"Xaden... I didn't do it on purpose...please, Xaden, you've to believe me." Julliet was kneeling on the floor inside the villa. Her face was so pale that it was even lighter than the white porcelain bottle on the table. She couldn't see the expression of the man seated on the sofa clearly as the lights were not on. The only thing that she could see was the faint glow of the cigarette between his fingers before it was extinguished. Julliet felt as though she was waiting for an impending doom. She couldn't help but tremble with fear as she felt extremely uneasy and unsettled. She looked down to see her fingers stained with the blood of Veronica. Even though it'd dried up a long time ago, the evidence of the crime that she'd committed nonetheless remained on them and underneath her fingernails. The man on the sofa finally stood up from where he was seated after a long time. He slowly stepped towards Julliet, his tall stature towering over her petite one as he did so. "Julliet, you've got to pay the price for your wrongdoings. Veronica's legs may have been saved, but she can no longer dance because of you...how can you live with yourself like this?" His voice was so sharp that Julliet couldn't help but feel her heart start to pound furiously and fearfully at just how menacing he sounded. The only thing that she could make out in the darkness was the man weighing a golf club in his hands under the moonlight which shone through the room. "Didn't I say that I would marry as long as you behave yourself? Why did you have to go and stir up trouble for Veronica then? Hmm?" As soon as the man's voice fell, he used the club to hit the Julliet in the shin. He exerted so much strength that Julliet groaned as she bent over in immense pain and agony. "Xaden...I didn't..." The pain in her left leg was so agonizing that Julliet feared that she could only move it slightly backward. To her horror, however, she found that she couldn't move it at all. All it could do was to hang there, lifeless and unmoving. The man then put the golf club away, which was now bent, as he glared at Julliet's doubled-over form. "Julliet, you shall pay for what you've done to Veronica with this leg. I'll spare your life for now. But don't you forget. You've yet to fully pay off this debt." Julliet was too traumatized to say anything in reply. So, she simply hugged her knees to her chest tightly as she trembled violently like a leaf. Just before Julliet gradually fell unconscious, she heard the man making a phone call. He ordered, "Inform the Harris Family that Julliet had attempted to kill someone intentionally. It's up to them whether they would rather protect her or protect the Harris Group." Julliet smiled tiredly. She thought: I'm exhausted - am I really going to die just like that? Would everyone be happy then? ... Two years later. Emerald City finally experienced the first snow this winter. The gates of the prison in the outskirts of the East had opened early in the morning. A scrawny-looking woman walked out from inside. She did not walk very quickly and there was a slight limp in her steps. The woman raised her head when snow began to fall from the sky. If you overlooked the scars on her face, you would be able to tell just how young and demure she actually looked. There weren't many buses available in such weather. The usual wait of an hour was now extended to about two to three hourly intervals. Unfortunately for the woman, a bus had left just five minutes before she'd exited prison. This meant that she would have to wait by the roadside for another two or three more hours. As she took in her surroundings whilst touching her thin shirt, she couldn't help but furrow such that even the crescent-shaped scar at the corner of her brow was wrinkled slightly. It was spring when she'd entered prison. She didn't expect it to be winter when she came out. As she stood under the bus stop, the woman stared blankly at the prison that she'd been locked in for two years. On the whitewashed walls were eight large words: "Reflect well and turn over a new leaf." The woman couldn't help but mock at this. She'd read these words so many times during her time in prison. But would there really still be a chance for her to be the person whom she once was ever again? The woman continued to indulge in her own thoughts for the next two or three hours or so until the bus finally came. She rubbed her aching legs slightly before stepping onto the bus. The only things that she had in her possession was an old mobile phone and a few ten dollar notes that a prison guard had kindly given her. She gave the bus driver some money before going to sit somewhere in the back. Julliet was the only passenger on this bus, which had been heading towards this prison. Throughout the entire ride, she had her palms pressed against the window. It was as though she couldn't get enough of what she was seeing outside. She couldn't believe just how much the city had changed in just two years.

Just then, the bus abruptly surged forward such that Julliet's forehead collided with the window. She moaned in pain, rubbing her forehead as she looked up to see just what was the matter. The driver was cursing as he got out of the bus. His face darkened as soon as he realized that he'd hit a Bentley. "Just my luck, huh? First, I have to drive those filthy ex-convicts who are fresh out of prison every single day and now, I crash into an expensive car?! I really can't catch a break, huh? Just my luck!" The driver was in such a rage that he couldn't hold himself back from shoving Julliet into the snow when he spotted her getting out of the bus. Passers-by who'd gathered to see just what the commotion was about were murmuring and eyeing Julliet judgmentally and contemptuously as they chatted amongst themselves. The latter felt so ashamed and humiliated that she lowered her head to hide her face from the crowd. Just then, a pair of shiny leather shoes appeared in her line of vision. Julliet was stunned. She slowly looked up to see that the figure was wearing a pair of well-tailored custom pants, before seeing the very face that had appeared in her dreams countless times before. Madam Harris had gotten a fortune teller to foretell Julliet's future when she was born. The person had stated that while Julliet's life would be smooth-sailing in the first 20 years of her life, the latter part of her life would be extremely rocky and tumultuous. Never had Julliet expected that the fortune teller's words would be so true. Xaden had changed. He looked even stronger and more handsome than he'd been two years ago. And the hatred and disgust that had filled his eyes as he glared at her had not changed a single bit. Julliet stared at Xaden vacantly for a while before she realized just how foolish she was acting. Just as she was struggling to get up from the ground, the latter, however, pressed his black umbrella onto her shoulder to prevent her from getting up. "We haven't seen each other in two years. Did you become mute at some point in time? Don't you know how to greet me when you see me?" Julliet's bad leg was hurting extremely badly from the pressure that Xaden was putting on her. She felt as though it was being stabbed repeatedly and relentlessly. She was in so much pain that she was breaking out into cold sweat despite the freezing weather. Julliet could nothing but to grit her teeth as she strutted, "M-Mr. Devenport, it's been a while since I last saw you." Xaden had thought that he had spotted Julliet from a distance. It was only after he'd gotten out of his car to take a closer look did he realize that it was indeed her. He'd forgotten that today was the day that she would be released from prison. Julliet had changed a lot since he last saw her. Her previously long and silky hair had been chopped off and was now short and coarse. Not only was her face more sunken and sullen than it was before, but there were also many wounds and scars all over her face. Julliet now looked completely different and unrecognizable from the haughty and arrogant little princess of the Harris Family whom he once knew her as. But he wasn't surprised by her change in appearance. After all, he knew for sure that she must've had a rough time in prison. Xaden's eyes turned cold, as he looked at the latter's pathetic state. "You've really changed a lot." Julliet looked up at Xaden to see him take out a cigarette and light it. The thick white smoke that he breathed out engulfed him and made him appear mystifying and enchanting, as though he was some sort of mystical or magical being. Just then, he chuckled softly. "This driver has had a pretty bad day today indeed. Secretary Hill, I want you to take down his work number. I want to send him some form of compensation later." The driver was shocked by his words. Julliet didn't know how she should react. Xaden was still the same as he was two years ago, firm and resolute in his decisions, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation or discussion. She couldn't afford to offend him. "Mr. Devenport, if there's nothing else, may I ask if I'm free to leave?" "Free to leave?" Xaden scoffed before grabbing Julliet by the chin. He sneered, "Julliet, oh, Julliet - don't you know that two years is way too short of a time to atone for the atrocious sins that you've committed?" Julliet shivered violently, not because of the harsh weather, but out of fear. The torture and agony that she'd suffered in prison were still fresh in her mind. Just thinking about what she'd been through alone made chills run down her spine. The Harris Family had disowned her when she'd been sent to prison. No one had visited her during her two years there. Julliet was well aware that this was exactly what Xaden wanted. He wanted to be able to do whatever that he pleased to her as she remained completely helpless and at his mercy. But now...

As she curled her trembling fingers slightly into a fist, Julliet stammered bravely and pleadingly, "Mr. Devenport, I admit that I was in the wrong back then and deserved the punishment that I'd received. I've already atoned for what I've done. Mr. Devenport, please, I beg you. Can you please pretend that you didn't see me today and let me go?" Xaden raised a brow as he pursed his lips into a thin line and scoffed, "What? Do you think that enmity between us can disappear just like that just because you'd spent two years in prison? Don't you know that Veronica's legs will never be able to recover? Julliet, you treacherous woman, do you really feel that you've been punished enough?" Julliet froze at Xaden's words. It looked like he was still holding a grudge against her for what had happened to Veronica. However, while he was well aware that Veronica was crippled for life, he did not know just how badly he'd injured Julliet's leg by hitting it with a golf club back at that time. In actuality, she'd paid off that debt which she supposedly still owed him a long time ago. Despite this, Julliet was so afraid of provoking a man like Xaden that she dared not try to defend or speak up for herself. "What more do you want with me then? Mr. Devenport, please, I've already received the punishment that I deserved." The snow was getting heavier and heavier. Instead of saying something in response, Xaden raised the umbrella that he was holding. Just then, Secretary Hill , who'd been standing by Xaden's side this entire time, walked over to the latter. "Sir?" Xaden swept his cold gaze over Julliet. He looked like he was fuming at the thought of just how much Veronica had suffered over the past two years. He sneered, "Julliet, you may have served the punishment that you'd been sentenced to have by the law, but bear in mind that my punishment for you isn't over." He then looked at the man standing beside him and ordered, "Secretary Hill, clean her up and take her to the King Club." Julliet paled at this. She knew exactly what kind of place the King Club was. It was a place where the second generation of wealthy families in the capital loved to squander their money. Xaden wanted to send her there because he wanted her to remind her how she used to be a VIP there just two years ago. Now, however, she was a detested and disful ex-convict who'd attempted murder. Julliet gritted out, "Xaden, do you really have to be this ruthless and evil?" Xaden mocked, "Julliet, it has been two years. Yet, you haven't seemed to have changed at all. What makes you think that you have the right to try and argue with me, hmm? Do you really not understand this logic?" Julliet lowered her head and pursed her lips. She did not utter a word. She understood this logic way too well. All of the arrogance and haughtiness that she had in the past had completely faded during her time in prison. Even though Julliet did not try to argue against Xaden, her obedience nevertheless seemed to annoy him as well. He furrowed his brows as he added to Lee, "Tell Victoria that I hope that she'll personally "take care" of Miss Harris. I really hope that she will not disappoint me." He then got into the black Bentley and sped off. Soon enough, it disappeared amidst the heavy snow. Secretary Hill hesitated for a moment before walking over to help Julliet up. The arrogant and haughty look that Julliet had seemed to permanently wear just two years ago was now replaced by an extremely sullen and pitiful-looking appearance. Just then, Julliet asked in a trembling voice, "H-Has Veronica been doing well?" Secretary Hill seemed rather taken aback by her sudden question. He answered vaguely, "How well can a dancer who can no longer step onto the stage ever again possibly be doing?" Julliet smiled bitterly. As she'd expected, Xaden did not seem like he would be letting her off any sooner so as Veronica was still suffering. And so, Julliet was sent to the King Club by Secretary Hill, where she stayed there for more than half a month and never saw Xaden ever again. She sometimes wondered if the encounter that they had that day hadn't actually happened and was all just a dream. Then again, it was because of him that she was here now, standing in the main hall of the King Club. "Hello, welcome to King Club." Julliet had lost count of the number of times that she'd bowed today. As the guests poured into the door, the former couldn't help but rub her left leg, which was hurting quite badly since she'd been standing up for quite a while now. Ivory, one of Julliet's colleagues, shot her a sympathetic look, "I find it really strange that the manager gives everyone breaks but you. You know, I really think that she did this on purpose because of how beautiful you are. Perhaps she's deliberately making things difficult for you." Julliet shook her head and sighed, "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. I can't quit."