Summer jerked her hand back, avoiding the touch.

Skylar’s hand froze in mid-air. She looked at Ethan and Julian with tearful eyes, as if she had suffered a monumental grievance.

"Summer Woods! What is that attitude?!" Ethan immediately scolded her. "Skylar is showing you kindness, and you’re throwing it back in her face?!"

Julian also frowned, his tone disappointed. "Summer, Skylar means no harm."

Summer lowered her eyes, looking at the floor polished like a mirror. It reflected her pale, disheveled shadow alongside the glowing, radiant reflections of the other three.

She said nothing, standing there like a lifeless statue.

Throughout the fitting process, Ethan and Julian’s attention was almost entirely on Skylar.

With every gown she tried on, they offered opinions with gentle tones and doting eyes.

When Skylar complained about being tired, Julian immediately had a comfortable chair brought over. When she said she was thirsty, Ethan personally poured her water.

Summer was completely ignored in the corner.

She didn't mind; in fact, she preferred it.

She walked over to a sofa area, wanting to rest for a moment.

Perhaps because her mind was elsewhere, she didn't notice a metal decorative stand next to the sofa. As she turned, her arm accidentally knocked into it!

The stand was lined with crystal ornaments. With the impact, it began to tilt directly toward Summer!

"Watch out!"

Almost simultaneously, two figures rushed forward!

Ethan yanked her away, while Julian reached out to steady the falling stand!

Crystal ornaments shattered across the floor with a series of sharp cracks.

"Are you hurt?" Julian looked at Summer immediately, his voice thick with tension.

Ethan also examined her with a scowl. "You’re a grown woman—why are you still so clumsy?! Don’t you look where you’re going?!"

Once they confirmed she was just startled and uninjured, they both seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Ethan instructed the staff to clean up the shards, and Julian gave her shoulder a reassuring pat, but their attention quickly returned to Skylar, who was trying on a new dress.

Summer watched their retreating backs. In the frozen wasteland of her heart, a tiny crack seemed to open, letting in a faint, almost imperceptible sting of bitterness.

She turned and went to the restroom.

Splashing cold water on her face, she told herself over and over: It’s over. Don't expect anything ever again.

However, just as she stepped out of the restroom, her path was blocked by a group of people.

At the lead was Skylar.

The sweet smile from before was gone, replaced by an undisguised malice.

"My dear sister, three years in prison and you still haven't learned?" Skylar crossed her arms, eyeing her up and down. "Ethan and Julian care about me most. Even if you’re back, you’re just an extra. If you’re smart, you’ll stay far away and stop being an eyesore. Otherwise..."

She took a step closer, her voice dropping to a vicious whisper. "I wouldn't mind sending you back. Would you like another taste of prison life?"

Summer looked at her with cold eyes and said nothing.

Skylar seemed to enjoy her lack of resistance and clapped her hands.

Immediately, several rough-looking men behind her stepped forward, staring at Summer with ill intent.

Summer’s heart tightened. Thinking they were going to attack her, she took a step back, looking for an opening to run.

But in the next second, the unthinkable happened!

The men didn't rush at Summer. Instead, they swarmed Skylar!

They grabbed Skylar roughly. Amidst her terrified screams, they ripped her expensive designer jacket and the dress underneath to shreds! Then, one of the men raised his hand and slapped Skylar hard across the face!

Slap! Slap!

The sharp sounds of the slaps were jarring in the quiet hallway.

"Ah—! Help! Ethan! Julian! Save me—!!"

Skylar’s face immediately began to swell. She struggled and wailed, her voice shrill and agonized.

Chapter Three

The commotion immediately alerted those outside.

"Skylar!"

"Stop!"

Ethan and Julian’s faces turned pale. They rushed over like lightning.

In a few moves, they kicked the men away and pulled the disheveled, sobbing Skylar into their arms.

"Skylar! Are you okay? Are you hurt?!" Ethan’s eyes turned red with heartache as he saw the handprints on his sister's face.

Julian’s face was also grim. He took off his coat to wrap it around Skylar, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the men who were pretending to flee. "What happened?!"

Skylar collapsed into Julian’s arms, gasping for breath through her tears. "It was Sister! She found these people... she said I stole you both... she wanted to teach me a lesson... so she told them to humiliate me... Ethan, Julian, I’m so scared..."

"Summer Woods—!!" Ethan’s roar nearly took the roof off!

He glared at Summer, his eyes filled with unbelievable rage and disappointment. "You actually dared to do this?! You are... insane!!"

Julian, holding the weeping Skylar, looked at Summer. His eyes grew cold, filled with deep disappointment and pain. "Summer, how did you become like this? Three years in prison and instead of reflecting, you’ve become even worse? Skylar is your sister! How could you do this to her?!"

Summer looked at their furious, trusting faces. A profound exhaustion and a bone-chilling despair spread from the depths of her heart.

Here it was again.

She was tired. Truly tired.

That silent, death-like acceptance only infuriated Ethan further.

"Fine! Very well!" Ethan’s chest heaved with rage. He pointed at the men who had been restrained by bodyguards, his voice trembling with extreme anger. "Speak! How much did she pay you?! I’ll give you triple! No! Ten times! Whatever she told you to do to Skylar, you do it to her right now! Exactly the same! No—double it!"

He turned his ruthless gaze toward Summer. "Since you didn't learn your lesson in prison, I’ll teach you myself! An eye for an eye!"

"Ethan!" Julian seemed to think this was going too far and tried to intervene.

"Julian! Don't stop me!" Ethan cut him off, his voice icy. "She brought this on herself! These are the people she brought—what could go wrong?! It’s only right she tastes her own medicine!"

With that, he stopped looking at Julian and barked at the bodyguards. "What are you waiting for?! Drag Summer Woods into that empty room! Let these men 'service' her properly!"

The bodyguards stepped forward, ignoring Summer’s struggles and screams. They roughly dragged her toward a storage room at the end of the hallway. The men who had taken the money were pushed in after her.

Summer struggled desperately. Tears finally began to flow uncontrollably—not out of fear, but because of the overwhelming humiliation and heartbreak.

Julian watched Summer being dragged away. Seeing her desperate eyes and tears, his heart suddenly twitched with a strange sting of hesitation.

But the even more tragic wailing of Skylar in his arms caused him to eventually just knit his brows and look away.

"We need to take Skylar to the hospital first." Ethan held Skylar, his voice still angry, but softening significantly for his sister.

Julian nodded. He stopped looking at the closed door, carefully picked up Skylar, and hurried away with Ethan.

Inside the empty room, only Summer and the men with lecherous eyes remained.

The door was locked from the outside.

"Little beauty, don't be afraid. We’ll take real good care of you..." The men approached with sinister grins.

Summer was like a cornered animal, fighting back with every ounce of strength she had!

She scratched, she bit, she kicked! she grabbed whatever was within reach and threw it!

In the chaos, someone’s fist slammed hard into her abdomen, making her curl up in pain. Someone grabbed her hair and smashed her head against the wall!

More terrifyingly, someone began to tear at her thin clothes!

"Get away! Don't touch me—!!!"

Extreme fear and humiliation triggered a final burst of strength. She tore herself free from their grip, scrambled to the door, twisted the handle frantically, and stumbled out!

Behind her were the angry curses and the sound of the men chasing her!

She didn't dare look back. Barefoot, she ran desperately across the cold, smooth floor of the hallway!

Blood from her forehead blurred her vision. The pain in her body made her feel faint, but she had only one thought: Escape! Get away from here!

She burst out of the boutique into the busy street outside.

Panic-stricken, she ran straight into the middle of the road!

The screeching of brakes! The scream of tires against asphalt!

Thud—!

A violent impact sent her flying like a broken kite.

The world went silent instantly.

There was only a sharp ringing in her ears and an all-consuming, overwhelming pain radiating from every part of her body.

Before her consciousness faded, she seemed to hear the gasps of the crowd and someone calling for an ambulance.

Chapter Four

The next time she regained a flicker of consciousness, she was in the hospital.

Through the haze, she heard a conversation between a doctor and a nurse.