Chapter 3

###Chapter 3

The day before, I had bought a hidden camera and concealed it in the corner of a cabinet as soon as I got home.

The moment I played back the footage, humiliation burned through me so intensely that I could barely breathe. My hand trembled uncontrollably as I struggled to hold the camera steady.

The recording showed Oliver picking up his phone shortly after I fell asleep. The corners of his mouth curled into a smirk.

"Everyone still awake? Here's the livestream you've all been waiting for."

Louise pushed open the bedroom door and walked in.

"Oliver, maybe we shouldn't do this. You're getting married soon, after all. If your fiancée finds out you've livestreamed something like this, how will she ever be able to show her face in public again?"

She pretended to plead with him out of concern, but her eyes betrayed the calculations behind her words.

Oliver looked down at me with utter coldness.

"If she hadn't humiliated you in front of everyone, you wouldn't have been fired from your job. She dared to hurt you, so now she has to face the consequences."

With that, Oliver propped his phone up nearby and started the livestream.

While I lay unconscious, he forced me into one degrading position after another. Louise watched from the sidelines at first, but before long, she joined him.

Indecent, horrifying images filled the screen.

I couldn't bear to watch another second.

Rushing into the bathroom, I collapsed over the toilet and vomited until my stomach was empty and my whole body shook.

I didn't know how much time passed before I finally wiped the filth from the corners of my mouth and the tears from my cheeks. Then I hurried out and retrieved the memory card.

I was just reaching for my phone to call the police when Oliver's voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.

"Baby, why are your eyes so red? Are you still worried about that fake video? Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

He claimed he would take care of everything, yet two days had passed, and I was still being publicly dragged through the mud on the trending lists.

I quickly slipped the memory card beneath my pillow, then turned to stare at him.

Clenching my fists, I asked, "You really don't know anything about the video?"

"Alessia, what exactly are you implying?" Oliver's expression darkened. In an instant, his face twisted with anger. "Do you have any idea how much trouble your scandal has caused me? And you still have the nerve to give me that attitude?!"

He was the one who had orchestrated everything. He was the one who had betrayed me. How dare he blame me for his own sins?!

Rage overwhelmed me. I opened my mouth to retort, but suddenly, my chest tightened. Darkness swept across my vision, and I collapsed.

"Alessia!"

When I regained consciousness, I was lying in a hospital bed.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Patterson! You're pregnant. You're already more than two months along!"

A young nurse noticed that I was awake and immediately began showering me with congratulations.

My fingers tightened around the edge of the blanket, but I felt no joy whatsoever.

"Thank you," I replied flatly.

All I could think about was how unfortunate this child was. They had come into the world at the wrong time, into a family that was wrong for them in every possible way.

Just then, the patient sharing my room and her family began whispering among themselves.

"Isn't that Mr. Patterson's fiancée? Who knows which man's bastard she's carrying this time. Disgusting."

"Poor Mr. Patterson. Imagine having to deal with such a shameless woman."

They deliberately raised their voices, making sure every word reached my ears.

There was nowhere for me to hide. Shame crushed me, and my entire body trembled as I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole.

The hospital room door swung open again.

Oliver's father strode inside.

At first, I thought he'd come to comfort me. Five years ago, he'd been the one to praise me as gentle and virtuous, strongly supporting his son's relationship with me.

But the moment he reached my bedside, he slapped me so hard that I was left stunned.

"Alessia, you shameless slut! You've dragged the entire Patterson family through the mud!"

My whole body stiffened. Clutching my burning cheek, I shouted back, "I haven't done anything! That video was clearly—"

"Dad, that's enough."

Oliver walked in and pretended to stand between us, putting on a show of defending me.

"The video might just be a misunderstanding. Alessia loves me so much. She'd never do something like that."

His father glared at me, his face dark with fury. "I only agreed to let you two be together because you were the eldest daughter of the Hansen family! And what have you done for the Patterson family? You've brought us no benefits whatsoever. Instead, you've made us a laughingstock! How are you any different from a prostitute?!"

So the man I'd once regarded as a father had never genuinely cared for me.

He'd only valued what I could bring to the Patterson family.

And Oliver? He'd been standing outside the room the entire time, watching coldly as his father struck me. He'd only stepped in after the slap, and even then, he'd merely pretended to stop him.

It felt as though someone were repeatedly pounding my heart with a blunt instrument until the pain turned into a dull, unbearable numbness.

"Then let's call off the wedding. I'll step aside and let Louise have you. You two can finally be together." I lifted my head and stared coldly at Oliver.

"Don't say things you don't mean just because you're upset. I've told you before, I only see Louise as a younger sister."

Oliver didn't take my words seriously at all. After offering a few dismissive remarks, he escorted his father out of the room.

I watched him leave, then reached for the phone he'd left on the table.

I entered Louise's birthday as the password.

The screen quickly unlocked.

To my surprise, the phone had a dual system, and a hidden interface opened up.

The first thing that appeared was a provocative photo of Oliver and Louise kissing passionately on the beach, both dressed in swimsuits.

Beneath it was a short caption:

[A keepsake from your eighteenth birthday. My darling big puppy.]

So they'd been involved with each other five years ago!

I bit down so hard on my lower lip that it hurt.

Five years... I'd spent five years loving him, yet I'd never realized how effortlessly he could lie to my face.

With trembling fingers, I opened their messaging app.

The very first messages I saw made my heart twist violently, as though an enormous hand had clenched it in a merciless grip.

The phone nearly slipped from my fingers.