She fell for her dad’s friend, a man a full twelve years her senior. The first time she saw him, he was impeccably dressed in a suit, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted – undeniably the most striking person in the room. He smiled, ruffled her hair, and gave her a beautiful princess dress. When she turned twenty, he was drugged at a party. Wearing that very princess dress, she became his antidote. The next day, they were caught disheveled by Celeste Miller, his childhood sweetheart. Celeste was stunned, her eyes red as she rushed out, only to be hit by a runaway truck and killed instantly. From that moment on, Audrey Davies felt Julian Harrington had changed completely. He calmly handled Celeste’s funeral, calmly married her, calmly slept with her every night, then calmly stated he didn’t want children, dragging her to have abortions again and again. After her eighteenth abortion, Audrey suffered a massive hemorrhage. Lying on the operating table, clinging to life, she heard the doctor call him. He was still calm: “Is she dead? Let me know when she is.” In that moment, Audrey finally understood: he hated her. He hated that she had willingly become his antidote, hated that she had, by tragic accident, caused Celeste’s death. The moment Audrey died on the operating table, regret consumed her. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself reborn, back to the very day Julian was drugged… Audrey’s heart was a tangled mess as she looked at the man who usually seemed so cold, noble, and untouchable, now sprawled on the bed, a revered figure brought low. In her past life, she had been so captivated by this side of Julian that she had given in to her desires, disregarding that he was her father’s friend, that he was twelve years her senior, and, against all odds, became his antidote. But later, she learned that Julian and Celeste had been in love for ages, only waiting for the right moment to admit their feelings when she had swooped in and taken his place. Perhaps fate pitied her, granting her another chance to be reborn on the very day that would determine her future! This time, all Audrey wanted was one thing: to bring Julian and Celeste together. Without a moment’s hesitation, she quickly pulled out her phone from her bag and dialed Celeste Miller’s number. Ten minutes later, Celeste rushed over. Audrey quickly grabbed her hand: “I know he likes you, and you like him. You just haven’t had the right moment to make things official. Now he’s been drugged and needs you. This is the perfect time to finally admit your feelings to each other.” Celeste had been skeptical when she received the call, and hearing Audrey say this now made her expression complex, wary of any trap. “Audrey, what are you playing at? Don’t you like Julian? He’s been drugged, and instead of taking advantage, you call me here and want to set us up?” Audrey gave a self-deprecating smile at that. It was true that at this very moment, her relentless pursuit of Julian was common knowledge. Before, she thought that with enough effort, she could bridge the unbridgeable gap of status and age. Now, she realized that if he didn’t love her, no matter how much she gave, her future would only be filled with misery. In her past life, she had been terribly wrong. She shook her head. “Not anymore. I’ll never like him again.” The words had barely left her lips when a suppressed groan echoed from inside the room. “He’s barely holding on. If you don’t go in now, it’ll be too late.” Celeste followed Audrey’s gaze towards the room, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. Finally, Celeste gritted her teeth, seemingly convinced. “Then what are you still doing here? Listen to them making love?” Audrey’s body stiffened slightly, then she turned aside, letting the woman in front of her enter. The moment Celeste’s hand touched Julian’s face, Audrey decisively slammed the door shut. The sounds from within, one after another, were like heavy hammer blows, shattering Audrey’s heart into a million pieces, pounding it to a bloody pulp. She felt as if all her strength had drained away, and she slid to the floor. Tears of despair streamed from her eyes, yet Audrey felt an inexplicable sense of relief throughout her body. She was finally free from the fate of her past life. Audrey frantically wiped away the tears from her face, then stumbled towards her own room. That night, the couple in the next room indulged themselves. Audrey didn’t sleep a wink. At dawn, her father, Mr. Davies, called. “Audrey, do you want to come live with me abroad?” A few years ago, Davies Group planned to enter the international market. Mr. Davies went abroad alone and, fearing he couldn’t look after his daughter, entrusted Audrey to his close, older friend, Julian Harrington. That care lasted for several years. Later, Audrey fell for Julian, so even when Davies Group’s international operations were stable, and Mr. Davies repeatedly offered to bring her back, she refused every single time. Now, Julian and Celeste had finally admitted their feelings and were together. It was time for her to leave and live her own life. Taking a deep breath, Audrey spoke. “Dad, I’d love to go abroad.” Mr. Davies on the other end of the line seemed surprised by her sudden agreement, and his tone became particularly excited. “Honey, you’ve finally come to your senses! I’ve told you many times that Julian isn’t right for you. Your obsession would never lead to anything good! It’s fine to want love, but you need to find the right person. I’ve found you a fiancé, he’s your age. When you come here, spend more time with him, try dating other people. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Mr. Davies’s words made Audrey’s already swollen eyes well up with tears again. In her past life, her father had advised her the same way, but she had stubbornly refused to listen, wasting her entire life. She pinched her palm, forcing a smile. “Dad, I’ll do whatever you say. I’ll go apply for immigration papers right away.” After hanging up, Audrey quickly wiped her tears, grabbed her documents, and prepared to leave. But the moment she opened her door, she bumped squarely into the man standing outside. Julian Harrington’s neck, covered in countless hickeys, immediately caught Audrey’s eye. Even though she was prepared for Julian and Celeste to have already shared intimate moments, Audrey silently averted her gaze in that instant. Her subtle movement didn’t escape Julian’s notice. Combined with her slightly red eyes, the man immediately understood something. His normally cool tone carried a hint of warning: “Audrey, whether you like it or not, Celeste and I are together now.” “I’ll marry her eventually. Since you’re living here, you need to respect her. Don’t ever say those ridiculous things you used to say again.” Audrey lowered her eyes, replying calmly: “I understand, Uncle Julian.” The words “Uncle Julian” made Julian incredibly uncomfortable the moment they left her lips. He looked down, studying the girl before him for a long moment. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d heard that address. When Audrey first moved into the Harrington mansion, she would sweetly call him “Uncle Julian.” But later, as her intentions changed, she started calling him by his first name, refusing to call him uncle anymore. He frowned, about to speak, when a woman’s voice suddenly broke the strange silence between them from behind him. “Julian, I’ve moved my luggage in. Which room is mine?” Julian quickly snapped back to reality, pulling Celeste, who was walking towards him, into his arms. He said tenderly, “You love the sunlight, and Audrey’s room faces south, with the best light. I’ll have her move to the guest room, and you can live here from now on.” Celeste’s eyes gleamed with a triumphant smile, though her words feigned reluctance: “Oh, but I couldn’t possibly!” “Compared to Audrey, I’m the newcomer. Maybe I should just take the guest room.” With that, Celeste made to walk downstairs, but the next moment, a gasp escaped her lips. Julian scooped her back into his arms. “You’ll be my wife, the mistress of this house. How could you stay in a guest room?” “But Audrey has lived in that room for so long, won’t it be inconvenient for her to suddenly move?” Hearing this, Julian glanced at the girl by the door. “What’s inconvenient about it? She needs to get used to me getting married, used to this house having a mistress, used to herself being an outsider.” Audrey’s eyelashes trembled, and she gave a self-deprecating smile. An outsider… Yes, he wasn’t wrong. She was indeed just an outsider. She pursed her lips. “I’ll pack my things now and move to the guest room.” Anyway, she would be leaving soon, returning to her father’s embrace, never to come back, never to set foot here again. This place was only Julian and Celeste’s home. Over the next few days, Audrey went to the embassy to handle her paperwork, leaving early and returning late, all to avoid seeing Julian. But no matter how much she tried to avoid him, she still witnessed Julian’s intimate affection for Celeste. When Celeste had no appetite, he spent a fortune hiring various celebrity chefs to cook for her at home. When Celeste felt unwell, he postponed a multi-billion dollar deal, dedicating himself entirely to staying home and accompanying her. If Celeste casually mentioned a certain piece of jewelry, it would be personally delivered to her within ten minutes. She watched silently, without complaint or fuss. While waiting for her immigration application to be approved, Audrey began to pack her belongings. She first packed her luggage, then gathered all the love letters she had written to Julian and the sketches she had drawn of him, putting them into a box, which she then took out, intending to throw them away. Just as she reached the door, she bumped right into Julian, who was returning with desserts for Celeste. Audrey pretended not to see him, walking straight past without looking. The next instant, her wrist suddenly ached as Julian grabbed her hand. “Have you been avoiding me these past few days?” Audrey frowned. “No, I haven’t.” Julian took a few steps closer, scrutinizing her evasive expression. “Still saying no? You leave early and come back late every day, and you leave without even greeting me when you see me. Isn’t that avoiding me?” “Why? Just because Celeste and I are together?” Audrey quickly shook her head. “No! Uncle Julian, I’m genuinely happy for you that you’re with someone you love. I sincerely wish you both happiness. Don’t worry, I’ve accepted that you’ll never love me, so I won’t love you anymore either.” She stated the established facts calmly, but Julian’s face darkened, finding her words inexplicably grating. Audrey not loving him—that was probably the most absurd thing he’d ever heard. “You confessed to me, I refused. You缠着 me daily, I refused. So now you’ve changed tactics to get my attention?” Julian said this while observing her expression. When he saw the girl’s clearly stunned look, he became even more convinced of the truth. He advanced on her, step by step, and upon seeing the box in Audrey’s arms, his tone grew even colder. “You don’t love me anymore, yet you wrote me so many love letters, secretly drew so many pictures of me, relentlessly pursued me for years, and now you suddenly say you don’t love me?” “Audrey, don’t you think what you’re saying is ridiculous?” Audrey silently stared at the man before her. Of course, she knew these words sounded ridiculous. After all, tell the ‘boy who cried wolf’ story too many times, and no one would believe you. But these ridiculous words were the truth. “Uncle Julian, I did love you for a long time, but you’ll never love me, so I’ve truly given up.” With that, Audrey, right in front of Julian, dumped everything out of the box. Then, she tore the love letters and sketches inside into tiny pieces, one by one. Amidst the fluttering scraps, she noticed that the man’s face showed no joy; instead, it grew even gloomier. Just as Audrey wondered if she had seen wrong, Julian’s icy voice suddenly fell into her ears. “Keep acting, Audrey. Keep pretending. Remember this, no matter what tricks you play, Celeste is the only one I love!” After that day, Audrey and Julian never spoke again. The former had nothing left to say; the latter simply thought she was playing hard to get and ignored her. This tense atmosphere persisted until the Harrington family dinner. In the past, at such family dinners, Audrey, who was greatly favored by Julian’s parents, was always the center of attention. The Harrington family members would fuss over her, and Julian often had to intervene to rescue her. Now, the Harrington family’s focus had shifted entirely to Celeste. After all, she was the future mistress of the Harrington household, while Audrey was just an outsider. They knew who was more important. In just one morning, Audrey witnessed the Harrington family’s reverence for Celeste. The Harrington family’s heirloom jade bracelet was slipped onto Celeste’s wrist by Mrs. Harrington the moment she walked in. Audrey had never even seen this bracelet in her past life. As the banquet began, the Harrington family openly discussed the couple’s wedding date at the dinner table. The family dinner concluded with the finalization of the wedding date. Just as Audrey was about to follow Julian back, Mrs. Harrington suddenly called out to her, saying she had something private to discuss. As soon as they entered the study, Mrs. Harrington immediately got straight to the point: “Audrey, you need to leave Julian.” “You know Julian and Celeste are together now. What else can you do by staying here, other than cause him trouble and humiliate yourself?” Mrs. Harrington made no attempt to hide her dislike for Audrey. Audrey felt a strange pang of bitterness in her heart. In the past, Mrs. Harrington had been very fond of her, but that affection ended the day Audrey confessed to Julian. Everyone had called her absurd, accused her of being disgraceful… Audrey desperately pinched her palm. “Don’t worry, I will leave.” With that, she took out her immigration documents from her bag and handed them to Mrs. Harrington. “A few days ago, I called my father and told him I would go live with him abroad. My father said he found me a fiancé, and I will stay far away from Uncle Julian and never bother him again.” Mrs. Harrington carefully examined the immigration documents in Audrey’s hand before her expression finally softened. “You’d better keep your word.” It wasn’t until Mrs. Harrington left that Audrey finally relaxed her tense nerves. After putting the documents back in her bag, she was about to leave. But as she stood up, she locked eyes with Julian, who was standing at the doorway. “You’re staying away from whom?” Audrey’s mind went blank. She didn’t know how much Julian had heard, but she instinctively didn’t want him to know about her plan to go abroad. So she shook her head and said, “No one. You misheard.” She then looked away from him, turning to leave, but Julian’s voice suddenly fell into her ear. “I know you don’t want to go abroad. Even after Celeste and I marry, you don’t have to move out. Your father and I are good friends; I can support you for life.” At his words, Audrey’s eyes widened instantly. Even Celeste, who had come out looking for Julian, froze in place. It wasn’t until Celeste’s resentful gaze fell upon Audrey that Audrey finally reacted and hurried away. Audrey didn’t pay much attention to what Julian said that day. She simply waited for her immigration papers to be processed quickly, then she would leave. But Celeste wouldn’t let her go. One day, Celeste enthusiastically insisted on dragging her out shopping, but shortly after getting into the car, Audrey was drugged. When she woke up again, she found herself tied to a cliff by the sea. On the other side, Celeste was also tied in the same position. She struggled desperately, wanting to ask Celeste why, but her words were muffled by the tape over her mouth, turning into whimpers. Celeste seemed to understand her unspoken question and gave a cold laugh. “Audrey, I didn’t want to kidnap you either.” “But Julian’s words that day have made me uneasy. I just wanted to prove who is more important to him.” Hearing this, a wave of sadness washed over Audrey. What was there to prove? Wasn’t the answer already obvious? Soon, Julian Harrington, having received a message from the kidnappers, rushed over with two suitcases full of cash. He tossed the suitcases forward and demanded, “I’ve brought the money. Let them go!” But the kidnapper, who had already received Celeste’s orders, remained unmoved. He slowly said, “Mr. Harrington, I didn’t kidnap them for money.” Julian’s expression changed slightly, and his voice instantly dropped a degree: “What do you mean?” The kidnapper placed a hand on Audrey and Celeste’s shoulders, grinning menacingly. “I hear these two women, one is your old friend’s daughter, and the other is your fiancée. You can only save one. The other will be thrown into the sea to feed the sharks. You choose!” With that, the ropes in the kidnapper’s hands slightly loosened, and the two women tied to the cliff edge looked as if they were about to fall into the sea. Celeste’s face turned pale with fright, her voice trembling uncontrollably: “Julian, save me! I don’t want to die!” Julian’s heart instantly clenched. “Don’t touch Celeste!” The answer was clear. The kidnapper finally smiled in satisfaction. Even Celeste, who had deliberately feigned fright, completely relaxed. She pretended to look at Julian with gratitude, but Julian instinctively glanced at Audrey on the other side. He expected her to be broken, to be desperate, but her face held only calm. For some reason, seeing her peaceful expression, Julian felt an inexplicable panic. But before he could speak, a sudden weight fell upon him as the unbound Celeste, overwhelmed with emotion, rushed into his arms. He instinctively held his beloved tightly: “Celeste…” The next instant, Julian’s pupils constricted. Audrey’s rope had been cut at the same time, and she plunged straight into the sea! “Splash!” The surging seawater enveloped Audrey completely, and countless currents relentlessly dragged her down into the abyss. Audrey tried desperately to swim upwards, but an overwhelming exhaustion slowly consumed her. Finally, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she completely lost consciousness… When Audrey woke up again in the hospital, she saw Julian sitting by her bedside. The man’s bloodshot eyes and stubbled chin suggested he had been watching over her for many days. But now, she no longer needed his protection. They stared at each other for a long time, maintaining a heavy silence. Finally, Audrey spoke first: “Uncle Julian, you don’t need to stay with me. Go see Celeste; she needs your care more.” Perhaps feeling her words were inappropriate, she added: “I can take care of myself.” Julian froze, looking at the girl in the hospital bed with a complex expression for a long time, before finally getting up and leaving. Audrey’s discharge day happened to be Celeste’s birthday. Since it was their first birthday celebration together, Julian had organized an exceptionally grand event. One hundred thousand roses, air-freighted from France, filled the entire venue, and countless expensive gifts were casually piled in the corners. Enamored photos of the couple were displayed from the entrance to inside the hall. As fireworks burst across the sky, the banquet finally reached its climax. Julian tightly embraced Celeste’s waist, gracefully dancing in the ballroom to elegant music. Behind them, a large screen continuously played sweet videos of Julian and Celeste together. Just as guests were moved by their love, the large screen suddenly went black. Then, childish love letters and drawings abruptly appeared on the screen, one after another. Audrey’s profound love for Julian was thus revealed to everyone! The entire room erupted in uproar! Audrey stared at the big screen, her face pale! She had torn all those things to shreds; why were they appearing here? She wanted to rush up and turn off the screen, but her feet felt as if they were nailed to the floor, unable to move. She could only let the torrent of discussions push her into the abyss! “Mr. Harrington is almost married, and Ms. Davies still won’t give up? How shameless!” “This is Ms. Miller’s birthday party, isn’t this a public provocation?” “Ms. Miller is truly pitiful. Even after marrying, someone will always covet her husband…” The murmurs finally drew the attention of the protagonists on the dance floor. Upon seeing the scene on the large screen, Celeste’s face instantly turned ashen. She trembled as she looked at the culprit. Finally, with red eyes, she clutched her dress and ran out. “Celeste!” Julian’s heart clenched, and he immediately made to chase after her. But upon seeing Audrey still frozen in place, he sharply stopped, raising his hand and delivering a slap! “Slap!” The surroundings instantly fell silent. “Audrey, I wondered why you’ve been so well-behaved lately. Turns out you were waiting for me here!” The force of the slap sent Audrey sprawling to the ground. Her face rapidly swelled and turned red, and even a trickle of blood escaped the corner of her mouth! Audrey’s ears rang. She couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t see anything. She tremblingly touched her face, and the moment her fingers grazed the handprint, tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes. This was the first time Julian had ever slapped her. But before she could react, his figure rapidly disappeared out the main door. Audrey took a deep breath, quickly scrambled to her feet, and chased after him. She was afraid, afraid that Celeste would suffer the same accident as in her past life. “Boom!” One after another, dull thunderclaps, accompanied by heavy rain, washed over the entire world. And in the downpour, a tall man tightly held a petite woman in his arms. Celeste struggled incessantly, her voice filled with despair: “Today is the most important day of my life, yet she did such a thing! How can I stay there? Since she’s still so hung up on you, I don’t want to compete with a young girl. Maybe I should just give you back to her…” Julian, however, held her even tighter: “No, Celeste, I can never love her. You know how long I’ve loved you. Are you trying to tear my heart out by pushing me to someone else?” As he spoke, he leaned down to kiss her. But the next second, a dazzling car light approached them from a distance. Audrey, who had just chased out from afar, saw nothing but a bloody scene and froze completely! Inside the emergency room, a red light shone. Countless doctors rushed to attach medical equipment to Julian, preparing for resuscitation. But Julian ignored his own injuries, insisting they save Celeste first. “But Mr. Harrington, you’re the most severely injured!” His voice was weak and trembling. “Don’t mind me, save her first…” Reluctantly, the doctors could only send the unconscious Celeste into the operating room first. But after a short while, a doctor rushed out: “The patient is hemorrhaging! Who here is Type A blood?!” Hearing this, Julian ignored the nurses’ protests and scrambled out of bed. “I am! Draw my blood!” “But Mr. Harrington, you’re…” “Shut up, hurry!” Soon, bags of bright red blood piled up on a nearby medical tray, and Julian’s face turned pale. Only after confirming Celeste was out of danger did he finally agree to lie on the operating table and be wheeled into the emergency room. Audrey couldn’t bear to watch anymore and turned to leave. She knew Julian loved Celeste, loved her more than his own life. If only she had realized this sooner in her past life, her ending might not have been so tragic. Now, in this life, she had changed the course of events, yet Celeste still got into a car accident. And the source of this series of events was all those love letters and drawings. But she truly didn’t know how they had gotten out; she had torn them all up. Now it seemed the only one who could have secretly kept her love letters and then made them public was Celeste. But why would she do that? She was already with Julian. She couldn’t understand, nor did she dare to ponder it deeply. She stayed at home in a daze for three days. Julian was discharged from the hospital, and the first thing he did upon returning was order his bodyguards to throw her into the walk-in freezer. The moment she was thrown in, an icy cold instantly enveloped Audrey’s entire body. Looking at the stark white surroundings, Audrey gave a bitter smile. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d felt cold. Ever since she accidentally fell into an icy lake as a child, her health had deteriorated, and she became extremely sensitive to cold. So the mansion was always heated, like spring all year round. But now, Julian was punishing her this way, punishing her for her undying affection for him, and for indirectly harming Celeste. Audrey instinctively curled up, hoping to find a shred of warmth, but it was futile. She could only let out soft whimpers. The housekeeper outside couldn’t bear to watch and quietly advised, “Miss Audrey, why don’t you just apologize to Mr. Harrington? Otherwise, how will your body endure this…” Audrey’s eyes suddenly reddened. In her past life, she was wrong, so she accepted it. But in this life, she had done nothing wrong, so what apology was she supposed to offer? Moreover, Julian’s heart was entirely with Celeste now; he wouldn’t even listen to her explanation. A fierce cold wind blew at her from all directions, quickly forming a layer of frost on Audrey’s eyelashes. She felt her heartbeat slowing, her thoughts growing increasingly blurry… Finally, she slowly closed her eyes, completely losing consciousness. When she woke up again, she found herself in her room’s bed, with Julian standing by her bedside, his expression icy. “You caused such a huge mess this time; you should have been locked up for three days and three nights. But Celeste is kind and didn’t want to pursue it, begging me to let you out.” “I knew you still had feelings for me, but Audrey, remember this, I can’t possibly love a girl twelve years younger than me. You and I, it’s impossible, forever.” With that, the door slammed shut in front of Audrey, the loud bang immediately drowning out the explanation she had been about to offer. She leaned back against the headboard, closed her eyes, and let out a long sigh, murmuring that sentence. “Julian Harrington, I truly don’t love you anymore.” Over the next few days, the Harrington mansion became exceptionally lively. Everyone in the villa was preparing for Julian and Celeste’s upcoming wedding. Celeste, while giving instructions, enthusiastically grabbed Audrey, as if all the previous unpleasantness had vanished. “The venue and decorations are almost ready, just missing a bridesmaid. Audrey would be perfect, she can catch some good luck, maybe even find a groomsman to be her boyfriend.” Celeste’s words even held a hint of playful teasing at the end. Audrey didn’t have such sophisticated acting skills. She withdrew her hand from Celeste’s arm and was about to refuse when a cold male voice suddenly spoke from above them. “She can’t be a bridesmaid.” Audrey and Celeste turned around simultaneously, seeing Julian standing behind them. “Why can’t she?” Celeste seemed surprised that he would reject her suggestion. Julian didn’t speak, merely raising his eyes to look at Audrey beside them. Lately, she seemed a bit more obedient and hadn’t been clinging to him all day. But the thought of Audrey finding a boyfriend somehow made him feel a strange sense of oppression, a displeasure he couldn’t pinpoint. Julian’s gaze deepened. He was about to come up with some excuse when he heard Audrey speak. “I’m too young, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to be a bridesmaid.” The truth was, she was leaving the country soon. This wedding, she was destined not to attend. Hearing her words, Julian nodded, following her lead, and Celeste finally dropped the idea. Just as Audrey let out a sigh of relief and prepared to leave, she heard Celeste say, “Since Audrey can’t be a bridesmaid, then to show your blessing, why don’t you give me the wedding dress you designed? I really love it.” Audrey involuntarily looked at Julian. That wedding dress was designed by Audrey when she was eighteen and had won an award in a competition. Countless socialites and heiresses in the industry had coveted that dress, wanting to buy it to wear on their wedding day, but Audrey had refused them all. Because she had designed it for herself. She wanted to wear it to marry Julian. Julian knew its significance, but he didn’t want to disappoint Celeste, so he still spoke. “Audrey, as long as you sell me this wedding dress, I’ll grant you any request.” Audrey pursed her lips. “No need. Celeste is right; I should show you both my blessing. In that case, consider this wedding dress my early wedding gift to you.” With that, she made a call to the bridal shop. Soon, staff delivered the wedding dress, stored at the shop, directly into Celeste’s hands. Celeste, having received the beloved wedding dress, had no time to bother Audrey and happily ran off to the fitting room to try it on. Audrey watched her retreating figure calmly, then, without joy or sorrow, turned and returned to her room. Only Julian watched her receding back, lost in thought for a long time. At midnight, Audrey was alone in her room, packing her luggage. Her bags were almost ready, her paperwork nearly complete; she would be leaving soon. Just as she hid her suitcase and prepared to sleep, the door to her room was suddenly flung open. Before she could even react, Julian stormed in, tightly gripping her wrist, and a barrage of furious accusations rained down on her. “What did you do to the wedding dress?!” “Celeste only tried it on for a short while, and soon after, she broke out in an itchy rash! Audrey, are you trying to kill her?!” Under the dim yellow light, Julian’s eyes blazed with fury, like sharp knives, seemingly intent on dissecting her body piece by piece. Audrey quickly shook her head. “I never touched the wedding dress, nor would I tamper with it. I have no reason to harm her!” Julian’s face darkened, and he violently threw her onto the bed, his eyes like cold stars, his voice filled with rage. “What reason? I know you’ve always held feelings for me, but you absolutely shouldn’t have hurt Celeste! You’d better hope she’s alright, otherwise…” Julian’s words were cut short as the housekeeper suddenly rushed in through the door. “Mr. Harrington, bad news! Miss Miller has fainted!” “Watch her. Don’t let her run off!” Julian’s expression changed. Leaving those words behind, he quickly stormed out of the room. The entire Harrington mansion was lit up all night. Audrey sat restlessly on the sofa, her fingernails digging deep into her palms, drawing blood. But she seemed not to feel it, staring fixedly at the wall clock. She watched as the hour hand moved from midnight to seven in the morning. The moment the clock chimed on the dot, hurried footsteps approached from outside the door, growing louder. Julian Harrington’s eyes were pure black, filled with a menacing intensity that made Audrey’s scalp tingle and a chill spread from her feet throughout her body. Julian took a long whip from a servant and walked towards her, step by step. “Audrey, do you know that Celeste and the baby in her womb almost died?” A baby? Celeste was pregnant? After the initial shock, Audrey immediately snapped back to reality. Yes, in her past life, Celeste had also gotten pregnant around this time. In this life, she had pushed Celeste to Julian as his antidote, so naturally, Celeste would be the one pregnant. She had no time to ponder further. Looking at Julian, who was willing to use family punishment on her just to get revenge for Celeste, her eyes suddenly welled up, and she tried desperately to explain: “I didn’t tamper with the wedding dress, nor did I ever intend to harm her. From the kidnapping, to the mysteriously appearing love letters at the banquet, and now today’s wedding dress – don’t you find any of this suspicious? Even if I wanted to frame her, it’s impossible for me to succeed repeatedly, every single time.” She had thought that after saying this, Julian, who was usually cautious, would notice the many suspicious points. But at that moment, he was entirely consumed by rage, saying coldly, “Are you implying that Celeste has been framing you lately? I love her, and I’m marrying her. Why would she unjustly accuse you?” That was what Audrey couldn’t understand. “I don’t know…” The words were only halfway out when a cry of pain escaped her lips, as Julian’s whip, raised high at some point, viciously lashed across her body. “Audrey, you truly are incorrigible.” Audrey’s face instantly turned pale, a bitter smile gracing her lips. Celeste was the one he held dearest. How could she still cling to a shred of hope that he would believe her? She instinctively tried to escape. But the bodyguards behind her rushed forward, pinning her firmly to the ground. “Audrey, do you admit your mistake?!” As the whip landed again, Julian’s voice roared. Audrey trembled with pain, but her hands were tightly clenched, refusing to let out a single whimper. Seeing her refusal to answer, Julian’s whip landed heavily on her back again! “I’ll ask you one more time, do you admit your mistake?!” But the girl on the ground kept her lips tightly sealed, refusing to speak. She hadn’t done anything wrong! Why should she admit it?! Seeing her stubbornness, Julian’s temper flared. The whip lashed against her back, again and again. Soon, Audrey’s entire back was a bloody mess, yet she still refused to admit her mistake. Finally, Mr. Perkins, the butler, couldn’t bear it and stepped forward, grabbing Julian’s hand holding the whip. “Sir, if you keep hitting her, you’ll kill her…” Julian finally stopped, coldly tossing the whip aside. “Audrey, don’t let there be a next time!” Audrey could no longer hold on. Her head dropped to the ground, and she completely lost consciousness.
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