Chapter 1 The Beginning of a Conspiracy

The long night had melted away in a haze of ambiguous lights and sounds.

Wrapped in nothing but a bath towel, Jasmine White sat on the floor, staring at the wine glass on the table for a long time. The neon lights outside the floor-to-ceiling window spilled into her star-like, radiant eyes.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she began pinching herself-starting from her arms, moving to her chest, then down to her hips. She squeezed hard, leaving bruises all over her pale skin. Then she stood up and turned to glance at the vintage pendulum clock on the wall.

It was 4 a.m.

Her gaze slowly dropped to the bed, where a half-naked man lay under a silk blanket. He had the kind of sculpted features that looked almost unreal-handsome and refined, with an air of noble elegance etched between his brows. He seemed to be sleeping deeply, his face turned slightly to the side, his breathing slow and steady.

Judging that the timing was just right, Jasmine picked up the bottle of red wine laced with drugs from the table. She took it to the bathroom and poured it down the toilet, flushed it away, then rinsed the wine glass clean. After that, she walked out slowly, picked up the pure white dress from the floor, and began to put it on.

Once dressed, she suddenly yanked at the fabric on her shoulder, tearing it apart. Then she forcefully pulled the dress down to expose her bare chest. Her eyes remained calm and distant as she raised her hand and slapped herself-hard-twice across the face. Unsatisfied with the force, she slapped herself twice more until her delicate face turned swollen and red.

Only then did she slowly walk to the corner of the room, sit down, hug her knees, and face the wall.

Moments later, the sound of panicked footsteps echoed up the stairwell. Then came loud knocking on the door. When no one answered for a while, someone outside seemed to find a key and opened the door.

"No!" Jasmine screamed the moment the door swung open. Her whole body trembled like a leaf in the wind as she clutched her head, curling up in the corner, shaking uncontrollably. "No... please..."

"‌Jasmine..." Darlene Moore and Nicola rushed through the doorway, both clearly rattled. They had arrived a step too late.

Before their eyes, Jasmine's clothes were torn to shreds. Her swollen, terrified face looked like a completely different person. The bruises and bite marks covering her body told a story no one wanted to hear. Just one glance was enough to know something brutal had taken place.

The moment Jasmine saw Darlene, she broke down sobbing, clutching her chest as though trying to hold herself together. She shrank into the corner like a white flower that had been trampled, her vulnerability painfully heartbreaking.

"‌Jasmine, what happened? Darlene just asked you to bring the car keys to Bruce-how did it turn into this...?" Nicola rushed to Jasmine's side, sitting in front of her.

But Jasmine only trembled harder. Other than crying into her arms, she couldn't speak at all.

Nicola glanced at Bruce Wood, still asleep on the bed, then looked back at Jasmine's wrecked state. Her voice shook. "We heard you screaming for help on the phone and came as fast as we could. What happened between you and Bruce? Did he... did he violate you?"

The moment the word "violate" was spoken, Jasmine let out a perfectly timed, hysterical scream and recoiled even further into the corner. Her long, messy hair clung to her tear-streaked face, making her look both deranged and out of her mind.

The scream startled the man on the bed. Bruce sat up abruptly, clearly disoriented by the chaos in the room-clothes scattered everywhere. A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes. He instinctively looked down at his own exposed body, then over to Jasmine huddled in the corner, barely covered.

Her swollen face and the bruises all over her body told him everything he needed to know...

Nicola noticed that Bruce had woken up. She instinctively turned to look at Darlene, a hint of fear flickering across her face.

Everyone at HD University knew that the campus beauty, Darlene, had a boyfriend who came from one of the most elite, wealthy families in the country-handsome, powerful, and, most importantly, absolutely devoted to her.

Rumor had it they'd grown up together in the same military compound. Childhood sweethearts. No one knew exactly who Darlene's boyfriend really was, but one thing was certain-he had to be a top-tier billionaire.

Bruce was five years older than Darlene. He had studied abroad for four years, and during that time, their relationship never wavered. Despite the distance, they held on to a long-distance romance that lasted the full four years. Every month, Bruce would fly back to the capital just to see her. When the longing got too intense, he even made round trips several times a week-just to have a meal with her, or to take one look at her in person.

Ten whole years of a low-key but burning love. In just one more week, they were supposed to get engaged.

Darlene stared blankly at the scene in front of her. Her eyes slowly shifted from Jasmine's broken figure to the spacious, luxurious king-sized bed-where the man she had loved for the past ten years was sitting.

When Bruce saw her standing in the doorway, his pupils instantly shrank. His face drained of color.

Darlene stumbled back and ran out the door.

"Darlene!" Bruce called out, his voice low and urgent.

He made a move to chase after her but suddenly realized he was completely naked. He had no choice but to sit back down on the bed and hurriedly gather his clothes from the floor.

Nicola saw it all. She glanced at Jasmine, then back at the door, worried that something might happen to Darlene.

Nicola said quickly, "‌Jasmine, just stay here and don't go anywhere! I'm going to check on Darlene-what if she does something reckless? I'll be right back!"

With that, Nicola rushed out the door in a panic.

Bruce, without sparing so much as a glance at Jasmine, quickly threw on his clothes and left in a hurry.

Once everyone-the so-called "caught in the act" party-had rushed out of the room, Jasmine's frantic sobs and trembling slowly began to subside. Her tears dried up. That sorrowful, devastated expression faded, giving way to a blank, emotionless face.

She sat in the corner, crossing her legs and staring at the now-empty doorway.

If she thought back carefully, she had been close friends with Darlene and Nicola since their freshman year. Especially with Darlene-they were like sisters, best friends in every sense of the word.

And as for Bruce... they were friends too. After all, every time he flew back from overseas to see Darlene, Darlene would drag Jasmine along on their dates out of nervous excitement. Jasmine, the eternal third wheel, would always get sent away by Bruce in one way or another.

And now, here she was-after all that scheming, after all that patience-she had finally ended up in Bruce's bed. And she'd done it in the most natural, effortless way possible.

She slowly pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and buried her face in her legs, sitting quietly in the corner.

"One, two, three, four... three thousand one, three thousand two, three thousand three, three thousand four, three thousand five, three thousand six, three thousand seven, three thousand eight, three thousand nine..."

When she silently counted to 3008 in her head, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway-exactly as she had expected. The crisp clack of leather shoes striking polished marble floors.

Jasmine didn't even look up.

She already knew who it was.