Chapter 4

Right after Hendrix spoke, he looked at Alyssa with eyes full of guilt. He added, "Nicki is physically weak. And… she saved my life. Just hold on a little longer. I'll be back for you soon—" "I understand." Alyssa cut him off. Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. Her even, unfazed tone was not out of calmness. It was born of utter despair due to her heart shattering beyond repair. The rescue team quickly pulled Nicole out. Just as they turned back to save Alyssa, a terrifying metallic groan echoed, and the elevator dropped. "Alyssa!" Hendrix's desperate scream came from above, but she could no longer hear it. … When Alyssa regained consciousness, the pain she felt all over her body was unmistakable proof that she was still alive. Hendrix was sitting by her bedside, his eyes frighteningly red. The moment she opened her eyes, he gripped her hand and apologized in a trembling voice. "I'm sorry, Alyssa. Hit me and scold me all you want. I deserve it all. I had no choice. Nicki saved me. I had to choose to save her first." Alyssa calmly pulled her hand back and replied, "I know. No need to explain." Her indifference only made Hendrix more anxious. He pulled out a box of jewelry he had prepared in advance and placed each dazzling piece in front of her. "Look at this sapphire. Isn't it your favorite gem? And this diamond necklace. It's a limited-edition jewelry," Hendrix offered eagerly. Alyssa looked at the sparkling diamonds and suddenly found them laughable. Did he think these things could make up for what he'd done? "Thank you," she said blandly and turned to the window. "I need to rest now." Hendrix stood by the bed. He realized for the first time that although Alyssa was right there, it felt like she was impossibly far away from him. In the days that followed, Hendrix did his level best to make things right. But no matter how many jewels he gave her, Alyssa only responded with a polite "thank you" and set them aside without a second glance. "Alyssa, it's your birthday next Wednesday," he said, kneeling in front of her and holding her cold hands. "I'll hold a banquet at Empyrean Hotel for you. Everyone in high society will be there." Alyssa pulled her hand away and kept flipping through her magazine. "Don't bother. I want to spend it quietly." Hendrix wasn't having any of that. "No way. You're my wife. How can I just let your birthday pass by casually like it's just any other day?" With that, he got up and called his assistant, Joshua Bray. "Add a private island and naming rights to a star as gifts. Also, transfer 50% of Ferguson Group's shares to Alyssa." On Alyssa's birthday, Empyrean Hotel was booked out and decorated most extravagantly. Crystal chandeliers cast dazzling light across the hall. There was even a champagne tower that was about nine feet tall. Alyssa stood beside Hendrix like a delicate doll in the gown he had personally chosen for her. "Mr. Ferguson truly spoils his wife." "Just that pink diamond alone is worth over 100 million dollars." "There's no other man in high society as devoted as he is." The murmurs of the guests filled the hall. Alyssa took a sip of champagne and smiled, savoring the irony of it all. She'd rather not have the so-called perfect husband that they were talking about. Just as the banquet reached its climax and the screen was supposed to play a surprise video from Hendrix, a video call request suddenly popped up. Hendrix frowned and accepted the call. Instantly, Nicole's pale, tear-streaked face filled the screen. Her clothes were torn, her body bruised and battered. She sobbed pitifully. "Hendrix, save me… Because you chose to save me these past few times, Alyssa got someone to assault me… I'm so scared. Please come save me…" The guests started gossiping among themselves, aghast at the situation. Hendrix's face fell drastically as he hurried to shut off the screen. He turned to look at Alyssa with a very conflicted look. Alyssa met his gaze squarely and said, "It wasn't me. Do you believe me?" Hendrix said nothing. He picked up the microphone and announced in a cold voice, "Apologies, everyone. The banquet is over." Then, he left in a rush. Gasps and whispers swirled through the crowd. The way the guests looked at Alyssa was filled with judgment. "I didn't expect Mrs. Ferguson to be so vicious." "But Nicole saved Mr. Ferguson's life…" "A woman like that doesn't deserve him!" Alyssa's heart ached as she watched Hendrix walk away. In the end, he didn't believe her. She turned to leave, but a group of socialites blocked her path. They were all Nicole's close friends, and their eyes burned with hostility. A woman in a red dress slapped Alyssa hard across the face. "You bitch! Nicki saved Hendrix! How dare you do that to her?" Alyssa staggered back, barely catching her balance before another woman kicked her in the stomach. Doubling over in pain, she felt someone yank her hair and drag her toward the hotel's garden at the back. "If it weren't for you, Hendrix and Nicki would be married by now!" "They've been together since childhood, then you showed up and somehow bewitched him into loving you so deeply that he'd die for you. Who the hell do you think you are?" "Today, we're going to teach you a lesson on behalf of Nicki!" Fists and feet rained down on Alyssa. She curled up on the ground and shielded her head with her arms. She heard the sound of her clothes tearing and felt someone spit on her face. Another gripped her hair and slammed her head into the ground. The pain from her scalp tearing made her vision go dark. They then proceeded to stuff her into the hotel's landscape water display, which was a glass chamber, and locked the lid shut. "Go to hell! You were never meant to be Mrs. Ferguson to begin with. Nicki should have married Hendrix instead!" Water rushed in from all sides. Alyssa pounded against the glass in desperation, watching helplessly as the water level rose. Her lungs burned, and her vision blurred. In the final moment before losing consciousness, she summoned every ounce of strength she had and hurled herself forward. With a loud crash, the glass shattered. Alyssa dragged herself out. She was soaked from head to toe and gasping for air like a dying fish. She coughed up water with every breath. … When Hendrix returned home, Alyssa had just changed out of her drenched clothes. He grabbed her wrist roughly and demanded, "Come with me to apologize to Nicki! I already owe her my life. How could you get those men to assault her? If I'd reached one moment later, she would already have—" "I told you it wasn't me!" Alyssa shouted back. Her chest throbbed with pain as she yanked her wrist free with tears welling up in her eyes. "Nicole staged everything herself! Her friends beat me up! I'm covered in injuries, can't you see that?" Hendrix stared at her disheveled state. For a moment, he was taken aback. Then, he frowned hard, and his expression turned increasingly grim. "I grew up with Nicki. I know the kind of person she is. I know her friends too. They wouldn't do something like that. Even if you don't want to take responsibility, don't slander them."