Chapter 2

"

He took a trembling step forward, wanting to wipe the blood from my lips. The next second, I swatted his hand away decisively. 2. Gideon froze in place after I pushed his hand away. When his gaze fell on the bright red handprint on my face, his eyes slowly filled with regret and distress. "Serena, I'm sorry... "

"I didn't mean to. Come here and let me see... "

I'd just retreated two steps, covering my face, when Lillian Ross appeared in the doorway, pale-faced and crying. She ran up to me and dropped straight to her knees. "Serena, none of this is Gideon's fault. It's all my fault... "

"If you want to blame someone, blame me. I'll accept whatever punishment you give me. But why did you incite online users to cyberbully me? "

"During this time, I nearly lost the will to live because of this... "

Gideon stood between us, but he quickly made his choice. Turning his back to me, he lifted Lillian Ross from the ground with tender care, gently wiping away the tears falling from her eyes. His movements were so gentle, as if he were handling some priceless treasure. The look in his eyes when he gazed at Lillian Ross—filled with such distress—felt like thousands of fine needles piercing my heart. The pain made it almost impossible to breathe. Once upon a time, that same look had been directed at me. When I was eighteen, Gideon would charge alone at street thugs harassing me, his eyes red with rage. All to defend me and seek justice. The golden glow of the setting sun fell upon the young Gideon. That's when I noticed a ten-centimeter knife wound across his chest, streaming with blood. The doctor who treated him said if it had been an inch deeper, even a miracle worker couldn't have saved him. When I tearfully rushed him to the hospital, Gideon—standing just one step away from death's door—showed no fear of dying in his eyes. Only endless distress at my tears. In the final moment before the emergency room doors closed, he was still gently comforting me. "As long as I'm alive, I'll protect you. "

"No one in this world can bully my Serena! "

"And if they do, I'll make them pay a thousand times over, even if it costs me my life! "

In that moment, my heart thundered in my chest, and my tears flowed even more freely. For his reckless, devoted love, and for my own hopeless infatuation. Later, God took pity on that brave young man. The scar on his chest became his get-out-of-jail-free card with me, used again and again. Now, watching the two of them in front of me looking so in sync, images involuntarily flashed through my mind of Gideon being intimate with one mistress after another. Finally freezing on the moment when I knelt on the ground begging him to come back, while people around me pointed and mocked. I suddenly understood—for these past five years, from beginning to end, I hadn't been begging for him to change his heart. What I'd really been begging for was to see through it all myself. To finally give up hope. At this realization, my emotions shifted from grief and fury to complete calm in an instant. I instinctively touched my slightly burning eye sockets. They were completely dry. Looking up again, meeting Lillian Ross's provocative gaze, I said, "I'll let you have him. "

The moment those words left my mouth, I turned to leave, but Gideon suddenly grabbed my arm. His eyes were red, a flash of imperceptible panic crossing his face. His voice even carried a barely detectable tremor. "Serena Winters, stop right there! "

"If you dare take one step away from here, I swear I'll—"

Before he could finish, I pulled my arm free. "Then as you wish. Let's get divorced. "

Gideon anxiously tried to follow, but Lillian Ross's tears held him back. By the time he'd comforted her, I was already long gone from his sight. 3. To raise money for my mother's next surgery, I quickly threw myself into a new production. But just after I'd finished makeup and shot my scene in the water, I discovered the entire set was eerily empty and silent. Looking up, I saw Lillian Ross standing there with a smug expression on her face. She stood on the shore, reached out, and grabbed my hair hard. Then she shoved me back down underwater. The earthy smell from the water rushed into my nose. The suffocating sensation quickly spread through my entire body. I tried to struggle, only to realize with horror that my hands were tied and twisted behind my back. The slightest movement produced a muffled crack. "Don't move," Lillian Ross's cunning voice came from above, even carrying a laugh. "If you move around anymore, the ties in back will come loose. Tomorrow the whole world will be flooded with topless photos of our top actress! Hahaha! "

A chill shot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head. Underwater, all I could hear was my pounding heartbeat mixed with my cries for help. The next second, someone yanked me up from the water. The thin fabric covering my chest was sliding down from the force of gravity. I instinctively tried to bend my arms to cover myself. But my wrists were still locked in place, unable to move. "Serena, smile! Let's take a photo together! "

Lillian Ross quickly pressed the shutter. The screen reflected my face—pale, helpless, lips trembling non-stop. Rage and humiliation nearly consumed my entire mind. I struggled desperately against the restraints behind me. "Slap—"

I used all my strength to deliver a vicious slap across Lillian Ross's face.