The guests stared at me, their eyes full of disdain and judgment.

"No wonder Gabriel buys Yvette all those dresses and jewels, he wouldn't give her a single thing. A woman like her doesn't deserve to be part of the Grant family, let alone wear anything nice."

"If Gabriel wasn't stuck with this weird uncle-niece relationship with Yvette, he wouldn't have married her in the first place. She probably blackmailed him into it, using her mom's death to get him to marry her. How shameless, stepping all over her own mother's grave just to get into a rich family."

Their whispers grew louder, filling the air with venom. Gabriel's mother, looking absolutely livid, snapped at me. "What are you still doing here? Get out of my sight, you disgrace! Haven't you humiliated my family enough?"

"My son doing surgery on your dead mother was her good luck. She died because she was weak, it had nothing to do with Gabriel! You're so ungrateful, trying to extort us? You'll get your karmic retribution, don't worry about that!"

I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms, but all I could do was give a bitter laugh. Meeting Gabriel really had been my greatest punishment.

I thought of the divorce papers in my bag, but I said nothing. Instead, I turned and walked upstairs to find him.

But when I reached the second-floor balcony, I saw them. Gabriel and Yvette, wrapped up in each other's arms.

Yvette was leaning against the railing, her arms around Gabriel's neck. "Gabriel, check if my heart's still racing," she cooed, all sweetness.

"Yvette, we can't..." Gabriel's voice was strained, his words faltering as his body betrayed him.

Yvette closed the distance, pressing herself against him, then kissed him softly. "Don't you want me, Gabriel? I know you only have eyes for me, and I only have eyes for you. Even if you married someone else, your body still belongs to me. Let's just indulge ourselves this one time…"

And just like that, Gabriel couldn't resist. He pulled her closer, kissed her fiercely, the sound of tearing fabric mixed with moans and desperate gasps.

Their words, so sweet yet so disgusting, broke me. Tears flooded my eyes, but I turned away, running out of the mansion as fast as my legs could carry me.

I don't know how long I sat outside, numb, before a scalding bowl of instant noodles splashed across my chest, jolting me back to reality.

Yvette had changed into something fresh, now holding a bottle of wine, a wicked grin on her face.

"Did you enjoy the show, Olivia?" she taunted, her voice dripping with mockery. "You really look pathetic. Like a stray dog."

"I heard your body's not handling the artificial heart well. All the coughing up blood and chest pains must suck, huh? You can't even enjoy a man's love anymore. But me? I can handle it all. I can take whatever Gabriel throws at me. Your heart still works, though, and I had so much fun with it."

"You think you can marry my uncle and steal my place? You're dreaming. Gabriel only has eyes for me. You're just a heart donor. That's it."

She laughed cruelly, then added, "Oh, and that day? That wasn't the first time your mom caught me with your fiancé. That old hag dared to call me shameless, so I had her tied up and forced her to watch us sleep together. She had a heart attack right there. And when you offered to donate your heart, I pretended my chest was hurting. Gabriel couldn't stand to see me in pain, so he gave me your heart."

Yvette's grin widened. "Oh, you were unconscious then, so you probably didn't see her face. Her eyes were bulging, desperate to strangle us. But she couldn't do anything. She died from the anger. Serves her right for insulting me. She cursed me, so I took her life."

The words hit me like a freight train. This was the reason behind my mom's heart attack? How could they be so heartless, so entitled, after what they'd done?

My body was trembling, rage and disbelief coursing through me. I raised my hand in fury, but before I could even react, Yvette beat me to it. She poured the wine all over herself, screaming like she was the victim.

The next thing I knew, I was shoved violently to the ground.

Gabriel appeared, arms wrapped around Yvette as he shot me a furious look. "Olivia, what the hell is wrong with you?!"