Chapter 1

Baxter Johnston sat on the sofa and looked up at Vanessa Shaw. His eyebrows arched up, looking as if he did nothing wrong.

"I'm not trying to kill Sonya. You're the one who started all this by being unreasonable. All you have to do is apologize to Tabitha, and this will be all over."

Vanessa was being unreasonable? Baxter was the one who indulged Tabitha, letting her turn explicit images of Vanessa into artwork just to please her. But now, it was somehow Vanessa's fault?

Vanessa stared him down. At that moment, the relationship they had built over the years began to crack.

Another five minutes of silence passed.

"If I still refuse to apologize, will you really show it to my mom?" she asked hoarsely.

"Why don't you try and find out?" Baxter said, calm as ever. But his eyes were sharp, like a dealer at the table. "It's up to you whether you want to take that risk or not."

A bet? She couldn't afford to gamble with her mother's life!

Vanessa closed her eyes, and a single tear slid down her cheeks. She couldn't stop shivering due to the cold. She hadn't expected this. In the end, she still lost to Tabitha.

Back then, the three of them attended the same college.

Baxter and Tabitha were both in the art department. As a talented and attractive couple, they were well-known on campus.

Vanessa, on the other hand, was just one of the many women in the music department who had a secret crush on Baxter. She often hid in the shadows, quietly watching the couple.

But in their junior year, Tabitha suddenly broke up with Baxter and left the country to study abroad.

Baxter changed after that. He threw himself into painting with obsessive intensity, and even actively recruited models.

Women all over the campus scrambled to sign up, and Vanessa was among them. In the end, she was selected.

And just like that, the two of them started talking.

Vanessa once asked why he picked her, to which Baxter replied there was a softness about her. On top of that, the way she played the guitar and sang in that gentle, lilting voice reminded him of something out of a dream.

When she heard that, her cheeks and ears turned red with embarrassment. But deep down, she felt warm and fuzzy.

From then on, they met every day.

Vanessa never dared to hope for more. She only wished to stay by his side for as long as possible.

Until one day, Baxter suddenly got drunk and cornered her in the studio. "Tell me, is it true you have feelings for me?" he asked with glazed eyes.

"Yes!" Vanessa's heart pounded hard from nervousness.

She shut her eyes tightly as redness crept up her face. The next second, she felt the warm, wet touch of his lips.

Baxter kissed her hungrily. Passion flared between them. They made love again and again in the studio, until dawn broke in a soft glow.

Sunlight spilled over Vanessa's smooth skin. Feeling inspired, Baxter painted her on the spot.

That painting would later win him a major award.

Vanessa, on the other hand, became the target of gossip. Word got back to her hometown.

When Sonya Shaw, her mother, caught wind of it and heard the neighbors talking, she was so furious that her body gave out and was rushed to the hospital.

At the time, Vanessa was overwhelmed with sadness as she sobbed in the hospital. It felt like she could barely breathe.

Baxter held her in his arms and said, "I'm sorry, Ness. I didn't know it would come to this. I'll take responsibility. From now on, let me take care of you both."

And true to his word, he really did.

That one award launched his career in the art world. In just five years, he rose from a struggling artist to a billionaire CEO. And Vanessa became the Mrs. Johnston everyone envied.

Over the years, he doted on her, fulfilling her every request. He was also devoted to caring for Sonya, arranging the best medical team for her care.

Vanessa thought their future would always be happy and stable. But the moment Tabitha reappeared, everything changed.

Claiming Tabitha had nowhere to go, Baxter let her stay in their home. Using "artistic collaboration" as a pretext, he took her to all kinds of events.

And now, for the sake of an apology, Baxter had no qualms with using Sonya to threaten Vanessa.

"Fine, I'll apologize," Vanessa said, biting her lip. Her hand trembled as she pulled out her phone and called Tabitha. "What happened today was my fault. I'm sorry."

As the words left her mouth, the men who were sent to the nursing home walked in.

It turned out that Baxter had made a call to summon them back. Feeling satisfied, he stood up and walked over to her. "Good girl, Ness. I only did what I did because I had no other choice. Don't be so stubborn next time."

With that, he turned and left to pick Tabitha up.

Vanessa clenched her fists. All at once, shame and disappointment churned inside her. It hurt to even breathe.

Baxter had no other choice? She let out a bitter smile. It was laughable.

Suddenly, the phone in her hand rang. Her heart tightened when she saw it was the nursing home calling.

She answered immediately, only to hear a panicked voice on the other end.

"Mrs. Johnston, bad news! Your mother's condition isn't looking good!"

Chapter 2

By the time Vanessa arrived, Sonya was down to her last breath.

She knelt by the bedside, clutching Sonya's frail, icy hand tightly as she sobbed, "Mom, what happened to you? Why did it turn out like this?"

But Sonya didn't respond. All she did was stare wide-eyed.

Following her gaze, Vanessa turned around and saw the television behind her looping a news story.

"Billionaire CEO Baxter Johnston uses wife's explicit photos to boost ex-girlfriend's career. Is this a ruthless publicity stunt or a sign of shifting feelings?"

Vanessa froze when she saw the images filling the screen, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. Panic overtook her, and she didn't even dare to turn around to face Sonya.

Suddenly, Sonya gripped her hand and tried to sit up. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move at all. Finally, with great effort, she forced out two words, "D-Divorce him."

Then, there was a long beep as Sonya's hand fell limply.

"Mom!" Vanessa cried out in shock and passed out on the spot.

When she woke up the next day, the nursing home staff had already prepared Sonya's body and was waiting for her family members to claim it.

One of the staff came over to offer condolences. "Mrs. Johnston, we tried calling Mr. Johnston many times last night. But he was probably too busy to answer. We're really sorry about your mom. Please accept our condolences."

Vanessa paused, then let out a bitter laugh.

Baxter was indeed busy trying to win Tabitha back, so he didn't have time to deal with Vanessa. Not that she needed him anymore.

"It's fine. I've already informed him, so you don't have to worry about it. I'll handle my mom's funeral."

She spent the next two days arranging for Sonya's funeral.

Sonya had been a single mother. It had always been just the two of them since Vanessa was young. They didn't even have any close relatives. After the cremation, Sonya's ashes were taken straight to the cemetery.

There was no funeral. There was only Vanessa crying for her dead mother. Each tear she shed was a silent apology for having loved the wrong person.

…

Back at their villa, Vanessa saw Tabitha as soon as she walked in.

Dressed in a pure white dress and barefoot, Tabitha sat on top of a million-dollar cashmere rug as she painted. It was the same rug that Vanessa had to hand-wash once a week.

To make matters worse, Tabitha was getting paint everywhere with each stroke of her paintbrush.

Baxter, who had always been a clean freak and only ever painted in his studio, walked over with a gentle expression and slipped a pair of pink cotton slippers onto Tabitha's feet.

Then, he wiped the paint from her face and said dotingly, "Look at you—you got paint all over your face. Come on, let's eat first. You can finish painting later."

Vanessa looked toward the dining table. It was full of spicy dishes. She couldn't handle spice, but it was all Tabitha's favorite. What hurt the most was that he had prepared the meal himself.

In Vanessa's eyes, his hands were meant for painting. On normal days, she wouldn't even let him wash the dishes, let alone cook.

Looking back, she realized it had all been one-sided. She thought the past two days of pain had numbed her, but this scene still made her heart ache.

She stumbled and lost her balance, a startled noise escaped her.

The two turned and looked over. Baxter seemed surprised. On the other hand, Tabitha smiled smugly.

"Vanessa, you're back. Perfect timing! Come eat with us," she said as if she were the mistress of the house.

Vanessa ignored her and headed straight upstairs.

Baxter's expression immediately darkened. "Hey, didn't you hear Tabby talking to you?"

She paused, then continued up the stairs.

Seeing that Vanessa didn't respond, Baxter angrily grabbed her arm and questioned her, "What are you sulking about now?

"I already had the trending post taken down, so your mom wouldn't have seen it anyway. What more do you want?"

At the mention of Sonya, Vanessa trembled as sadness filled her. She turned to look at Baxter. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but in the end, all that came out was a bitter smile.

"I don't want anything. Whether the post is taken down or not doesn't matter anymore."

Because Sonya was already dead, so nothing mattered anymore.

Seeing the hurt in her expression, Baxter suddenly felt suffocated. But just as he was about to ask something, she shook off his hand and went upstairs.

The tears came flooding back the moment she flopped onto the bed. All she could think about were Sonya's final moments and her last words—"Divorce him".

It wasn't like Vanessa hadn't brought it up with Baxter before.

When Tabitha moved in, Vanessa had cried, fought, even suggested divorce. But Baxter always refused. Because of this, she had even wondered who he really loved.

Now, she no longer wanted to think about it. Since he refused to divorce her, she would just end everything with death.

Before coming back, she had ordered a realistic corpse model. It would be delivered in five days. When the time came, she would "die" in an accident and start over with a new identity.

And from that moment on, she and Baxter would have nothing to do with each other ever again.

Chapter 3

The next day, Tabitha knocked on Vanessa's door.

As soon as Vanessa opened it, she saw Tabitha leaning against the door frame.

Tabitha wore a red fishtail dress, smiling brightly. "Vanessa, there's an art auction today. Let's go together," she said.

Vanessa froze for two seconds before replying coldly, "No."

She was about to close the door when Tabitha suddenly took her hand affectionately and asked with a pitiful look, "Are you still mad about the art exhibition?"

At the mention of the art exhibition, Vanessa felt a wave of humiliation surged up.

"Yes," she replied bluntly and pulled her hand back. Her gaze turned cold as she asked, "Why bring that up? Are you here to apologize or do you want to give me your nudes to turn into art too?"

The words had barely landed when Tabitha pursed her lips.

At some point, Baxter had come upstairs and was now standing behind them. His expression stormy as he heard Vanessa's words..

He stepped forward and pulled Tabitha behind him, roaring, "You're going to far, Vanessa! How can you even say something like that?

"If Tabby really agrees out of the kindness of her own heart, how's she ever going to face others if it happened?"

His words felt like a knife stabbing Vanessa's heart. So he understood how humiliating it was all along, yet he still handed over her private photos.

"Then what about me?" She let out a cold laugh and asked mockingly, "When you gave her those photos, did it ever cross your mind how it would impact me afterward?"

Baxter looked at her without a trace of guilt in his eyes. Instead, he spoke as if it were justified, "It's not like this was the first time, so is there really a need for you to be so dramatic? Enough already—today's auction is important. We shouldn't waste any more time."

Dramatic? So, that was what he really thought of her.

That single word hit Vanessa hard. The pain was sharp and overwhelming, leaving her feeling completely exposed and broken.

She lowered her gaze and let out a scoff, saying nothing more. There was nothing left to say anyway. In four days, she would be able to leave, so she had no intention of stirring up anything else before then.

In the end, she still went to the auction with them.

This auction was mainly a charity event. The proceeds would be donated to help children in rural areas. It was a routine effort in the art world to give back to society and build a good reputation.

At the auction, Baxter bought several pieces in a row. He spent tens of millions of dollars, and as usual, donated everything under Vanessa's name.

People at the event praised him as a devoted husband, while Vanessa simply smiled without commenting. She now saw it as nothing more than him putting on a show.

But Tabitha was visibly upset, and a sly glint flashed across her eyes.

Feeling bored, Vanessa was just about to leave when a three-feet-tall human sculpture was wheeled onto the stage. The moment the red cloth was pulled away, the room erupted in gasps.

The sculpture was of a young woman crouched on the floor with her legs spread, tugging shyly at the sheer fabric draped over her.

Her eyes were lowered in embarrassment, and the curves beneath the fabric were faintly visible, provoking a desire to explore further.

And the face of the sculpture looked just like Tabitha's.

A bunch of men turned to look at her. Their eyes were filled with desire, their Adam's apples bobbing as they rushed to raise their paddles one after another.

"Five million dollars!"

"I bid ten million dollars!"

The prices skyrocketed, and the venue buzzed with chatter.

"Who donated this? It's so explicit!"

"It must be Mrs. Johnston. Didn't you see the art exhibition trending online the other day? She's getting back at her."

"No wonder she's the wife. That's some serious queen boss energy!"

Hearing this, Vanessa frowned. This wasn't her doing.

But before she could explain, Tabitha stood up. Biting her lip, she asked, "Are you satisfied now?"

Then, she looked at Baxter with tearful eyes. "Baxter, I don't blame Vanessa. But please, just let me go. I'm too ashamed to stay here any longer."

With that, she turned to leave.

However, Baxter quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here," he reassured. Then, with a cold expression, he raised his hand in a decisive gesture to make the final bid.

He purchased the sculpture as a show of dominance, then turned and glared at Vanessa furiously. If looks could kill, Vanessa would be dead by then.

Vanessa trembled and blurted, "I-It wasn't me. I—"

Before she could finish, a hard slap landed on her face. Instantly, the burning pain surged through her cheek, followed by a single tear rolling down.

Chapter 4

"You're still trying to deny it?" Baxter's chest heaved with rage. "I thought you were just saying it out of spite. But I didn't expect you had it all planned from the start. What more is there to say?"

Vanessa's ears were ringing from the slap. She found it strange too. She had only made a casual remark that morning, yet things just happened to line up like this.

Unless…

She lifted her head and shot a sharp look at Tabitha, who was still in Baxter's arms.

Tabitha was smiling faintly, the earlier grievances gone. It was obvious who was behind it.

"Why are you glaring at Tabby?" Baxter snapped, his anger surged.

"You're lashing out just because you got exposed? It's all my fault for being too indulgent with you. This time, you need to suffer a little to learn your lesson."

Indulgent? When had he ever indulged her? Even if he had indulged someone, it was never her.

Hearing such heartless words made Vanessa's chest ache. She let out a self-deprecating smile and asked, "So, what punishment do you have in mind this time?

Was he going to threaten her into apologizing? Or offer up more of her nudes as compensation? Whatever it was, she wasn't afraid anymore.

But it wasn't either of those. Baxter took her back to the villa and locked her in the abandoned storage shed out back.

That was another one of her deepest fears.

As the door was about to shut, Vanessa clutched his hand tightly, trembling as she begged, "B-Baxter, don't leave me here!"

She was afraid of the dark and had claustrophobia.

It was a phobia she developed as a child, and Baxter knew that. He had even stopped his habit of sleeping with the lights off just to accommodate her.

But now, all because of Tabitha, he was using it to punish Vanessa. Even so, the severity of the punishment seemed excessive.

Baxter looked down at her, his face devoid of sympathy. "I already told you that you need to learn your lesson. Otherwise, you'll keep bullying Tabitha."

With that, he pried her hands off and shut the door. Then, everything went black.

Vanessa hit the door with all her strength. There was no reply from the other side. She was surrounded by the damp, rusty air and the squeaking of rats and bugs in the corners.

Gasping for breath, she curled into a ball and cried until she passed out from exhaustion. And even then, she had a dream.

In the dream, she brought Baxter to meet Sonya.

But Sonya saw through him immediately. "Ness, he doesn't love you. If you marry him, you'll regret it."

In the end, her mother was right. Vanessa was starting to regret it now. But it was already too late.

…

The next day, the storage room door opened. But it wasn't Baxter who opened it. Instead, Tabitha had someone let her out.

In the living room, only Tabitha was there. She was still dressed in a white dress, brush in hand, painting at the easel.

She looked pure and serene, but Vanessa knew how twisted she was beneath that innocent appearance.

Tabitha paused her movements when she saw Vanessa walk in.

Then, she twirled her paintbrush and circled around Vanessa, examining her as she said, "Such a mess, and yet still somewhat attractive. No wonder Baxter was taken in with you. But unfortunately for you, I've got my eye on your position now."

Vanessa looked at her calmly and smiled nonchalantly. "You want it? Alright, I'll give it to you then."

Tabitha was momentarily stunned, then visibly annoyed. "I don't need you to give it to me! He was mine to begin with.

"If I'd known he'd become this successful, I wouldn't have left with that new money guy. You wouldn't even have a chance with Baxter then."

So Baxter was really abandoned.

Vanessa let out a soft chuckle. She wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for Baxter or laugh at his predicament.

"What are you laughing at?" Tabitha was enraged by her indifference. It felt like she was talking to a wall.

Just as she was about to lash out again, she caught sight of someone entering from the corner of her eye. A glint of malice flashed across her gaze.

She stumbled dramatically toward the easel, knocking everything over in the process. And in one swift motion, she grabbed a sharp utility knife with her right hand.

"Ah! It hurts!" she screamed.

Blood instantly pooled on the floor.

Chapter 5

Baxter froze in shock as he took in the scene before him.

When he came to his senses, he immediately rushed over to help Tabitha up. But the moment he saw the blood gushing from her hand, his face went pale.

"Call a doctor, now!" he shouted urgently.

Vanessa was also stunned. Staring at the large pool of blood on the floor, she suddenly realized just how unhinged Tabitha was. It was actually terrifying that she would go to such lengths.

Soon, the family doctor arrived.

He quickly stopped the bleeding and said, "She needs to be taken to the hospital for further treatment. The wound is too deep. It may have damaged the tendons and could result in long-term complications."

Upon hearing this, Tabitha burst into tears. "What do you mean lingering effects? Will I still be able to paint?" she sobbed.

The doctor remained silent at that.

Immediately, Tabitha buried her face into Baxter's chest, crying out, "Baxter, what am I supposed to do now?"

Baxter held her tightly, clearly distressed. He didn't even have time to utter a word of comfort before she suddenly looked up and turned to Vanessa.

"Vanessa, why would you do this to me?"

What?

Only then did Baxter realize Vanessa was there as well.

A sudden suspicion rose in his chest. "How did you get out of the storage room?" he asked.

Before Vanessa could reply, Tabitha tearfully cut in. "I felt sorry for her, so I had someone let her out. But I didn't expect she hated me so much that she'd hurt me like this."

After saying that, Tabitha sobbed pitifully, struggling to catch her breath.

"I didn't push her," Vanessa said calmly. She was too exhausted and hadn't planned to respond, but she knew she had no choice.

"She fell on her own. If you don't believe me, you can check the surveillance footage."

One look at the footage, and the truth would be known.

But Baxter refused to listen.

His expression darkened as his gaze turned cold. "So, you're saying Tabitha would go so far as injuring her own hand and ruining her future just to frame you? Do you take me for a fool? Vanessa, you're evil!"

As expected, he still didn't believe her.

Vanessa opened her mouth to speak but ended up tilting her back with a helpless laugh. Then, with tears in her eyes, she asked, "Then what do you want from me?"

"What do I want?" Baxter clenched his jaw. His eyes sharp, he said grimly, "Exactly what you like best—an eye for an eye. Since you ruined Tabby's hand, you'll pay with yours."

He then called in several bodyguards.

With just one look, he had one man pin Vanessa's right hand to the floor, while another stood by with a hammer, awaiting orders.

Vanessa's eyes turned red as she struggled with all her strength. But her right hand was tightly restrained, so all she could do was look helplessly at Baxter.

"Baxter, I didn't push her! Just check the footage! It really wasn't me!"

But Baxter didn't even spare her a glance. He simply scooped Tabitha up and walked past her. Before stepping out the front door, he said coldly, "There's no need to do that. I believe Tabby."

And with that, the hammer came down without mercy.

A dull crack echoed from her hand, followed by a horrifying scream echoing through the entire villa.

Vanessa's face twisted in pain as a sharp, searing agony shot from her hand straight to her heart. Her vision blurred, and cold sweat soaked her back.

It hurt like hell. And she was just so done.

She stared in despair at the doorway, watching Baxter's retreating figure, until her sight went black.

A scalding tear slipped down her cheek.

She regretted ever meeting him. But even more so, she regretted falling in love with him.