When Nathaniel and I reached the peak of our intimacy, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he let out a low groan, calling out a nickname: "Emma..." That was when I knew he had fallen for his junior student. So, while his mind was still blank and reeling afterward, I gave him one last chance. "Let's go get our marriage license tomorrow." He flatly refused, saying he was going abroad with Emma Lawson for a closed, three-year research project. I calmly presented him with two choices. Either stay in the country, or our engagement is off. He, who was severely allergic to alcohol, drank all night. When he woke up, he compromised. "I'm not going." From that day on, he drank behind my back and ended up in the ER getting his stomach pumped countless times. Until the day of our wedding—the exact moment the officiant announced, "You may kiss the bride." Several of Nathaniel's graduate students suddenly stood up in protest. "Professor Prescott, Emma’s heart is broken because of you! She’s getting married to someone else tomorrow!" Nathaniel's pupils shrank. Like a madman, he threw down his wedding ring and bolted off the altar. I snatched the officiant's microphone and furiously declared: "If you go after her, we are completely done!" His figure jolted violently, but he got in his car and sped away anyway. I smiled. Nathaniel, there is no such thing as having your cake and eating it too. Since you chose love, I will be taking your career. Chapter 1 A minute after Nate left, the audience erupted in whispers and pointing fingers. "Nate Prescott abandoning his bride to elope with his mistress today—isn't that a public slap in the face to the Kensington family?" "I never thought a high-and-mighty heiress like Harper Kensington could be dumped!" "Looks like even a calm and steady guy like Nate couldn't handle her rich-girl temper!" The gossip drifted into my ears. But Mr. and Mrs. Prescott's faces were paler than mine. "Harper, what happened today is entirely Nate's fault. Don't worry, tonight we will absolutely tie him up and drag him back to your bridal suite!" "Mr. Prescott, have you no shame?" My mother coldly scoffed, stepping protectively in front of me. "What Nathaniel did today wasn't just a slap in my daughter's face; it was a public declaration of war against the entire Kensington family!" My father and brother wore ice-cold expressions, their oppressive aura suffocating the room. Mrs. Prescott begged me, her face white. "Harper, Nate was just seduced by that little fox!" "You know him, he's always been so upright. He was never like this before!" Before? I chewed on that word with a cold sneer. Nathaniel Prescott was a professor at a prestigious university. His personality was dull and wooden. He wouldn't even send a simple $50 Venmo for Valentine's Day, let alone celebrate any annual holidays. Every time I brought it up, he would brush me off with irritation: "Harper, these holidays are a waste of time and energy. I don't have the mood to waste on this kind of stuff." So, I made excuses for him time and time again in front of my parents and friends. But when he forgot my birthday yet again, his "clumsy" female student, Emma Lawson, posted on Instagram. [So thankful for the 99th gift from my favorite mentor!] The attached photo showed a bed covered in various Hermès bags, designer makeup, and jewelry. The total value was easily in the millions. That night, to make it up to me, Nate initiated intimacy. But he didn't know that the name he called out in the heat of passion exposed his true love. Afterward, he used the opportunity to suggest going abroad with Emma for three years of experiments. That day, I finally saw clearly. Nathaniel wasn't incapable of loving someone; he just didn't want to love me. I swatted away Mrs. Prescott's tightly gripping hands. My voice was calm. "As of today, my engagement to Nathaniel is off." If he won't love anyone properly, then he gets to love no one. "Off?!" Mr. Prescott yelled, then, remembering something, forced a smile. "Harper, but you promised to help your uncle solve the supply chain funding issue..." Before I could make a sound, my brother let out a cold laugh. "Mr. Prescott, you sure think highly of yourself. The engagement is off; naturally, everything else is void!" The Prescotts' faces turned a sickly shade of green and white. The Prescott Group was facing a severe break in their financial supply chain. Only our two families knew that this marriage was less about love and more about Nate saving his family's company. Unfortunately, he failed to grasp the opportunity. As I was about to leave, Mr. Prescott rushed in front of me, his face twisted in desperation. "Harper, don't worry! I will give you a proper explanation tonight!" I didn't think much of it. I went home and threw every single academic paper and gift Nate had ever given me into a roaring fire. Back then, I thought he was just unromantic and treated his half-assed academic papers as treasures. After burning them, a notification popped up on my phone. Emma was flaunting again on Instagram. [Finally got a taste of my crush!] The attached picture showed red bite marks on a man's chest. The implication was obvious. I smiled and screenshotted it for my records. The next second, Nate's call came in. "Harper, running away from the wedding today was my fault, but Emma is my student. I can't just ignore it when she's about to do something stupid." I laughed. "Stupid? What does her getting married have to do with you, Nathaniel?" "You humiliated me today. You should have expected the consequences." My words choked him. An impatient voice came through the receiver. "Are you done throwing a fit? I told you we are completely innocent. It's one thing for you to have a dirty mind, but now you're deliberately spreading rumors and framing us? Harper, how did you turn into this?" "Enough. My dad already called and chewed me out. Hurry up and sort out the investment funds. I'll come back as soon as I finish talking sense into Emma." Listening to his pretentious words, I felt nothing but pure ridicule. He was the one who claimed to be a dull guy and begged for my understanding, yet turned around and chatted happily with his female student. He was the one who used work as an excuse to ignore my birthday, yet racked his brain to prepare exquisite gifts for his student. And he was the one who, for the sake of someone else's happiness, humiliated me publicly at our wedding. I had given him countless chances to choose. But he chose the method of a public runaway groom to humiliate me. I loved him once, but that stops here. I was about to block and delete him, but the call hadn't disconnected, and Emma's provocative voice drifted through. "Professor, who has a better figure, me or your fiancée?" "...You." I raised an eyebrow and took the opportunity to hit record. Then, I contacted the private investigator staking out Nate's villa. "Tonight, record their every move and position. The whole thing." Nate, you can come back, but you will have absolutely nothing left backing you. Sure enough, at 5 AM, Nate was forced back to my house by his father. As soon as he walked in, he threw several large boxes of makeup and gift sets at me. "Harper Kensington! How far are you going to push my dad?! Just over a few boxes of makeup, you're going to sabotage the company?! Using your position for personal revenge—you used to never be like this." "You're not exactly young anymore. What's the harm in using a little more of this stuff?" His words were like daggers, deliberately stabbing into me. I sneered, stepped forward, and ripped open his shirt, revealing the bite marks inside. Nate froze. "Emma's cat bit me..." I scoffed. I remembered how, when Nate first pursued me, he deliberately hid his identity as the eldest son of the Prescott family. I was moved by his clumsy, earnest pursuit. Later, when he acted all high-and-mighty, burying himself in research and treating money like dirt, I was the one secretly funding him. I even pulled in my wealthy friends to finance his projects and be his backbone. With a few light words, he wrote me off as a jealous, bitter shrew. His phone rang. He answered it and then hurried to leave. Before leaving, he warned me: "Harper, if you still want me to marry you, be a good girl and stop causing trouble. Hurry up and resolve the company's issues. I don't have time to keep arguing with you." Three minutes later, Emma posted on Instagram again. [Trained my crush like a dog. He comes whenever I call.] My eyes gleamed. I turned and sent a message to the group chat of elite heirs in the city. "Halt all funding to Nathaniel Prescott's lab. Cut it all off." Row after row of instant replies filled the chat: "Copy that, Harper." If he wanted to help Emma climb to the top, I'd grant his wish. But without basic funding, how long could they last? But I didn't expect that the very next afternoon, it would be extremely noisy downstairs at the company. My assistant ran in, sweating profusely, to tell me: "Ms. Kensington, it's bad! Nate brought a few students and lab researchers to the company demanding an explanation!" I narrowed my eyes and looked down through the floor-to-ceiling windows. I clearly saw over a dozen people holding up banners that read: [Capitalist Harper Kensington, Stop Holding Research Hostage!] [Capitalists Get Out of the Investment Circle!] ... I suppressed my beating heart and ordered the security guards downstairs to let them in. Ten seconds later, over a dozen people aggressively stormed into my office. As soon as Emma saw me, she threw herself to her knees, crying and slapping her own face in a dramatic display. "Ms. Kensington, I know you've always been unhappy with me. You can hire people to beat me, insult me, or even disfigure me! But you can't incite others to pull their investments just because you're jealous!" "If you're not satisfied, slap me yourself!" The sound of slaps echoed through the room. Nate rushed forward from behind, heartbroken, and yanked the woman up. "Emma, stand up straight! This matter has nothing to do with you in the first place!" Then he glared at me, his tone menacing. "Harper, pulling the investment is a matter of national importance, not a plaything for you capitalists!" I remained silent, coldly watching this theatrical performance. After Nate spoke, the students and researchers behind him were riled up. Some pulled out their phones, shoved live streams in my face, and yelled indignantly. "Hey everyone! We're live-streaming a capitalist hindering scientific development! Oppressing students!" Others held red paint, sneaking behind me to intentionally splash it. I was drenched from head to toe. The sticky, gross feeling of paint spread over my limbs. But Emma didn't give up. She dropped to her knees in front of me again. Facing the cameras, she ripped the bandages off her face. For the brief moment the horrifying scars were exposed, everyone gasped. I simply stared down at her dismissively. "Ms. Kensington, please let us go! I know everything started because of me. Whatever you say, I'll do it!" Then, she crawled closer on her knees and whispered to me. "Harper, so what if your parents are the richest in the city? Professor Prescott despises wealthy elites like you the most!" "He will only ever be mine. You can't take him away." The next second, she pulled a self-directed stunt, grabbing a hidden knife and stabbing it into her own abdomen. Warm blood splattered on my face. Emma opened her mouth in feigned horror, pointing a trembling finger at me. Everyone was terrified by the sudden twist, and they all pointed at me, roaring. "Murder! The capitalist killed someone!" Nate's face was as black as pitch. He shoved me away violently, scooped up Emma, and roared. "Call 911 quickly!" I coldly stared at the woman's triumphant smirk, my hands unconsciously curling into fists. After putting Emma in the ambulance, Nate approached me with a dark expression. "Are you satisfied now that you've killed her?" The crowd grew restless again, launching a new wave of verbal attacks at me and angrily smashing things. As the scene became uncontrollable, I playfully curled my lips. "You all say I committed premeditated murder. Why don't we pull the security footage and confront each other publicly? If I really killed Emma Lawson, I am willing to go to prison." As soon as I spoke, the angry voices of the crowd slowly weakened. The people who had been live-streaming on their phones started seeing doubts pop up in their chat rooms. [No way, you guys are being led by the narrative. I feel like this woman wouldn't be dumb enough to kill someone in plain sight, right?] [Hard to say, what if?] [I also think this woman wouldn't be that stupid. Actually, the woman from earlier seemed a bit mentally unstable.] Nate stared straight at me, his brows tightly furrowed. "Harper Kensington, you are the CEO of Kensington Corp. It's entirely possible you had the footage tampered with." "Emma is my student. If you want to hurt her, you have to get through me first." After saying that, he didn't give up. He picked up his phone, flipped the camera, and complained with red eyes. "Harper Kensington is my fiancée. Recently, she has indeed hurt many people due to her petty jealousy. As her fiancé, I apologize. But I will not show favoritism. I want to clarify that everything she did to my student Emma Lawson is true." "As for her disrupting scientific funding and committing attempted murder, I will absolutely not defend her in court." With that, Nate decisively ended the live stream. He led the group of people away. Someone tried to turn back to insult me out of a sense of justice, but Nate forcibly escorted them out. I stood in silence. My assistant swallowed nervously. "Ms. Kensington, less than a minute after the live stream ended, Kensington Corp's stock plummeted by ten percent." I forced down the churning emotions in my chest. "Contact the PR department. Prepare a clarification immediately." However, my clarification couldn't keep up with the speed of Nate and Emma's smears. Gossip accounts maliciously edited videos of me "murdering" someone and withdrawing funds. My accounts were besieged by a massive number of bots and haters. Keyboard warriors doxed me and sent razor blades to my address. People on the street cursed me as a "bloodsucker of the academic world." Various projects that Kensington Corp had previously cooperated on, contracts that had already been approved, were all withdrawn or faced immediate demands for exorbitant compensation. As public opinion fermented crazily. My brother called. "Harper, things have gotten out of hand. Nate and the Prescott family are paying off bots across all major platforms and hiring all the influential lawyers in the city so you can't file a lawsuit." "They claim you maliciously destroyed a major national project. Higher-ups have even sent people to ask questions. The family elders want you to apologize to the Prescotts, agree to the marriage, and fix their supply chain." "You..." I took a deep breath, hung up the phone, and unblocked the previously blacklisted number. "Let's meet." Half an hour later, Nate brought me to Emma's hospital room. "Apologize." I lowered my eyes, "I'm sorry." The man's face softened considerably. He flicked the ash off his cigarette and raised an eyebrow. "Harper, so even you can be pushed to a dead end?" "But Emma used to be exactly where you are now, maybe even in more pain." I lifted my eyelids. "What do I have to do for you to let me go?" Nate crossed his legs, leaning lazily against the leather sofa, and casually asked Emma. "Emma, tell me, what do you want?" Emma feigned innocence, biting her index finger. "I... I just hope to bury the hatchet with Ms. Kensington." But Nate helplessly rubbed her head: "I know you're timid; your professor will help you." "Harper Kensington, replenish the Prescott family's funding. Tell your little friends to cancel the withdrawal of their research investments. Furthermore, Emma was disfigured because of you; pay for her skin grafts." "Apologize to Emma across all platforms. Once you're done, I can consider the marriage." I laughed out of pure anger, gave him a deep look, and turned to leave. That "I'm sorry" was an apology to my past self for being so blind. But he sure had a big mouth. Asking for the moon. If I gave it to him, would he even be worthy? As soon as I left the hospital room, I contacted the private investigator to retrieve the recorded videos and photos. I also organized the evidence of his lab illegally using materials, which I had investigated earlier using my black card connections. Since he liked it so much, this mountain of evidence would be enough to feed them for a lifetime. I packed up and left the hospital. Just as I took a step outside, a sharp pain hit the back of my head. My vision went black, and I fell backward. When I opened my eyes again, glaring surgical lights were shining directly on my face. I wiggled my body, but my hands and feet were securely locked with iron chains. Nate walked over with a cold expression. "Harper Kensington, do you think the hospital is a place you can come and go as you please? After all this time, have you thought it through?" My heart leapt into my throat, the veins on my forehead pulsing. "Nathaniel Prescott! If you dare touch a hair on my head, you will regret it for the rest of your life!" The man led Emma closer to me. "Emma's face—if it weren't for you unreasonably canceling the investment, how would we have used inferior materials? She never would have been injured in the explosion!" "Did you think an apology would be the end of it?" I ground my teeth, the blood in my veins boiling. "She injured her own face!" But Nate chose to ignore my explanation, coldly instructing the doctor beside him. "Begin. Take the softest layer of skin from her face. I don't want Emma to reject it." A sharp syringe pierced my skin. My pupils trembled, and my whole body shook non-stop from the pain and resentment. Until my screams grew lower and lower. Nate then came in, his guilty eyes landing on the bandages covering my entire face. "Harper, I will marry you." I used all my strength to slap him. He turned his head and smirked. The next moment, I was forcefully yanked and shoved into a car. When I got out, a massive crowd of reporters aimed their long lenses directly at my face. Nate forcibly pressed me into a chair at the press conference. He coaxed me gently. "Harper, clarify everything, pave the way for Emma's future, and it will all be over." My fists clenched and trembled under the table. I listened to the reporters below eagerly throwing out sharp, lethal questions meant to destroy me. A faint curve formed at the corner of my mouth. Nate, did you think you had me trapped? I was prepared for this long ago...
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