"Who knows what that scumbag is thinking? Mia, you can’t keep being sad over him. It’s not worth it!"

Mia Kane couldn’t figure it out, so she stopped trying.

To say she wasn’t heartbroken would be a lie. After all, she had truly loved Chase Lockwood. But who could have known that the last three years were just an illusion he’d created? Her life was a complete joke!

Her pain wasn’t for Chase Lockwood, but for herself. Three years of genuine love, all fed to the dogs.

Her heart ached for herself!

"Mia, where are you now? I’ll come find you."

"No, it’s okay. I’m fine. I just want... to be alone for a bit."

Before Shayla Quinn could reply, she hurriedly ended the video call.

She looked at her reflection in the vanity mirror. Her eyes were red as a rabbit’s, but she fought back the tears, refusing to let them fall.

She wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes, swallowed the bitterness in her throat, and her gaze hardened with resolve.

Now she felt that sacrificing her innocence to save her life back then had been the right choice. It would have been utterly ridiculous to die for someone like that.

Just then, her phone rang.

She recognized the number; Chase Lockwood had used it to contact her before. She instinctively declined the call, but to her surprise, the person on the other end kept calling, persistent.

Puzzled, she finally answered, only to find it was Vivian Lynch on the line.

On the other end, Vivian Lynch was sobbing her heart out. "Please, I’m begging you, don’t go public. I’ll do anything you say. I’ll give Chase back to you... It’s all my fault; I was wrong. Please let me off, just let me go...

"Do I have to die for you to forgive me? Fine, then I’ll give you my life..."

"Then go die," Mia Kane said coldly.

She’s putting on an act again. Doesn’t she ever get tired of it?

She hung up and didn’t give the matter another thought.

She went out to buy a few things. Unexpectedly, just as she reached the department store, a familiar car pulled up in front of her.

Chase Lockwood got out of the car, his face dark. He grabbed her arm and threw her into the vehicle. She was thrown into a dizzying spin.

"What are you doing!"

"We’re going to the hospital to see the mess you’ve made!"

Chase Lockwood’s entire aura was off. It was terrifying, like he was a demon that had just crawled out of Hell. Her instincts told her not to provoke him right now; he was truly capable of anything.

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Chase Lockwood gripped her wrist and dragged her upstairs. His grip was so strong it felt like he was about to crush her bones.

"Chase Lockwood... let me go! It hurts, it really hurts! Let go of me."

Chase Lockwood stopped in his tracks, glaring at her grimly. "Vivian is in a million times more pain than you!"

They soon reached a hospital room, and he shoved her hard inside.

With a thud, she fell to the floor.

She was wearing a dress today, and her knees were instantly scraped and bruised. The pain made her suck in a sharp breath.

"Get on your knees and apologize to Vivian!"

Only then did Mia Kane see Vivian Lynch, her face pale and still unconscious. Her wrist was wrapped in thick gauze, which was soaked through with crimson blood.

She slit her wrists?

"What does her slitting her wrists have to do with me! What did I do wrong!" Mia Kane glared stubbornly at Chase Lockwood and tried to stand up, but he slammed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her back down. Her knees hit the ground again.

"You don’t deserve to stand while you speak in front of her!"

Chase Lockwood picked up Vivian Lynch’s phone and played a call recording. Mia Kane’s brows furrowed. She could no longer feel the pain in her knees.

Vivian Lynch clearly did this on purpose. She even recorded it.

"Then go die..."

Those three words were the reason Chase Lockwood was condemning her.

Chase Lockwood snatched a piece of paper from the bedside table and threw it in her face.

It was Vivian Lynch’s "suicide note."

"Chase, I can’t walk this path with you any longer. Mia Kane is going to expose us. She said her friend is a reporter, and she’s going to bribe the media to brand me as a homewrecker and you as a cheater! She’s even going to reveal my tragic experiences abroad! My reputation is already ruined, but I can’t drag you down with me!

"I love you so much, how could I bear to see you get pointed at and judged alongside me! Chase, I have to leave you. After I’m gone, find a better girl. I’m not good enough for you.

"I cherish the memories of growing up with you. You’ll always be my big brother, Chase. I’ll watch over you from heaven.

"Love, your Vivian."

A wave of physical revulsion washed over Mia Kane as she finished reading. Every line was nauseating.

Isn’t she a homewrecker?

Isn’t he a cheater?!

"Just because of one letter, you’ve decided I’m the one who drove her to suicide? When did I ever threaten Vivian Lynch? You can check the call logs between us. When I got her call, I was completely baffled. I thought she was just trying to disgust me on purpose..."

"Disgust you on purpose? Vivian is so kind, and you drove her to her death, yet you still have the nerve to say that about her! You’re clever, aren’t you? You didn’t use your own account to contact her. You used someone else’s, sending her anonymous emails!"

"So, you have no proof..."

"This is all the proof I need! You will kneel here. When Vivian wakes up, you will beg and apologize. If she doesn’t wake up, then you can be buried with her," Chase Lockwood said viciously, his eyes filled with malice.

Those same eyes, which had once looked at her with such deep affection, now looked as if they wanted to flay her, drink her blood, and eat her flesh.

Vivian Lynch’s gambit was truly vicious!

Just then, Vivian Lynch let out a weak moan, and Chase Lockwood immediately rushed to her side, anxious. "Vivian... you’re awake? You scared me to death. What would I do without you?"

"I... How am I not dead? Chase, just let me die. I can’t drag you down!"

Tears streamed down Vivian Lynch’s face instantly as she begged to die.

Chase Lockwood pulled her into his arms, holding her so tightly. "No one is going to point fingers at us, I won’t allow it! Vivian, don’t leave me."

"Chase..."

The two embraced emotionally.

Mia Kane only hated that her legs hurt too much for her to leave in time, forcing her to witness this nauseating scene. She struggled to her feet and turned to leave, but Chase Lockwood stopped her.

"Kneel and apologize to her!"

Vivian Lynch acted as if she had just noticed Mia Kane, and she immediately started trembling and backing away. "You... why are you here... Please, spare me. I’ve already died once, what more do you want from me..."

"But you didn’t die, did you?" Mia Kane said with scornful mockery.

"Mia Kane!" Chase Lockwood looked like he was ready to eat her alive.

"Chase... just let me die, I shouldn’t be alive..."

Vivian Lynch started her act again, and all Chase Lockwood could do was comfort her.

Mia Kane watched with cold detachment.

"Chase Lockwood, you blind and heartless fool. If I had really gone to all the trouble of using a hidden IP and an anonymous account, why would I say things that point directly to me, making people immediately think of me? Why would I bother being secretive at all? Wouldn’t that be a dead giveaway?

"Besides, the note wasn’t wrong. Isn’t she a homewrecker, and aren’t you a cheater? You’re the ones at fault, yet you act so righteously. It’s ridiculous. I’ve done nothing wrong today, and I’ll do nothing wrong in the future! Chase Lockwood, if you want me to get on my knees and apologize, you can dream on."

After speaking, she turned to leave, but Chase Lockwood called out to her, his voice grim. "You might not care about yourself, but what about your family?"