Ethan's gaze turned even more contemptuous. He covered his mouth in exaggerated disgust and handed over the video camera.
"Since he's Serena's first love, we should take extra good care of him." He gestured at my empty room. "Business looks dead. I brought some friends to liven things up. Serve them well—I'll send more customers later."
At his signal, a group of men with brutal faces closed in.
I shook my head, panic clawing up my throat. "No—you've got it wrong, I'm not—"
Before I could finish, a hand grabbed my hair and hurled me sideways.
My body slammed into the wardrobe.
A loud crash—and that long-sealed photo tumbled into view.
I lunged to cover it.
The next second, a custom leather shoe came down without hesitation.
Glass shards bit into my palm. Blood seeped out, staining the photo beneath.
Fighting through the bone-deep pain, I lifted my head.
Serena stood there. Face cold. Indifferent.
Her gaze swept past me and landed on Ethan. "What are you doing?"
He wasn't afraid at all. Smiling, he hooked her arm. "Nothing. Just helping you vent. That bastard treated you like trash back then—I'm not letting him off easy."
Something flickered across that frozen face. A trace of a smile.
Serena reached up and ruffled Ethan's hair, chuckling softly. "Leave these things to the people under you. Why dirty your own eyes over him?"
That careful tenderness—it was like looking through time at who I used to be.
Back then, I stood by Serena's side with that same look of happiness. Dreaming of the sweetness our future would hold.
But now, the heart beating in her chest is my heart.
And the way she looks at me holds nothing but ice.
Serena's words did nothing to cool Ethan's rage.
To vent his fury—and the jealousy gnawing at him—he grabbed my hair and dragged me from inside the house all the way out. My calves scraped over broken glass, leaving a winding trail of blood behind me. Disgusted, he grabbed a basin of cold water and dumped it over my head.
"Back then, you made Serena kneel here while people mocked her." His voice dripped with venom. "Today, you get to feel what that was like."
I knew he wanted to humiliate me. I knew none of them wanted me to have it easy. I knew how much Serena hated me.