Chapter 3

Suddenly, a comment from one of his friends echoed from the hospital room.

“If Briar wasn’t so fragile, Damian wouldn’t have to go find other women to satisfy his needs.”

It was then I understood. He wasn’t incapable of respect; he just never placed *me* at the center of his world.

My vision flickered, and a searing pain ripped through my chest.

I can’t remember how I left the hospital, only the naked, blatant stares from every direction, as if I’d been stripped bare and thrown into public.

I cowered from everyone’s gaze, terrified that someone would rush up and brand me a slut with my own private video.

Trembling, I dialed my sister, Mia’s, number.

After our parents passed away, my sister and I relied on each other.

A while ago, there was an incident with our company, and Mia had to go abroad for six months to handle it, working in isolation.

For my safety, she deliberately hid our relationship, and today happened to be the day she was free.

Mia picked up instantly, and my suppressed sobs immediately threw her into a panic.

She kept trying to comfort me over the phone.

“Mia, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll go abroad with you and help you develop the business. You’ve protected me all these years; it’s time I did something for you.”

Our family had many businesses, but most of them were focused overseas.

Originally, after I graduated, I was supposed to go abroad with Mia to develop our ventures, but because Damian said he couldn’t bear for me to leave, I pushed all the responsibility onto my sister.

I thought that if I could make a name for myself in the entertainment industry, Mia would agree to my marriage with Damian, and we could be together forever.

But the truth was, he just saw me as a toy, a plaything.

If he cared about me even a little, he wouldn’t have let me fall into this hopeless situation where I could never recover.

Thankfully, I could still turn back, even if it meant abandoning everything from my past.

I drove to what used to be our love nest. Most of the time, I lived here alone. Damian came every day, but he only entered to blow off steam.

I lay on the cold floor, letting the chill slowly seep into my limbs.

All my strength seemed to drain away, and even my vision was blurry.

Soon, my phone rang. I looked at the familiar number and tiredly answered.

“What are you doing?”

Hearing Damian’s voice, I curled into a ball.

“Nothing.”

“Briar said she feels bad about what happened the other day and wants to apologize to you in person. Get dressed up, I’ll take you.”

The call ended instantly. I didn’t even have time to say no.

Ten minutes later, he walked in. Seeing me sitting disheveled on the sofa, his brow furrowed slightly.

“Your agent already called me. Those videos must have been secretly filmed. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything.”

He pushed me into the bedroom, whispering in my ear.

“Everyone will be there tonight. Get yourself ready.”

With that, he pulled open the closet and started picking out clothes for me.

I looked at him through the mirror.

“How will you handle it?”

I remembered what they said in the hospital room.

“Damian, Kira will definitely find out these videos were secretly filmed. How will you handle it then?”

Damian hadn’t had time to answer, but Briar, who was still in the group call, gave the answer.

“Who told her not to be careful and get herself filmed? Anyway, she’s just a minor celebrity. It’s normal for her to be seen naked. Everyone will just say it’s because she was too attention-seeking that she got targeted. And besides, Damian has always been by her side, never abandoning her. She’ll be so touched she’ll probably happily become Damian’s kept woman, saving her from blocking my way. Damian, isn’t that right?”

Damian praised her without hesitation.

“Yes, my Briar is the smartest.”

Just then, someone posted a screenshot of my stream. In an instant, the news that watching me only cost a single credit spread, and I became the "slut" everyone knew.

I looked at Damian, utterly disappointed.

“This is how you ‘handled’ it?”

I buried myself under the covers, trying to find a bit of warmth.

“I don’t want to see anyone. Just go.”

But Damian forcefully pulled off the covers, his voice filled with disappointment.

“Kira, what are you still putting on a show for?”