Prologue On the eve of our wedding, my fiancé decided I was too conservative and boring, and cheated on me with an A-list actress. He was certain I loved him so desperately that I would never escape his grasp in this lifetime. He even told me to give up our wedding to his new love. What he didn’t know was that at that very same wedding, I married the older brother he feared and respected most—Alexander Foster. Sylvia Bennett’s POV There wasn’t a single person in Los Angeles who didn’t know that Zachary Foster loved me to death. When I was fifteen, I was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. Hematology experts across the country were helpless. Even my parents had started secretly looking at cemetery plots. But Zachary refused to give up. He had the Foster family use every connection they had, chartered a plane to bring in a team of top specialists from Europe, and dragged me back from the gates of hell. In half a month, we were supposed to get married. Today was the day I was promoted to Chief Attending Cardiothoracic Surgeon. A double blessing. A chief attending physician at twenty-eight—the youngest in the entire state. Zachary said he would celebrate for me at a private club tonight and told me to get there early. But in the afternoon, an emergency surgery came in at the last minute. By the time I left the operating room, it was almost seven. Holding back my exhaustion, I rushed to the private club without daring to waste even a second. When I reached the door of the private room, it was slightly ajar, not fully closed. Laughter and chatter, mixed with the smell of alcohol, spilled out from inside. I reached out to push the door open, only to hear my own name. “Good thing Sylvia Bennett had surgery and got held up. Otherwise, Yvonne would’ve been exposed today.” My hand froze on the doorknob. “Exactly. Yvonne has way too much guts. Zachary threw this promotion dinner for Sylvia Bennett, and she still dared to show up. She’s an A-list actress—doesn’t she worry about getting photographed and ending up on the trending topics?” “If she weren’t bold, would she have been able to steal Zachary away?” A burst of laughter exploded. “Speaking of which, how are Zachary and Yvonne still not done? It’s been two hours!” “What’s the rush? Zachary is that intense, and Yvonne is wild and knows exactly how to flirt. Isn’t it normal for her to get him going a few more rounds?” “But Zachary really has guts. Going at it hot and heavy in the private room next door, and he’s not afraid Sylvia Bennett might suddenly show up.” “What’s there to be afraid of? Sylvia Bennett trusts Zachary so much, she’d never even think in that direction. Last time Zachary went to see a movie with Sylvia Bennett, Yvonne was sitting on Zachary’s other side. Zachary used one hand right there and made Yvonne cry, and Sylvia Bennett didn’t notice a thing.” I stood outside the door, cold from head to toe. So that was how it was. These past few months, he had said every few days that the company had a project, that he had to work overtime, that he wouldn’t be home all night. In the middle of dates, a single phone call would summon him away. Last month, I came back from a business trip. My flight landed in the early hours of the morning, in a downpour. He had said he would come pick me up. He was almost there when he messaged me, saying there was an urgent matter at the company and telling me to take a cab myself. I dragged my suitcase and waited in the storm for forty minutes for a car, still feeling sorry that he was working so hard. So there had been no urgent matter at the company. So all those late-night emergencies had been happening in his new lover’s bed. And that movie. For the first time in over a decade, he didn’t hold my hand. Halfway through, he went to the restroom twice. After the movie ended, he said something had happened at the company and told me to go home first. That night, he didn’t come home either. So the hand that hadn’t held mine had been on the woman beside him. So while I sat on his left watching the movie, he was making another woman cry on his right. The casual conversation in the private room continued. “Sylvia Bennett is such a good person. Isn’t Zachary afraid he’ll drive her away?” “Oh, shut up. With Zachary’s status, what man doesn’t have a few women around him? Zachary finally found someone he likes. Stop saying unlucky things.” “Exactly. Zachary said it himself. Sylvia Bennett is too conservative. After all these years of having sex, she doesn’t even change positions. Who wouldn’t get bored after a while? Yvonne is different. She has all kinds of tricks, she lets loose, and she’s fiery too!” “Enough, enough. We just need to keep our mouths shut. Zachary may be playing around, but anyone can see his love for Sylvia Bennett is carved into his bones. He won’t marry anyone but her.” My ears buzzed, and every sound receded into the distance. It felt as if a hand had grabbed my heart and wrung it hard. Pain spread through my veins and into my limbs. I used to be the most pampered heiress in Los Angeles. Street racing, horse racing—I was flamboyant and reckless, unable to tolerate even a speck of sand in my eyes. When I was eighteen, Bennett Group’s capital chain snapped, and the company collapsed overnight. My father jumped from the top floor of an office building. My mother couldn’t take the blow and suffered a heart attack on the spot. From then on, she was hospitalized for years. Everyone who used to circle around me changed their faces. The snickering at cocktail parties and the mocking remarks in newspapers came down on me from every direction. It was Zachary who announced our engagement at the height of the storm. The red carpet stretched the full length of Chang’an Avenue — a famous central thoroughfare in a historic Chinese downtown district. Blooms lined the three-kilometer stretch from the hotel’s front doors all the way to the church. He brought out the full grandeur of the Foster family, and the entire city was stunned. Holding my hand beneath the crystal chandelier, he said to everyone, “Sylvia Bennett is my fiancée. If anyone dares touch a single hair on her head, they answer to me first.” From that day on, no one dared mock me to my face again. His friends all called me Sylvia Bennett and accepted me. But I knew I was no longer the young lady who could act however she wanted. I tucked away all my edges and my temper, learning to become a flawless, perfect fiancée. At banquets, I knew when to advance and retreat. In front of elders, I was respectful and proper, hiding every emotion behind a poised smile. I thought that was how I could repay him. In the end, not only did he betray me, he also let a group of his friends humiliate me with the most intimate details of our sex life. He disliked that I was conservative. He disliked that I was boring. Then he turned around and held a wild, fiery actress in his arms, having sex with her next door to the promotion dinner he had thrown for me. My blood burned from my chest all the way to the top of my head. If he looked down on me like this, then I didn’t need to keep pretending anymore. I turned around and walked, step by step, toward the private room next door. I pushed the door open. On the sofa, a woman lay pinned underneath, completely naked. The man’s shirt was open, his suit pants hanging loosely on his hips. Broad shoulders, narrow waist—his hips moved deep and hard. The woman’s moans were sweet, sticky, and seductive, her legs wrapped around the man’s waist. At the sound of the door opening, the woman shrieked and shrank into the man’s arms. Without even turning his head, the man shielded her, his tone displeased. “No manners. Get out.” I didn’t move. By the light of the wall lamp, I recognized that face. Yvonne Hayes, the actress who had risen to fame the fastest in the past six months. From an unknown D-lister no one could even identify, she had shot all the way up to A-list. Films by acclaimed directors, S-tier variety shows, luxury endorsements—one after another. Her airport candids were on the trending topics every day. The entire internet was guessing who her powerful backer was. Even someone like me, who didn’t care about the entertainment industry, knew her. Now there was no need to guess. Her sugar daddy was currently on top of her. The man noticed I hadn’t left and turned around. The moment he saw me clearly, every trace of color drained from his face. “Sylvia—” I stepped forward and slapped him across the face. The crisp sound exploded in the room, and his face snapped to the side. “Where did this crazy woman come from? How dare you hit Mr. Foster?!” Yvonne screamed, grabbed a wine bottle from the table, and smashed it down toward my head. The bottle shattered. Wine mixed with warm liquid ran down from my temple. “Sylvia!” Zachary cried out, panic in his voice, and hurried toward me. The more he cared about me like that, the more my heart hurt. Without hesitation, I bent down, picked up the longest shard of glass from the floor, and stabbed it back toward Yvonne’s neck. The shard snapped the diamond necklace around her neck and cut a gash along the side of her throat. With a clatter, the necklace scattered all over the floor. Yvonne was terrified out of her mind, screaming as she stumbled backward again and again. “Sylvia Bennett! Are you insane?!” Zachary seized the shard in one grip. The glass dug deep into his palm, and blood instantly gushed out. He didn’t even look at his own hand. His eyes were only on Yvonne. “Yvonne, are you okay? Let me see the wound.” Then he swung his arm hard and flung me away. I staggered and fell to the floor, my palms landing on shards of glass scattered everywhere. Blood poured out. Zachary grabbed some clothes and wrapped them around Yvonne, then lifted her into his arms. “I’ll take you to the hospital.” Holding her, he strode away without looking at me again. The private room fell silent. I sat on the floor, staring at my mangled palms. Blood from my forehead dripped onto the carpet one drop at a time, and my head felt heavy and dazed. I remembered the year I interned in college. In the lab, a needle pricked my skin, and a tiny bead of blood appeared on my fingertip. Zachary’s face turned white. Without a word, he dragged me to the hospital and insisted the doctor give me a full set of tests. The doctor on duty stared at the pinprick-sized wound on my finger and held back for a long time without daring to roll his eyes. That was the kind of person he was. If I shed even one drop of blood, his heart would ache like crazy. It was still the same now. Only the person whose pain he felt sorry for had changed. I casually wiped the blood from my face and hands and walked out of the private room. I knew very well that one thing that group of people had said was true. Zachary would marry no one but me. He had told me countless times, Sylvia, in this life, you can only marry me. Aside from me, no one else will do. In high school, a boy handed me a love letter. The next day, that boy transferred schools and never appeared in Los Angeles again. The year I went abroad for an exchange program, Zachary flew more than ten hours every week to see me, saying he couldn’t sleep if he went a day without seeing me. He once said that even if I ran to the ends of the earth, he would chase me back. He would not let me go. Besides, the wedding was in half a month. The invitations had been sent all over Los Angeles. The hotel, the wedding attire, the officiant—everything was ready. The Foster family would never allow me to call off the wedding and drag the Foster family’s reputation through the mud. I drove straight to the Foster family estate. “Grandpa.” I entered the study of Zachary Foster’s grandfather, Richard Foster, and knelt down without hesitation. “Sylvia? What happened to you? Who hurt you?” “Grandpa.” I knelt with my back straight and looked up at him. “I don’t want to marry Zachary Foster anymore.” Richard Foster stared at me for a long while, his brows knitting tightly. “Nonsense!” His face darkened. “The invitations went out three months ago, and now you’re telling me you won’t marry him? Where does that leave the Foster family’s reputation?” “I watched you grow up. You are the granddaughter-in-law I chose. No matter how wronged you’ve been, Grandpa will stand up for you. But the wedding cannot be changed.” “Grandpa, you’ve misunderstood.” I shook my head. “The wedding will go on as planned. The invitations don’t need to be changed, and neither does the date.” Richard Foster frowned at me. “Then what do you mean?” I looked straight into his eyes and said, word by word, “I just want to ask you to help me find out whether Alexander Foster is willing to marry me.”
Sylvia Bennett’s POV Unexpectedly, Richard Foster did not lose his temper. He looked at me with a complicated expression for a while, then called in the butler and gave a few low instructions. The butler stepped out to make a call and returned in less than ten minutes. “Mr. Foster, Mr. Alexander Foster has replied. He said that in half a month, he will return on time to attend the wedding.” Richard Foster let out a long sigh. “I have heard a little about Zach causing trouble outside lately.” He looked at me, his brows furrowed. “But the two of you have been together for twelve years, after all. Sylvia, have you really thought this through? You don’t want him anymore?” “Grandpa, you know I’ve never been a magnanimous person.” I knelt upright. “Since he has fallen for someone else, I can’t pretend nothing happened and spend the rest of my life with him. I might as well let them have each other.” Richard Foster was silent for a moment, then waved his hand. “I think that bastard is just confused for the moment. But since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t stop you. I’m an old bag of bones. I can’t control you young people anymore.” “Thank you, Grandpa.” After returning to the apartment, I opened my laptop. Doctors Without Borders and the hospital were cooperating on an overseas medical aid team, and they were recruiting doctors. The station was in North Africa, in an area of long-term armed conflict. Alexander Foster was there at this very moment, commanding a peacekeeping mission. The departure date happened to be the afternoon of the wedding day. For me, the timing was perfect. I filled out the application form and clicked send. Then I started packing. Everywhere in this villa, there were traces of the life Zachary and I had shared. We got together when we were sixteen. It had been exactly twelve years. He had followed behind me since elementary school. Even when I thought he was annoying, he refused to leave. When we were sixteen, I agreed to be with him. He was so happy he ran three laps around the school field. When he came back, his head was covered in sweat, and he hadn’t even caught his breath before asking me, “Sylvia Bennett, you’re not allowed to take it back, okay?” Later, something happened to my family, and the entire world changed. But he did not. When everyone was watching me like I was a joke, he gave me an engagement party that made me the talk of the city. During that time, my mother was seriously ill and hospitalized. He gave money, effort, and resources. Every morning, he drove me to the hospital. At night, he picked me up and brought me home. I broke down crying in the hospital corridor, crouching on the floor and sobbing so hard I couldn’t stand. He crouched beside me and wrapped me in his coat. He said, Sylvia, if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you. But I was afraid people would laugh at him for marrying a fallen heiress. I was afraid I wasn’t good enough for him. I was afraid I would become a burden to him. He propped up the entire sky for me, and the only thing I could do was not drag him down. So I studied while taking licensing exams. At twenty-four, I obtained my medical license. At twenty-six, I became an attending physician. At twenty-eight, I was promoted to chief attending physician. I thought we would keep walking forward like that forever. It turned out we wouldn’t. How had such a wonderful Zachary changed? I packed only one suitcase, with a few everyday clothes and the things I used most often. For the rest, anything that could be donated would be handled by the butler, who would contact a charity. Anything that couldn’t be donated would be thrown out. By the time I finished packing everything, it was already late at night. I lay in bed, my whole body feeling as if all strength had been drained from it. The wound on my temple throbbed. At last, I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. They soaked into my pillow. Just as I was about to fall asleep in a haze, someone suddenly grabbed my arm. I was dragged roughly out of bed. Before I even had time to change out of my pajamas, I was shoved into a car. The cold air inside the car snapped me awake. Zachary sat beside me, the pressure around him heavy and low. “Yvonne was hurt because of you. She lost blood. You’re going to donate blood for her.” I froze, then laughed despite myself. “Zachary Foster, I’m a doctor. That little cut on her neck should have stopped bleeding before she even got to the hospital. And you want me to donate blood for her?” He choked on his words and stayed silent for a long while. “Yvonne has a coagulation disorder. Just in case.” I couldn’t be bothered to expose his excuse, full of holes as it was. He sighed, and his tone softened. “Sylvia, where’s your gentleness and generosity? She’s just a young girl who doesn’t know better. She’s only twenty-two. She attacked you earlier because you scared her. Why do you have to hold it against her?” “I’m not holding it against her.” I turned my head and looked at him. “I’m holding it against you. Zachary Foster, you cheated.” His expression froze. After a long time, he turned his face away and looked out the window. “I promise you, no matter what, she will never surpass you.” “In half a month, the person marrying me will be you.” I stared at the side of his face, unable to say a word for a moment. I had caught him cheating on me in the act, yet he believed that as long as he let me take the position of Mrs. Foster, he was giving me the greatest dignity in the world. We arrived at the hospital. He dragged me out of the car, giving me no chance to break free. “She was hurt in your place. You owe her this.” He pulled me all the way into the blood collection room. The doctor on duty recognized me and froze. “Dr… Dr. Bennett?” “Draw her blood,” Zachary said curtly. My arm was pressed onto the blood collection table, and the needle pierced my vein. Dark red blood flowed through the tube and into the blood bag. When it reached four hundred milliliters, the doctor glanced at the blood bag and spoke carefully. “Mr. Foster, four hundred milliliters is already the maximum donation limit. Drawing any more could harm her body—” “Draw more and keep it ready!” Zachary’s expression was terrifyingly dark. “Just in case.”
Sylvia Bennett’s POV Bag after bag of blood was taken away. I watched my own blood flow through the tube and into the plastic bags, and my consciousness started to drift. In the past, when our school organized a blood drive, I was standing in line when Zachary rushed over from nowhere and dragged me straight out of the line. “You’re so tiny. I’d feel awful if you lost even one drop of blood.” Now, for a tiny cut on Yvonne’s neck that didn’t even need a Band-Aid, he pinned me to the blood collection table and kept drawing my blood. A dull swelling started in my abdomen, as if something were sinking downward. Then came a sudden spasm. My face turned white in an instant, and cold sweat seeped from my forehead. A warm, wet sensation spread beneath me. The ceiling before my eyes began to spin, and every sound faded far away. I heard doctors shouting something, nurses running, and someone pressing down on my shoulders. Then I knew nothing. When I woke up again, I was in a hospital room. The doctor sitting by my bed was one of my colleagues. “Dr. Bennett, you’re awake.” He looked at me, his expression complicated. “You’re pregnant. How could you donate that much blood?” I froze. “You didn’t know?” He opened my chart and pointed it out to me. “Eight weeks pregnant. Your hemoglobin was severely low, and with the massive blood loss, it led to…” He didn’t finish the rest. I remembered then. My period really hadn’t come last month. At the time, I thought I was just too exhausted from back-to-back surgeries and didn’t pay attention. “What about the baby?” Marcus Collins looked at me and shook his head. “Mr. Foster will definitely be heartbroken when he finds out,” my colleague sighed. “I’ll notify him to come over—” The young nurse beside him quickly tugged at his sleeve and gave him a look. My colleague’s words stuck in his throat. “Did he come by?” I asked. The two of them exchanged a glance. Neither spoke. “He didn’t, right?” I answered for them. “It’s fine.” I leaned back against the pillow and closed my eyes. “Don’t tell him.” For the next two days, my colleagues took turns coming to see me. They brought meals, sent flowers, covered my rounds, and took meticulous care of me. Zachary Foster never came once. No one mentioned him. On the afternoon of the second day, I was resting with my eyes closed in the ward when the voices of two young nurses drifted in from the hallway. “Mr. Foster has been on the twelfth floor in the VIP ward with that actress the whole time. I heard flowers filled up an entire floor.” “That cut on Yvonne Hayes’s neck didn’t need hospitalization at all. It was just a shallow scratch, and it healed ages ago. Mr. Foster said she’s a celebrity and was afraid of scarring, so he transferred the entire cosmetic dermatology department team over there.” “Isn’t Dr. Bennett Mr. Foster’s fiancée? She’s hospitalized too, and he won’t even come take one look?” “Shh—stop talking. Careful someone hears you.” Their footsteps hurried away. On the third day, I handled my own discharge paperwork. When I passed the fire stairwell, the fire door wasn’t fully shut. Voices came from inside. It was Zachary Foster’s voice, and one of his friends. “Zachary, you’re really not going to check on Sylvia Bennett?” “It’s been days. You haven’t asked about her once. Back then, if she got a splinter in her hand, you acted like the sky was falling.” “No. She’s become too spoiled and domineering.” Zachary’s voice was cold. “She dared to stab someone in the neck with glass. If I don’t temper that temper of hers, what happens next time? I can’t indulge her.” Yvonne smashed a wine bottle against my head, and he thought she was just a young girl, telling me not to hold it against her. When I fought back, I became spoiled and domineering. Someone he couldn’t indulge. “Zachary, what exactly do you think of Yvonne Hayes?” Zachary fell silent for a moment. “Yvonne, that girl… how do I put it?” His tone turned indulgent and infatuated. “I can’t stop. It’s addictive. There’s an energy in her—bold, passionate, fearless. Like Sylvia used to be.” “Sylvia is too boring now. Like a dead pool of water.” He really was good at finding excuses. But I had already become myself again. The same thing, when Yvonne did it, was passionate and charming. When I did it, it was domineering. He despised me for being as dull as stagnant water before. Now that I fought back, he despised me for being spoiled. When someone stopped loving you, everything you did was wrong. “You’re really not afraid Sylvia Bennett will leave?” Zachary let out a mocking laugh. “Where would she go? Everything she has, I gave her. Without me, she’s nothing.” I stood outside the fire door, clenching my fists. They killed my child. I had to do something for my child. After I was discharged, I got the surveillance footage from the private club that day. Zachary had Yvonne pinned down. Yvonne’s face was directly facing the camera. I uploaded the video online. Less than ten minutes after it was posted, the views broke one hundred thousand. #A-list actress explicit video exposed# Because Zachary had his back to the camera, netizens didn’t know it was him. All the firepower focused on Yvonne. [Holy shit, that face is definitely Yvonne Hayes. Way too recognizable!] [Those moves, that level of explicitness… She always acts like such a pure untouchable ice queen, but she’s this wild in private?] [She plays hard! No wonder her resources are so good!] [The guy’s face isn’t shown. Is this some stunt to buy trending topics or what? Disgusting.] Several of Yvonne’s luxury endorsements immediately announced they were suspending cooperation, and production teams held emergency meetings overnight to discuss replacing her. Yvonne’s studio urgently deleted all posts from every social media platform. But only two hours later, the situation took a dramatic turn. Yvonne’s video was scrubbed completely clean. Her studio released a formal statement overnight: [The video circulating online regarding Ms. Yvonne Hayes is purely an AI-generated fake and a malicious defamation of Ms. Yvonne Hayes’s reputation. Ms. Hayes has reported the matter to the police and will pursue legal responsibility against the rumor-mongers.] Public opinion instantly reversed. Yvonne went from the heroine of a scandal to the victim of AI slander. Sympathy came crashing in like a tidal wave, and the attention was even higher than before. At the same time, another high-definition private video landed on the front pages of every major social media platform. The woman in the video was me. Countless netizens flooded my account and the hospital’s account. The comments section was like a sewer gate had been opened. [A doctor plays this wild in private? Tsk, tsk. Take off the white coat and she’s just a slut.] [Who is that with her? Does Mr. Foster know he’s been cheated on?] [Could it be some hospital executive? Did she sleep her way into that title?] [Mr. Foster’s fiancée filming this kind of thing in private. She’s completely ruined the Foster family’s reputation.] My whole body went ice-cold. I knew this video all too well. The person who filmed it was Zachary Foster.
Sylvia Bennett POV All these years we had been together, he had always liked recording things on his phone. I had never wanted to. But he said he could watch them when he missed me, that they would satisfy his cravings, and he promised he would never show them to anyone. I couldn’t bear to refuse him. I never imagined that in order to cover up Yvonne Hayes’s scandal, he would destroy my reputation without hesitation. Back when we attended social events, if any man looked at me one time too many, Zachary would throw him out with a dark expression. Every time we attended a banquet, the gowns he chose for me were always high-necked with long skirts. He said not one inch of his Sylvia’s skin could be seen by anyone else. He wished he could hide me away. Now, he had personally posted my privacy online, letting millions of netizens fantasize about and humiliate me. My phone vibrated like crazy. I didn’t know who had leaked my number. Unknown numbers poured in like snowflakes. The text messages were full of filthy, obscene abuse. Some people even sent pictures of those parts of their bodies. My hands shook so hard I could barely hold my phone. All the blood rushed to my head. I called Zachary. “Zachary Foster, did you release that video?” I gritted my teeth, my whole body trembling. “Yes.” He admitted it cleanly. “Why?” My voice cracked, tears spinning in my eyes. “That was a video of me and you! How could you!” “When you do something wrong, you have to be punished.” His tone was as hard and cold as ice. “When you exposed Yvonne’s video, you should’ve thought about the consequences.” I was so furious I couldn’t speak. He seemed to notice my suppressed breathing, and the coldness in his voice softened a little. “I released that video only to push down Yvonne’s trending topics. Her career is on the rise right now. A scandal like this would affect her too much.” He sighed softly, then began coaxing me as if he were granting me a favor. “Sylvia, be good. Stop making trouble. Netizens are forgetful. In a few days, everyone will forget.” “Forget?” I let out a miserable laugh. “Will you forget? Will I forget?” Before he could speak again, I hung up hard. The next day, I forced myself to go to work at the hospital. As soon as I parked in the garage, I heard two people passing by pointing and whispering about me. “That’s her, right? The youngest chief physician in cardiothoracic surgery?” “Tsk, tsk. She looks so cold and aloof, but she plays that hard in private.” “I heard she’s Mr. Foster’s fiancée too. No idea where she got the nerve to mess around outside.” I tightened my grip on my car keys and walked into the elevator without looking sideways. When I reached the department, the atmosphere was even stranger. Colleagues who usually greeted me warmly now avoided me like I was the plague. I went to the ward for rounds. As soon as I reached the door, I heard the patient’s family members talking inside. “I won’t let her operate on my son! A shameless woman like that is a disgrace to the name of angels in white!” “Exactly! With a private life that messy, I wouldn’t dare put my life in her hands!” The head nurse tried desperately to persuade them. “Dr. Bennett completed a direct bachelor-to-PhD program in cardiothoracic surgery at University A, and she’s also the youngest chief attending physician at our hospital. Her skills are recognized by the entire hospital.” “Oh, please! Who knows how she got that chief position? I demand a different doctor! If you don’t switch doctors, I’ll file a complaint!” I stood at the door, my hands and feet ice-cold. I studied medicine for my mother, and I studied medicine for the Foster family’s dignity. I fought with everything I had to get into the best hospital in the entire state. Back then, Zachary would proudly introduce me to everyone he met. “This is our Dr. Bennett, the best scalpel in cardiothoracic surgery.” Now, he had personally thrown my professional dignity to the ground and crushed it underfoot. Before long, the hospital director called me in. “Sylvia, you know what’s been going on recently. The hospital has received quite a few complaints, and some family members have posted about it online.” He looked troubled, weighing his words. “I saw that you applied for the Doctors Without Borders war-zone medical team. The approval has already gone through, and your departure date is at the end of the month.” “Don’t come in during this period. Rest at home for now. We’ll talk after the attention dies down.” The meaning behind his words was obvious. The public opinion storm around me had already seriously affected the hospital’s normal operations and reputation. “No need.” I stood up. “Please help me process my resignation. After I return from the war zone, I won’t be coming back to the hospital. You don’t have to be put in a difficult position.” The director hadn’t expected me to be so decisive. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he only let out a long sigh. I returned to the department, packed up my personal belongings, and went straight home. When I pushed open the villa door, the aroma of food hit me. Zachary Foster walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food. “Off work? Come eat.” He acted as if nothing had happened, as if the bloody storm online had never existed. “If you can’t stay at the hospital, then come home. It’s not like I can’t support you.” He said it casually. I stood in the living room, motionless, staring at him. When he saw I wasn’t moving, his brows furrowed slightly. “I know you felt wronged yesterday. But you were the one who did something wrong first. You provoked Yvonne first. This is the lesson you deserved.” His matter-of-fact tone finally shattered my last line of defense. I strode over, raised my hand, and slapped him hard across the face. Before he could react, I grabbed the tablecloth and yanked with all my strength. The entire table of food flipped onto the floor. “Sylvia Bennett! Are you insane?” Zachary was stunned by the slap and instinctively stood up, roaring at me. My eyes were red as I stared at him. “Zachary Foster, you destroyed my career!” My voice trembled. “You know why I became a doctor. You know how hard it was for me to get here! For that woman, you want to completely destroy me!” Zachary looked at the tears spinning in my eyes, and only then did he seem to realize the severity of what he had done. Panic and heartache flashed in his eyes. He stepped forward, wanting to grab my arm. “Sylvia, I—” His phone rang abruptly, cutting him off. It was Yvonne. He immediately let go of my arm. The trace of heartache in his eyes quickly faded. When he answered the phone, his voice was so gentle it could drip water. “What? You’re not feeling well? Don’t move, don’t be scared. I’ll be right there!” After hanging up, he didn’t even take his coat before hurrying out. When he passed by me, his steps paused slightly. He glanced at me with a deep frown. “I’ll have Mrs. Watson make you something else to eat in a bit. Stop making trouble.” The front door slammed shut. I stood in the wrecked dining room, feeling as if my heart had been torn apart alive, the pain so intense I couldn’t breathe. I turned and walked to the study, opened the computer, and logged into the cloud album. The full unedited version of the video was stored there. Inside, Zachary Foster’s face had been recorded clearly. I knew that once this video was posted, he would become the one cursed by the entire internet. For exposing his own fiancée’s private video, he would become everyone’s target. But since he didn’t care about me, why should I preserve his dignity? Without the slightest hesitation, I posted the unedited video to every major social media platform. Then I turned off my phone and computer, got into bed, and went to sleep.
Sylvia Bennett POV When I was half-asleep in the middle of the night, I felt as if a mountain were pressing down on me. A familiar scent filled my nose. My eyes flew open. Zachary Foster’s face was dark as he roughly tore at my pajamas. “What are you doing!” I struggled desperately, bending my knee to shove him off. He didn’t dodge or move away. He lowered his head and kissed me. My lips were brutally sealed. The rough kiss was full of punishment, leaving me no room to breathe. My wrists were pinned like they were trapped in iron clamps. I bit down hard. The taste of blood instantly spread through both our mouths. Zachary winced, lifted the back of his hand, and casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Before I could react, he pressed down again. This kiss was even fiercer, even harsher than before. The bloody kiss made me feel suffocated and nauseated. I pounded on his chest and struggled with all my strength. “Zachary Foster, are you insane!” He stopped, bracing his hands on either side of me, looking down at me from above. His eyes were dark and heavy. “I am insane.” “Sylvia Bennett, are you really that cheap? Posting our video for everyone to see?” I trembled with rage and actually laughed. I had never known Zachary Foster could be such a hypocrite. “That’s right! I wanted everyone to see what high-and-mighty Mr. Foster of Los Angeles looks like when he’s in heat!” “It’s not like I’m the only one you’ve ever been in heat for anyway. What’s wrong with letting more people see?” That sentence instantly ignited the fire in his eyes. His face darkened to the extreme. “Fine.” In a few motions, he tore away the last of my clothes, his actions completely merciless. “Since you like having your husband watched so much, then let her watch properly.” My whole body went rigid. “What did you say? Who?” A soft laugh sounded from the bedroom doorway. The lights were suddenly switched on. “Ms. Bennett.” Yvonne leaned against the doorframe, a provocative smile hanging from her lips. “Zach said you’re too boring in bed, like a dead fish, and you can’t get him hard. So he asked me to come teach you.” I couldn’t believe it. The overwhelming humiliation made it impossible to breathe. Zachary Foster had actually brought her into our villa. Into our bedroom. He was letting this woman watch him violate me. I grabbed a book from the nightstand and hurled it toward the doorway with all my strength. “Get out! Get out!” Yvonne turned sideways and dodged. Not only was she unafraid, her smile became even more brazen. “Ms. Bennett, with you acting like such a shrew, how could any man like you?” Yvonne walked to the foot of the bed and watched leisurely. “At a time like this, you should be more proactive. Moan a little sweeter. Then Zach will like you.” Tears slid down uncontrollably, and my whole body shook. “You hear that? Learned it?” Zachary hovered above me, his voice cold. He pressed down again. Pain and humiliation tangled together. I desperately reached toward the nightstand, my fingertips brushing the photo frame. I grabbed the frame and slammed it hard against the wall. The glass shattered. I picked up a shard of glass and pressed it against my neck. “Zachary Foster! If you dare move again, I’ll die right in front of you!” Zachary’s movements instantly froze. His pupils contracted sharply, and uncontrollable panic flashed through his eyes. “Sylvia Bennett, put that down!” “Here Ms. Bennett goes again.” Yvonne let out a scoff beside us. “Crying, throwing a tantrum, then threatening suicide. Ms. Bennett sure is skilled at this routine. Stop pretending.” Zachary’s gaze moved between me and Yvonne. The panic faded, and his expression turned cold and hard again. “Sylvia Bennett, I won’t keep indulging you forever.” I stared fixedly at him. At the coldness on his face. At the way he allowed another woman to humiliate me. I thought I had already hurt so much I had gone numb, but a chill still seeped uncontrollably from the bottom of my heart. “Fine. Then don’t regret it.” My hand tightened around the shard of glass, and I slashed it toward my carotid artery. “Sylvia!” Zachary Foster’s face changed drastically. He grabbed the shard in one swift motion. The sharp glass instantly sliced open his palm. Blood poured out. Like a madman, he wrenched the glass from my hand and flung it away, then clamped his other hand over my neck. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” He roared at me, his eyes bloodshot. I turned my head away, refusing to look at him or speak. Zachary stared at the emptiness in my eyes. After a long standoff, he was the first to give in. “Fine.” “You win. Sylvia Bennett, you win!” I still didn’t look at him. “Get out.” I forced the word from my throat. Zachary stared at me for a long time. Then he abruptly got up, threw on his clothes in a mess, and stopped beside Yvonne Hayes. “Let’s go!” Yvonne wanted to say something, but he dragged her out of the room. Their footsteps faded, and the front door slammed shut. The house fell completely silent. That night, I didn’t even have the strength to turn over. Tears flowed into my ears, then onto my pillow. They dried up, then kept falling again. When I woke up the next day, my eyes were so swollen I could barely open them. In the bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face again and again before I could barely see. I had just changed and opened the bedroom door when I saw Yvonne coming upstairs. I looked at her coldly. “What are you doing here again?” Yvonne walked up to me and shook the set of keys in her hand. “Zach gave me the keys to this villa. He said I can come whenever I want.” She curled her lips and lifted her wrist as if showing off. On her slender, pale wrist was a sparkling diamond bracelet. “Look familiar?” Of course it did. It was a globally limited-edition piece I’d fallen for at a high jewelry show six months ago. Its intricate manufacturing meant I’d been waiting for the brand to finalize its launch schedule. When Zachary accompanied me to the exhibition, he had sworn he would buy it for me the moment it launched. Now it was on Yvonne’s wrist. “I casually mentioned yesterday that this bracelet was pretty, and Zach gave it to me.” Yvonne admired the bracelet, her gaze provocative. “Sylvia Bennett, so what if you grew up with him? So what if you dated him for twelve years? So what if he loves you?” She took a step closer. “All I had to do was crook my finger, and he obediently came to my bed.” “If I can take your bracelet today, I can take your place as Mrs. Foster tomorrow.” I kept looking at her calmly, as if I were watching a clown performing with all her might. When she saw I wasn’t reacting, she actually grew a little anxious. Just then, the sound of the front door opening came from downstairs, followed by familiar footsteps. Zachary was back. Yvonne’s eyes shifted. A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She stepped back a few paces, retreating to the edge of the staircase. “Tell me, if I say you pushed me down from here, will Zach believe me or you?” I had seen enough of this fake-fall frame-up routine. Since she was so determined to pin this crime on me, I might as well make it true. Without hesitation, I followed her and kicked her hard. “Ah—!” Yvonne really screamed and tumbled down the stairs.
Sylvia Bennett POV Zachary rushed up from downstairs. “Yvonne!” Yvonne lay at the foot of the stairs, her hands and feet scraped. She lifted her tearful face, her voice weak and considerate. “Zach, I’m fine… I came on my own to try to persuade Ms. Bennett not to be angry with you anymore. It’s all my fault. Don’t blame Ms. Bennett.” Zachary raised his head and looked at me with an icy gaze. “Sylvia Bennett, how can you be so vicious?” he blurted out. “I really regret saving you back then!” Those words were heavier than every slap and insult combined. Zachary had saved me twice. When I was eight, I fell into the artificial lake in the courtyard. Zachary was the one who pulled me out. From that day on, he became the most important person in my life. When I was fifteen, I was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. By then, the Bennett family was already far less wealthy than before. Other than crying, my parents were helpless. It was Zachary who begged his family to bring in a team of specialists from overseas. After I recovered, it felt only natural that I ended up with him. I thought he was the salvation fate had given me. For him, I was willing to put away all my temper and learn to be a gentle, domestic woman. Without a single complaint. But now, he said he regretted saving me. If I could go back to that day by the lake, to that hospital bed, I would want to say too: I would rather he had never saved me. Zachary carried Yvonne out the front door. I stood on the stairs, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. It hurt, but it was no longer as piercing as it had been the past few days. My heart seemed to be slowly turning cold. Back in my room, I pulled up the hallway surveillance footage. In the video, Yvonne personally admitted she had seduced Zachary and wanted to take my place. “If I can take your bracelet today, I can take your place as Mrs. Foster tomorrow.” I saved the video. My phone rang. It was my best friend, Nina Scott. “Sylvia, what’s going on over there? I saw everything online. Is that bastard Zachary Foster insane?” “I’m fine.” “Don’t be sad, Sylvia. He’s just a man. He’s not worth it! Men are tools. If they work, use them. If they don’t, throw them away. Don’t ever take them too seriously!” “I’m not sad anymore.” I said calmly, “I don’t want him anymore. He’s dirty.” Nina fell silent for a moment, then suddenly got excited. “Sylvia, you finally came to your senses! I’m telling you, ever since you got engaged to Zachary Foster, you’ve been living like a nun. Day after day, all bland and boring. Even I felt suffocated for you!” She suggested excitedly, “Want to come out tonight? Wash off all that bad luck!” “Come out for what?” “Music, alcohol, male models—everything you could want. The wildest place in all of Los Angeles. Are you coming or not?” I looked at my pale, haggard face in the mirror and suddenly smiled. If Zachary could play around with actresses, why couldn’t I go to a nightclub? “Send me the address.” That night, I changed into a red deep-V spaghetti-strap dress. It was the kind of outfit Zachary would never allow me to wear out. I put on full makeup, stepped into four-inch heels, and drove to the address Nina sent me. Nina had booked the largest VIP private room. The moment the private room door opened, deafening music mixed with the smell of alcohol rushed at me. “Take your pick!” Nina winked at me. With a wave of her hand, more than a dozen tall young men with different looks lined up. “They’re all clean. Abs, pretty faces, everything. My treat, babe! If you like one, take him straight home!” I looked around, and my gaze stopped on the quietest boy in the corner. He had a clean, innocent face and sat there obediently, like a college student. “Him.” Taking him home was unnecessary. I only wanted someone to drink and dance with me. The boy immediately came over, skillfully picked up the bottle, and poured me a glass. “Hi, baby. I’m Star.” After a few drinks, the music picked up. I pulled Star to the dance floor. Twelve years. I had forgotten that I had once been a young heiress who could let loose on a dance floor too. With Star leading me, I danced close against him. Star was very considerate and played along perfectly. When we were tired, we returned to the booth. Star obediently picked up the fruit platter, speared a piece of watermelon with a fork, and held it to my lips. “Baby, is it sweet?” “Sweet.” I reached over, took off the diamond bracelet on my wrist, and casually tossed it into Star’s lap. “A reward. Sell it for cash.” Nina leaned over to take a look and dramatically covered her mouth. “Little brother, you’d better know what that is. This thing is worth seven figures!” Star looked at the bracelet in surprise, then at me. I lifted my glass and took a sip. “It’s just trash. Not worth anything.” It was the gift Zachary had given me when we got engaged. Globally limited, extremely valuable. Star’s eyes shone. He hurriedly stuffed the bracelet into his pocket. “Thank you, baby!” He fed me strawberries with even more enthusiasm. I was just about to bite into a strawberry. The private room door was kicked open. Zachary stood in the doorway. He radiated cold fury, his eyes so vicious he looked ready to kill. When he saw the male model’s arm around my waist and my low-cut spaghetti-strap dress, his face instantly darkened to the extreme. He strode over and shoved Star away from me. Star staggered back two steps and muttered unhappily. “Whoa, where did this old man come from? Who are you? Why so aggressive?” Zachary ignored him. With an ashen face, he stared at me, his gaze falling on my empty wrist. “How dare you give it away?” I crossed my legs and leaned against the sofa, tilting my head up to meet his gaze without backing down. “Why can’t I?” “I didn’t say anything when Mr. Foster gave his little mistress a gift. Since when does Mr. Foster get to make demands of me?” Zachary’s breath hitched. He was too choked to speak. That limited-edition bracelet Yvonne had was originally bought for me. But last night, he hadn’t been able to vent with me, and thanks to Yvonne’s diligent efforts, he had gotten his release. Afterward, Yvonne had clung to him and asked for that bracelet. In the heat of the moment, he had casually agreed. A flash of embarrassment crossed his face, but it was quickly swallowed by even stronger anger. “Hand over the bracelet.” He ordered Star. Star clutched his pocket tightly. Not only did he refuse to hand it over, he went full sharp-tongued mode. “Oh, so this is the brother-in-law.” He deliberately drew out his words. “This was a reward from baby. What does it have to do with you?” “It’s just a little trinket, and you actually have the nerve to ask for it back. Baby must have suffered a lot following you, huh?” Not only did Star talk back, he even leaned closer to me and deliberately rested against my shoulder. “Besides, baby likes clean men now.” He blinked his innocent big eyes at Zachary. “Sorry, brother-in-law. I’m not like you. I’m still a virgin.” Nina laughed so hard beside us that she slapped her thigh. Zachary’s face went completely black. The veins at his temple throbbed as he forced himself to hold back his rage. “Get lost!” “I’m not getting lost.” Star had nothing to fear. “Baby hasn’t told me to leave. What right do you have to chase me away? Don’t you know? Out with the old, in with the new. Brother-in-law, you’re old now, and your body probably can’t keep up anymore. Of course baby wants someone young and strong.” “You’re asking for death!” Zachary’s rationality completely snapped. He raised his fist and was about to smash it into Star’s face. I stepped in front of Star. “Zachary Foster, are you insane?” “He’s just an immature boy. He’s only twenty! You scared him just now, so he talked back. Why do you have to take it so seriously?”
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