Chapter 1

Prologue

The day Grace was released from prison, two men were waiting for her.

One of them sent her to prison, and the other one convicted her.

The snow was very heavy that day. They looked like two snowmen waiting outside the prison.

Grace vowed in her heart, she’d make everyone pay their price.

***

“Grace, get yourself a job and be a good person out there.”

The prison guard opened the gate and told her so.

Grace nodded. Through the iron bar on the prison window, she saw two black cars parked out of the gate. Waiting for her.

They were Jacob’s Benz G-Wagon and Sean’s Porsche Panamera.

Heavy snow has caused total chaos on the roads. Jacob and Sean were standing quietly in front of their cars.

Sean held a black umbrella and stared at the gate. Jacob kept looking at his watch.

One of them was Grace’s ex-boyfriend, and the other one was her childhood best friend.

How affectionate and caring they looked! If they hadn’t sent Grace to prison and told the other inmates to “take good care” of her, maybe she would be moved to tears.

Five years ago, Grace went to confront Lily Atkinson, and her sister Jennifer Atkinson was also there. In an unfortunate turn of events, Jennifer Atkinson died. Although it was a terrible accident, the court still decided to sentence Grace to three years in prison.

Lily dragged her sister’s lifeless body out of the car and called the police. Sean arrived soon after.

“Sean, your girlfriend killed my sister!” Lily sat on the ground and cried out.

Sean’s first reaction was to push Grace down onto the ground in case she ran away.

But Grace was already too weak to resist because she’d also been hurt. What’s more… she was pregnant with Sean’s baby.

“How could you be so evil?!” When Jacob rushed over, his eyes were blood shot as he questioned Grace.

Before Grace could explain to the two most important men in her life, she was handcuffed by the police.

In court, Lily’s lawyer was Jacob, Grace’s childhood best friend, another blow to her heart.

Jacob blamed everything on Grace. She was convicted of reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to three years of imprisonment.

“Grace, you deserve this. People have to pay for their mistakes,” he said.

When Grace first got into prison, she was beaten constantly. She was beaten in places without security cameras and had her nails pulled out. She was yanked by the hair and pressed into toilets. Her back was always being kicked, and it was bruised all the time.

They even broke the bones in her finger, one by one.

At first, Grace didn’t know why. She was always stubborn and didn’t cry when they hit her.

But after a while, Grace found out why they picked on her exclusively. Grace sucked up to one of the female bosses in prison. She would wash her feet, give her massages, and even do her laundry. Finally, she gained the trust of the female boss, and she told Grace why.

“Girl, you poor little thing. Someone paid us to beat you.”

Grace knew who it was then in that instant. Sean.

This was the man who ordered two hundred drones to spell out “I LOVE YOU” in the night sky when he was pursuing her.

He said, “Grace, I will protect you from now on.”

***

Upon seeing their cars outside the prison gates, Grace begged the prison guard to let her leave from the back door, to avoid seeing either of their faces.

Besides, what if they were still angry with her and wanted to take their revenge?

I am nothing compared to them. I can’t afford to provoke them, but at least I can hide. Grace thought to herself.

In a trance, Grace remembered her confrontation with Lily. Lily stood in front of Grace while holding her dog and shouted, “My dog is worth 70,000 dollars. How much is your grandfather’s life worth?”

When Grace was three, her mother died and her father remarried. He abandoned her so her grandfather raised her all by himself.

Her grandfather worked night and day collecting junk and empty bottles for recycling.

When Grace was in junior high, she moved to the city from the countryside and lived in a small rental apartment. Her grandfather told her that they could make more money in the city because there was more junk to collect.

But Grace knew the true reason why her grandfather wanted her to go to school in the city.

The children in the city had shiny hairpins, and Grace wanted them too.

Grace’s grandfather once stood outside a small accessories store for hours, then he finally went inside to buy the expensive shiny hairpin for Grace.

Green helped her apply for it. That’s when Grace met Jacob, Mrs. Green’s son,

occasionally helped Grace with her studies. She was clever and studious, so

Green, but he didn’t have any money, so

garden while Jacob and Grace did their homework

joked to Grace’s grandfather, “Your little granddaughter is so beautiful and adorable. How about she and Jacob

We don’t deserve him,” he rubbed

blushed so much that he didn’t even

to the countryside. He didn’t

saw him begging friends for money to cover her

did his best to give her everything. Grace vowed in her heart that she would grow up to

the best grandfather that anyone could have asked

***

law school, Grace started dating Sean of the rich and powerful Stevens family. Suddenly, her father wanted to be in her life

nice young

said the day she took

beautiful dresses. My pretty Grace should not wear shabby

to collect junk to make money

times. He was getting too old, and Grace was worried about his

a winter

an unleashed dog in

fell unconscious on the spot and

Lily’s dog. She said it

sent to the ICU. Due to a fracture of the cervical spine and

of money to the hospital, so she went

of Grace and said arrogantly, “You are Sean’s girlfriend? You didn’t get money from him,

grandfather, I should

a bunch of country bumpkin. You both deserve

couldn’t. So, she slapped Lily across the

to fight. Jennifer, who was Lily’s sister, saw this and

weak, so she got into her car and wanted to drive away, but Jennifer chased after her in her fancy convertible. That’s when the accident

try to escape. Her grandfather

and Jacob’s names. Grace hoped that at least one

they were on the

had been in the ICU for

and he didn’t want to be a burden

was lying on the

her grandfather… or

locked up in prison, Lily went to see

to Grace, “My dog has always been

know anything, he only followed his owner’s

because she was dating

She blamed herself for the death of her grandfather.

a good girl. Grace knew then it was just a dream because she was not

she wouldn’t want any shinny hairpins or any nice dresses, and she most certainly

wants is just to

***

did she realize that she had been dreaming

looked down at her calloused

and multiple fractures and broken bones, her hands would never look or feel

doctors hadn’t gone out of their way to

joints looked distorted, and she had residual pain. I was

that she

when it was cold or humid

flexed her hands and

It’s okay. You’re okay.

is a new

the mantra as she

the memories threatened to consume

just her

Her boyfriend. Her

she’d cared about

and most powerful families in the country. What’s

It’s okay. You’re okay.

a

You don’t need anybody.

finished mopping

of a sanitation worker with her long hair tied into a simple

was slightly reddish due to the

only look at her face, you would think she was a student who

cruel the

at her were old, far older, and duller than they

sighed and rolled the cleaning supplies toward the

a few minutes

hadn’t meant to drift

she moved quickly and

worker wasn’t glamorous, but after she left prison, this was the only

about to leave, she heard a colleague watching the news on

is engaged to Sean Stevens! What a lucky girl Lily is! As a superstar and a daughter of a

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