Upon arriving at the airport, Francis took Rowena's luggage from her and boarded the plane with her. Before takeoff, he handed her some identification proving she was a Figlian native.

"Welcome, Iris Newton. You shall be my final apprentice."

Her photo was on the ID, but her name was written as Iris Newton. From this day onward, Rowena Shore would cease to exist. She would only be Iris.

The moment the plane took off, the Shores and Jordan felt their hearts ache simultaneously as they stood in Graystone Rose Garden.

They clutched their chests together, feeling like they'd lost something very important to them. What could it be? They looked around, unable to recall anything.

Jasmine tugged on Jordan's sleeve. "What's wrong?"

He returned to his senses and shook his head with a smile. "It's nothing. Let's proceed."

As the strains of the wedding march played, they walked toward Melinda

"How does it feel to be in jail, Rowena? This is what you deserve! Why did you have to wake up after ending up in a coma? Couldn't you just have given Mom, Dad, Roland, and Jordan to me?

"I'm an orphan, and I suffered for so many years. You're an heiress—you had everything, so why couldn't you give them to me? Why didn't you die so I could completely replace you as the Shore family's heiress?

"Do you know what I thought when I first saw you at the freshman welcoming ceremony at college? I wondered what right you had to be so loved. Why couldn't I take your place? You just had more luck than me—you were lucky enough to be born as a Shore!" a woman snarled.

Everyone could tell the voice belonged to Jasmine. She turned ashen and tried to unplug the projector. 

She screamed, "That's not me! This is fake! This is all a farce, guys! Don't believe it!"

The delivery guy hurriedly shielded t

Someone knocked on Rowena's door two days before she was due to leave. She opened it to see Jasmine standing outside in her wedding gown. She had her wedding ring on and was holding her lucky charm.

"What do you want?" Rowena frowned.

Jasmine smiled smugly. "You're useless, Rowena. All I did was put on an act, and your parents, brother, and fiancé all sided with me. They agreed to let me marry Jordan. Don't panic, though. This is just an appetizer. From today onward, everything that's supposed to be yours will be mine."

When she heard footsteps approaching, she pulled out a pair of scissors and cut the wedding gown and lucky charm to pieces. She even threw the ring away. Then, she flung the scissors aside and clutched the gown, tears forming in her eyes just like that.

"I know you don't want me to marry Jordan, Ro, but this is just a fake wedding! Didn't you already agree to it? Why are you treating me like this?" she cried.

Rowena's expression remained indifferent at Jasmine's act. It was as if she were watching a show that had nothing to do with her.

Three, two, one.

As expected, Philip, Melinda, Roland, and Jordan came running.

"Jasmine!"

"Stop crying, Jasmine! Look at you! You're getting married in two days—you won't look pretty if you don't stop crying." Melinda dried Jasmine's tears, her gaze filled with heartache.

Jordan took in the mess before turning to Rowena. His tone was resigned and disappointed as he said, "I won't change my mind about the wedding since I've already agreed to it. Why do you insist on bullying Jasmine, Ro?"

His expression softened when he turned to Jasmine. "It's okay even if these things have been destroyed. I'll buy a new, more expensive wedding ring for you, okay?"

"Yeah, and I'll get a new lucky charm," Roland said.

"We'll prepare another wedding gown for you. This time, it'll be even prettier!" Melinda and Philip said.

The four of them calmed and pacified Jasmine before leaving with her in tow. None of them bothered looking at Rowena.

Just then, Jasmine turned and gave Rowena a challenging smile. She mouthed, "You can't defeat me, Rowena!"

Rowena shut the door and smiled slightly. Then, she ordered ten pounds of gasoline and a lifelike dummy. She had indeed been defeated, but Jasmine wouldn't win. No living person could compare to the dead.

…

Rowena sat at her desk the day before her departure and wrote a parental termination agreement. Then, she resolutely stamped her thumbprint on it. 

She exhaled deeply once she was done, feeling like a burden had been lifted from her chest. From this day onward, she wouldn't have a family anymore. All she would have was Francis, her mentor.

After that, she wrote an engagement annulment letter. She and Jordan had been promised to marry since they had been kids. But from now on, she would have nothing to do with him.

Lastly, she opened a drawer and grabbed a USB she'd stored inside. She'd only received it two days ago—it contained the complete surveillance footage of the torment she'd experienced in prison.

Jasmine's order had put her through hell. It was high time her true colors were revealed.

Rowena placed the items into different colored boxes and placed an order for them to be delivered to the Shores and Jordan the next day.

…

When she woke up on the day of her departure, the house was empty. Everyone had left early to head to the wedding venue.

Rowena's phone pinged with notifications. She checked it to see Jasmine had sent a few photos of the wedding to their family group chat, including a photo of her and Jordan's interlaced hands.

She'd even tagged Rowena. "Do you want to come to the wedding, Ro? You'll still be in time if you leave now."

Philip and Melinda instantly objected. "Don't come, Ro. We don't want you to spoil the whole thing."

Roland added, "You're not allowed to come, Ro."

Finally, Jordan responded. "Stay at home and rest, Ro. We'll be back once the wedding is over."

Rowena smiled slightly at their messages before typing a reply. "If that's the case, I'll skip this. I've asked someone to deliver some gifts to you guys, so remember to sign for them. I'll have an even bigger gift ready for you when you guys get back."

She turned off her phone after sending the message and poured gasoline all over her room. Then, she laid out the lifelike dummy.

After grabbing her luggage and leaving the house, she started a fire. It swiftly spread and consumed the house.

As the flames burned behind her, she got into a car and left without looking back. She was headed toward a new life.


Upon arriving at the airport, Francis took Rowena's luggage from her and boarded the plane with her. Before takeoff, he handed her some identification proving she was a Figlian native.

"Welcome, Iris Newton. You shall be my final apprentice."

Her photo was on the ID, but her name was written as Iris Newton. From this day onward, Rowena Shore would cease to exist. She would only be Iris.

The moment the plane took off, the Shores and Jordan felt their hearts ache simultaneously as they stood in Graystone Rose Garden.

They clutched their chests together, feeling like they'd lost something very important to them. What could it be? They looked around, unable to recall anything.

Jasmine tugged on Jordan's sleeve. "What's wrong?"

He returned to his senses and shook his head with a smile. "It's nothing. Let's proceed."

As the strains of the wedding march played, they walked toward Melinda, Philip, and Jordan's parents, who waited at the end of the aisle.

"Now, let's have the bride and 

Chapter 10