Anna arrived home in the middle of the night.
She was physically exhausted after spending the entire day with Daniel. For a few precious hours, she had laughed, smiled, and almost forgotten everything that had happened on Saturday night.
Almost.
The moment she lay down on her bed, the memories came rushing back.
Mrs. Yang's furious eyes...
The wine splashing across her face...
The sharp sting of the slap...
Tom's disappointed expression...
Mildred's tearful face as she ran away...
Every painful moment replayed inside her mind.
Anna quickly pulled the blanket over her head as if hiding from the memories could make them disappear.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
She buried her face in her pillow, and the tears she had been holding back all day finally poured out.
She cried until her chest ached and her breathing became uneven.
Only after hours of silent sobbing did exhaustion finally pull her into a restless sleep.
The shrill sound of her alarm echoed through the room.
Anna groaned.
She hit the snooze button without opening her eyes.
A few minutes later...
The alarm rang again.
Reluctantly, she forced herself to sit up.
Her head throbbed, and her swollen, puffy eyes felt unbearably heavy. She hadn't wanted to go to school, but today was examination day.
The problem was...
She hadn't reviewed a single lesson.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly stood and walked toward the bathroom.
She turned on the shower.
Cold water cascaded over her head, soaking her hair and clothes almost instantly.
She remained motionless beneath the falling water.
Instead of washing away her worries, the silence only gave her more time to overthink.
No matter how hard she tried...
She couldn't forget what had happened that Saturday night.
Minutes passed.
Then another.
She stayed there, lost in thought, until a knock on the bathroom door startled her.
"Anna! Hurry up!"
It was her older sister, Diane.
"I'm going to be late!"
Anna didn't answer.
She simply stared blankly at the bathroom wall.
Another knock came.
"Anna?"
Diane's voice softened.
"Are you okay?"
Anna closed her eyes before finally responding.
"I'm coming."
She turned off the shower, dried herself, and quietly stepped out.
Diane immediately looked her over.
"Hey."
Anna paused.
"What happened?"
"Nothing," Anna answered flatly before trying to walk past her.
Diane gently caught her arm.
"Are you sure?"
She frowned.
"You didn't come home yesterday."
She studied Anna's pale face and swollen eyes.
"And you've been acting differently ever since we moved here."
"You're sure you're okay?"
Anna looked away.
She knew her sister had begun to notice.
Forcing a weak smile, she shrugged.
"Nothing."
Then she quickly added,
"You're just being paranoid."
It was a lie.
She hated lying to her sister, but she wasn't ready to tell anyone the truth.
"I'm just stressed."
She forced another smile.
"The final exams... my thesis... everything at school is piling up."
Diane searched her eyes for a long moment.
She wasn't convinced.
But she also knew Anna would only talk when she was ready.
"Okay," Diane said gently.
"Take care of yourself."
Anna nodded.
"I will."
Without another word, she grabbed her bag and quietly walked out of the house, carrying a burden that felt heavier than the one on her shoulder.
After changing into her school uniform and packing her things, Anna left for school.
By the time she arrived, she was already late for her first class.
Her classmates were quietly taking their quiz when she entered the room.
The moment she stepped inside, dozens of eyes turned toward her.
Whispers spread across the classroom.
It was the first time Anna had ever been late.
Keeping her head down, she hurried to her seat and quietly apologized to her clinical instructor before taking the questionnaire from her desk.
She immediately began answering the questions.
Normally, examinations were never a problem for her.
But today was different.
The words on the paper blurred before her eyes.
She had read every lesson before, yet she couldn't remember half of what she had studied. Her mind kept wandering back to Saturday night.
Tom's face...
Mrs. Yang's slap...
The unexpected engagement...
She gripped her pen tighter and forced herself to continue.
When the allotted time ended, her clinical professor walked toward her desk.
"Finished or unfinished, time's up, Ms. Rodriguez."
Anna handed over her questionnaire and answer sheet.
Her professor looked at her with concern.
"Seriously... what happened to you?"
Anna lowered her head.
"I overslept. I'm sorry, Ma'am."
Her professor sighed before giving her a small smile.
"It's okay. Just don't let it happen again."
"You know my rules."
"If you're late next time, I won't allow you to take the examination."
"Yes, Ma'am," Anna answered politely.
The professor nodded before walking away.
As soon as she left, Anna's friends gathered around her.
"Anna, are you okay?"
"You've never been late before."
"What happened?"
Anna forced a faint smile.
"Nothing."
She wasn't ready to tell anyone what she had gone through.
Instead, she changed the subject.
"Come on."
"Our next quiz is in an hour."
"Let's study in the library."
Her friends agreed without asking any more questions.
The library was unusually quiet.
Anna sat inside one of the study cubicles while her friends occupied the seats beside hers.
Everyone buried themselves in thick medical-surgical nursing textbooks.
Anna opened hers and began reading.
She read the same paragraph once.
Twice.
Three times.
Yet none of the information stayed in her mind.
Her thoughts drifted elsewhere.
She kept replaying the engagement announcement in her head.
The humiliation.
The accusations.
Tom.
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
She rested her forehead against the open textbook and closed her eyes.
She was exhausted.
Not physically—
Mentally.
She didn't know how she was supposed to overcome everything that had happened.
After a few minutes, Anna stood.
"I'll be back," she whispered to her friends.
As she walked through the quiet hallway, her phone suddenly vibrated inside her pocket.
She stopped.
Slowly, she pulled it out.
Her heartbeat instantly quickened.
Tom Calling...
Anna froze.
Her fingers trembled around her phone.
Her breathing became shallow as fear crept into her chest.
Should she answer?
What if he wanted an explanation?
What if he hated her?
Before she could decide, the call stopped.
She stared at the screen, unable to move.
A few moments later, another notification appeared.
This time it was a message from Daniel.
Daniel:How are you holding up? Are you okay?
The tension in Anna's chest eased a little.
Without thinking twice, she replied honestly.
Anna:I'm trying... but I can't stop thinking about everything.
Only a few seconds passed before Daniel called her.
She answered.
"I knew you wouldn't be okay," Daniel said gently.
Anna remained silent.
"You don't have to pretend with me."
His calm voice somehow made her feel less alone.
They talked for several minutes.
Daniel didn't pressure her to explain anything she wasn't ready to share.
Instead, he simply listened.
Whenever Anna fell silent, he patiently waited.
Whenever she doubted herself, he reminded her that she didn't have to carry everything alone.
Little by little, her breathing steadied.
Talking to Daniel eased the heaviness in her heart.
For now...
He had become her safe place.
After ending the call, Anna slipped her phone back into her pocket and returned to the library.
This time, she managed to focus a little more on her review.
An hour later, Anna and her classmates returned to their classroom for another long quiz.
The examination lasted nearly two hours.
By the time it ended, everyone slumped against their chairs.
"My brain is officially dead," one of her classmates groaned.
"I don't even remember my own name anymore," another joked.
The classroom erupted in tired laughter.
Anna smiled faintly.
It had been a long day.
Between sleepless nights, emotional turmoil, and endless examinations, she felt completely drained.
All she wanted now...was to go home and finally rest.
After an exhausting day at school, Anna finally made her way home.
As she approached the subdivision, she noticed a familiar black car parked in front of their gate.
Her steps stopped.
Her heart immediately began to race.
It was Tom's car.
Her hands turned cold, and her slender body trembled. Every instinct told her to turn around and run.
Before she could move, the driver's door opened.
Tom stepped out.
His face was tense, his jaw clenched with restrained anger.
Without taking his eyes off her, he strode toward her.
When he reached her, he grabbed both of her arms.
"What did you do?" he demanded.
Anna stared at him in fear.
"I... I didn't do anything," she stammered.
"That's bullshit, Anna."
He pushed her against the trunk of his car.
Her back struck the metal with a dull thud.
She winced but said nothing.
"Don't lie to me."
His eyes burned with frustration.
"This was your plan, wasn't it? Yours and Chairman Yang's?"
"No!"
Anna quickly shook her head.
"I swear I didn't know anything."
"He only asked me to come that night."
"I had no idea he was planning an engagement."
Tom searched her eyes, trying to find even the smallest hint of deception.
After a long moment, he released her.
He stepped back and sat on the trunk of his car.
Silence settled between them.
Anna remained standing beside him, too afraid to move.
Tom buried his face in his hands before running them through his hair.
He let out a long, weary sigh.
"I'm sorry."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I lost my temper."
He swallowed hard.
"After that night... I couldn't find Mildred."
"I chased after her, but she'd already flown back to Paris."
"I kept calling her..."
"But her phone was turned off."
He looked away, discreetly wiping away a tear.
"If I had known this would happen..."
"I never would've agreed to Chairman Yang's invitation."
Anna lowered her head.
Guilt tightened around her chest.
She had signed the contract.
She hadn't known the engagement would happen so soon, but she still carried the burden of that secret.
For the first time in her life...
She felt like the villain.
Like the woman who had stolen someone else's future.
She hated herself for it.
Tom broke the silence.
"Daniel told me everything."
He looked at her.
"I know you were trapped, too."
Anna couldn't meet his gaze.
Every time their eyes met, she looked away.
The guilt became unbearable.
She wanted to tell him everything.
She wanted to confess.
But fear kept the truth locked inside her.
Tom sighed.
"Does your family know?"
Anna shook her head.
"No."
"They don't know anything."
"And... there's no point in telling them."
Tom nodded slowly before standing.
"You look exhausted."
"You should go inside."
Anna nodded.
As she turned toward the gate—
"Anna."
She stopped.
"Next time..."
He smiled faintly.
"Answer my calls."
She turned back.
"I'm sorry."
Tom chuckled softly.
"Nah."
"I mean it."
"I'm sorry for everything that happened."
Tom shook his head.
"I know you're a victim, too."
His expression became serious.
"I'll find a way to make Chairman Yang stop interfering in our lives."
He laughed bitterly.
"I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess."
Anna clenched her fists.
"Tom..."
"I..."
She wanted to tell him.
Everything.
But before the words could leave her lips, Tom gently patted her head.
"It's late."
"Go get some rest."
"Leave this to me."
"This is my fight."
"Not yours."
He smiled reassuringly.
"And don't forget..."
"Focus on your studies."
"It'll be okay."
Anna forced a small smile.
"Good night."
Tom climbed back into his car and drove away.
Anna stood there until his taillights disappeared into the distance.
Only then did she quietly enter her house.
Instead of going home, Tom drove straight to Chairman Yang's mansion.
Chairman Yang had expected him.
He was calmly tending the garden while Tom stormed inside.
Tom searched the study.
It was empty.
As he was about to leave, something on the desk caught his attention.
A brown envelope.
Already opened.
Curious, he picked it up.
An old photograph slipped out.
It showed two young men in their twenties standing proudly in front of a newly built company.
One of them was Chairman Yang.
The other was unfamiliar.
Tom frowned.
Another photograph rested beneath it.
It was Anna.
She looked much younger—perhaps still in high school—sitting peacefully beside a koi pond.
Confused, Tom lifted the envelope.
Beneath it lay a stack of documents.
A contract.
Only the last page was visible.
His eyes immediately landed on the signature.
Anna Rodriguez.
His heart skipped.
He quickly scanned the page.
With every line he read, his expression darkened.
His hands slowly tightened around the document.
The paper crumpled in his grip.
Betrayal washed over him.
"So..."
A calm voice echoed from the doorway.
"What are you doing in my study?"
Tom looked up.
Chairman Yang stood there as composed as ever.
He had expected this.
In fact...
He had deliberately left the envelope on the desk.
Slowly, the old man walked inside.
"Since when did you learn to touch other people's belongings?"
Tom ignored the question.
Holding up the contract, he demanded,
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Where's the rest of the agreement?"
He raised the signed page.
"Anna signed this."
"What is this, Chairman?"
Chairman Yang sat comfortably behind his desk.
"You already know what it is."
"So why ask me?"
Tom slammed the contract onto the desk.
"I want to hear it from you!"
"Chairman!"
The old man smiled.
"You're a smart young man, Tom."
"You know exactly what that signature means."
Tom's voice trembled.
"Does Anna know about your plan?"
Chairman Yang slowly exhaled.
"So?"
"Answer me!"
"Since when?"
The old man looked him straight in the eye.
"Since the day you first met her."
Tom froze.
His hands shook with rage.
Without thinking, he grabbed the contract, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at Chairman Yang.
"This is bullshit!"
"This isn't Anna!"
Chairman Yang simply brushed the paper aside.
"It doesn't matter what you believe."
"All that matters is this."
"You announced your engagement last Saturday."
"And Anna is now your fiancée."
Tom's fists clenched.
"Why her?"
Chairman Yang smirked.
"And who would you rather I choose?"
"Mildred?"
His expression hardened.
"That will never happen."
Tom's patience finally snapped.
"This marriage won't happen either!"
"Not now."
"Not ever."
"You've spent your entire life controlling everyone around you."
"You're old enough to enjoy your retirement instead of ruining other people's lives."
He turned and headed toward the door.
Behind him, Chairman Yang's voice thundered through the room.
"Don't test me, young man!"
Tom didn't look back.
He drove straight to his house in Forbes Park.
When he stopped at a red light, his phone lit up with Anna's photo.
He stared at it for several long seconds.
His jaw tightened.
"You lied to me, Anna."
His voice was cold.
"I trusted you."
His grip tightened around the steering wheel.
"If everything I read is true..."
He looked at her smiling photo one last time.
"...then I'll make sure you regret betraying me."
He tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and drove into the night, unaware that he had only seen part of the truth.