Through the car window, Miles Sterling vaguely saw Richard Sheffied move from the driver’s seat over to the passenger side.

He had originally thought the two of them were so impatient they were making out in the car; he lit a cigarette and took two drags, then from the ferocity on Richard Sheffied’s face, realized something was wrong.

Realizing what was happening, Miles Sterling hurriedly threw away the barely smoked cigarette in his hand and rushed over there at once.

When he couldn’t pull the car door open, he started pounding on the window with all his strength, but Richard Sheffied didn’t respond at all.

He saw Vanessa Sterling, barely clinging to life, collapse beneath Richard Sheffied, her strength to struggle completely gone, as if her life had already been snuffed out.

In a panic, Miles Sterling ran back to the taxi, grabbed the safety hammer, and without another word, smashed the car window.

The hammer then came down on Richard Sheffied’s forehead; blood immediately trickled down, splattering onto Vanessa Sterling’s white dress.

Miles Sterling reached in to unlock the car door and hurriedly lifted Vanessa Sterling out of the car.

She lay in his arms like a puddle of mud, limp and powerless...

"Vanessa?" Miles Sterling’s voice trembled with fear of losing her, gentle and cautious.

He softly called her twice, but when he got no response from Vanessa Sterling, Miles Sterling’s face suddenly showed helplessness.

Seeing the taxi still parked not far away, Miles Sterling finally snapped back to his senses, quickly carried Vanessa Sterling into the car, and said, "To the hospital!"

The driver froze for a moment, then immediately turned the car around.

Halfway there, Vanessa Sterling slowly opened her eyes and came to.

In the dim car, the streetlights lined up neatly along the road; as the vehicle moved, the lights flashed rhythmically inside.

"You’re awake?" There was undisguised joy in Miles Sterling’s questioning voice.

However, the moment Vanessa Sterling became aware of Miles Sterling’s presence, she jolted upright in fright, pressing herself against the car door, putting as much distance between them as she could.

Miles Sterling pressed his lips together, looking at Vanessa Sterling, wanting to speak but holding back.

After a dazed moment, Vanessa Sterling slowly began to retrieve her memories.

The words that came from Richard Sheffied’s mouth were like sharp needles, one by one stabbing into her heart...

It was like a nightmare—Richard Sheffied, who in her memory had always been gentle, suddenly turned into something terrifying.

After the disappointment, Vanessa Sterling actually began to wonder if this outcome was her fault.

If she had never gone through that shameful past, would Richard Sheffied not have rejected and discarded her with such disgust? Could things between them have stayed harmonious? Could they even have had a happy, complete family...

And the man who had brought her that shameful past was now sitting right in front of her.

Vanessa Sterling couldn’t untangle who was truly to blame for all of this—should she blame Miles Sterling, or Richard Sheffied, or herself...

Shattering all the beautiful possibilities she’d held in her heart, she once again locked her heart away.

Her voice hoarse, she spoke up to the driver in front: "Please pull over."

The driver froze for a moment and glanced at Miles Sterling in the rearview mirror, as if asking for his opinion.

When he saw Miles Sterling nod, the driver slowly pulled the car over to the side and stopped.

Vanessa Sterling opened the door and got out without even checking where they were, and just walked straight along the street.

Uneasy, Miles Sterling got out too. He wanted to go up and check on Vanessa Sterling, but he was afraid she didn’t want to talk to him.

Hesitating, he simply followed her, not too close yet not too far.

Vanessa Sterling didn’t know whether Richard Sheffied had gone back to that home or not; she didn’t know how to face it, and she didn’t want to face it.

When she grew tired of walking, she found a hotel by the roadside and checked in.

Still worried, Miles Sterling pretended to leave right in front of Vanessa Sterling, then quietly came back and checked into the same hotel.

He had no idea why the two people who had once been inseparable had suddenly fallen into such a farce, but seeing how lost and broken Vanessa Sterling looked, he felt he ought to stay.