My heart sank, cold and heavy.

"Diego, you are absolutely despicable!"

He didn't even blink. He signaled his security team to start the livestream. The viewer count skyrocketed, thousands of people salivating for a front-row seat to my destruction.

The mother of the university student I’d crossed paths with lunged forward, her face twisted in rage, and doused me with a bucket of red paint.

"You monster! You ruined my daughter’s future, and you think a pathetic apology is enough?"

She and her cohorts swarmed me, ripping at my clothes. What little fabric remained did nothing to shield me from the biting wind.

Diego shoved the camera right into my face. "Now you know how those girls felt, don't you?"

He studied me—disheveled and exposed. His eyes held no pity, only cold, unadulterated disgust. He paced a short distance away, his jaw clenched, hands shoved deep into his pockets to mask his volatility.

I bit my lip until I tasted copper. I didn't even have the strength left to clench my fists.

The live chat flooded with comments.

"Finally, this psycho gets what she deserves. So satisfying!"

"Since when did someone like her belong in our circles? Look at her now—just a spectacle for us to gawk at."

"She’s ruined enough lives. Make her grovel!"

Even the tabloids that had always hated me jumped at the chance to stir the pot, posting a headline:

#Shocking! Diego Cox’s wife forced to apologize, humiliated and exposed—trading her dignity for a payout?

Aliza Cook flashed a "kindly" smile and ground her designer heel into my shoulder.

"Mrs. Cox, if you're going to apologize, you need to show some actual sincerity."

I collapsed, my body failing me as I scraped against the hard pavement. I used to be so proud. But thinking of my mother, fighting for her life in the ICU, I forced myself to stay put. I swallowed every ounce of pride I had left.

I wiped the red paint from my face, locked eyes with the camera lens, and let out a broken, hollow laugh.

"I... am... sorry!"

Diego’s expression shifted, his gaze softening just a fraction.

"Good. I'll wire the funds for your mother’s treatment to your account immediately."

He tossed his coat over my shoulders and walked off, his arm wrapped firmly around Aliza.

No sooner had they left than the death notice pinged on my phone. My heart died right then and there.

Thrown out of the private hospital like trash, I took one last look at Diego’s retreating back.

"This time, it's for real. Goodbye, Diego."

I crawled toward my phone, dialed a number I knew by heart, and kept the camera rolling as I walked to the edge of the river.

I threw myself over the railing.

The freezing water rushed into my ears, deafening and absolute. As my consciousness began to fade, I heard a panicked scream from the shore:

"Mr. Cox, look! Mrs. Cox just jumped!"