"Zoe! You’re finally awake!"

Lucas was the first to rush to her bedside, those peach-blossom eyes that were always brimming with affection now filled with "concern." He reached out to touch her face, but Zoe subconsciously turned away.

"I’m sorry, we arrived a step late." Hugo’s voice was so gentle it could drip with honey. "Jasper went too far! How could he force you to donate blood?"

Jude handed her a glass of warm water. "Get some rest. We’ll go settle the score with Jasper right now."

Zoe watched their clumsy performance, her throat aching with dryness.

She was all too familiar with this scene. In her past life, every time she was cold-shouldered by Jasper, these three would show up immediately to fill her void with sweet lies.

And then? Then they would find all sorts of excuses to leave and tend to their true white moonlight.

"No need." Her voice was hoarse. "I want to be alone."

The three looked at each other. Lucas was the first to stand up. "Alright, you rest first. We... we'll be back in a bit."

They left in a hurry, not even closing the door properly. Zoe stared at the gap, hearing their hushed conversation in the corridor:

"Is Susan awake?"

"Jasper is guarding her and won't let anyone see her..."

"Let's go buy her favorite desserts first..."

The moment the ward door closed, Zoe laughed until tears streamed down.

She was too tired, so tired that she didn't even have the strength to debunk their lies.

Over the next few days, Zoe lay in the hospital bed alone.

Every time the nurse came to change her bandages, she would look at her with an expression of wanting to speak but holding back, eventually just sighing.

"Miss Wen, have your friends not come again today?"

Zoe shook her head, her gaze resting on the bouquet of lilies by the bed that had begun to wither.

They were the ones Lucas had sent three days ago; the edges of the petals had already turned yellow and curled, much like their hypocritical concern.

Her phone vibrated; it was a message from Hugo: [Zoe, there's a sudden emergency at the company that must be handled. We have to take a trip abroad. We've hired the best caregivers to look after you, don't worry.]

Followed immediately by Jude: [Little Princess, wait for us to bring you gifts when we return!]

Finally, Lucas: [Rest up well, I'll take you to have your favorite French cuisine when I'm back.]

Zoe threw the phone aside.

She didn't care whether they came or not, but what she couldn't stand was that the caregivers they hired were always clumsy.

Scalding hot water would spill on her hands, nobody would notice when the needle backed up with blood, and the gauze would be ripped off so harshly during changes that she felt piercing pain...

In the end, her injuries didn't heal; instead, she gained several burns and bruises.

"I’m checking out."

Zoe finally couldn't take it anymore and, ignoring their dissuasion, completed the discharge procedures.

At the same time, Lucas, Hugo, and Jude ended their so-called company business and specifically came to pick her up from the hospital.

When the group passed the VIP ward, a gentle conversation drifted through the slightly open door gap.

"Take another sip, hm?" Jasper’s voice was low and doting. "The doctor said you need to supplement your nutrition."

Zoe paused, seeing through the crack in the door that Jasper was carefully feeding Susan soup, his slender fingers holding the spoon, his movements as gentle as if he were handling something fragile.

"President Jasper has been guarding Miss Susan around the clock for days," a passing nurse whispered to her colleague. "He even pushed back company meetings. He's truly devoted."

Zoe’s fingers tightened unconsciously on the hem of her shirt.

"Zoe..." Lucas stepped forward immediately, his handsome face filled with heartache. "Don't be sad. Jasper has no taste, but we like you."

"That’s right," Hugo said gently. "At the birthday banquet, you can choose one of the three of us."

Jude leaned in, too. "We will definitely treat you well."

Zoe smiled faintly, her eyes as cold as ice. "I don't want to choose."

She slowly raised her eyes and said, word for word: "You four—I don't want any of you."

The three looked at each other, their lips curling into doting smiles simultaneously, clearly taking her refusal as a spoiled girl's petulance.

"How about this," Jude suddenly leaned forward. "Zoe, it's such a beautiful day, why don't we go to the racetrack to clear your mind?"

Zoe shook her head coldly. "I don't want to go."

"Don't be like that." Hugo urged, "Zoe, getting some fresh air will be good for your recovery."

Lucas pulled her directly into the car. "Let's go."

The Royal Racetrack was lush with green grass, and the breeze carried the scent of grass, but Zoe only felt a bone-chilling cold.

"Zoe, you pick a horse to ride first." Hugo handed her a helmet. "We'll go prepare some tea and snacks for you."

Zoe took it blankly and randomly chose a docile mare.

At this moment, she just wanted to get away from these suffocating people, even if only for a brief moment of peace.

The horse began to trot, the breeze brushing against her cheeks, and Zoe could finally forget about those annoying matters for a while.

But just as she lowered her guard, a commotion suddenly erupted in the distance.

Chapter 5

"Hiss—"

Hundreds of horses charged out from nowhere, stampeding toward her like they had gone mad.

Zoe hurriedly tried to turn the horse, but it was already too late.

She pulled desperately at the reins, but the spooked horse would not listen to her commands.

In the chaos, she was squeezed off the saddle and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Ah!"

When the first hoof stepped on her lower leg, Zoe heard the sound of bone shattering.

Followed immediately by the second, the third...

Zoe curled up on the grass, her blood slowly staining the green turf red. In the last moment before falling into darkness, she caught a hazy glimpse of three figures standing in the distance, watching it all coldly.

When she woke up again, the blinding white light made her instinctively squint. Her entire body, wrapped in bandages, felt like it didn't belong to her; every slight movement brought heart-wrenching pain.

Outside the door, Jasper's cold voice drifted in faintly: "...You guys went too far."

Zoe held her breath.

"I only asked her to donate some blood for Susan, but you guys," Jasper said, his tone icy, "not only bribed the caregivers to torture her but also intentionally released hundreds of horses to trample her like this. Now she has comminuted fractures all over her body and barely survived."

"Who told her to dare bully Susan?" Jude’s voice was chillingly flippant. "This was just a small lesson."

"Acting like I like her every day is nauseating," Lucas’s words were like a poisoned blade, stabbing deep into Zoe’s heart. "If it weren't for Susan, who would be willing to play house with her?"

Zoe bit her lower lip so hard that the taste of blood spread in her mouth.

So, all those "accidental" burns, the times the needle backed up with blood, and even this meticulously planned "accident," were all to avenge Susan.

She didn't understand.

Even if they didn't like her, they were childhood friends who had grown up together.

They used to stroke her hair and call her "Zoe," they had stayed by her bedside through the night when she was ill, and they had spent painstaking effort preparing surprises for her birthdays...

But now, for a Susan they had known for only a few months, they had broken her to the point of being unrecognizable.

She wanted to rush out and confront them, to scream and cry, but the intense pain hit like a tidal wave, and Zoe plunged into darkness once again.

Time passed, and when she woke up next, the ward was empty. Only her phone screen was glowing, showing three unread messages.

[Zoe, I'm sorry. We were negligent and failed to protect you. We are too ashamed to face you and have flown abroad overnight to buy you gifts as compensation.]

[Rest well and recover. Wait for us to return.]

[Tell us whatever you want, and we will definitely bring it back for you.]

Zoe put the phone down numbly, lacking even the strength to feel pain.

She didn't want to see them, nor did she want to hear their hypocritical concern. She only wanted to lie in the hospital bed and heal alone.

However, that day, the ward door was suddenly pushed open.

Susan walked in, stepping on high heels, her makeup exquisite and her complexion rosy—a sharp contrast to Zoe, who was wrapped in bandages.

"I heard you were badly hurt," she said, her sweet voice laced with undisguised malice. "Jasper has been by my side around the clock these days, personally feeding me and coaxing me to sleep..."