On the day of the earthquake, my fiancé's sponsored student, Mia, insisted on finishing the last bite of her Wellington steak. My fiancé, Liam, commanded coldly: "Wait for her to finish, then we all evacuate together." With hearing far beyond normal, I heard the sound of rocks cracking and urged everyone to evacuate with Liam first. When Mia got up to follow, she was struck by the falling ceiling and died instantly. Later, during our honeymoon, Liam pushed me off a cliff, crushing me with rocks. "It's all your fault! If you hadn't taken me away, Mia wouldn't have died if she stayed put! She was just greedy for food, what's wrong with that!" Even though he knew I was pregnant with his child at the time. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the earthquake. This time, if he wants to wait, let him wait. 1 "What's the rush? We're not in an earthquake zone, it's at most an aftershock. Everyone wait for Mia to finish before we go." "If anyone dares to leave without permission, don't blame me for getting ugly." Liam was arrogant, refusing to let anyone disobey his orders. I looked at the Western feast laid out before me, the phantom pain of being crushed to death in my past life still lingering in my body, and I had already hit the record button on my phone. The sound of cracking stones was getting closer. If I remembered correctly, the ceiling would collapse in two minutes. Someone's dog started getting restless, showing dissatisfaction. "Mr. Vance, we should evacuate. She can eat that steak anytime." The steak was still steaming. Mia picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, her face full of satisfaction: "This meat is so tender. It's my first time eating Wellington." Liam looked at Mia with a doting smile. "This is prime beef I specifically had flown in from the US. It would be a shame if you didn't taste it." Actually, I didn't understand why Liam was so obsessed with this mere piece of steak. In my past life, I even went out of my way to check the shipping records for this steak, thinking of leaving an identical one at the girl's grave. But I couldn't find any records. Only then did I realize that Liam had raised that cow himself. He had tortured it beyond recognition, and in the end, this was the only piece of steak produced. Someone shot me a pleading look. "Miss Hastings, please persuade Mr. Vance. If there really is an earthquake, it's a matter of life and death." I shook my head. I wouldn't dare interrupt for such a precious steak. Liam and I used to be quite affectionate, a model couple in our circle. But ever since he sponsored Mia, everything changed. The Liam before me had eyes only for her; where was there any room for me? I looked up at the ceiling and took a slow sip of red wine. "If Mr. Vance says wait, then wait. Everyone stay in your seats, we'll be fine." While the crowd was arguing, a massive chunk of the ceiling fell between the two tables with a loud crash. Flying debris cut Mia's calf, leaving a thin trail of blood. She cried pitifully: "Liam, it hurts so much. Is my bone broken?" "Bear with it, I'll take you to the hospital right away." Liam coaxed her softly, his movements gentler than ever. But he immediately turned his fury on me. "Chloe Hastings! Can't you pinpoint sounds by hearing? The ceiling fell, why didn't you urge me to evacuate just now? You caused Mia to get hurt." I lowered my eyes, bowing my head to apologize, using my wine glass to hide my smirk. "I'm sorry, I misjudged. I'll penalize myself with a drink." It seems I'm the only one who was reborn. This is fantastic news. Liam knocked over my wine glass, spilling red wine all over my white dress. "Enough, stop pretending. Let's all evacuate quickly. What if something else falls?" The scattered debris made me lose my footing and fall. But Liam carried Mia away, leaving me only a cold glare. "Get up if you don't want to die. You just fell down, stop acting so delicate." I sat on my knees, watching him leave, my fingers resting by my side slowly clenching. Liam probably forgot that the reason we were here today was for our engagement party, yet I didn't look like the female lead at all. But that's okay. This time, Liam will pay the price he deserves. I leaned against the table corner and stood up, my dress covered in red wine and dirt. Liam had called an ambulance for Mia and taken all the bodyguards with him. Before closing the car door, he coldly threw down a sentence, "Chloe, find your own way back." And then he sped off. I don't know how to drive, and this place wasn't in the city center, so I couldn't get a cab. The guests left in twos and threes. Some took photos, some posted on social media, and some whispered among themselves. "What's wrong with Chloe? Isn't today her engagement party? But so far, only that one piece of ceiling fell. Could she have arranged it out of jealousy towards Mia?" "I heard she's been given the cold shoulder by Mr. Vance for a long time. Mia was hurt, and Chloe was still in the mood to drink. Tsk, tsk, what a venomous woman." I ignored them. My phone pinged; I received a notification that Mia had tagged me in a post. "I never thought someone would be willing to stay with me in an earthquake just to let me finish the last bite of steak, all because of one thing I said. Thank you, Liam." I just found it ridiculous. This little girl had never seen the world. If this post was used by someone with ulterior motives, the Vance Group's stock would likely hit the daily limit down. I was just pondering how to secretly scheme against Liam when I heard the sound of an approaching car. The next second, I was dragged into the car by a few men in black suits. "Miss Hastings, please come with us." "Where to?" I instinctively stepped back. "Mr. Vance told us to take you to the hospital." I paused, and just as I was about to refuse, I was grabbed by the arms on both sides, giving me no chance to break free. "Let me go! I can walk by myself!" As soon as I got out of the car, I saw Liam standing at the hospital entrance, looking at me with utter disgust. Mia, limping, leaned against him, looking as if she had suffered a grave injustice. "Liam, she's here." Mia said softly. I gritted my teeth. "Why did you bring me to the hospital?" "Don't you love to pretend?" He sneered, looking down at me. "This scene today wouldn't be complete without your acting." He raised his hand and slapped me, making my eardrums ring and even drawing blood from the corner of my mouth. "Aren't you supposed to have better hearing than others? How come you didn't notice a thing before that piece of ceiling fell?" My swollen ankle gave out, and I stumbled, tumbling down the few steps in front of the hospital, looking completely disheveled. Liam closed in. "You didn't warn us, didn't speak up, you wanted Mia dead, didn't you?! Or was the falling ceiling entirely your design?" Liam's attitude changed so quickly, I immediately guessed someone had been gossiping. In my past life, seeing Liam favor Mia, those people would constantly badmouth me. I looked at Liam, my face full of grievance. "If I had called to stop, you probably would have been the first to call me a buzzkill. You said you'd get ugly with anyone who dared to leave, have you forgotten?" In my past life, pulling him away was my fault; this time, letting him wait is still my fault. Tears welled up in Mia's eyes. "Liam, look at her, always making excuses. I just wanted to finish a piece of steak, and you wanted to see me get hurt? Why do you hate me so much?" I raised my hand and slapped Mia back. "Mia, don't forget, I am Liam's future wife!" Mia covered her face with one hand. "Liam, she hit me..." "Chloe Hastings!" Liam's tone was filled with hatred. "You dare hit Mia in front of me? Are you crazy?" I sneered, "She started it, I'm just getting justice for myself. You'd better go investigate it yourself. It was a real earthquake today, not something I designed. I'm not that capable." "Very well." He suddenly turned his head, looked at Mia in his arms, and said gently, "Hit her back." Mia was stunned. "Hit her back," he repeated. "Since she dared to touch you, she should pay the price. Don't be afraid, I'm here." Mia shot me a timid glance, but a flash of triumph crossed her eyes. She stepped forward, pretending to argue with me, but took the opportunity to rip the buttons on my chest, exposing my cleavage. Even so, Liam had no intention of calling a stop. I quickly reached up to cover my chest, glaring angrily at Mia. "Mia?!" "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I just wanted to talk things out with you, but you suddenly lost control and ripped your own clothes..." "What did you say?" My pupils shrank as I looked at her in disbelief. "Chloe, you're shameless." Liam's disgust deepened. "Arguing with someone looking so disheveled. If you don't care about your dignity, I still care about mine!" "Mia!" My fingers trembled with anger. "You were the one who ripped my clothes!" "Enough!" Liam roared. "I saw it clearly, don't you dare falsely accuse Mia again!" "Liam, it hurts." Mia gently clutched her calf. The thin trail of blood had long stopped, but she still cried as if she were incredibly frail. "I was so angry at her just now I couldn't catch my breath, and now my calf hurts again..." "Let's go." Liam didn't hesitate to take off his coat and drape it over her. "I'll take you for a full checkup." Before leaving, Liam actually noticed my swollen ankle and frowned. But he still gave the doctors at the hospital a strict order: no one was allowed to treat me, considering it my punishment. I bought some Yunnan Baiyao and moved back into my own house. Late at night, I was awakened by a string of footsteps, only to find it was Liam. The next second, his hands were roaming over my body. "Liam!" My voice trembled. "What are you doing?!" My eyes widened, and I tried to push him away, but he pinned my hands down, pressing me firmly into the bed. "Wasn't your performance at the hospital today because you were sexually frustrated?" I struggled and screamed, "Liam! Let me go!!" He sneered, "Why are you playing the chaste maiden here? It's not like we haven't done it before." Liam forcefully kissed my lips, the taste of alcohol filling my mouth. He had been drinking. I suddenly remembered that in my past life, he got drunk because of Mia's death, threw himself on me, and called out her name. That was the day I got pregnant. But this time, Mia only had minor injuries. Why is he acting like this? I bit his lip, and the smell of blood instantly filled the air. "You dare bite me?!" But this bite only deepened his beastly desire. He leaned in even closer. "Good, the more you act like this, the more I like it." I screamed, grabbed the glass water cup from the nightstand, and smashed it against his head. "Crash!" He was stunned, his movements halting. I took the opportunity to push him away with all my might. Clutching the broken glass and dragging my burning ankle, I limped off the bed and shrank into the corner. "If you dare touch me again, I'll kill myself right now!!" Liam wiped the blood from his face, staring at me blankly, his eyes full of anger and surprise. "You dare hit me? Chloe, you've really grown a spine!" "From today on, our engagement is off! Don't even think about getting anything from me ever again!" The next day, Mia sent me photos of her and Liam in bed. "Sister, last night Liam was drunk and called out your name~ But in the end, I was the one who accompanied him." "Yesterday happened to be my ovulation day. Who knows, there might already be a baby in my belly. The title of Mrs. Vance is going to be mine~" I couldn't be bothered and just replied "Congrats." Just two days after Liam left, I was barely able to get out of bed, my ankle still not fully healed, when the media exploded. [Liam Vance Announces Broken Engagement with Hastings Heiress] [Mia's New Identity Revealed, May Become Mrs. Vance] My social media feeds and the trending topics were all filled with Mia smiling happily, while I became the background of a joke. But that's okay. I couldn't wait for them to lock it down. At 10:00 AM, I received a call from an unknown number. "Miss Hastings, there's an auction at the Emerald Club at 10:00 PM tonight. Important clients will be there, involving the Vance Group's future transformation projects. Mr. Vance instructed that you must attend. I will pick you up shortly." After my father passed away, I invested almost all my money into the Vance Group. Even though Liam and I had fallen out, I had a share in what the Vance Group is today, so I'll go this one last time. But I had a vague feeling Liam was up to no good, so I made a call in advance to have someone handle a few things for me.
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