"You will go to Stefan and accuse Wanda of the heinous act and force him to tear away the last shred of their façade. I've set the stage. When the time comes, everyone will play their part," Pierce calmly explained."I'll be going to him?" Millie asked, incredulous."Yes, you. You'll be the victim. Because of the uproar surrounding this controversy, you were attacked by a group of irrational people, and your life was nearly taken. Among them, there were people sent by Wanda."Wanda wasn't the culprit, but that didn't matter because Pierce would make sure that she was. This act was staged for Stefan to deepen his guilt toward Millie and heighten his loathing for the venomous Wanda."So, do I need to get injured?" Millie questioned."A fake injury will suffice. I'll have a special effects artist create a realistic wound for you," Pierce replied, stepping closer. He placed a finger near Millie's heart and said, "You'll take a stab here. If it's a little deeper or slightly toward
It was a document.Stefan opened it and saw evidence detailing how Wanda had bribed the media to manipulate public opinion. It showed how she'd egged the incensed internet users on in chat groups, encouraging them to confront Millie in person.The document even implied that Wanda had hired the person who stabbed Millie!Stefan stared at the document, his hands slightly trembling. He blurted in disbelief, "This… This can't be true. Wanda wouldn't do something like this. I've done my best to make her feel secure, and she promised to live a good life with me… You're making false accusations!"Millie coldly retorted, "You're still the same as always. You take her side no matter what. Must I die in her hands before you'll finally admit the truth?""No… That's not what I meant…" Stefan's voice faltered, his words weak and unconvincing.The evidence was damning—it pointed squarely at Wanda.He had already promised to cut ties with Millie and avoid her to focus on his own life. Yet, w
Wanda felt aggrieved. She had bribed the media, but she'd never ordered anyone to commit murder. She hadn't gone that far. After all, Millie had been keeping a low profile and was out of the public eye. Even if Wanda had wanted to act, there had been no opportunity for her to do so.Yet, Millie somehow went out and was ambushed by rabid people who had gotten too carried away with their hate for her.When Wanda learned that Millie was hospitalized due to a grave injury and was possibly on the brink of death, she'd secretly prayed for her demise every day."Stefan, don't listen to her nonsense! I didn't order anyone to kill her. You can look into it and judge for yourself!" Wanda cried."Then explain this!" Stefan threw the evidence at her. Wanda flipped through the pages, her face growing paler with each one. Pierce's investigation had been meticulous. Even though Wanda had used someone else's identity to bribe the media, it hadn't been enough to cover her tracks.As she con
He called for Mark, intending to have him forcibly escort Millie out."Ms. Jordan, please come with me," Mark said.But Millie refused to leave. When Mark forcefully grabbed her, her wound reopened as she struggled against his grip. The sudden pain made her face turn ghostly pale, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes.Mark instantly froze, afraid to touch her again. "S-She's still injured, Mr. Leach. I can't…"Stefan felt a sharp pang in his chest. After all, Millie had once saved his life."You should go home and rest with that injury. Stop wandering around. This matter ends here. I'll make sure you won't see Wanda again. Don't be unreasonable. When I say this ends here, it ends here," he firmly said."And if I insist on pursuing this?" Millie countered."Millie!" Stefan's eyes reddened in frustration. "Are you not going to stop until you see me completely ruined? Is that what you want?" His voice shook as he gritted his teeth. Why did she have to trample on his prid
Wanda's smile froze on her face.The wound on Millie's chest was unmistakably real. It was a ragged, gaping hole that looked like the result of multiple stabs. Blood gushed out, soaking the bandages and Millie's torn clothes. The stitches had completely burst due to Wanda's reckless actions. Millie's face turned deathly pale as pain wracked her body."This can't be real! How could you risk your own life like this?" Wanda cried out, unable to believe her eyes.In a desperate bid to prove her theory, she pressed her fingers against the wound. Instantly, she felt the sticky warmth of fresh blood on her fingertips."There must be a blood bag. Where is it hidden? This has to be special effects, right?" Wanda's voice grew shrill, her disbelief mounting.She couldn't comprehend how Millie had made the wound look so realistic. It was exactly the same as a real wound! This was impossible!Millie couldn't stand the excruciating pain—her body was quickly reaching its limit. She had
Pierce icily snapped, "What right do you have to be concerned about her? She's in this state because of you. You're not blameless.""I know. This time, I won't let Wanda off so easily," Stefan replied in a quiet voice."This time?" Pierce stepped closer, his imposing presence forcing Stefan to instinctively step back. "I'm not just talking about this time. I'm talking about everything you've done to her over the years! You stripped her of her confidence and made her fear love itself. "She's so hesitant and afraid of being hurt again—so much so that she can't fully commit to anyone. She's afraid that at the end of the day, she'll have nothing and no one. You've made her terrified of taking risks in love! You were the one who wronged her, yet I have to suffer all the consequences."She bent over backward for you, smoothed her edges, and lost herself in trying to revolve around your world. She sacrificed so much for you—how dare you betray her? She could have accepted any reason for
Robin and Rachel found themselves speechless.They had expected a lengthy argument—perhaps even a confrontation. But to their surprise, Stefan had made up his mind to divorce Wanda.Agnes took the divorce agreement from Stefan and glanced through it. She noticed that he had allocated a generous portion of his assets to Wanda. It was enough for her to live comfortably after getting divorced.Given that their prenuptial agreement stated that Wanda was entitled to nothing in the event of a divorce, this was an act of goodwill on Stefan's part. He was either doing this for the sake of the Leach family's reputation or to simply give himself peace of mind.Thus, Agnes refrained from commenting further. Instead, she sternly advised, "Since you've decided on this, don't let her sweet talk sway you into changing your mind.""Don't worry. It's for real this time. I'm cutting all ties with her," Stefan said with an air of finality."Good. Handle this yourself. We won't comment further,"
After writing the long letter in blood, Wanda attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills.She was aware that the drug she took would induce vomiting as a safeguard when consumed in large amounts. As long as one of the maids noticed and rushed her to the hospital, she wouldn't actually die.Millie had gambled with her life, so Wanda decided to take a similar risk. After swallowing most of the pills, she scattered the remaining ones on the floor to ensure her act was unmistakable.Yet, fear coursed through her. She was scared that she might go too far and accidentally kill herself for real. But she had no other options left.After a while, her body reacted. Her stomach churned violently and painfully, and cold sweat soaked her face as she turned ghostly pale. Foamy bile then surged up her throat as she dry-heaved and convulsed.The sensation was unbearable—there was burning pain in her stomach accompanied by dizziness and weakness.Wanda deliberately rolled off t
Millie swiftly took some photos and handed the phone back to the guy."The photos you took look great, miss," one of them couldn't help but praise."Thanks for the compliment," Millie said with a smile.That person was so mesmerized that they stood there in a daze, unsure of what to do. Even when Millie had already walked away, he still hadn't snapped out of it."What's wrong? Do you like her?"Nathaniel Yates finally came to his senses. "N-No. Cut the nonsense. I just appreciate her photography skills."Meanwhile, Millie had gone over to sit by the water and noticed some fish in the lake. It reminded her of the last time she went fishing with Piercy. She was so lost in thought and didn't even notice that Nathaniel was secretly taking a photo of her from behind.He was using an instant camera, so the photo developed quickly.As Nathaniel stepped forward, Millie suddenly heard the noise behind her. She immediately turned around and saw an unfamiliar man, which startled her.
Millie quietly left the room so that Pierce could bid his gun a proper farewell. Then, she went downstairs for breakfast. However, breakfast felt tasteless.Pierce went downstairs after half an hour.Though he didn't have work that day, he dressed in formal attire to make the handover look more proper.The gun was wrapped in a paper bag. He casually set it aside as if nothing was wrong and began eating breakfast."It tastes delicious, you should try some," he casually uttered, serving Millie some food.Millie saw through Pierce's act but chose not to say anything.After that, Pierce remained silent the entire way to the CBP. The atmosphere in the car was heavy.Soon, they arrived at the police station, and Jason came out."Pierce…" Jason whispered, his voice slightly choked. He knew what it meant for Pierce to return the gun this time.Pierce looked at Jason's uniform and couldn't help but give him a firm pat on the shoulder. "Do your best. I have high hopes for you."Jas
Millie had once loved Stefan wholeheartedly, leaving herself no way out. But now, her love for Pierce was only six or seven on a scale of ten. She kept reminding herself that she shouldn't give anyone the chance to hurt her deeply again.Millie had even planned her retreat. If they broke up, she would be the one to walk away the most effortlessly.Once bitten, twice shy.Millie was well aware of her problems. Both she and Pierce had their fair share of flaws, and nobody was perfect. That was human nature."Pierce, you're way too extreme," Millie said."I know," Pierce answered.The most terrifying part was that he knew his flaws too well, yet he had no desire or intention to change.Pierce had suffered for his whole life. As an illegitimate child of the Atkinson family, he'd lost his mother at birth, and his father never loved him. The only place he ever felt a sense of belonging was with his grandfather. He was inherently a cold and unfeeling person, and the first time he bec
The call was quickly answered."Where are you?" Millie asked."I'm still on a business trip," Pierce replied."Then turn on the video. I want to see your face."There was a brief silence on the other end of the call. Millie knew Pierce was lying. "Are you still not willing to tell me the truth? Jason came to the house, asking to take back your gun. What's going on? What happened in the days you were away?""I'll tell you when I get back home." Pierce's voice was a bit muffled.He then hung up the call and removed the bandage from the corner of his eye.The wound was right beside his eyebrow. Since he had dark eyebrows, the scar shouldn't be that noticeable. He could only cling on to this wishful thinking.With that, Pierce returned to the villa.Millie hadn't seen him for days. She felt that he had lost a lot of weight and looked even more exhausted after the trip."How did you get injured again?" she asked.Pierce initially thought it would take her a long time to notic
Jacob eventually calmed down and said, "Do you still insist on doing this when you know it doesn't exactly benefit us?"Pierce replied, "I wouldn't dare to deceive you, neither do I dare to contact you in private. But this doesn't affect our operations, which was why I dared to do so. I want to find someone, but I can't no matter how hard I've tried, so I had no choice but to ask for their favor.""You… Are you still doing it even though we won't get anything good out of this?" Jacob asked.Pierce fell silent and clenched his fists. "Yes. I will resolve whatever problems I've caused. After that, I'll kill them in my own way."Jacob threw his cup at Pierce upon hearing this.With Pierce's skill, he could have dodged it. However, he chose to stand straight.The cup hit him right at the corner of his eye, causing him to bleed."You…" Jacob angrily stood up. "W-Why didn't you dodge?" he asked in a shaky voice."I did something wrong. It's right for you to punish me," Pierce simply
Gideon really admired Pierce's calm and composed demeanor."What's the matter?" he asked."I need you to help me find a lady who went missing. I have to know if she's still alive or not," Pierce answered. "I need her, dead or alive. I can't do this on my own, but with your help, it'll be much easier."He had used every legal method he could think of. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and there was only one option left—to enter the underworld."You're making such a big scene just to look for this one person? What? Is she like your lover or something?" Gideon asked."She's an enemy, the kind that I want dead more than anything."The way Pierce paused after each word made him sound eerily intimidating."Is she also like us, from the underworld?""No, she's just a nobody."Gideon felt chills running down his spine. Having dealt with Pierce for this long, he thought he knew his true nature well enough—a righteous police officer who always played by the book. But ri
Pierce felt like he was drowning, but if someone were to pull him out of the water right now, he would survive.Sometimes, Millie couldn't imagine what would happen if she left Pierce one day because of her disappointment in him. Would he still be able to move on?Pierce survived by clinging onto his sheer will. At first, it was the fixation on avenging his sister's death. But now, it was all because of Millie."What are you going to do now?" she asked."I can't tell you just yet, but I promise it won't take longer than three months."Since Pierce wasn't planning to elaborate, Millie didn't bother to keep on asking either.For the past few days, Millie had been carefully taking care of the wound on Pierce's neck. Even though a small patch of new pink flesh had grown over his wound, it still looked pretty hideous. Fortunately, Pierce always wore suits with collars that were high enough to cover his neck. Millie would always start tearing up whenever she saw his scar.She said,
Pierce was aghast. Mills! His poor Mills!Everyone around Pierce had accused him of committing a crime, but he didn't do it. He had been trying so hard to find out the truth, but in the end, he still got nothing.Did he really betray Millie? Did he really taint himself by sleeping with Sarah?Even if he truly believed that Piercy didn't do anything, he still couldn't find any evidence to prove it.Sarah and Piercy were nowhere to be found either.How was he supposed to prove his innocence? He felt like a trapped beast that couldn't find its way out.Just then, Millie made a subtle twitch. It startled Pierce, and he immediately withdrew his arm around her and pretended to remain unconscious.Millie didn't sleep well at all. The first thing she did after waking up was to check on Pierce. The monitor showed that Pierce's heart was racing.She then brought out a warm towel and gently wiped his face.She began, "Your hair has grown so much longer, but you didn't even properly
Millie rushed forward and saw the disconcerting look in Pierce's eyes.Pierce hadn't rested for two days, so his nerves were stretched to their absolute limit. His eyes were completely bloodshot too.The moment he saw Millie, he grabbed her like he was a drowning man who finally got his hands on a life buoy. His large hands clamped down on her arm with such force that it felt like he was going to crush her bones.Pierce howled, "Tell him to come out, please! He listens to you. Ask him to come out, Millie. I don't care if he takes over this body. I just need him to tell me the truth! Did I betray you? Did I mess around with another woman? I'm begging you…""Pierce, calm down please." Millie tried to soothe him."How can I calm down? I want to be with you, but if I really did betray you, then at least let me die knowing the truth! What am I supposed to do now? How long does he plan to torture me?"Pierce shoved Millie aside, frantically searching around the room. He even lunged at