Howard was surprised by how readily Lumina agreed on the other end of the line. His cold, stern expression broke into a smile.

"Have you finally come to your senses? I'm doing this for your good, you know? If the Morgans' eldest son hadn't suddenly lost his voice five years ago, he would've become the family's official heir by now! You're coming back to Crown City tomorrow. I'll take you to them to discuss the wedding."

Lumina's lips curled in a cold smile. Her face remained expressionless.

Everyone in the capital knew that after Cadmus Morgan lost his voice, he was no longer favored by Margaret, the matriarch of the Morgan family.

Lumina didn't answer Howard directly and instead said, "I'll marry him, but you have to agree to two conditions. Firstly, I need seven days. Secondly, I want all of my father's belongings. Every single one of them. You won't keep even one of them."

She needed seven days to say goodbye to her best friend and to find a way to erase the nude video from Jackson's computer. She would replace it with evidence of all the years Celia had tormented her.

"Fine!" Howard slammed his hand on the table. "I agree!"

After hanging up, Lumina headed home.

Ever since taking out the loan, she had moved out of the city center to save money. She now lived with Jackson in a cheap rental in the rundown neighborhood that was only worth 150 dollars a month.

Lumina looked at the cozy living room she had put together with her own hands. With a cold laugh, she threw all the items she had shared with Jackson onto the floor and stomped on them to pieces.

After venting her anger, she walked over to Jackson's computer and tried to guess his password. She tried several times, but every attempt was wrong. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the door opening behind her and quickly shut the laptop.

"I heard from the supervisor that you've taken seven days off. Are you not feeling well?" Jackson said as he changed into slippers at the entryway, his eyes full of concern.

Hearing his voice, Lumina clenched her fists. "No, I haven't."

Jackson gently rubbed her head, making sure she was fine. Then, he suddenly produced a diamond ring. He got down on one knee, his intense eyes fixed on her.

"Lumi, from the moment you took out that loan for me, I knew I'd never marry anyone else. Will you marry me?"

Lumina looked at Jackson before her. If she hadn't overheard that conversation in the VIP room, she might have been moved to tears.

"Yes," she replied.

Inwardly, she vowed, 'Jackson Hunter. I'll never marry you, whether it's this life or the next.'

Hearing her answer, Jackson smiled. His eyes almost curled as he slipped the ring onto her finger. "We'll have our wedding in seven days."

Lumina momentarily froze at his words; she almost laughed herself to tears.

Soon, Jackson took her out for supper, just like always. They went to a roadside barbecue stall. Lumina sat down while Jackson went to order some food.

Suddenly, a red sports car pulled up in front of her, and an uninvited guest stepped out. The woman was attractive, dressed in the latest designer outfit and carrying a rare Hermes bag.

It was none other than Celia, the nightmare who had haunted Lumina for over a decade.

Celia glanced around the barbecue stall with clear disdain before fixing her gaze on Lumina, her red lips curling in contempt.

"I haven't seen you for three years. I heard you're in a relationship now. What a coincidence, too… Your bartender boyfriend and my guardian angel even have the same last name—Hunter. But look at you, dragged here to eat this cheap, toxic food. If I were dating my dear Hunter, he'd never let me touch this filth."

Lumina didn't say a word, simply looking at Celia in silence with calm eyes. After a while, she suddenly spoke up.

"When you fell from the roof three years ago, it wasn't me who pushed you."

Celia was stunned for a few seconds, not expecting Lumina to bring up the past.

Lumina ignored Celia's reaction and went on speaking.

"That day, you and your lackeys forced me to swallow a burning cigarette on the rooftop. While I was struggling, you kept trying to get the best angle to film my humiliation. You stepped to the right and slipped by accident. I was the real victim, but your lackeys all stuck to the same story—that I invited you to the rooftop and pushed you off."

During that time, Lumina had been slandered persistently. All the surveillance footage from that day was destroyed by the Price family in advance.

Luckily, she had kept a backup plan.

Celia raised her eyebrows in surprise, but showed no fear at all. "So what if you were wrongly accused? As long as Mr. Hunter is on my side, who in Arriva City will believe you?"

Lumina frowned and looked up at her suddenly. "I don't get it. I've never provoked you. Why have you always hurt me?"

"Why?" Celia looked down at her with arrogance, her lips curled into a sneer. "A cursed orphan like you, who lost both parents… What right do you have to steal the spotlight that should belong to me?"

Hearing herself accused of bringing a curse to her parents, Lumina clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles turned white. Her gaze grew cold.

"And what about you? Your mother died because you never called for help after your father beat her. You missed the chance to save her. She begged you, but you coldly ignored her. On the other hand, my parents died in an accident. So, tell me—who's really the cursed one here?"

"Who said you can talk about that?!" Celia shrieked.

She never expected Lumina to bring up her family's dirty laundry. Her face twisted, madness flashing in her eyes.

Just as Lumina was about to say something else, Celia suddenly grabbed a metal skewer from the table and stabbed it right in Lumina's face.

Slash!

The sharp skewer pierced Lumina's fair skin, blood streaming down her right cheek.

"What's going on there? Someone call the police!" shouted a bystander.

Pain numbed the right side of Lumina's face. Just as she tried to call for help, she saw Jackson standing at a distance, looking on with indifference.

Celia smiled in satisfaction as she walked up to Lumina. Without warning, she drove the skewer toward Lumina's head.

"That's what you get for infuriating me! I'm going to ruin you right this instant! No matter what I do, Mr. Hunter will always cover for me!" Celia sneered.

Stab!

The skewer drove into Lumina's scalp. It was so painful that Lumina shuddered—she almost cried. Anger flared up inside her. She grabbed a skewer from the table, raising it to strike Celia's face in retaliation.

Right before the skewer could hit Celia's face, however, Jackson caught her wrist.

His grip was tight, his tone cold as he said, "Miss Price didn't do anything to you. Why are you hurting her?"

Lumina looked up at the uncaring man, blood streaming down her face. Her voice trembled as she said indignantly, "She didn't do anything to me? Look at my face and my head! Who do you think did this?"

Jackson paused, frowning slightly. "It's just a couple of scratches. Put a bandage on it and you'll be fine. She has Mr. Hunt's protection. If you hurt her on purpose, you'll be the one to suffer in the end. I'm stopping you for your good."

Lumina was stunned at first. She looked at the man she had loved for three years with red eyes. A wave of mixed emotions crashed over her.

Celia sneered in satisfaction. "Tsk, you really have no idea what's good for you. At least your bartender boyfriend sure knows which way the wind blows!"

Lumina wiped the blood from her face and turned to look at Celia, who was still gloating.

While Jackson was still distracted, Lumina's hand shot out. She grabbed a freshly grilled skewer of meat from the next table and flung it in Celia's face.

Smack!

Celia howled in pain as the hot food burned her, her fair cheek instantly turning red.

Jackson's face turned cold; he ran over to Celia, shoving Lumina away.

Lumina stumbled and fell to the ground, thrown off balance. Her ankle twisted. Worse, she landed on her injured right cheek. Blood gushed from the wound, and she quickly lost consciousness.

Just before she fainted, she heard Celia's furious screech.

"How dare you burn me? I'll make Mr. Hunter avenge me! I want you to suffer a hundred times worse!"

-

When Lumina opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was the face of a middle-aged nurse. Seeing her wake up, the nurse sighed.

"Look at you! You're so pretty, but you're nearly disfigured. What a pity. Now that you're awake, don't forget to pay your hospital bill later."

Pain shot through Lumina's head and face. Her eyes red, she asked, "The man who brought me here… Didn't he pay the bill?"

The nurse looked at Lumina and sighed several times before saying kindly, "Someone called an ambulance for you. No man sent you here. If the department head hadn't covered your expenses, you'd still be bleeding. Anyone can see you've been victimized. You youngsters need to be careful about who you date."

Lumina's nose stung, her eyes welling with tears. The nurse shook her head and left the room.

Soon after, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway. A group of men in black burst in, slamming the door behind them.

Lumina noticed the words "CG" embroidered on their uniforms, and her heart sank.

It was said that the heir of the Hunter family had assembled a special team, the "Celia Guards", to clean up after Celia and keep her happy.

No wonder Celia was so untouchable. The stories were all true.

The men in black roughly dragged Lumina out of bed, pinning her limbs to the ground. In the darkness, burning hot torture tools pressed down again and again on her bare arms, legs, and face.

Lumina screamed in agony, her whole body seized by fear.

"Let me go… Ngh…!"

Just as she tried to cry for help, someone shoved a cloth into her mouth, and more torture tools scorched her body. She writhed uncontrollably, her hands clawing at the floor, tears rolling down her face from the pain.

The five men became crueler as they saw her suffer.

"That's ninety times now! Ten more to go. Mr. Hunter said you must pay her back a hundredfold, just as Miss Price demanded!"

"Everyone in Arriva City knows Miss Price is Mr. Hunter's favorite, but you burned her with a skewer of barbecued meat! No wonder he sent us to teach you a lesson!"

"If you know what's good for you, apologize to her on camera right now!"

The leader of the "Celia Guard" held up his phone and started filming Lumina. Lying on the floor, covered in burns and stripped of all dignity, Lumina stared at the group with bloodshot eyes. Even as she longed to kill herself from the overwhelming pain, she remained defiant.

"I'll never apologize! Tell your Mr. Hunter that I never provoked Celia! She abused me for nine years straight! She's the one who owes me an apology!" she insisted, her voice ragged.

The leader paused, disappointed by the footage he had gotten.

"Mr. Hunter said it himself. You made Miss Price cry for so many nights and visited more than a hundred psychologists! Do you think he's accusing you falsely?"

"He'll know the truth in six days!" Lumina snarled.

As soon as Lumina finished speaking, she was met with a savage barrage of punches and kicks. Her body was already quite frail; before long, she collapsed on the ground and lost consciousness completely.

When she woke up again, she found herself back in the hospital bed, though she didn't know who had moved her there.

Jackson sat beside her, his expression cold. "I told you not to mess with Celia. She's got someone to protect her. Now that her guardian has taught you a lesson, have you finally learned from your mistake?"

Lumina was stunned for a moment, then suddenly started laughing through her tears.

She had nothing but hate.

She hated that she had loved the wrong person, hated that she devoted everything to her first relationship. In the end, she didn't meet someone worthy at all!

Jackson watched Lumina sob quietly. For some reason, he felt a twinge of regret.

But Lumina had nearly destroyed Celia's family in the past years. How could he feel any sympathy for a woman so brutal?

Lumina stared at Jackson. She hesitated for a few seconds, then tried to tell him the truth.

"I never bullied Celia. It was always she who…"

Before she could finish, Jackson's phone rang. It was the leader of the Celia Guards.

"Sir, Miss Price just contacted me and asked me to thank you on her behalf, but… Well, she…"

When it came to Celia, Jackson couldn't care less what Lumina was saying. He rushed out of the room. "What happened to her?"

"Miss Price just broke down crying. She said that Lumina sent her a provocative text this morning, saying that if she'd known, she'd let Miss Price die three years ago. Miss Price is upset and wants us to put ants on Lumina's wounds to teach her a lesson."

Jackson's gaze turned cold. "Lumina really is vicious. Do as she said. Make sure Celia feels better."

"Understood."

An hour later, the Celia Guards barged into the hospital room again. Lumina saw the group of men and understood instantly.

The phone call Jackson had just answered… It was about Celia. There was no way Celia would let her off that easily.

The man in charge took out four ropes and tied Lumina to the bed, her arms and legs spread wide. The others immediately poured syrup onto her burned arms and legs, then released jars full of live ants onto her wounds.

Countless ants crawled up Lumina's limbs, feeding on the syrup from her burns. The combination of pain and itching was unbearable… This cruel torture made her convulse, her limbs twitching as she let out a scream of despair.

Yet, they still didn't let her go.

They recorded everything on their phones, only leaving after Lumina finally passed out from the pain. She didn't know how long she had been out.

When Lumina finally came to, she was slapped awake…hard.

Celia stood by the bed, slowly withdrawing her hand, her face twisted with contempt.

"Oh, how Mr. Hunter spoils me! Whenever I'm upset, he'll protect me no matter what. Oh, and Lumina… I heard from him that you stripped down to your underwear at a bar for some guy! How pathetic can you get? By the way, I sent your striptease video and the footage of you screaming like a banshee just now to the university group chat. Guess what your classmates said? They said you're such a tart! They're wondering just how wild you get under a man, how hard can you cry?"

Celia laughed maniacally and ground her cigarette butt into one of Lumina's burn wounds, leaving a black hole in Lumina's wrist.

"Are you finally getting it, Lumina? If you know what's good for you, keep your mouth shut about me and get out of Arriva City. Never show your face to me again! Word is, Mr. Hunter is going to confess to me on my birthday. Soon, I'll be Mrs. Hunter. We'll always be worlds apart!"

Lumina stared at the hospital ceiling, her eyes dull and lifeless.

She would leave.

She would go to Crown City soon and marry the person she was supposed to marry…

Three days later, Jackson came to take Lumina home from the hospital. She stared out the window, lips pressed tight all the way. Her face was expressionless, like a lifeless doll.

Jackson noticed her mood and deliberately went out of his way to buy her favorite peach strudel. When they got home, Lumina frowned slightly at the three wedding dresses hanging in the living room.

Jackson walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her slim waist. "Lumi, I picked out the wedding dresses myself. We'll get married in three days."

Lumina pushed his hands away, her voice trembling. "Does it have to be in three days?"

Jackson paused, then reached up to ruffle her hair. "Didn't we already agree to it? That's the best day. Besides the wedding, I have an extra surprise for you."

Lumina looked at the man who breathed lies so easily and forced a smile. "What a coincidence. I have a surprise for you that day, too."

"What kind of surprise?" Jackson asked, curious.

Lumina opened his laptop and smiled faintly. "It's a secret…but for now, I'll need to use your computer."

Jackson thought Lumina was still head over heels for him, so he let down his guard and typed in his password.