On our wedding night, my husband hired people take turns to sleep with me.

"You drvgged me on purpose to ruin my wedding with your sister. You disgust me!"

Alec roared, his face twisting like a beast. "You want men? You can have your fill!"

One year before, Alec took my viginity while he was drvgged.

But his fiancée, my sister, found out.

She lost control and died in a car crash.

Then, Alec held me and said it wasn't my fault. He even proposed to me.

It wasn't until the moment I stopped breathing that I realized everything had been part of his revenge.

If I had another chance, I would never be so foolish again.

I opened my eyes and found myself back on the night Alec was drugged and lost control.

I shoved his wandering hands away with all my strength and called my sister.

But Alec, his voice hoarse, lunged at me again, tearing most of my dress.

"Madelyn Avery, where are you going?

"Help me..."

It was just like last time.

He knew it was me. He made me believe he loved me, too—tricking me into giving him everything.

But after Clara Avery's accident, he blamed it all on me.

Alec was completely out of his mind and he was incredibly strong.

I didn't care—I kicked him hard in the groin, escaped, and threw myself against the bedroom door to hold it shut.

Clara had returned a while ago.

She stared at the red marks on my skin, then slapped me without saying anything.

"Madelyn, did you touch him?"

I shook my head.

"I'm not that pathetic."

Clara eyed me suspiciously.

"Really? Everyone knows you've had a crush on Alec since you were a kid. You've always dreamed of marrying him."

Inside, Alec was shouting and pounding on the door.

Clara rushed to open it but flinched when she saw his bloodshot eyes.

She quickly took off her jacket, and Alec pounced on her like a beast.

"I'm warning you—Alec loves me. He's going to marry me. Don't think giving him your body will ever make you replace me, you slut!"

Bang! The door slammed shut.

It shook violently.

Once, twice... Each thud landed like a blow to my chest.

For as long as I could remember, marrying Alec had been my dream.

But now, it was time to wake up.

I didn't dare listen to the sounds coming from the room. I covered my ears and ran.

But my legs felt weak, and a burning heat spread through my body.

Then it hit me—in the previous life, my so-called best friend, Brielle Blake, also drugged my drink to make it happen.

"Madelyn, I can tell Alec still has feelings for you! Why else would he call your name at that moment?

"It's just a misunderstanding, you'll be fine once you talk it out!"

Alec, Clara, and I had grown up together—we were childhood friends.

When we were kids, Alec was always by my side.

Every year on my birthday, he'd stand with his hands on his hips and shout, "Why am I not grown up yet? When I am, I'm going to marry Madelyn!"

And I truly believed I would become Alec‘s wife.

But then, during a boating accident, the three of us got stranded in the middle of the lake.

Clara panicked and, in her frenzy, accidentally pushed Alec into the water.

I used every ounce of strength to pull him back up and then blacked out in the lake.

When I woke up, half a month had passed.

Alec's gaze was cold—gone was the warmth he once had for me.

"Madelyn, I can't believe you pushed me just to save yourself. If Clara hadn't risked her life to save me, I'd be dead because of you!"

They quickly announced their engagement to the world.

I was like a clown, watching the happiness that was once meant for me.

That night, after everything, I couldn't hold back the love that surged within me. I leaned on Alec's shoulder and confessed the truth.

But Alec suddenly got furious.

A hand choked me, slamming me against the wall.

"Madelyn, you drugged me on purpose to ruin our wedding, and now you're spreading lies about Clara! You disgust me!

"Don't you want it? I'll give you enough!"

I was tortured beyond recognition—broken fingers and fractured hip.

The commotion was too loud, and the maid notified Clara.

The moment she broke in, Clara lost control and ran out, only to be struck by a passing car, thrown ten meters, and killed instantly.

I was so traumatized that I fell ill, mentally unstable, taking lots of medication.

It was Alec who cherished me and took care of me.

He held me close and whispered that it wasn't my fault, proposed, and swore to be responsible for me.

I pushed all the pain aside and let myself enjoy the love I thought I had regained.

But little did I know, Alec had never trusted me.

He hated me.

On the phone, my best friend was furious when she heard I had escaped.

"Madelyn, why are you so foolish? Are you really willing to just let Alec go?"

I wasn't willing.

But I had paid a lifetime of painful consequences, proving that forcing something never leads to sweetness.

I clutched my chest, the pain suffocating me.

"Brielle, I want to leave."

I collapsed to the ground, digging my fingers into my thigh, forcing myself to stay rational, waiting for Brielle to come and get me.

Then, the door suddenly opened.

Alec, having been detoxified and sweaty, peeked out.

When he saw me, red-faced and gasping for breath, he was stunned for a moment.

"Madelyn, what's wrong with you?"

Clara glared at me, grinding her teeth.

She possessively linked arms with Alec and smiled scornfully.

"She drugged herself to have you. If I hadn't come, she'd have ruined you!"

Alec's hand veins bulged. His eyes looked like they'd tear me apart.

"Madelyn, I never thought you were this cheap! Just looking at you makes me sick!"

Without another word, he called security and had me thrown out the window, into the freezing pool.

March water was freezing cold. My legs quickly cramped.

I kicked and flailed, trying desperately to escape, but still swallowed a lot of water.

Clara dramatically threw herself into Alec's arms.

"Alec, looking at Madelyn like this, it reminds me of when she pushed you into the water and almost drowned you. I'm so scared!"

Her words only fueled Alec's rage.

"Nobody is allowed to save her today. Let her reflect on her actions!"

The servants wrung their hands; nobody dared disobey Alec.

Freezing pool water kept going up my nose, and my chest felt like it was going to explode.

I felt like my limbs were being pulled down, and couldn't struggle free.

In a daze, I thought I saw four-year-old Alec.

He fearlessly jumped into the pond, holding onto me tightly as I was drowning, refusing to let go.

"Madelyn, I'll protect you forever..."

So beautiful.

Back then, everything was beautiful.

When I woke up again, my head was pounding, and I didn't have any strength left in my body.

Brielle was lying by the bed, sobbing uncontrollably.

The table rattled from the next room's noise. Clara's awful crying hurt my ears.

Brielle slammed the table in frustration.

"Too much! You almost died, and they're still doing that!"

The door opened shortly after.

Alec's cold voice drifted in.

"You're awake?"

Brielle clenched her fists and blocked him from entering.

"Alec, don't you have a heart? You almost killed Madelyn!"

Clara walked to him, looking pained with scratches all over her shoulders and neck.

"Madelyn tried to get something she shouldn't have, got angry when she failed and jumped in herself. Why blame us?

"Besides, the doctor said she subconsciously doesn't want to wake up. Alec and I have been exhausting we next door every day to make her snap out of it.

"Not even a thank you. What an ungrateful brat!"

Brielle was about to lose it, but I quickly held her back.

"Never mind.

"Thank you, Clara. Thank you, Alec."

Against the light, Alec's eyes were dark.

But I could feel his stare burning me.

"Madelyn, you disgust me."

Suddenly, Clara clutched her thigh, scratching hard as tears streamed down her face.

"Alec, it hurts!"

Alec nervously lifted her skirt, revealing a large patch of red, ulcerated skin.

Clara gasped and cried more pitifully.

She rushed back to her room, grabbed a used condom, and threw it on my bed.

"Madelyn, you knew I'm allergic to mangoes, yet you still gave me mango-flavored ones. You did it on purpose!"

What a joke.

In two lifetimes, Alec was the only man I'd ever been with—I didn't even know condoms had flavors.

I stared coldly at her. "I never gave you that."

Clara insisted. "You gave me this when you drugged Alec!

"If I hadn't used it all up trying to save you and had to use it as an emergency, I wouldn't have known you were so malicious!"

Clara cried and fainted in Alec's arms, blood from her thigh stained the carpet, shocking red.

Alec pointed at me and yelled, "Madelyn, you are impossible!"

He scooped up Clara and rushed downstairs to the hospital.

I ignored them and stood up to pack up.

Brielle helped me while cursing them.

When the last clothes were folded, the door was kicked open.

Alec strode in, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me out.

"Madelyn, look what you did to Clara! You go to the hospital and apologize now!"

My still-recovering body had no strength; I collapsed to the ground, hitting my head on the table corner, and blood flowed.

Brielle panicked.

"Alec, Madelyn hasn't recovered yet. She needs rest!"

But she couldn't stop the angry Alec.

Alec dragged me down three floors and shoved me into the trunk.

Even now, Alec remembered how Clara never allowed any woman in his car.

I held my breath, too afraid to cry.

As I bit my lip hard, blood filled my mouth.

So bitter.

The trunk slammed open, and I met Alec's eyes.

He looked at my eyes and said with contempt, "Madelyn, don't try to gain sympathy with your tears. You make me sick!"

I had obviously prepared myself to leave, but Alec's words still made my heart ache so badly I couldn't breathe.

Then, I was dragged upstairs.

In the hospital room, the doctor was bandaging Clara's wound.

"It's just a mild allergic reaction, not serious. With proper care, she'll recover quickly."

Alec sighed in relief, his expression softened.

Only then did he see my bleeding wounds. A strange look appeared in his eyes.

"Bandage her up too; don't let her die in my house. It's bad luck."

Before the doctor checked my wound, Clara burst into tears.

"Alec, I still hurt so much! I feel terrible!

"Doctor said I almost rotted there, almost couldn't have kids...

"Madelyn, you're so vicious! Do you want Alec to have no heirs?"

I sneered at her poor acting.

"Whether I did it or not, you know better than I do."

"Madelyn!" Alec roared and slapped me. "Still arguing!"

The slap made my ears ring, my head spin, and my lip split open.

I fell to the ground but looked up, refusing to look down.

Alec's eyes were red, hand frozen.

"Madelyn, apologize to your sister now!"

These hands once held me gently.

But now, those same hands were pushing me into hell again and again.

Madelyn, what were you still clinging to?

"I'm not wrong.

"And another thing, Alec, I've never had any feelings for you."

With the last bit of dignity I could muster, I struggled to stand, leaned on the wall, and walked to the door.

Alec lunged like a madman, snatching my hair from behind.

"Madelyn, you still don't think you're wrong! You won't learn without a lesson!"

He dragged me to the nurse's station, tearing a chunk of my scalp. The pain made me speechless.

Alec chased everyone away, pressed me on the table, and grabbed a blood bag nearby.

"You made Clara bleed so much, almost ruined my chances of having children. Now you'll feel what she did. Blood for blood!"

He easily found my vein and stuck the needle in.

That year, I had a high fever that wouldn't go away, but I was terrified of needles and refused to go to the hospital.

For my sake, Alec learned how to give injections and coaxed me for shots.

Afraid to mess up, he practiced countless times on his arm.

Memories flooded in. The pain made me breathless.

I watched the blood flow.

200 ml... 400 ml... 600 ml...

The blood kept flowing.

I could hear Clara's cries.

Alec ran out without hesitation and locked the nurse's station door.

"You can come out when it's full."

I smiled weakly.

The moment the door closed, I pulled out the needle.

800 ml. Enough to bury our past.

I swayed, using the last bit of my consciousness to crawl to the window and jump out, meeting up with Brielle who had come to get me.

I looked up.

In front of the hospital room's window, Alec was making rabbit gestures to cheer Clara up.

How long since I saw that smile?

We wouldn't see each other again.

Goodbye, Alec.

I got very sick.

Brielle sent me to a hospital far away to recover.

It was my first time without Alec and Clara. It gave me a rare peace of mind.

Everything that happened in both lives felt like a devastating nightmare.

Finally, the nightmare ended.

On the day I was discharged from the hospital, Brielle took me to the house she rented for me.

The plain table was covered in nutritional supplements.

"Madelyn, you're so thin! Alec drew 800 ml of blood—that's attempted murder!

"If he ever knows the truth about his savior and comes crawling back to you, ignore him!"

Brielle teared up.

I hugged her.

"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say."

Sunlight poured into the room, bathing me in its warmth.

I picked up the design blueprints that had been tucked into my suitcase.

In my past life, I had been so focused on becoming Alec's wife that I ignored my talents.

This time, I should live for myself.

I studied architectural design at university, and my designs won several awards.

I took my resume to the most renowned architectural firm in the city, the Darren Group.

The interviewer looked at my designs, nodding and shaking his head.

"You're indeed talented, but all designer positions are currently full, and we don't have any assistant openings either. I'm afraid..."

I left tactfully.

Gold would shine anywhere.

Just as I was about to go to the next company, the interviewer called and said I was hired as an exception.

Overjoyed, I dragged Brielle to buy decent outfits for work.

The company was bigger than expected, I even had my own office.

It had the best natural light, the largest space, and even a massage chair.

I was flattered.

I decided to go and thank the boss in person.

Just as I was getting coffee, a colleague from the sales department jogged to the door, fawning over someone who had just arrived.

It turned out to be Alec and Clara.

"Mr. Harrison, please wait for a moment; our boss will be with you shortly.

"Let me get you some coffee first."

I quietly looked at the wedding rings on their fingers without any reaction.

The colleague brought over two coffees.

"Mr. Harrison, I heard you're getting engaged soon. Congratulations!"

People around me whispered jealously.

"Perfect couple. I heard that Mr. Harrison takes his fiancée everywhere. Handsome and loves his fiancée. So jealous."

Someone nudged me.

"Ms. Avery, you and Mrs. Harrison look a bit alike. Are you related?"

I smiled and said, "No, I don't know her. It's just a coincidence."

The chatter around me caught Alec's attention and he looked over.

Our eyes met. Alec was taken aback, and a strange look flashed in his eyes.

"Madelyn?"

He stood up quickly and grabbed my wrist.

"Why are you here? I finally found you."

I calmly withdrew my hand, smiling like we'd never met.

"Excuse me, do we know each other?"

Clara glared at me resentfully, possessively linked her arm with Alec's, and forced a smile.

"Madelyn, it's one thing to run away from home in a huff, but why are you pretending you don't know your sister and brother-in-law? When will you stop making trouble?"

She deliberately emphasized the words "sister" and "brother-in-law," trying to make me angry.

But I didn't.

"I need to get back to work."

But Alec suddenly lost his temper, not caring about his image.

"Madelyn, I'm talking to you, did you hear?

"Who let you sneak out of the hospital? Who let you move out?"

Clara pulled Alec back, stopping him from following me.

"Alec, stop. She's found a good job and doesn't want to recognize us, can't you see?

"Besides, look, it's all men here. She's the kind of woman who gets green-eyed around men.

"Don't forget she drugged you. She probably doesn't want to know us, so people don't find out she drugged her brother-in-law..."

Alec's narrowed his eyes, letting go of my wrist.

His fist clenched tight, veins bulging, and he gritted his teeth.

"Madelyn, you're so stubborn.

"Do you want men that badly?"

I suddenly remembered being tortured to death in my previous life.

Alec roared, his face twisting like a beast. "You want men? You can have your fill!"

Darkness crashed like boulders, smashing me.

I felt tearing pain all over. My mind went blank.

My legs gave out and I collapsed into a strong embrace.

An indifferent male voice came above my head, "Mr. Harrison, your company doesn't meet our standards for partnership.

"Please leave."