Three years after the crash that supposedly stole my memory, I faced Nathan again at a Sotheby’s auction. He was bidding on jewels for his wife. I was there to reclaim what was mine. Time had left him haggard. I, on the other hand, was gleaming. My radiance clearly unnerved him. When his target lot appeared, he finally cracked. “Scarlett,” he said, his voice strained, “I lied to you after the accident. I was your real fiancé.” I traced the substantial diamond on my ring finger, a subtle smile gracing my lips. After all, who ever said the amnesia was real? All eyes at the auction were fixed on a single jade bangle. Its only flaw lay hidden on the inner surface: a web of hairline cracks, meticulously sealed with a delicate gold inlay. Nathan’s pupils constricted. His gaze darted to me, a flicker of panic in his eyes. Of course he recognized it. After all, those hairline fractures were his doing. That was three years ago. It was also the twentieth year of my love for Nathan. Since childhood, I had trailed after him, offering my very best for nothing more than a fleeting smile. At first, he paid me little mind, but he grew accustomed to my presence. When he was eighteen, someone confessed their feelings to him. As he gently refused them, his eyes found mine across the room. A knowing smile played on his lips, as if he’d seen right through my childish crush from the very beginning. He leaned in then, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. “The truth is… you’re the one I’ve been waiting for.” My cheeks flushed crimson. When I tried to pull away, he cupped my face, his kisses trailing softly from my forehead, to the tip of my nose, and finally, meeting my lips. Our secret didn’t stay hidden from Grandpa Anderson for long. He took charge, formally arranging our engagement. From that day on, I had every right to stay by Nathan’s side. Sadly, that was precisely when he began to change. Nathan’s gaze drifted to the scar on my shoulder, now masked by an intricate rose tattoo. His eyes welled with a pained tenderness as he asked cautiously, “Scarlett… is that from the accident?” I offered a cool smile, my expression as detached as if I were regarding a stranger. Just then, an overly sweet voice sliced through the tension. “Nathan, I’ve absolutely fallen for this bangle. You’ll get it for me, won’t you? Look, it’s so reminiscent of…” The words died in Tiffany’s throat the moment her eyes landed on me. The triumphant smile that had been blooming on her face vanished, replaced by a ghastly pallor and features twisted with sheer jealousy. But she composed herself in an instant, clinging to Nathan’s arm. As if to flaunt her victory, she declared. “Scarlett, long time no see. Nathan and I are married now. You’re not upset, are you?” The next second, a look of wicked glee crossed her face, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, giggling. “Oh, I forgot. Scarlett doesn’t even remember anything from back then. How could she be upset?” I swirled the wine in my glass, watching them with serene elegance. Three years had changed Tiffany a lot. I remembered the first time I saw her. She was a timid girl, fresh from the countryside, wary of everything. She was Nathan’s junior at university, and after graduation, she became his assistant. At first, Nathan took extra care of her, and I didn’t think much of it. I was utterly convinced that the love between Nathan and me was so strong, it couldn’t possibly make room for anyone else. So, the first time I walked in on Nathan gently kissing away Tiffany’s tears, my mind went blank. He saw me. In a panic, he shoved Tiffany aside, his words tumbling out in a stammer. “Scar, Tiff was upset about a work mistake. I was just comforting her.” I struggled to suppress the sharp pangs in my chest, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace. If only I had known, that was only the beginning.
After that day, Tiffany and Nathan became inseparable. Nathan claimed she was his assistant who needed to learn the ropes. At the convenience store near our office, I stood behind them in line. Tiffany, utterly oblivious to anyone else, clung to his sleeve like a kitten seeking shelter in his embrace. During meetings, she’d sit beside him, file in hand, while their fingers secretly intertwined beneath the table. Even the dinner plans we had made would be canceled at the last moment because she had, as he put it, “a bit of a headache.” That day, I stood in the pouring rain, drenched the entire night. When I stumbled back to the mansion, soaked and miserable, he merely glanced up. His voice, tinged with irritation, dismissed me. “Scar, don’t overthink it. She’s far from home, alone, and it’s not easy for her. I’m just trying to look out for her.” I nodded, my heart twisting painfully, my throat tightening. “I know.” But only I knew that I spent that day curled under the showerhead, hiding every sob within the drumming water. I came down with a high fever that very night. Nathan finally panicked. He rushed to the hospital, pulling me into a tight embrace, his voice low and laced with profound heartache. “Scarlett, what have you done to yourself?” I groggily opened my eyes, feeling the familiar scent of cedar wood from his body brush past my nose. For a moment, I almost believed we were back to how things used to be. Just then, Nathan’s phone rang. Tiffany’s whiny, tearful voice drifted from the other end. “Nathan, it’s so dark at home. I’m scared. Can you come stay with me?” The arms holding me stiffened instantly. My fingers instinctively tightened around his sleeve, but in the very next second, his body shifted away, letting me slide slowly from his embrace. He took a deep breath, ruffled my hair with false tenderness, and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Scar,” he said, his voice calm yet unbearably cruel, “you have a caregiver here at the hospital.” “Tiff gets scared. She can’t sleep alone. It’s pathetic, I know.” “I’ll go for a bit. I’ll be back soon.” With that, he decisively pulled his hand from mine and left without a backward glance. He never came back that night. Then a new message flashed on my phone: “He doesn’t care about you at all! He doesn’t love you! He’s happiest when he’s with me! You old hag, why don’t you just disappear?!” Attached was a video of them half-dressed, limbs entangled. A hot rush of blood surged to my head. Fueled by the high fever, the world spun, and I nearly lost consciousness. When I woke up the next day, Tiffany was standing by my hospital bed. She made a point of showing off the hickeys on her neck, hher face glowing with triumph as if the victory was already hers. “Scarlett, you have no idea how fierce Nathan gets when he’s with me. I doubt he ever showed you that side, did he?” I’d been spoiled and cherished by both our families since childhood, never one to swallow an insult. The moment the words left her mouth, I snatched the flower basket from the bedside table and hurled it straight at her. Nathan walked in at that exact moment. Tiffany immediately crumpled to the floor, weeping fake tears in Nathan’s arms. “Nathan, I only came here out of concern for Scarlett, but I never expected her to go crazy and try to hit me the moment she saw me…” I was about to speak when I heard a sharp smack. A crisp slap landed on my face. “Scarlett! How did you become so malicious?! You’ve truly disappointed me!” I stared, utterly disbelieving, at Nathan. That was the first time he had ever laid a hand on me.
After that day, Nathan and Tiffany grew even closer, inseparable. And while I lay in my hospital bed, Tiffany secretly filmed me throwing the flower basket and posted the clip online. Overnight, I became the target of a massive online hate campaign. I was branded a spoiled, mentally unstable heiress. Even at the company, colleagues I saw daily began whispering behind my back. “Do you think Scarlett really had a mental breakdown?” “I heard she’s been obsessed with Mr. Anderson for years. She’s harassing Tiffany now that he’s moved on.” Things escalated. On the street, self-appointed vigilantes would rush me, yanking my hair, hitting and kicking me without mercy. “That’s her! The rich heiress from online who bullies poor Tiff! And a homewrecker too!” The moment the word “homewrecker” was shouted, more people would swarm. They pinned me to the ground. Slap after slap rained down until my face was bruised and swollen beyond recognition. Someone even suggested stripping me naked. Countless hands tore at my clothes, nails digging into my flesh. I desperately clutched the few remaining scraps of fabric, pleading in vain. But no one listened. The police arrived belatedly, only when I was barely conscious. They casually took me from the scene and dropped me back at the mansion. Facing everyone’s misunderstandings and accusations, Nathan merely gave me a cold, dismissive look, his brows furrowed in annoyance. “Scarlett, is this your new way of fighting for attention?” “I told you already, there’s nothing between Tiff and me. You really need to calm down for a while!” No sooner had he finished speaking than he stormed out of the mansion without a backward glance. After this incident, when Nathan and I returned to the family estate, the relatives’ gazes were filled with blatant disdain. They all said I had brought nothing but shame upon both the Anderson and Blackwood families. Grandpa Anderson had already passed away by then. Every time Nathan and I returned, we’d go to pay our respects at his mausoleum. But this time, Tiffany came along. In previous years, only direct relatives from the Anderson and Blackwood families were allowed into the mausoleum. Yet, Nathan, breaking all tradition, permitted Tiffany to enter. When faced with his relatives’ confusion, Nathan didn’t hesitate to defend Tiffany. “Even though Tiff isn’t an Anderson by blood, she’s more sensible, respectful, and dignified than some self-proclaimed high-society women.” “If she genuinely respects Grandpa, why shouldn’t she be allowed to pay her respects?” The moment he finished speaking, all eyes swivelled to me. Disgusted, mocking, scrutinizing stares. I felt like I was being publicly nailed to a pillar of shame. Unable to bear their gazes any longer, I lowered my head and fled, escaping to Grandpa Anderson’s memorial. My nose stung, thinking of the boundless love Grandpa Anderson had once shown me. Just then, Tiffany walked in. She smirked at me, then at Grandpa Anderson’s memorial plaque, resentment and jealousy practically oozing from her. “Scarlett, with your reputation, you’re not still delusional enough to think you’ll marry into the Anderson family, are you?” “If it weren’t for that old geezer, setting up that ridiculous engagement between you two, I’d be married to Nathan right now!” Before I could react, she grabbed the memorial plaque and the urn, smashing them violently to the floor. The plaque and urn shattered, splitting into countless pieces. I stared, stunned, for a moment before lunging at her, tackling her. “Are you insane?! This is the grandfather Nathan and I both loved and respected!” “So what!” She was utterly defiant. “Not only am I going to kick this dead old man out of the mausoleum, but I’m going to steal everything from you and make you leave the Anderson family!” No sooner had she spoken than Nathan, alerted by the commotion, burst in. Tiffany conveniently collapsed to the floor, crying fake tears. “Nathan, I just saw Scarlett’s bangle and thought it was pretty, I only wanted to borrow it. But she attacked me with Grandpa’s urn and plaque, saying she’d kick me out of the Anderson family…” Smack! Tiffany had barely finished speaking when Nathan’s palm connected with my face. He glared at me, his eyes filled with disgust. “Scarlett, you’ve truly disappointed me. All the love Grandpa gave you was wasted.” “You were meant to be Grandpa’s chosen daughter-in-law, and now you’ve desecrated the Anderson family mausoleum. You’ll be punished by family law!” “That’s not what happened! Nathan, let me explain!” But Nathan wouldn’t listen. He ordered his men to throw me into the Anderson family’s private, freezing cellar, where they whipped me repeatedly with barbed leather straps. When my body was a mass of cuts and bruises, my blood staining the murky water, he had a bucket full of leeches unleashed. The writhing leeches instantly covered my body, biting and tearing at my flesh. I screamed until my throat was raw, but no one offered a shred of pity. The Anderson relatives watched, shaking their heads in disdain. “Destroying the old man’s ashes? She deserves this!” When I was on the verge of death, Nathan finally ordered them to pull me out. For a fleeting moment, a flicker of pain crossed his eyes as he looked at me. But it vanished without a trace the instant Tiffany sobbed and clung to his arm. “Scarlett, I just wanted to see your bangle. How could you do this to Grandpa? You’re making Nathan so sad!” I glared at her hatefully, but I had no strength left to argue. Hearing Tiffany mention the bangle again, implying it was the cause of Grandpa Anderson’s ashes being scattered, Nathan’s fury ignited. He waved his hand. The mausoleum guards and his bodyguards instantly swarmed me, pinning me forcefully to the ground. I understood his intention in an instant. “No! Please don’t! Nathan! This is the only relic my grandmother left me, my most precious possession! Throw me back in the cellar if you want! Just don’t take my bangle! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” I screamed and pleaded, but Nathan was unmoved. Despite my desperate struggles, he stubbornly reached for my arm, tearing the bangle off my wrist with brute force. The pain ripped a scream from my throat. Nathan held my bangle, his eyes filled with hatred as he stared at me. “Scarlett, you’d hurt the grandfather who loved you for so long, all for this dead object? Do you have any conscience?!” “Today, I’m going to punish you. I’ll make you feel the pain I’m feeling right now!” With that, he savagely hurled the bangle to the ground. The jade bangle instantly shattered into countless pieces. The severe injuries to my body and the profound trauma to my soul made me let out a despairing wail, then I passed out.
I woke up in the Anderson family’s dog kennel. Everyone believed I was responsible for Grandpa Anderson’s ashes being scattered, so they unanimously refused to let me stay anywhere inside the Anderson family estate. Nathan couldn’t argue with them and had no choice but to put me in the dog kennel temporarily. When I woke, I heard the hushed whispers of Tiffany and Nathan outside. She was pouting, whining to Nathan. “Nathan, why did you smash that bangle? What a waste, I really liked it…” “Enough!” Nathan snapped, cutting Tiffany off impatiently. “Understand your place. Such an expensive bangle isn’t something you’re worthy of wearing.” “I punished Scarlett because she made a mistake. Don’t you dare think you can take advantage of this to claim her bangle.” With that, Nathan walked away without looking back. Tiffany stood there alone, her eyes filled with venomous resentment. A sharp ache in my chest brought me fully to my senses. Never in my life had I endured such humiliation. I forced myself to stand, my body screaming in protest, and made my way to the garage. Finding my car, I sped out without a backward glance. I completely missed Tiffany standing at the estate gate, a cold smirk on her face as she watched me leave. At the same time, a Lamborghini, moving like lightning, roared out of the estate, hot on my heels. It was raining heavily. I drove on, my heart heavy with injustice. Nathan’s Lamborghini quickly caught up. He rolled down his window, yelling at me to pull over. But I didn’t listen. I pressed the accelerator like a madwoman, desperate to escape Nathan. Unexpectedly, I saw a ‘Road Closed’ construction sign directly ahead. Panicked, I slammed on the brakes. But there was no response. The brakes, I realized with a jolt, had been tampered with. Terror consumed me as I watched my sports car veer off the road, crashing violently into the deep construction pit. My last memory was the searing pain as the airbag slammed into me. When I next awoke, Nathan was by my bedside. His chin was covered in dark stubble, his eyes sunken, heavy with dark circles – he looked utterly ravaged. Seeing me wake, a long-lost expression of relief finally appeared on his face. He reached for my hand, his lips parting to speak, but I spoke first. “Who are you?” He froze, his eyes darting toward the doctor. The doctor explained that the severe impact might have caused amnesia. In that moment of confusion… Nathan hesitated, his gaze uncertain. I pressed him again. “Are you my boyfriend?” This time, Nathan’s demeanor shifted from concern. He gently took Tiffany’s hand, who was standing beside him, and spoke to me in a voice utterly alien. “Little girl, you’ve got the wrong person.” “I’m not your boyfriend. I’m her boyfriend.” In that instant, an intense pain spread through my chest, almost suffocating me. Despite it, I forced a smile, holding back tears, and softly asked him, “Really? Will I still be able to wait for my boyfriend to come back then?” Nathan hesitated, his voice thick with an emotion he couldn’t voice. “You will. He definitely will.” Then he took Tiffany’s hand and fled the room as if escaping a burning building. The moment they disappeared, I could no longer hold back. I clutched the fabric over my aching chest, my body shaking with suppressed, anguished sobs. And the reason I did all this? Because while I lay unconscious, I had uncovered a devastating secret… Now, in the Sotheby’s auction hall, Nathan’s sorrow-filled eyes remained fixed on the jade bangle displayed under the glass, his gaze heavy with palpable pain. He never noticed Tiffany beside him, her face equally contorted with bitter jealousy as she stared at the same heirloom. She shot me an icy glare before possessively linking her arm through Nathan’s, her expression one of absolute triumph. “Don’t think I’m unaware, Scarlett,” she sneered. “Both the Blackwoods and Andersons disowned you after you smashed that funeral urn!” “I’d love to see what you plan to use against me for this bangle today.” I watched her furious display and offered a lazy, unconcerned smile. Who said I had any intention of competing?
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