Sienna seemed as if she had been nailed to the wall, her entire body unable to move.

Her limbs flailed about in a chaotic attempt to survive, but she couldn't escape his grasp.

The suffocating sensation in her throat turned her face from red to blue, and her eyeballs bulged out unnaturally.

She looked at the distorted, twisted face fueled by rage, and terror flooded her heart like a tide. Subconsciously, she whimpered out fragments of pleas for mercy.

"I... didn't... intentionally... just... wanted... to be... with you..."

Caleb couldn't hear her, nor did he have the patience to listen.

Watching her struggle weaken and her pupils gradually dilate, he felt the guilt and agony that had been weighing on his heart begin to dissipate and dissolve.

Because of oxygen deprivation, Sienna’s brain was slowly overtaken by a blank void.

The scene before her blurred, black spots began to appear, and all she could hear was a faint, buzzing electric sound.

Just as she thought she was about to die there, the He family members, who had been chasing after her, finally broke in.

Julian stepped forward, grabbed Caleb by the collar, and dragged him back. After saving his sister, he swung a fist and punched Caleb.

Blinded by hatred, Caleb no longer cared about their brotherly friendship and wrestled with him.

Neither gave an inch; it was blow for blow.

"Caleb, you damn bastard! You cheated during your marriage, ruined my sister, and destroyed her reputation—what right do you have to lay a hand on her!"

"I ruined her? Julian, get this straight: it was your shameless vixen of a sister who seduced me! She threw herself at me to be slept with. I gave her money, but she wasn't satisfied; she had to take it to my wife. Why shouldn't I settle the score with her?"

"She seduced you? How old is she! You damn bastard, you can't keep your own pants zipped, yet you have the nerve to blame women? You piece of trash—no wonder Luna abandoned you!"

This remark struck Caleb’s sorest spot, completely igniting his fury.

He lunged forward like a madman, raining down fists with lethal intent.

Julian was beaten black and blue, his face covered in blood, unable to fight back.

He struggled desperately, his hands flailing and grabbing randomly until they hit a wine bottle.

Acting on subconscious instinct, he didn't have time to think and smashed it violently against Caleb’s head.

With a deafening bang, glass shards flew everywhere, leaving gashes of various sizes on both of them.

A gaping, bloody hole opened on Caleb’s forehead, with bright red blood bubbling out.

Drip, drip, it fell onto the floor, blooming into flowers of blood.

Chapter 16

Sienna, slowly regaining consciousness, watched this scene and felt as though her heart were being ripped apart.

She had no strength left in her body, yet she still crawled forward on her hands and knees to prop up the collapsed Caleb.

She covered his wound with her hands, trying to block the ceaseless flow of blood, and screamed at her brother in terror and despair.

"Brother, call 911! Quick! Caleb is losing so much blood, so much blood!"

Julian endured the excruciating pain as he climbed up, wiping the blood from the corner of his lips.

He reached out to haul Sienna up, his tone filled with icy, bone-chilling coldness.

"He won't die! Sienna, get up. You are never to have anything to do with him again."

Sienna shook her head frantically, refusing to let go, her snot and tears mixed together, her face a mask of despair and unwillingness.

"No! Brother, I love him! I just want to be with him. Please, save him, I’m begging you!"

Seeing her so obstinately unable to repent, Julian wanted to slap her twice.

"If I hadn't come, he would have choked you to death just now! Sienna, are you that cheap? He only covets your body and doesn't like you at all—don't you see that yet?"

"I know! I know everything! But I just like him. As long as I can stand openly by his side, I don't care about anything else!"

"Brother, I’ve never liked anyone this much. Just fulfill my wish this once! Even if I have to die with him, I’m willing!"

Her heart-rending plea made Julian want to vomit blood on the spot.

He never imagined that in only three months of entrusting her to Caleb, she would turn into such a hopeless "love-brain."

But she was his own sister; no matter how disappointed he was, he couldn't leave her to her fate.

So, forcing down his rage, he crouched and pried her fingers open, one by one.

"You come with me now, and I’ll call 911."

Sienna still wouldn't agree, so Julian dragged her away.

"If you don't come with me, I'll kill him right now!"

Hearing this, Sienna shuddered and dared not say no.

She could only stand up and follow behind her brother, looking back every three steps as she descended the stairs, her trembling hands dialing for an ambulance.

After returning home, Sienna was locked away again.

This time, the entire family took shifts, guarding her around the clock and confiscating her phone.

She lost all channels to communicate with the outside world and had no idea what state Caleb was in.

Her family nagged her daily, attempting to reason with her.

But she didn't hear a single word, treating it all as wind past her ears.

Days went by, and she remained locked in the bedroom, nearly forgetting what day it was.

During these days, she couldn't eat or sleep; she lost a massive amount of weight and looked incredibly haggard.

By evening, her mother brought her dinner as usual—an old hen soup that had been simmering all afternoon.

But the moment Sienna smelled it, she couldn't help but vomit.

Watching her retch, and remembering that her period had been delayed for some time, her mother’s face turned white.

In a panic, she set down the soup, ran downstairs to buy a pregnancy test, thrust it into Sienna’s hands, and pushed her into the bathroom.

Seeing the two lines on the test, her father, who had rushed back upon hearing the news, could no longer hold back. He slapped Sienna twice, his tone filled with sorrow and fury.

"Eighteen, you’re only eighteen! You don't study hard and instead ended up with a child. Sienna, is this how you repay the love and care your mother and I gave you? Is your character really that cheap?"

Her mother on the side was already weeping uncontrollably, burying her face in her hands.

Meanwhile, Julian, who had foreseen this, saw his guess confirmed. His face turned as dark as a thunderstorm, and he couldn't stop smoking.

In the entire family, only Sienna found joy in the arrival of this child.

She stared at the result in disbelief, new hope slowly germinating in her dead, silent heart.

A child?

Now that Luna, the obstacle, was gone.

As long as she had this child, Caleb would surely agree to be with her!

Chapter 17

After being in this "alternate world" for a month, Xu Ashang slowly adapted to life here.

Every day, she clocked in at the company on time, pushing forward the establishment of the "He Guang" clothing brand project with her colleagues.

She also found where her interests lay, signing up for many fashion design courses, determined to become a world-class designer.

In her spare time, she went for walks, shopping, and on vacations with her mother—the days were leisurely and peaceful.

Occasionally, Elara would express concern about what kind of life she had lived in the twenty years she was in the original world.

Whenever the topic came up, Xu Ashang didn't know where to start.

She knew her mother was concerned, which was why she was curious.

But she didn't want to make her mother worry, so she would always remain silent for a few seconds before changing the subject as if nothing were wrong.

Slowly, Elara seemed to notice that those past events might be too painful to look back on and stopped asking.

Before the New Year, mother and daughter returned to their hometown.

Elara took her to pay respects at the graves, and Xu Ashang saw her grandparents for the first time.

Although she had never met the two elders, seeing the gentle smiles in the photos on the tombstones, she felt an immense sense of closeness.

On the way back, she chatted with her mother about the past and heard many things from her mother that she had never known before.

"In my sophomore year, I went into the mountains to explore with my teacher. I got separated because of the heavy fog and was brought to the world where you were born by something that claimed to be a system. The system wanted me to complete a mission, saying that once the progress bar reached one hundred, it would send me back to my original world. That mission was to 'conquer' Arthur—your father. I had to do everything in my power to get close to him and help him walk out of the shadow of being abandoned by his first love. I spent three years before I finally completed the task."