"Can you not talk to me with that attitude? Every word of yours is like a thorn. It makes me uncomfortable." Yvonne Sung couldn't accept the way she spoke to him anymore.

Maybe he’d grown used to her always being gentle and soft-spoken. Her current coldness left him unsettled.

"Yvonne Sung, if you've got something to say, then say it," Lauren Shaw replied. She had no desire for any further entanglement.

Seeing her still bristling at him, Yvonne Sung figured she must still hold a grudge about the past, and he started calculating how he might win her back.

"Can you at least give me a chance to explain? Every time I've come to apologize, you've never given me a single opportunity."

Lauren Shaw sneered. "A chance? When I wanted to talk things over with you back then, did you ever give me a chance?"

At this point, there was nothing left between them worth saying.

"Why do you have to treat me like this? Things with Yana Quinn are not what you think. Fine, misunderstand me if you want, but afterward didn’t you do the same—grab some random guy to piss me off?"

"I've thought about it a lot these past few days. I want to make things work between us. Why can't you just act like before, as if nothing ever happened?"

He still sounded reproachful, as if everything was her fault, as if she was making a mountain out of a molehill.

He reached out for her hand, but Lauren Shaw dodged him again.

"Why bother saying all this now? Do you really think I could ever be the same as before after everything?"

Hearing her response wasn't so harsh, Yvonne Sung thought his words had started to work. He pressed on, "Why not? Things used to be so good between us. You always put me first, you were gentle and considerate."

"I've been thinking about you this whole time... I'm sorry, I was a total jerk before. Can you forgive me?"

For some reason, Lauren Shaw felt like laughing as she watched him try to apologize.

Maybe, if this had happened in the past, she would have been deeply touched. Now, though, her heart felt nothing—not even a ripple. In fact, she almost felt sick.

After seeing him with another woman, the difference between love and indifference was crystal clear. How could she not see it?

Maybe, in his mind, she never deserved love at all—she was meant to be a backup, something dispensable.

"I'm already married. Stop bothering me."

With that, she turned to head back to her studio, but Yvonne Sung blocked her path, anxiety flaring in his eyes.

"I know you only said that to make me jealous. Lauren Shaw, I know there's still a place for me in your heart. Stop messing around, okay? You liked me so much—how could you possibly marry someone else?"

Listening to his shameless words, Lauren Shaw's eyes grew colder than ever.

So he knew she loved him? And that’s why he felt entitled to trample her feelings, certain that she’d accept anything for the sake of loving him—even his tangled relationship with Yana Quinn.

"I never realized you could be so shameless. Do you think I have to revolve around you? That there are no other men in this world? What makes you think I'd love you without any self-respect? Yvonne Sung, you disgust me."

Emotion overwhelmed her, a heavy pressure on her chest groping for a way to break free.

She laughed bitterly, "Let’s just pretend these last few years never existed. Don’t show up in my life anymore. For the rest of my days, I don’t want to see you again."

Yvonne Sung stood there, her words like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.

His fists clenched at his sides. As Lauren Shaw tried to move past him, he suddenly grabbed her and dragged her toward the parking lot.

She struggled, but his grip was iron-tight.

"Let go of me!"

"Didn’t you say I disgust you now? Well, let me show you what true disgust means." He ignored her resistance, dragging her along.

The sheer difference in physical strength meant Lauren Shaw couldn't get free.

His fingers dug into her wrist, sending sharp jolts of pain through her.

"Do you know what the consequences are for what you're doing?"

"Of course I do. Which is exactly why the best solution is for you to become my woman. That way, you’ll never leave me again."

Enraged, Lauren Shaw slapped him across the face. "You animal!"

Yvonne Sung's eyes turned bloodshot. He’d never been struck like that before, not in his whole life. His grip on Lauren Shaw only tightened.

His fury made him dangerous.

He shoved her toward the car.

With a heavy thud, someone punched Yvonne Sung to the ground.

Lauren Shaw felt an arm wrap around her waist; a familiar scent of disinfectant mixed with sandalwood calmed her nerves. She knew her protector had arrived.

"Are you alright?" Yancy Shaw looked her over, frowning at the ugly red marks blooming on her wrist.

Yvonne Sung climbed to his feet. Seeing Yancy Shaw shielding Lauren Shaw, he sneered, "So it’s just a doctor. You protect her like this—do you like her or something?"

"You have no idea how good she was to me. She stayed by my side for three years—are you really not bothered by that?"

Lauren Shaw stared at him in disbelief, listening as he belittled her right to her face. So after three years, he’d never once truly valued her.

Feeling tender, Yancy Shaw pulled her into his arms. "How did you ever fall for a lunatic like him?"

Yvonne Sung snorted, "All men are the same. You think he’s any better? It’s just the thrill of someone new…"

Watching Lauren Shaw lean into Yancy Shaw’s embrace sent Yvonne Sung’s jealousy spiraling.

Noticing her pale face, Yancy Shaw spoke gently, "Be good. Go wait in the car for me."

Lauren Shaw shook her head, then glared coldly at Yvonne Sung, who still wouldn’t let up. "Shut up!" she snapped.

Seeing the pallor in her cheeks, Yvonne Sung’s heart lurched, as if something precious was quietly slipping away.

"You say I stayed with you three years? Well, let’s do the math: in those three years, we never even held hands, never lived together, never even counted as a real couple. I owe you nothing—so quit slandering me."

Her gaze toward him grew ever more distant. She turned to Yancy Shaw. "I'm tired. I'll go wait for you in the car."

Once Lauren Shaw got in the car, Yancy Shaw turned a glacial stare on Yvonne Sung.

Before Yvonne Sung could get a word in, Yancy Shaw grabbed him by the collar and drove a fist into his face.

Yvonne Sung simply wasn’t a match for him; after a couple of blows, his cheeks were already red and swollen.

"Lauren Shaw is my wife now. Stay away from her, or every time I see you, I’ll make sure you regret it!"

Yancy Shaw exuded an icy presence; for some reason, Yvonne Sung actually felt a chill of fear.

When Yancy Shaw returned to the car, Lauren Shaw sat silently in the passenger seat.

She’d spent three years with Yvonne Sung, yet never truly seen him for who he was. All that foolish affection on her part had only led to him trampling her heart.

In his eyes, her love was worthless—less than nothing. In the end, he’d even turned it into a blade to wound her with.

Of course it hurt. Anyone who said otherwise would be lying. But it wasn’t Yvonne Sung she mourned—it was herself, and those three wasted years.