Chapter 2 There Must Be a Way

Heh...

But change... how was she supposed to change?

Richard could crush her as easily as an ant. Whatever he wanted, he always got.

Ivy took a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress the bone-deep fear of that man.

There must be a way!

At least she was no longer the foolish, impulsive girl from seven years ago, easily manipulated and deceived.

"Oh my God! Ivy..."

A sudden gasp of shock rang in her ears.

Hearing this familiar voice, Ivy's back instantly stiffened, and her cold gaze snapped toward the doorway.

And there it was-the face she could never forget, the face that once appeared delicate and harmless.

Her former best friend-Rose!

"Ivy, how could Mr. Henderson do this to you?!"

Rose rushed over, grabbing Ivy's hand, her eyes wide with shock as they landed on the disheveled bed and the bruises covering Ivy's body.

Ivy silently watched the seemingly concerned girl in front of her.

This time, she didn't miss the fleeting glimmer of jealousy and schadenfreude in Rose's eyes.

"Ivy, what's wrong? Are you okay? Ivy, don't scare me!"

Seeing the strange look in Ivy's eyes, Rose assumed she was in shock and anxiously pressed her for a response.

Ivy calmly withdrew her hand and shook her head. "I'm fine."

In her past life, Rose had played a crucial role in her suffering at Richard's hands.

At her lowest point, Rose had stayed by her side, even repeating a year of school with her. Ivy had believed Rose was truly a loyal friend, someone who would always stand by her. She even thought Rose might one day become her sister-in-law.

But she had been blind. Rose's real goal had never been to support her-it had always been Richard.

Ivy had trusted her completely, confiding in her about every humiliation and torment she suffered from Richard, things she wouldn't dare tell anyone else.

On the surface, Rose had seemed to help her, but in reality, she had been using Ivy to get closer to Richard. She had subtly fueled Ivy's resentment, pushing her to defy Richard, leading to his wrath and more unbearable torment.

Yet, Ivy had been oblivious, even grateful for Rose's so-called "help."

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Ivy let out a bitter smile.

Actually, the "ugly disguise" Rose had advised her to adopt-she still agreed with that idea.

It didn't matter what others thought of her. As long as it made Richard loathe her, that was enough.

But she had never expected that even looking like this, Richard would still be willing to touch her.

"You're in this state, how could you be fine?! Ivy, don't worry, I will definitely help you!"

Rose put on a deeply affectionate and righteous expression.

A cold sneer surfaced in Ivy's heart.

Here it comes.

In her previous life, Rose had done the exact same thing-selflessly offering to help Ivy escape Richard and even seeking Julian's aid.

But in reality, Rose had secretly sold her out. She had told Richard about Ivy's planned "elopement" with Julian.

That incident had completely shattered her relationship with Richard.

From then on, Richard became even more violent and unpredictable, his possessiveness turning into something terrifying.

She had lost all freedom.

Now, with her current abilities, going head-to-head with Richard was nothing short of suicide.

Yet in her past life, she had been so stubborn, blindly trusting Rose and crashing into the same wall over and over again.

The Cameron family's vendetta remained unavenged.

Her parents were still waiting for her to come home.

Her brother was straying further down the wrong path, and she needed to save him.

She had far too much to do.

She needed to stabilize Richard.

She absolutely could not provoke him again and create such a dangerous enemy for herself.

"Ivy, wait for me!"

Rose continued spouting her fake concerns, then hurriedly left.

As soon as she was gone, the fragile, helpless expression on Ivy's face disappeared, replaced by cold detachment and indifference.

Again and again, Rose had tried to lead her to her doom.

It seemed she wouldn't rest until Ivy was dead.

Then let's see...

This time, who would be the one to die?