Chapter 6

After being discharged, Mrs. Sterling and I went straight back to the Sterling home.

Over the next few days, Liam was very attentive to me. In his words, it was because he hadn’t protected me, which was why I got hurt.

His hand was badly injured, and Mrs. Sterling urged him to rest, but he stubbornly insisted on personally looking after me.

Making porridge, washing fruit – he was practically meticulous.

Even his friends, seeing this, privately wondered if he had truly fallen in love with me.

But I felt no joy at all, only a sense of bitter irony.

Having no interest in his performance, I took the opportunity while he was out to tell Mrs. Sterling I wanted to move out of the Sterling home.

Mrs. Sterling didn’t object. After all, I had been a widow living in the Sterling home for many years, and now that I was getting married, it would be more convenient to live on my own.

She only asked me to wait until after her birthday banquet to move.

“After the banquet, I’ll have Liam help you move,” Mrs. Sterling said.

As her words fell, a low voice came from the entryway.

“Move what?”

It was Liam. His brows were tightly knit, and his face looked grim.

I froze for a moment, then quickly interjected, “We bought some furniture for the house, Mom wants you to find time to move it.”

He stared fixedly at me with his dark eyes for a few seconds before humming in acknowledgment and going to his room.

I didn’t let Mrs. Sterling tell him about my plan to move. After all, as a widowed sister-in-law, my affairs were none of his business.

Seeing that I didn’t want Liam involved, Mrs. Sterling agreed.

…

For Mrs. Sterling’s birthday banquet, the Sterling family invited many guests.

I followed Mrs. Sterling, greeting guests, and because I was poised and graceful, I received many compliments from guests, who told Mrs. Sterling she had a good daughter-in-law.

As Mrs. Sterling also praised me along with everyone else, I inadvertently caught a glimpse of Daisy staring directly at me from a distance.

Our eyes met, and she immediately put on a sweet smile for me, then turned to chat with the man next to her.

I paid no mind.

After greeting the guests, I turned to go to the restroom.

After a few steps, I unexpectedly bumped into someone, and a large splash of red wine from their hand drenched my expensive gown.

Just as I was about to react, I heard an apology. It was Daisy.

She was a guest, after all, so I didn’t say much and headed back to my room to change my dress.

I was in a hurry and didn’t notice someone following me. As soon as I opened the door, I was suddenly shoved. I stumbled into the room, and the man from earlier, the one Daisy had been chatting with, followed me in.

My face went cold. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The man raised an eyebrow, revealing a lewd smile. “Daisy said you’re a widow, desperate for a man, and asked me to ‘comfort’ you so you wouldn’t keep eyeing her man.”

I frowned. Daisy!

Her man, he meant Liam Sterling?

After saying this, the man took a few steps towards me, lunging directly at me, intending to forcefully assault me.

The fear from the cave hadn’t even fully faded, and now I saw this man tearing at my clothes again.

Instinctive fear and anger filled me with intense hatred. My hand brushed against a flowerpot in the corner. Without thinking, I smashed it directly against the back of the man’s head.

*Thud!* The man’s face contorted in pain, then he slumped motionless on top of me.

I violently pushed him away, scrambled off the floor, and tried to call for help, but the door was pushed open.

It was Daisy.

Seeing the man on the floor, her eyes widened as she looked at me. “Ivy Sterling, you dared to hurt him?”

After being subjected to multiple schemes, even the most timid person would bite when pushed too far, and I was certainly not timid. Remembering what the man had just said.

I didn't hesitate for a second. I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

“Daisy, I not only dare to hurt people, I dare to kill them.”

Having been slapped, Daisy’s eyes glinted with malice, completely shedding her fragile, innocent facade.

She sneered, “Ivy, it seems one man was too little for you. A slut like you deserves ten or eight to satisfy you, to be ridden by thousands, day and night…”

Listening to the vulgar words coming from her mouth, my eyes went red with rage. I grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into the room, raising my hand to slap her face again.

But my hand was stopped before the slap could land.

Red-eyed with anger, I turned my head and unexpectedly met Liam Sterling’s grim face.

Seeing that the person she seemed to be waiting for had arrived, Daisy’s malicious expression instantly transformed into one of pitiful distress. She threw herself into Liam’s arms, tears streaming down her face.

“Liam, save me! I just accidentally saw Ivy getting intimate with a man, and she slapped me out of nowhere, even said she wanted to kill me. I’m so scared…”

Liam looked at the whimpering girl in his arms, his face terribly dark. His black eyes swept towards me. “Ivy, are you that desperate? Caught messing around with a random man, you show no remorse and even try to hurt someone? You’ve completely disgraced the Sterling name.”

I was so angry I couldn’t breathe, my whole body trembling. “Liam Sterling, you didn’t even ask, you just immediately believed everything she said? *Me* messing around? Look at the man lying there – does he look like someone I’d be messing around with? I hit her because that man…”

“Enough! Still trying to argue? I knew you were this cheap. In the cave, I shouldn’t have saved you, shouldn’t have interrupted your little fun.”

Liam’s words struck me like lightning. All the explanations I wanted to give were stuck in my throat, unable to come out for a long time.

Seeing my face turn ashen, he glanced at me, then frowned. “If you apologize to Daisy for this, we can just let it go.”

Apologize?

Clutching my aching chest, I wanted to laugh, but couldn’t. Looking at him, I spoke each word distinctly. “In-your-dreams!”

Seeing my defiance, Liam still wanted to force me to apologize, but Daisy, noticing the man on the floor showing signs of waking up, was afraid of being exposed.

With tears still glistening on her face, she pulled Liam. “Liam, don’t argue with Ivy. It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have seen what I shouldn’t have. I just won’t appear in front of Ivy again.”

Saying this, she started to leave, but Liam lovingly pulled her back into his arms. He must have pulled something wrong, because she cried out in pain.

Liam grew even more concerned, not bothering to say another word to me. He picked her up and rushed to the hospital.

Watching them leave, I forced down the pain in my chest, then glanced at the man on the floor who was starting to stir.

Without much hesitation, I immediately called the police.

The moment the call went through, my phone was suddenly snatched away. The man had woken up, glaring at me, his face menacing. “You damn bitch, still daring to call the cops? You’re asking to die!”

“Help!” I gasped, breaking out in a cold sweat, screaming as I ran.

But I hadn’t run far before my mouth was suddenly covered again. The man dragged me back to the bedroom balcony.