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     When Zoe saw the weak and helpless appearance Annie had put on, she only felt extremely disgusted.

     She shrugged Annie off coldly. “Don’t touch me!”

     Zoe did not use much strength, but Annie suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground with a scream.

     “Annie!”

     Steven shot forward like an arrow to help her up. He growled at Zoe in anger. “Zoe! What are you doing?”

     “I didn’t…”

     Zoe’s expression shifted as she subconsciously tried to explain herself, but Annie interrupted her.

     “Steven, don’t blame Zoe. It’s my fault to begin with that I have fallen in love with you. Now she just pushed me, but how could I say she’s wrong even if she wants to scold me, slap me or kick me?”

     Zoe’s pupils dilated. Shock written all over her face.

     She raised her head to see Steven’s disappointed eyes.

     “I didn’t think that you would be like this. This is my fault, so you should vent your anger at me! Why did you even hurt Annie?”

     Zoe opened her mouth, but her explanation suddenly choked on her throat, as if it was a thorn stabbing her.

     “You think that … I pushed her?”

     “I saw it with my own eyes. Do you think I can

be wrong? I’ve always thought you just had a cold heart, but you were still kind. Only today do I realize that you’re ruthless and vengeful. After all these years, I finally can see who you really are!”

     Zoe stood still, unable to believe her own ears.

     She turned to look at Annie and saw a hint of malice and pride flashing across her eyes.

     She felt a chill covering her heart.

     Then, she let out a light sneer. Her smile was full of irony.

     “Steven Anderson, only today do I realize how stupid you are!”

     “What did you say?”

     “It’s nothing. Aren’t you two in love? Alright! I’ll give you my blessings. Just no one would eat from a bowl that has been filled with sh*t before, no matter how hard you have washed it, right?”

     Steven’s expression changed. He did not expect that this cool and well-mannered woman would use such vulgar words.

     His face darkened. “Zoe! Don’t push your luck!”

     Zoe sneered at him. Her smile was indifferent and cold.

     She took out a handkerchief and wiped her hand that had just been touched by Annie. Finally, she said in an indifferent tone.

     “Well! I don’t have time to waste here with you. From now on, please just take this canary beside you and get out of my sight! I wish you both all the best…”

     Her eyes wandered as a cold mockery flashed in them, and she laughed. “Hah! A b*tch and a dog! You are really quite a match after all!”

     Then, she turned around and left without giving them any chances of speaking.

     Steven’s face turned livid with anger. “What did you say? Stop right there…”

     “Steven…”

     At that moment, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm. Annie, with her hand on her stomach, looked so pale. “Steven, my stomach hurts.”

     Steven’s expression changed. “Annie, what’s wrong?”

     “I don’t know…”

     A crimson stream of blood trailed down Annie’s leg.

     Steven’s eyes widened and he shook fiercely.

     “Don’t be afraid, I’ll take you to the hospital right away.”

     …

     Steven carried Annie to the hospital.

     Zoe sat in her car and watched as their car left. She smiled sarcastically.

     Instead of going home, she drove to the Pinkyrose Hotel.

     On the first floor of the hotel was a large bar. The hall was filled and strewn with people who had come here to spend their money and kill their time.

     She leaned against the counter and downed glass after glass.

     She was not a person who liked to drown her sorrows in alcohol, but this time, it seemed that nothing but alcohol could temporarily numb the pain she was feeling inside.

     She could pretend to be indifferent and generous in front of Steven and Annie.

     However, only she knew how crushed her heart really was.

     Their relationship of six years now lost to a single lie. While she was determined to grow old together with him, he was rolling in the sheets with another woman.

     She just felt it ironic whenever she thought about it!

     Zoe raised her cup and poured herself another glass.

     She had always been a good drinker, but even she was a little drunk at the moment.

     The phone in her bag suddenly vibrated.

     She fished out her phone with hazy eyes and answered the call.

     “Who is this?”

     “Zoe, you lost again!”

     It was Annie

.

     Zoe curled her lips in mockery.

     “Did you call me just to tell me how proud you are?”

     Annie laughed in satisfaction.

     “Zoe, did you know that I’m pregnant?”

     Zoe’s expression turned cold.

     She looked at the people on the dance floor and said coldly, “Why are you telling me that? I’m not the one who f*cked you.”

     “It was Steven. He just told me that he’ll marry me immediately. You’ve been with him for six years, but he has never touched you before. Sure, you can say that he only has platonic love for you, but to put it bluntly, it’s simply because you didn’t interest him sexually and just the sight of you makes him nauseous.”

     Zoe’s hands clenched into fists.

     “You know? As long as we’re together, we’ll do it every day. He said he never felt so relaxed and happy with anyone as he was with me. He said you’re as cold as a corpse, not interesting at all.”

     “Other women know how to be gentle and sensible to serve men, but if you peel off your skin and enter the crowd, you’d just be a man! What’s the difference between being with you and being gay?”

     Zoe’s fists tightened.

     It was as if her heart was being pulled apart. The pain was excruciating.

     She took a deep breath and scoffed.

     “Annie Gil, here I thought you were quite something. Is that all you wanted to say?”

     “Sister, you can tell me if you’re angry. I won’t laugh at you.”

     “Why would I be angry? After all, you’re the 

one treating garbage I threw away like it’s treasure. A cloth you’ve used to wipe your *ss will still smell foul even if it’s washed. Won’t you feel disgusted when you wipe your face with it?”

     “You!”

     “Anyway! I don’t have time to talk nonsense with you. I’m warning you now. Don’t try to provoke me again. You can’t afford the consequences if you do piss me off!”

     Then, she hung up the call.

     It was not that she could not feel the pain in her heart.

     Although she did not admit it verbally, Annie’s words undoubtedly pierced her heart.

     She still remembered what Steven said when he was wooing her.

     He said that he liked how clean and clear she

was. He liked her coldness and indifference, which was like a snowy mountain flower that could only be viewed from afar and not tainted. It made him want to protect her, he said.

     The best love should be platonic. Detached from the spiritual love of the flesh, it was the purest kind of love.

     However, the reality was that he went behind her back to sleep with Annie, and now they even had a child.

     A great feeling of irony rose from the bottom of her heart. She raised her hands to cover her face as her eyes started to sting.

     At this time, someone suddenly tapped her shoulder.

     “Yo! Aren’t you the eldest daughter of the Gil family? Why are you here alone at this late hour? Are you making deliveries again?”

     Zoe turned around and she saw several young girls there, all dressed provocatively. Leading them was Steven Anderson’s sister, Katya Anderson.

     Since Zoe was a child, Katya Anderson had loved to do everything against her. She never failed to pick a fight with Zoe.

     Zoe was no in the mood to deal with her, so she pulled out a few bills from her bag and called for the check.

     However, Katya stepped forward and blocked her path.

     “Why are you leaving? C’mon, show me. Is it condoms or lube today?”

     She reached out to grab Zoe’s bag.

     Zoe took a step back, glaring at her with cold eyes.

     “Katya Anderson, don’t go overboard!”

     “Overboard? Ha-ha…” Katya acted as if she heard a great joke. “Zoe Gil! Do you think you’re still my brother’s girlfriend? You’re nothing now! How can you still put on such airs?”

     Zoe’s jaw tightened expressionlessly.

     Katya waved her hand. “You! Go grab her bag!”

     “What’s the point of just looking at her bag? Doesn’t she sell adult products? It’s already so late, yet she’s still out making deliveries. I wonder if she’s delivering an item or a person.”

     “That’s true, but look at how much of a dead fish she is. No one would want her anyway. Why don’t we just strip her down and check if we can find any evidence? Wouldn’t it help clear your brother’s name?”

     Katya’s eyes brightened. “Oh! Let’s do that!”

     The girls rubbed their hands together as they advanced, and Zoe paled.

     She turned and ran out of blue. She was so fast and they could not even catch her.

     However, she did drink quite a lot, so she stumbled as she ran without knowing the direction she was heading. After blearily seeing the letters ‘QB’ on the door, she quickly rushed inside.

     A loud voice instantly cried out, “What the f*ck!”

     There were two people inside. One was smoking, and the other was using the lavatory. He almost peed his pants in shock upon seeing her barge in.

     It was also Zoe’s first time seeing something like that, so she was stunned for a few seconds. Then, she realized that she entered the wrong door and immediately turned red.

     “I—I’m sorry! I went the wrong way!”

     She stumbled and was about to exit, but Katya’s voice sounded from outside.

     “Where did she run off to? Where is she?”

     “I clearly saw her run over here. Where did she disappear to?”

     “She must be in the toilet! Go! Find her!”

     Zoe grew slightly pale and looked at the two men opposite her. She had a vague feeling that the smoker looked familiar.

     “Misters, may … may I hide here for a while?”

     Although it was a difficult request, she had no other choice. She did not want to get caught by Katya.

     Henry Han’s face was expressionless. His cold eyes glanced over to Jack Rey, who was hurriedly putting on his pants. “Get out!”

     Jack was so frightened that his heart was trembling. He bolted out as if he was granted amnesty.

     Zoe felt dizzy and subconsciously tried to reach out to hold something, but her legs suddenly gave out and she fell forward.

     Her head lightened and she instinctively closed her eyes.

     However, the pain she expected never came, and a slender and powerful arm stretched out and scooped her up.

     She crashed into the man’s arms and her already dizzy head became even dizzier. Her body slid down involuntarily.

     Henry Han could only throw away the cigarette and hold her up with both hands. He looked at her drunken mess with a frown on his face.

     “Zoe Gil, just how much did you drink?”

     Zoe grew confused after realizing that he knew her name.

     “Do you know me?”

     Henry’s eyes were calm. His emotions were barely visible from his expression.

     Then, his thin lips pulled up.

     “No, I don’t.”

     …

     Zoe was carried out of the bar by Henry.

     She hugged the man’s neck and her drunken face flushed slightly. Her eyes were also half-closed. She was so drunk.

     Henry placed her on the back seat and then got in himself.

     Jack started the engine and asked respectfully, “Where are we headed, Mr. Han?”

     “Han Mansion.”

     “Yes, Mr. Han!”

     As the car drove along the silent avenue late at night, Zoe was so drunk that she pressed her head against the window with her eyes closed. She did not even have the strength to think.

     One characteristic she had when she was drunk was that she never made any fuss or noise. She only went to sleep.

     This led to the result of her not even noticing her own situation, let alone realizing that there was a man beside her.

     Her consciousness was groggy and her mind was completely hazy. There were also faint hints of pain that usually accompanied drinking.

     At that moment, the phone in her bag buzzed.

     She frowned and rummaged in her bag for a while before finally pulling the phone out and answering the call.

     “Hello?”

     “Zoe Gil, I heard from Katya that you left City  V with a man?”

     It was Steven Anderson.

     She opened her eyes. Her hazy eyes glowed with a layer of mist. “What is it? She snitched to you?”

     Steven’s tone was cold and heavy. “I know that I let you down today, but you shouldn’t defile yourself because of this. What kind of place do you think a bar is? How could you just…”

     Zoe was not in the mood to listen to him and interrupted him impatiently. “What’s your point?”

     “Where are you now? I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

     “Did Annie allow you to do that?”

     “Annie isn’t as bad as you think she is. She has always thought of you as her real sister. If anything happened to you, she would be the most heartbroken person.”

     Zoe snorted in laughter.

     This was the first time she realized that there were such shameless people in the world.

     Annie was constantly teaching her how shameless one could ever be.

     “Then I bet she didn’t tell you that she called me half an hour ago. She bragged about how she finally stole my boyfriend and even used the child in her belly to prove her point!”

     Without even thinking about it, Steven said, “That’s impossible!”

     Zoe laughed, thinking it was funny.

     Steven took a deep breath. His tone gradually grew impatient.

     “Zoe, what exactly do you want? Annie has never said a bad word about you. After she found out that you were at the bar, she asked me to call you right away. She’s worried about you, but what about you?, You repeatedly accuse her maliciously. I admit that we did something wrong, but are you completely in the right?”

     “You constantly bully her and take advantage of your better family background. Every time I ask you to accompany me to some social gathering, you make all sorts of excuses. I told you to give up your store, but you gave me a bullsh*t excuse and said that all jobs were equal?”

     “Zoe, I’m someone with status and I care

about my reputation. I can’t let people know that my girlfriend is selling sex products, right?!”

     “You only ever think about yourself and give no regard to my feelings at all, and you’re still blaming us even now?”

     Zoe trembled with anger.

     She never thought that Steven would think of her this way.

     She bullied Annie?

     She was unwilling to go to social functions with him?

     She disgraced him by selling sex products?

     Her eyes turned red for a moment. Then, she suddenly laughed in a low voice. She laughed at the irony of it all.

     “So that’s what you thought! That’s great! Remember what you said today! I won’t ever forgive you. Sooner or later, I’ll make you regret 

it!”

     Then, she hung up the phone.

     The car was plunged into a strange silence.