The smiles on Luna and Zachary's faces froze instantly.

Mrs. William's eyes widened as she peered into the room with disbelief.


"Wh-what was that?" Zachary's face drained of color.

My heart raced, but I knew Ethan was giving me the opening I needed.

I had to play my part perfectly.


I spun around and rushed to the bedside, leaning down with perfectly calibrated joy and concern in my voice.

"Darling, are you awake? Did you hear something?"


Ethan remained motionless, eyes closed, showing no reaction.

As if the cough had been merely my imagination.

Luna exhaled in relief, then sneered: "Sister, have you lost your mind? Talking to a vegetable? If he could wake up, pigs would fly."

Zachary recovered his composure, his face twisting with arrogance: "Pathetic tricks. Jade, are you so desperate for a man that even a vegetable will do?"

His words were disgustingly crude.

Fury made my entire body shake, tears of rage springing to my eyes.

I wasn't acting—I was genuinely revolted.

"You disgusting bastard!"

"I'm the bastard?" Zachary laughed as if hearing the world's funniest joke. "You're nothing but a fraud the Johnsons threw away. What right do you have to judge me? If I hadn't felt sorry for you, you wouldn't even be allowed through our front gate."

"Zach, don't waste your energy on her," Luna simpered, clinging to his arm. "Why argue with someone so pathetic? Let's go down for breakfast. Your parents are waiting."

They turned and left arm in arm, not even bothering to give me another glance.

Mrs. William shot me a final glare and slammed the door with a resounding bang.

Silence fell over the room.

I stood frozen, tears streaming down my face despite my best efforts.

Not because of Zachary, but because of the relentless humiliation and degradation.

A hand suddenly touched my cheek—rough fingertips moving with surprising gentleness to wipe away my tears.

I startled and found myself looking into Ethan's eyes, now open and alert.

"Why cry?" His voice was rough. "For scum like that? Not worth your tears."

I sniffled and stubbornly shook my head. "I'm not crying."

He said nothing, just studied me quietly.

Something in those dark eyes had a strangely calming effect.

I suddenly felt less broken.

"Did I… play my part well?" I asked softly.

The corner of his mouth curved slightly upward. "Not bad at all."

His approval instantly rekindled my fighting spirit.

"What's our next move? When will you…" I gestured toward his legs.

"Patience," Ethan interrupted. "My body needs time to recover. Besides," he paused, cold calculation flashing in his eyes, "when hunting big game, you don't rush."

I understood immediately.

He wanted Zachary and Luna—and whoever stood behind them—to fully expose themselves before he struck.

"What should I do?"

"Keep doing what you did today," Ethan said. "You're my wife now—the mistress of this mansion. Anyone who crosses you, hit back twice as hard. I'll handle the consequences."

His words were like armor being placed around me, filling me with newfound strength.

"Understood!"

In the days that followed, I executed Ethan's instructions to the letter.

I was no longer Jade Johnson, everyone's favorite punching bag.

When Mrs. William brought me cold food, I dumped the entire plate into the trash right before her eyes.

"Mrs. William, do you think that because my husband is bedridden, I should eat cold scraps?" I crossed my arms and fixed her with an icy stare. "Go make it again. Hot this time. Bring it to my room."

Mrs. William's face contorted with rage. "You! You're just a good luck charm we married to him, and now you're acting like you own the place?"

"Whether I'm the mistress or not isn't for a servant to decide," I replied with the cold authority Ethan had lent me. "I am the legally wedded wife of the Lawrence heir. If you don't like it, there's the door."

Mrs. William choked on her own indignation, unable to form a response. Finally, she shot me a venomous glare before slinking away to the kitchen.

Luna came looking for trouble, commenting that my clothes were last season's rejects that embarrassed the Johnson name.

I simply picked up my coffee and splashed it across her thousand-dollar designer dress.

"Ah!" Luna screamed. "Jade, have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea how much this dress cost?"

"No idea," I replied, setting down my cup with a serene smile. "More than my entire outfit, I'm sure. But now it looks like a coffee-stained rag, so I'd say it's worth less than I am."

Luna trembled with fury, pointing at me speechlessly before running off in tears to tattle to Zachary.

Zachary stormed in minutes later, jabbing his finger in my face. "How dare you treat Luna like that! I'll have you thrown out of this house!"

Before I could respond, Ethan's medical monitors suddenly erupted in piercing alarms.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP—

The sound was urgent and terrifying, suggesting imminent crisis.

I rushed to the bedside, genuine panic in my voice: "Ethan! Ethan, what's wrong? Please don't do this to me!"

Zachary paled visibly—if something happened to Ethan while he was present, he couldn't escape blame.

"You—you're faking this!" he shouted, his voice betraying his fear.

"Faking?" I whirled around, eyes brimming with tears. "You did this, Zachary! The doctor said he can't be agitated! You and your precious Luna, barging in here daily to torment us—look what you've done! Are you happy now?"

Between sobs, I frantically jabbed at the emergency call button by the bed.

Within moments, the family doctor and nurses burst into the room.

Chaos erupted as medical staff swarmed around the bed.

Zachary stood frozen in terror, watching the wildly fluctuating lines on the monitor, stammering incoherently.

Finally, Henry Lawrence—Ethan and Zachary's father—arrived and delivered a stinging slap to Zachary's face.

"You worthless fool! If anything happens to your brother, I'll break your damn legs!"

Zachary stood stunned by the slap while I, citing "extreme distress" and "my husband's fragile condition," successfully convinced Mr. Lawrence to assign me two personal bodyguards and a dedicated servant.

The servants who had been snickering behind my back suddenly treated me with newfound respect.

That night, after dismissing my new maid and locking the door,

Ethan opened his eyes and regarded me with a glint of appreciation in his dark gaze.

"Impressive performance."

I raised my eyebrows proudly. "Thank you. But how did you trigger those alarms?"

He flexed his fingers, revealing a tiny remote control concealed in his palm.

"Just a little insurance policy."

I stared in amazement.

"You're… absolutely brilliant."

"You're the clever one," he replied, his gaze burning into mine. "Jade, we're cut from the same cloth."

People who would do whatever necessary to survive.

My heart skipped a beat as I looked away from his intense stare.

"What's our next move?" I asked.

"Next," his lips curved into a predatory smile, "we make them bleed."