Chapter 6

"It was because Brandon's father was richer than Brandon back then," Nicole said with a laugh. "As long as you give me money, I'm willing to do anything. Now that he's inherited the family fortune, I'm naturally not going to let him go. "Do you know how wildly passionate he was in the six years we were together? He would never have those kinds of feelings for anyone other than me. That's why you've never succeeded, no matter how much you tried to seduce him. "He's saved himself for me, so what do you even amount to? Last time, at the auction, the bracelet I wanted cost a fortune. But he still won the bid for me without even blinking an eye. Have you ever been treated like this?" Nicole's words were like a blunt knife that painstakingly carved its way into Roxanne's heart. She retorted, "Are you just trying to prove that you can win everything?" "I only need to win Brandon from you." Nicole chuckled. "Let's make a bet. When he comes out of the trauma room later, let's see whose name he calls out first." Roxanne still clung to a shred of hope, as unrealistic as it might be. Perhaps Brandon still had a sliver of conscience left. Perhaps he'd suddenly think of her then. At the very least, he should worry about whether she had made it out of the fire. They had been together for seven years after all. Even if she were just a pet, seven years would be more than enough to build some emotional attachment. However, when Brandon was wheeled out of the trauma room an hour later, and even under the lingering effects of anesthesia, the first word that left his mouth was "Nicole". Nicole gave Roxanne a taunting look. "See? I won again." Roxanne watched as Nicole walked over to Brandon. And with that, her last wisp of hope disintegrated. In the days that followed, both Roxanne and Brandon stayed in the hospital for treatment. Every day, Roxanne would see Nicole coming to personally take care of Brandon. She never left his side, thus not giving Roxanne any chance to get close to Brandon. On the afternoon that Roxanne was about to be discharged, Brandon came to her hospital room. He had prepared a nutritious meal for her, and he also gifted her an exquisite gift box. "Your birthday is in three days. There's a key in this box. I've placed your present in the walk-in closet. Use this key to open the cupboard inside, and you'll see your present." Three days later, also known as the day that Roxanne planned to leave the country. She wordlessly accepted the key before calmly saying, "Thank you." Just as she grabbed her bag so she could go get discharged, an immigration application form fell out of it. Brandon picked it up and asked with a frown, "What's this? You're immigrating?" Roxanne snatched the form back. "My friend left it with me. I'm going to return it to her now." Brandon relaxed a little. He fell silent as he studied Roxanne's frail appearance. "I'll be discharged on the day of your birthday. I'll celebrate your birthday with you, Roxanne, so you must wait for me to get home." Roxanne's heart trembled. She was just about to speak when Nicole's voice came from the hallway. "Brandon, I made you some chicken noodle soup all by myself…" Brandon left Roxanne's room the moment he heard Nicole. Their intimate conversation drifted into Roxanne's ears. She snorted coldly, then packed up her belongings by herself so she could get discharged. However, the moment she stepped out of her room, she was dragged into the restroom located in that hallway. Startled, Roxane looked up, only to find Nicole standing before her. "Brandon just came out of your room. You're not thinking about going back on our bet and still trying to seduce him even though you've clearly lost, are you?" she asked icily. Roxanne glared at her. "I'm not. I've already promised that I'll leave him. I'm not going to go back on my word." Nicole's expression hardened. "Then stay away from him. Stop popping up around him." Roxanne couldn't be bothered to argue with her. She tried to stand up, but she accidentally kicked Nicole in the leg. Anger flared in Nicole. She immediately turned to the men who had grabbed Roxanne and ordered, "Dunk her head into the toilet!" The men immediately dragged Roxanne over to the toilet bowl and shoved her head in. Nicole flushed the toilet again and again, and Roxanne had to clench her jaw tightly to prevent herself from inhaling the dirty toilet water. The men would allow Roxanne up for air for a few seconds, only to push her back in again right after. Roxanne kept count in her mind—19 times. Nicole had the men push her head into the toilet bowl 19 times! It was as if Nicole was mocking her by doing it the same number of times she had failed to seduce Brandon. Suddenly, the restroom door opened, and Brandon frowned when he saw what was happening. "What are you doing?" Nicole immediately helped up the drenched Roxanne and pretended to wipe the dirty water off her. She smiled at Brandon as she explained, "Roxanne's earring fell into the toilet, and she insisted on going in after it. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen, no matter what I said. Isn't that right?" The men who had been bribed by Nicole hurriedly nodded their heads. Then, they ran off as soon as they saw an opening. Roxanne gasped heavily for breath as she shoved Nicole to the side and exposed her. "You're lying. You shoved me into the toilet bowl 19 times!" With a look of innocence on her face, Nicole tucked herself behind Brandon. "I did no such thing. You have to believe me, Brandon…" Roxanne looked at Brandon imploringly, hoping that he would act fairly for once. However, he merely said, "Just buy some new earrings. The toilet water is filthy. Don't look for them anymore." Nicole flashed Roxanne a smug smile, then linked her arm through Brandon's before they exited the restroom. Roxanne stood there, frozen to the spot. She couldn't believe that Brandon only believed Nicole. He even pretended not to see her drenched in filthy water. The fact that she had been dunked into the toilet bowl 19 times was apparently still not enough to counter Nicole's hypocritical lies. A bitter laugh escaped her, and she felt like the biggest fool of all. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly as tears of humiliation streamed down her face.