Chapter 4

When I opened my eyes again, my nose was hit with the pungent smell of iodine and disinfectant.

“Teacher, bed 38 is awake.” Several doctors in white coats gathered around.

“Ms. Hayes, you were seriously injured in the car accident. Since we couldn’t reach any family members, we had to perform surgery. The surgery fee is two hundred thousand. Please pay as soon as possible.”

The attending physician shoved the bill in front of me. I struggled to lift my hand, which was riddled with IVs, my fingers stiff as I reached for the bag on the nightstand.

Opening my phone and swiping to my banking app, the cold numbers on the screen slapped me in the face.

Balance: $28.10.

My breathing hitched. My chest felt like it had been ripped open—where was my thirty million?!

My trembling fingers furiously tapped through my account history, and then the monstrous transfer message popped up: “Transfer successful, amount: $30,000,000. Recipient: Julian Thorne.”

My mind exploded with a buzzing sound. I suddenly remembered Julian had used my phone when he demanded I pay for the camera!

Just as I was reeling from the shock, the hospital room door was violently pushed open.

“Oh, so Sister actually woke up.”

Willow walked in, arm-in-arm with Julian, holding a sad, crumpled fruit basket.

“Sister, we came to see you. Good thing you’re not dead, didn’t waste the money on this fruit basket.”

Her fingertip deliberately traced her neck, and only then did I notice the fiery diamond necklace on her throat. I had seen such diamonds at auctions; a single one could cost over a million. The one on her neck was at least ten million.

The doctor, sensing trouble, stepped in front of me: “Excuse me, please don’t upset the patient.”

“Upset her?” Julian scoffed. “She’s my wife. If I tell her to die, she’ll have to do it with a smile!”

The doctor’s hand visibly paused. He looked at Julian suspiciously.

“You’re the patient’s husband? Then you need to pay the two hundred thousand medical fees by 5 PM this afternoon, otherwise, we’ll have to discharge her.”

“Two hundred thousand?!” Julian’s eyes bulged as if he wanted to eat someone alive.

“Do you think I’m an ATM? She’s not worth that much even if you sold her! Maybe we should sell her organs to make up the difference—perfect, we still need some funds for our wedding.”

Hearing that, I instantly got so angry I almost choked. Thankfully, the doctor spoke my mind: “Your wife is in this condition, do you have any humanity?!”

But Julian ignored him. He violently yanked out the IV drip from my hand. Blood spurted out, staining the bedsheets red, and I gasped in pain.

“Don’t put on a sob story for me. Get out of the hospital. You have something important to do today: give Willow away.”

I froze, fury practically burning in my eyes: “Are you insane?! I’m injured like this, and you’re still talking about the wedding?”

“You just got hit by a car, didn’t you? You ruined Willow’s once-in-a-lifetime wedding. You owe her at least fifty million!”

I seriously wondered if I was still conscious. A man who wouldn’t even pay two hundred thousand was demanding fifty million?

“I’m done with this nonsense. Where’s my thirty million? You said twenty thousand to replace the camera, what about the rest?!”

Julian yelled back at me, his neck stiff, like a madman: “Do you understand marital property? What’s wrong with me taking it? Willow needs a necklace, shouldn’t you, as her sister, buy it for her?”

I stared deadly at the necklace, my teeth grinding. I had lived a life on the edge, walking a tightrope, every penny I saved through sheer grit, only for it to become *their* dowry?!

“Alright, stop wasting time.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me out. “Get changed and go to the wedding venue.”

I was pulled out of the hospital room, my wounds still bleeding, but my heart ached even more.

The wedding venue was packed with guests.

The moment I stepped into the hall, all eyes swiveled towards me.

“Tsk, she actually had the nerve to show up? Her husband is marrying her sister, and she’s the one giving the bride away.”

“Whose fault is that? She disappeared for three years, and now her husband gets someone else pregnant, *then* she decides to come back.”

I stood my ground, veins throbbing with anger, my nails almost digging into my palms, fighting the urge to kill.

This show wasn’t over yet!