Feeling his trembling hands, Wendy closed her eyes. Despair flooded her heart. “Ron, let’s get a divorce.”

She could not accept that her husband chose her sister over her. Especially Windy was the very person who bullied her since childhood.

Ron panicked when he heard this. Fear filled his eyes, and he forgot why he visited Wendy in the first place.

“No! That’s impossible! We will never divorce you!” He continued, “Wen… I only love you. Please believe me. This will pass soon. I’ll block all the bad news from the media. Everyone will pretend nothing ever happened.”

Pretend nothing ever happened?

But what about her? Wendy could never pretend the scandal didn't happen? She could not pretend that her own husband chose her younger twin over her!

Wendy quietly looked at the man she had loved for three years. Emptiness was reflected on her eyes.

Maybe because Wendy was too calm, Ron thought he had convinced her. After all, Wendy loved him deeply, he thought.

In the first year of their marriage, Ron's rivals forced Wendy to drink an entire crate of alcohol. Wendy drank until she had stomach bleeding and stayed in the hospital for a whole day and night.

Wendy almost died for him.

So now, Ron finally said what he really came for. “Wen, I will hold another press conference tomorrow. When that happens, can you please admit that you failed the surgery?”

Ron no longer had the guts to look at Wendy. He was afraid he would soften.

Meanwhile, Wendy never expected that his real purpose for coming was still because of Windy.

She smiled, but tears kept flowing down her face. “Fine. But you have to sign a compensation agreement.”

Without thinking, Ron reached out and wiped the tears from Wendy’s cheeks. He looked confused, but Wendy did not give him time to react.

“I’m sacrificing this much. You should at least compensate me, right? The document will be sent soon. I’ll watch you sign it myself. Now can you get out?”

Ron froze. He did not expect Wendy to be so direct to chase him out. He didn’t want to leave her. However, her firm attitude left Ron no choice.

So, he sat outside the ward for three hours. When Wendy's contract finally arrived, he went back in. But before he could read it, his phone rang.

It was Windy.

Ron hesitated.

His obvious hesitation caused even more pain in Wendy’s chest. Yet, she forced herself to stay calm.

“Sign it. Then go.” Just saying those few words had drained up all her strength.

Ron quickly signed the “contract” and gently kissed her forehead. “Wen, Winny has been so scared because of the surgery mistake. She couldn't sleep for days. I’ll go see her and come back soon. Wait for me, okay?”

Wendy did not respond. Then, since Ron was in such a hurry, he didn’t even notice her silence.

As soon as he left, Wendy raised her hand and rubbed her forehead hard as if to erase Ron's kiss.

Tears blurred her vision. Her rough movements made her forehead turn red. But Wendy was numb to the pain and kept on wiping.

The signed contract was then successfully delivered to Oliver. Only after Wendy received his message on LetsChat [“It’s done.”] did she finally relax.

She let herself fell onto the pillow.

She'd would be okay. In thirty days, she could completely escape this hell of marriage.

***

The next morning, Wendy got into the car to go to the press conference, but she was stopped halfway.

When opening her eyes again, she was back in the place that had haunted her for most of her life.

The Bloom Family estate.

Her father, Murray, looked at her coldly as she knelt on the floor. Meanwhile, her mother, Hannah, glared at her fiercely.

Wendy had seen that look countless times before she became an adult.

She and Windy were fraternal twins. But when they were born, their weights were very different. Wendy was two pounds heavier. The doctor said it was because she absorbed too much nutrition in the womb and took it from Windy. In the end, Windy was weaker as a child.

From that day on, Wendy’s nightmare began. No matter what happened, Murray and Hannah always protected Windy.

Even when Windy led others to bully Wendy at school, they only said, “This is what you owe Windy.”

Even now, they still believed that.

The disgust in Hannah’s eyes was impossible to hide. “Why are you staring at me? I knew you were just up to no good! You tried to clear up to the press conference to clear your name, right?!”

“If Winny hadn’t told me to stop you, you would’ve succeeded. You both came from my womb, so why are you this.... evil to your sister?!”

As she spoke, Hannah raised her hand and hit Wendy hard on the forehead.

Wendy tried to stand up and resist. But her hands and feet were tied with ropes. She couldn’t move at all.

Seeing this, Hannah pushed her down and dragged her toward the basement. “You still had the guts to defend yourself, huh?! I wish I never had such a shameful daughter like you!”

Wendy couldn’t fight back. She could only watch herself being locked in the basement. Murray simply watched everything in silence like he didn't care.