Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

In the dim light, Ethan's eyes were blazing with anger. He let go of my chin, pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from his clothes, and slapped it onto the sofa next to my head. Then he got up and flopped down on the other side of the

couch.

As I sat up, the small lamp in the living room flicked on.

Ethan lay there, holding a remote, his drunken eyes locked on me.

A bad feeling gripped my heart, making the paper feel like it weighed a ton when I picked it up.

Slowly unfolding it, the first three words hit me like a truck. 'Contract of Sale?' I laughed, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably.

I always wondered how Arthur managed to cover a million-dollar loss at the casino. So this was how he did it.

Arthur had pawned me to Ethan for a million bucks. Arthur's signature and handprint were right there.

No wonder Ethan said what I owed him couldn't be settled with just a drink; no wonder Arthur was wary of Ethan when he saw him; no wonder Ethan said that in Arthur's mind, I had already betrayed him.

I knew Arthur wasn't a good guy. What broke my heart wasn't being sold by Arthur without my knowledge, but...

The document slipped from my trembling hands. I looked at Ethan, tears streaming down my face, my voice hoarse. "So, to you, I'm just a million-dollar contract of sale?"

Ethan climbed back up and pinned me down on the sofa, his strong smell of alcohol overwhelming me. "Not just a contract of sale. I like sleeping with you, I'm addicted to it."

I didn't struggle, staring hopelessly at the ceiling, crying uncontrollably. "So, to you, this is just a transaction."

The living room echoed with Ethan's heavy breathing and my desperate sobs.

Suddenly, the weight on me disappeared, and I was pulled up by another hand.

Jason looked at the drunken Ethan lying on the side, his voice cold. "You've had too much to drink."

With that, Jason picked me up and walked out of the villa.

Behind me, I heard Ethan's drunken voice. "Where are you taking Emily? She's my wife."

Back in Jason's car, I still couldn't calm down. The bad things kept coming, not giving me a chance to breathe.

Jason got in and looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, Ethan was drunk. I shouldn't have brought you back here."

I just shook my head, letting the tears flow, too exhausted to say another word.

Jason didn't speak again, nor did he start the car. He half-opened the window and smoked in silence.

The car was dead quiet for a long time, just my sobs breaking the silence.

After a bit, I turned to Jason and said, "I wanna watch the sunrise."

Jason glanced at me, a hint of relief in his eyes. "Alright."

When we got to the beach, the car's clock read 3 AM. It was still pitch black, with the sound of waves crashing.

"Get some sleep. I'll wake you when the sun's up," Jason said.

I actually dozed off in his car. No clue how long I slept, but I had this exhausting dream. I was in a huge forest, chased by wild animals, running endlessly but never escaping.

I woke up to Jason gently shaking me. "What's wrong? Nightmare?"

I felt like I'd been running for real, totally wiped out. I nodded.

Jason smiled. "Didn't you wanna see the sunrise?"

I looked out the window at the horizon, where the sky was starting to lighten.

I sat up, and Jason's jacket slipped off me. I got out of the car and handed it back to him. He took it but draped it over my shoulders again.

I said I wasn't cold, and he looked at me. "I feel hot."

Jason's warm gaze melted a lot of the gloom in my heart.

Knowing my foot hurt, he supported me as we walked toward the beach. "You're lucky. The weather looks good today, so the sunrise should be beautiful."

Looking at the shimmering sea, with waves constantly rolling in, I felt a surge of emotion. "I feel like I've been cursed, constantly toyed with by fate, over and over, endlessly." Jason turned to look at me, the sea breeze lifting the soft hair on his forehead. "Emily, be brave."

We then quietly watched the sea together.

Watching the sun slowly rise until it broke free from the horizon, I didn't know why, but my eyes suddenly stung, and I couldn't hold back my tears.

"I suddenly miss a friend of mine," I said.

"If you miss him, go see him," Jason said.

I shook my head. "Seagull is on the other side of the world. He said he was coming back a few days ago, but then suddenly said he wasn't. It's a pity I never got to see him." Jason looked towards the sunrise, his eyes reflecting the light, adding a touch of softness. "Maybe he's watching the same sun as you."

I looked at him. "We're seeing the same sun, but not at the same time because of the time difference."

He was taken aback, and then, for some reason, I suddenly burst into laughter through my tears.

I turned back to the horizon; the sun had climbed quite a bit. The sea breeze was refreshing, and the golden sunlight spread across the ocean.

Looking at such a beautiful scene, I felt like I wasn't as sad anymore. "He said, no matter how hard tomorrow is, we have to keep moving forward. I've always remembered that, and I must do the same."

Jason said, "Emily, cheer up. I think maybe there's some misunderstanding between you and Ethan."

I gently shook my head and tucked the wind-blown hair behind my ear. "It doesn't matter anymore. Someone who has nothing to lose has nothing to fear."

"Emily, what's your dream?" Jason suddenly asked me.

"Dream?" His question reminded me that I did have dreams once.

The gentle sea breeze blew, and in the slightly moist air, I began to recall my earliest dreams. "I used to want to be a doctor, probably because my mom was sick for so many years. I really wanted to cure her one day." "Then why didn't you study medicine?" Jason asked, puzzled.

Talking about why, I felt a deep sense of helplessness. "Studying to be a nurse allowed me to graduate a year earlier, and the tuition was lower. At that time, I relied entirely on the help of a kind person to study, the friend I mentioned earlier, Seagull. Although I always owed him, I hoped to owe a little less."

After saying this, I realized Jason knew nothing about my situation, and he must be confused. So, I briefly explained my circumstances.

Mentioning Seagull still filled me with regret. "I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to thank Seagull in person."

After a long while, Jason said softly, "If there's a chance, you'll meet again."

By now, the sun was high, and the sea and beach were bathed in golden light. The scene was so beautiful that it could make one temporarily forget my troubles.

We were interrupted by a phone call. The HR director, Alice Garcia, asked me to return to the hospital immediately, her tone quite serious, as if something had happened.

Jason had to go to work, so I went back to the hospital with him.

Jason wanted to help me inside, but I was afraid of gossip and insisted he go ahead while I hobbled in on my own.

As soon as I entered the hospital, I sensed something was off. Everyone was sneaking glances at me and whispering in small groups.

I hadn't walked far when two nurses approached me. I recognized them because they often hovered around Jason, seeking attention. They deliberately blocked my path, looking at me with disdain.

I couldn't help but be a little surprised. Even though they were dissatisfied with me before, they had never openly challenged me.

"Emily, I didn't expect you to be such a lowly person."

"Yeah, we never saw you as that kind of person before."

Their words left me puzzled. I asked, "What do you mean?"

"What do we mean?" One of them covered her mouth and whispered to the other, "It seems she doesn't know yet."

I ignored them and walked quickly ahead, my heart already in turmoil. Before I reached the HR department, I got a call from Bella.

As soon as I answered, Bella was frantic on the other end. "Emmy, what's going on? You scared me."

"What are you talking about?" I still didn't understand.

"You don't know? You're famous now. Have you checked Twitter today?"

Hearing this, a strong sense of unease surged within me.

Bella sent me a Twitter link. Before I could open it, I saw Alice ahead, staring at me with a stern expression. "Come in."

I quickly put away my phone and followed her in cautiously.

Alice sat behind her desk, her usual friendly demeanor replaced with a look of disdain. "Emily, Grace Hospital cannot tolerate someone with improper conduct."

"Improper conduct?" I was stunned. I couldn't accept such a defamatory accusation. "Ms. Garcia, what do you mean?"

Alice turned the computer screen towards me. "See for yourself."

The content on the screen left me frozen in place. [Unmasking the Angel: She's a Promiscuous Woman. Someone Paid a Million Dollars to Keep Her.]

The accompanying photo showed me with Ethan. I was wrapped in a towel, and he was shirtless. His face was pixelated, but I recognized it. It was taken on his balcony the day I got drunk.

I didn't want to believe that Ethan was behind this defamatory news. But the photo was on his phone. I thought, 'If not him, then who? And why was his face pixelated while mine was exposed?' The thought of this possibility made my heart ache.

Alice glanced at me. "Don't tell me this photo is fake. If it weren't true, who would go to such lengths?"

In fact, I had no defense. The photo was real, and the million dollars was real. I was just the last to know about it.

Seeing my silence, Alice took it as an admission of guilt. "Settle your wages and leave. Grace Hospital cannot afford to have its reputation tarnished by you."

As soon as Alice finished speaking, the door suddenly opened.