A week later, the wedding proceeded as planned at a luxurious seaside hotel.
Dressed in his custom-tailored suit, Henry stood tall among the crowd, dazzling under the attention.
The moment he saw me approach in my wheelchair, his face lit up with exaggerated concern.
"Brother, are you okay? I heard you were injured so badly that your intestines almost fell out. I was so worried!"
Ignoring his pretense, I wheeled past him, looking for a quiet place to rest.
But he grabbed onto my wheelchair, his expression turned pitiful.
A sharp pain shot through my arm.
He had a tiny pin hidden between his fingers—one that he had just stabbed directly into my still-healing wound.
My scalp tingled from the pain.
Clara, busy greeting guests, turned at the commotion and approached us.
I knew Henry too well. If I reacted now, he would immediately put on an act, twisting the situation to make me the villain.
I gritted my teeth and endured it.
Sure enough, he sniffled and started whining, "Sis, Brother must be mad at me for not visiting him! But you know how busy I’ve been... My new software is a huge success, and I just won an award—I barely had time to breathe!"
He flaunted my hard work as his achievement, basking in the admiration of the guests.
Meanwhile, I—the one whose name had been dragged through the mud—couldn’t escape the whispers and disdainful glances, no matter how low I kept my head.
"Jayce, if you’re not feeling well, go rest." Clara's tone was gentle, but there was something else beneath it—an almost imperceptible trace of impatience and distaste.
Obviously, she wasn’t worried about me.
She was worried that my presence would embarrass her.
I nodded, silently wheeling myself away.
—
I had just turned a corner when a strong grip yanked me sideways.
Before I could react, I was dragged into a private lounge.
Once inside, I froze.
The men who had once humiliated me stood there, waiting—the very same ones Clara had promised had been sent to prison.
But they weren’t locked away.
They were here, like demons crawling out of my nightmares.
All the blood drained from my face.
From the crowd, Henry stepped forward, the mask finally slipped from his face, revealing raw malice.
"Jayce, wouldn’t it have been better to just rot away in some forgotten corner of the world? Why did you have to come back and fight me for what’s mine?"