Chapter 4

The moment Osmond said that word, the room went quiet. Everyone turned to look at Zelda.

She felt exposed, as if she had been dragged into the center of the room and stripped of all dignity.

Osmond had brought his mistress to her own class reunion and called her "honey" just to humiliate her.

Sophie's eyes turned red, filling with tears. She held onto Osmond's arm and stepped forward. "Osmond, I'm scared," she said softly.

Then she stood in front of him, as if protecting him. "Zelda, please don't blame him. We really love each other. If you want to take it out on someone, take it out on me."

Osmond let out a quiet laugh. He pulled Sophie into his arms and gently stroked her hair. "Don't worry. Mrs. Vega is very generous. She even gave you the house you're living in now.

"As long as you don't try to take her place, she won't care about anything. After all, not everyone is willing to work this hard just to keep a title."

Sophie looked up at him, her expression serious as if she were making a promise. "Osmond, don't worry. I don't want money or status. I just want to stay by your side."

"I know," Osmond said, loud enough for everyone to hear. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, watching her blush.

From the moment he started speaking, Zelda had kept her head down. She thought she had already gone numb, but his words still cut through her, slow and deep, as if peeling something away layer by layer.

Memories came rushing back. She saw herself running around the school building after class, just to catch a glimpse of him.

She remembered the quiet days after his accident, when they spoke in low voices.

She remembered the way he had held her hand and looked at her, gentle and sincere. "When I get better, I'll marry you."

She had worn a ring that was too big for her finger and cried, thinking her hidden feelings had finally been seen. She had ignored every warning sign. In the end, she had walked straight into this herself.

Zelda lifted her head. "You're right," she said. "No one else would go this far just for a title. Osmond, I know I didn't do anything wrong back then. So why are you humiliating me like this?"

Sophie bit her lip, then spoke up at just the right moment. "You shouldn't say that. I wasn't there when Osmond was hurt. But if I had been, I would have taken care of him with all my heart, too."

"Would you?" Zelda let out a cold, quiet laugh. It sounded hollow even to herself.

Back then, more than twenty nurses had quit because they could not handle Osmond. "If you ever get the chance, you should just hire a nurse."

Osmond's expression darkened immediately.

The reunion fell apart after that. One by one, people made excuses and left, leaving behind a messy table and a heavy silence.

Osmond left right away with Sophie, without looking back.

That night, the stress and everything she had held in finally caught up with Zelda. She came down with a high fever.

In the middle of the night, her phone rang. Her mother's voice came through, panicked and shaking. "Zelda! Your brother has been beaten up!"

Zelda woke up right away. She forced herself to stay calm as she comforted her mother over the phone, then hurried out and called a taxi.

When she reached the hospital, her mother rushed over and threw herself into Zelda's arms, crying hard. "Zelda, what are we going to do? Stephan is still so young. Those men said he was harassing someone.

"They even tried to break his arm. But Stephan is a good boy. He would never do something like that."

Zelda's head was pounding. After she finally got her mother to lie down and rest, she went back to Stephan's room. She curled up beside his bed and drifted into a light, uneasy sleep.

When she woke up, she saw Stephan struggling to pull a blanket over her with his one good hand.

He noticed her eyes open and gave her a shy smile. "You're awake. Don't worry too much. Mom was just scared last night.

"Those people got the wrong guy. After they hit me, they realized their mistake. They even brought me here and paid all the medical bills."

Zelda did not respond. She reached out and touched his forehead, checking his temperature. Then she picked up her phone and pulled up the security footage from their home.

The moment she saw a familiar face, a chill ran straight through her.

Those men were clearly connected to Osmond.

For a second, she could not believe it. She had always thought he was cold, maybe even cruel in the way he treated her, but she never imagined he would go this far and hurt her family.

Zelda said nothing. She stood up, walked out, and took a taxi straight to the Vega Group headquarters.

At the front desk, the receptionist stepped forward to stop her.

Zelda pulled out her marriage certificate and dropped it on the counter. "Do I have the right to go in now?" she asked.

The receptionist hesitated, clearly nervous. "It's not that... Mr. Vega is busy. He's not seeing anyone right now—"

Zelda did not wait for her to finish. She pushed the door open.

Inside, she saw Sophie sitting on Osmond's lap, feeding him a grape.

"Osmond, are you even human?" Zelda shouted.

Sophie let out a small gasp and tried to stand, but Osmond's arm tightened around her waist, holding her in place as if nothing was wrong.

He ran his fingers through her hair, completely at ease. "Zelda, what are you making a scene about this time?"

"Osmond, why did you send people to hurt my brother?" Zelda demanded, her voice shaking.

"Your brother?" Osmond frowned.

Before he could say anything else, Sophie spoke up, her voice soft and hesitant. "I'm sorry, Osmond. You told those men to protect me. Someone suddenly ran up and hugged me. I got scared and didn't see his face clearly.

"I only remembered that he was wearing a white hat, so I pointed him out. I didn't realize it was the wrong person. I had no idea he was Mrs. Vega's brother."

She lowered her eyes, looking guilty. "But he isn't badly hurt. As soon as they started, I realized something was wrong and told them to stop. I also gave him a lot of money."

Osmond patted her shoulder gently, as if comforting her, then looked at Zelda. "Fine. It was a mistake. He's already in the hospital, right?

"It's not a big deal. He got paid a lot just for taking a few hits. He should feel lucky. Most people would wish for that kind of deal."

For a moment, everything around Zelda seemed to go dark. A sharp ringing filled her ears.

All this time, she thought he only treated her badly because he looked down on her. She never realized that deep down, he could be this cold and heartless.

All those years she had spent loving him felt like a cruel joke.

Her chest tightened. Her vision blurred. Suddenly, she coughed, and a mouthful of blood spilled from her lips.

Through the haze, she saw Osmond's face change. The color drained from it as shock flashed across his eyes.

Zelda felt nothing but disgust.